Chapter 6

Aria

Arya’s hands flew to her lips so fast it looked like she was trying to glue them shut. Her eyes stretched wide, pupils shaking as though her brain had just been handed the most illegal information in the world.

“Mason?” she whispered, her voice barely audible, like the name itself could summon lightning, she knew.

“This is bad,” she muttered, still staring like she’d seen a ghost.

Meanwhile, I was standing in the middle of the room looking like the ghost she’d seen, confused, scared, overwhelmed, and ninety percent sure the universe was trolling me on purpose.

My hair was a disaster, still messed up from running and crying and Mom dragging me like a sack of rice. Strands were sticking to my lip gloss. My shirt was slightly crooked. My face was probably blotchy, just the ideal way to meet your stepbrothers.

What the heck is going on?

Is heaven playing a joke on me??

Who wrote this script? Fire them.

My mouth fell open so wide it could’ve caught rain. I tried to close it, but honestly it felt stuck. My jaw was hanging like it was disconnected from my brain. Slowly I turned my head.

And my eyes met Jim’s, his eyes were slightly widened, the shock swimming in them like he just realized he’d been pranked. His usual calm, lazy-cool expression had cracked. It made him look younger.

Then I turned to Mason.

His eyes weren’t wide, they weren’t shocked. They weren’t confused, they just stared at me like I did something wrong, like I lied, like I tricked him, like I owed him an explanation he wasn’t asking for.

And that hurt in a way I didn’t understand.

Oh no.

This is bad..

This can’t be real. No way!

Someone wake me up! Please!

“Aria, what are you doing? Introduce yourself to your brothers,” Mom said sharply, like this was just a cute family reunion and not a complete emotional meltdown.

She tugged my hand forward, presenting me like a dish no one ordered. My hands flew to my hair, trying to hide my face, once again. But it was completely useless, they had already seen everything, the embarrassment, the confusion, the absolute chaos written all over me.

How do I explain this??

How do I explain the whole situation without spontaneously combusting??

I cannot do this.

My legs realized it before I did. I spun around and bolted toward the stairs, moving so fast Arya’s ponytail flicked the air behind me like it was cheering me on.

“Aria, are you crazy?! Get back here NOW!”

Mom’s voice cracked the room like thunder. I heard her footsteps, loud and fast, and my survival instincts kicked in. I ran harder faster, like my entire dignity was on the line, because it was.

I dashed into the first room I found, slammed the door shut, and pressed my entire body weight against it as though the door could magically erase all the humiliation behind it.

Bang! Bang!

Mom knocked like she was trying to break into a vault.

I pressed my palm to my chest, trying to slow my breathing.

Oh no….Ohhhh no.

That was close.

My fingers crawled up to my hair, gripping it in pure panic.

How am I supposed to live now?

How am I supposed to look any of them in the eye?

Jim? Mason? Jakes with the shirtless introduction??

I might as well pack my things and go live in a cave.

I paced back and forth, whispering curses under my breath.

This is a nightmare.

A beautiful nightmare with too many handsome men, but still a nightmare.

My heart was racing so fast it felt like it wanted to file a complaint.

Then Mom’s voice boomed again from outside.

“Come out now! This isn’t even your room!”

I was mute, and I knew she wasn’t done.

“Are you deaf, Aria?! Open this door right now or I’ll open it myself! Arya… go get the keys!”

No, no, no…I froze.

I knew my mom.

When she said she’d do something, she would do it.

She could break into any room, any lock, any moment.

She was basically a mom-shaped bulldozer.

I reached for the handle… then pulled back again. My brain couldn’t decide if I should escape through the window or just let the floor swallow me whole.

But I didn’t get to choose.

The door flew open.

Because I had been leaning on it like a human doorstop, my body launched forward with absolutely no grace. My legs slipped. My arms flailed. I was falling like a dying leaf, ready to meet the floor face-first.

But I didn’t hit the ground.

Two strong hands caught my waist.

.

My eyes stayed shut, shoulders tense, breath suspended in the air.

No….No please.

Not again.

Then I heard his voice annoyingly calm right beside my ear.

“Nice meeting you, sister…”

I opened my eyes and Jim was holding me, his hands gripping my waist, his face barely inches from mine.

Shit!