MY LIFE

I couldn't speak or move…I could barely breathe. All I did was stare as he pulled out the chair. This bastard sat and leaned back, crossing his arms and still had the audacity to look at me…like really look at me and that's when I saw it.

The challenge. 

The amusement.

And then something else…something dark and hungry and just wrong.

He's been waiting for this…he's been waiting for me for a long while.

"Leo?" my father's voice cuts through the fog. "Did you hear me?"

I tear my eyes away from Kaelen and I see my father watching me. Patient and expectant.

"I said," he continues, "won't you welcome your stepbrother?"

The word hits me like a slap.

“Stepbrother?!” I said back, struggling to control my voice.

Kaelen?! Kaelen Blackwood?! The man who stole my shot, the man who whispered in my ear and the man who's haunted my dreams for two whole years.

Is my stepbrother?! My father is marrying his mother?! Out of all the women?

We're going to be family? And we're going to live under the same roof?!

And we're going to share the same bathroom, the same kitchen, the same air…and I'm just supposed to welcome him?

I turn back to Kaelen and he's still watching me. Still smirking and still looking at me like he knows exactly what I'm thinking.

"Hey, little brother," he says, barely separating his lips. His voice is smooth like honey but his eyes are as sharp as glass. "Long time no see."

I didn't say a word…I couldn't. 

Because if I open my mouth, I'm afraid of what will come out. I'm afraid I'll scream or cry or do something so stupid, it'll prove to him that he's already won.

So I just stayed there, across from him, under the same roof, at the same table, breathing the same air.

And I realized, with this cold sensation that settles deep in my gut, that my life is never going to be the same and I'm fuckin hating it.

Like the day wasn't bad enough…it was time for dinner and that. Was. A. Disaster.

And no. It was not the kind of disaster where someone spills wine or says the wrong thing, it was the kind where everyone pretends everything is fine while the air slowly suffocates you.

Yvette talked about the wedding, my father talked about their new house…while dear Kaelen talked about basketball like he didn't just shatter my entire world ten minutes ago.

And me?

I simply pushed food around my plate and tried not to look at him because the world didn't come to an end when my whole life kept unraveling.

But I fail. Every time I glance up, he's already watching and it was so annoying.

Those dark eyes, that crooked smirk, the way he holds his fork like he's bored. This bastard knows exactly what he's doing.

He knows exactly what this is doing to me! And he's enjoying every second.

"So, Leo," Yvette says, dabbing her mouth with a napkin. "Marcus tells me you're quite the player. Starting point guard as a junior? That's impressive."

"Thank you," I smiled but it looked so awkward I wished I didn't. My voice sounded foreign and flat.

"Kaelen plays too," she continues, like I don't already know…like I haven't studied every game tape, every highlight reel, every move he's ever made. "He's at Crestview. He's a shooting guard."

"I know," I mumble to myself a little louder than I expected. Kaelen's smirk widens and my dad almost loses it.

"You know?" He repeats. But rather than ending me, he looks confused. "How do you know?"

I didn't answer…I couldn't. Because the truth is I've known Kaelen Blackwood since the first time I saw him play two years ago. 

The truth is I've watched him more times than I can count. 

The truth is I've memorized the way he moves, the way he shoots, the way he celebrates…like he's never lost a day in his life.

The truth is I've been obsessed with him since the moment he stole my shot.

"We've played against each other," Kaelen says, saving me. His voice is easy and casual. Like he didn't just lie to save me. "Westbrook vs. Crestview. Regional finals. Two years ago." Well, it really wasn't a lie.

My father's eyes widened. "You two played against each other?"

"He blocked my shot," I tried to be calm but the words came out harder than I intended. "He won the game."

Silence.

Yvette looked between us and I swore her smile faltered for the first time tonight. My father cleared his throat awkwardly while Kaelen just watched me, that smirk still playing on his lips.

"Well," Yvette said, barely recovering. "That's all in the past now since y'all are going to be brothers."

Brothers. The word hangs in the air like piss.

"Stepbrothers," I correct and I have no fuckin idea why I say it. Maybe because I need to remind myself or maybe because I need to remind him.

Kaelen's eyes flash, like this mother fucker is amused.

"Right," he says. "Stepbrothers."

The way he says it…slow, deliberate, like he's tasting the word…makes my stomach hurt.

"So," my father says, clearly trying to change the subject. "The wedding is in three weeks…we're thinking a small ceremony. You know? Just family."

"Family," I repeat and the word feels wrong in my mouth.

"Which means you'll be moving in," Yvette adds, looking at me. "We've already cleared out the guest room for you…It's not much, but—"

"Wait." I hold up my hand. "Moving in?"

My father nods. 

"The wedding is in three weeks. After that, we're all going to live together. You, me, Yvette, and Kaelen."

And the entire fucking room tilts.

I knew the wedding was coming, I knew things were changing but I didn't know this…I didn't know I'd have to leave my dorm…I didn't know I'd have to live with them. Or him.

"Haha but dad, I have a dorm," I laughed nervously. "I have a life so I can't just—"

"You can," my father interrupts and that voice is firm…final. "You're my son and you're part of this family. And this family is going to live together."

"Marcus," Yvette says softly, touching his arm. "Maybe we should give him some time."

"No!” My father shakes his head. "He needs to understand that this is happening. All of it. The wedding and the move. We're going to be a family, Leo. A real family."

I want to scream so bad. FUCK!

I want to tell him that he already had a family and a loving wife…the one who he had me. 

I want to tell him that he's throwing away everything my mother built so he can play house with some woman he barely knows.

But I don't…I just sit there, frozen, as my life slowly unravels around me.