CHAPTER 5: JASON'S POV

Meeting Tess Prescott had been surprising but within minutes of knowing her, I knew that if I focused more on making her an ally she could be my ticket out of the marriage my mother had saddled me into. Well, it was her marriage but being still in high school, I was forced to live with them which made it feel like a marriage to me too. I had never had to move in permanently with any of her boyfriends. Now we were moving across states and I was not ready to start a new life, even for her especially after I had found out that she had kept a secret from me.

As she drove me across the town heading to my aunt's house where we had been staying before that day, I took some time to observe her. Her focus was on the road gripping the steering wheel with too much intensity that made it seem like she was hurting. Tess was obviously younger than me and I had already observed that she was shy. Attempting to make conversation with her always resulted in either being ignored or answered vaguely. I wasn't sure if her shyness was more than her nervousness but she definitely had both. It was cute and exciting and she made it so easy for me to get under her skin. I shifted comfortably in my seat and cleared my throat as the car slowed down in the evening traffic. Tess eyed me in a flash and then looked away quickly. I grinned.

"Are you afraid of me?" I asked boldly fixing my gaze on her.

"Why would I be afraid of you?" she asked without looking at me but her thumbs were constantly drumming the steering wheel.

I chuckled and shook my head. The traffic eased up seconds after and once we started moving, I noticed her face become more relaxed. She was probably hoping to get rid of me as soon as possible but I was not ready to let her leave yet. There was something about being around her that made me feel a bit at home. Maybe it was her easily penetrable personality but I found her interesting.

"You know, if we don't break them up the wedding is coming soon. I'll be moving in with you and then you will have to see me every day," I stated trying to get a reaction out of her.

Tess swerved the car down another street further from my aunt's house. I smiled inwardly but didn't speak.

"I am not participating in whatever plans you are thinking of. They made their decision, it's their life, end of story."

"What about our lives?" I raised my voice slightly. "Aren't we supposed to have a say in this? Why didn't they tell us before that we would be siblings?"

"Would it have changed anything? Would you have stopped them from loving each other?" she shot back and I had to agree that she had a point. All this was only because my mother hadn't told me before that I would have a sister and I appeared to be the only one with a problem about it. "You are also not the one whose house is about to be invaded by an arrogant teenage boy whom I'll have to share a bathroom with. What's next? Sweaty gym shorts and singlets everywhere? Dirty socks?"

I scoffed, "Wow. Is that how you see it?"

She hesitated for a moment. I nodded and looked away.

"I hate this probably more than you do but he is my father and I'm not going to ruin his happiness just because I can't stand living with someone like you."

"What do you mean someone like me? You don't know anything besides my name. Do you even know my name?"

"Jasper? Jared? I don't care!"

I chuckled amusedly. At that point, I wasn't sure if she was serious or joking but her expression was so satisfying and I couldn't help looking at her. Her curls flowed down her shoulders complimenting the shape of her face. She was not wearing any makeup but her lips were as smooth as silk by appearance, her face flawless. She had kept her nails short with a hint of light polish and despite having none of those qualities other girls considered essential, she stood out. Why was I suddenly making those observations about her? Tess wasn't my type of girl and even more importantly, she was my stepsister.

"Which street did you say was your place?" she finally asked after minutes of driving through town.

"You missed the turn five minutes ago," I responded casually. She turned to me anger painted on her face and for a moment I thought she was going to kick me out of the car. Instead, she huffed loudly, turned the car around, and drove back without saying anything.

When we got there, I remained seated in the car making no effort to get out. Several seconds passed in silence. I could tell that she was angry at me but that didn't bother me. Maybe I was a jerk but I couldn't help it so I stayed.

"Are you going to get out of my car or what?"

"I will in a minute but I really need you to work with me on this."

"It's not going to happen, Jace..." she caught herself quickly and closed her eyes.

I grinned, "So you do know my name?"

Without a warning, she jerked the car forward.

"Get out or I will drive!" she turned to me, her eyes dancing with anger but there was something else in them. I couldn't point it out at that moment because the moment her doe brown eyes rested on mine, everything I had on my mind disappeared. Every word I had formulated on my tongue dried as I stared back at her. It was like I was seeing her for the first time and everything I hadn't noticed before was illuminated. She was beautiful. Too beautiful to a fault and not even I was shielded from it.

I caught myself the moment she blinked and looked away. I swallowed whatever feelings had risen from my chest and turned back to her slowly. She shook her head in question.

"Tess," I stated unsure of what I was going to say next. I never lost control like that, no matter how beautiful a girl was. I didn't even understand what was so special with this one yet there I was, completely stripped of my confidence. "Never mind. Thank you for the ride," I stated and started getting out.

I walked towards the house with guarded steps fighting hard against the urge to turn around and look at her until I heard her drive away. I stopped and turned around. It was then I realized that the pattern of my heartbeat had changed. The feeling felt so familiar yet in a deep way. Did I have a crush on my stepsister? Right then, I realized that the days ahead of me wouldn't be easy. I couldn't avoid her but that wasn't the major problem. The problem was, did I want to avoid her?