007

Madelyn Vance

~•~

Flynn was an attractive guy, but that damn mouth of his.

Talking to him always gave me whiplash. It was like my body couldn’t decide whether to be flustered because of attraction or embarrassment around him. I hated it.

And he also didn’t know how to answer questions.

It was the first time I was hearing him talk so much and he still couldn’t answer the important question I asked him. Was he trying to keep up his reputation of being a loner at school? Was that why he was quick to dismiss me that day? Or was it because he was in a bad mood?

Then again, he did seem like he was always in a bad mood. Was he responsive this time because he was at home?

Why had I never run into him? I’d been visiting Lucas’ house for more than a year. I knew of the existence of a stepbrother but I never even imagined he attended the same school as us because of how absent he was.

Why did the two boys hate each other? Why did they pretend they didn’t know each other at school?

God, I was so fucking curious about him. He was such a mystery and I wanted to peel out every layer of him, but I just couldn’t have a conversation with him without getting annoyed.

“You were gone for a while,” Lucas said as I returned to the dining table. Our parents had left the table and were now in the living room, discussing their careers like they hadn’t talked about it a million times already.

“Uh, yeah,” was all I could say as I sat down opposite him. I wasn’t about to tell him that I went upstairs to look for his stepbrother, but I also wanted to know more about this stepbrother. “So, you and Flynn?” I arched an eyebrow, trying to sound casual about the question.

Lucas rolled his eyes. “Are you mad I didn’t tell you about him?”

“I’m not mad.” I quickly corrected him. “Why would I be? It’s just strange that you’re sharing a house with someone like him.”

“Tell me about it.” He scoffed like it was a bad thing.

“You don’t get along?”

“He’s an asshole who thinks he’s better than everyone else. How could we ever get along?” He asked as he stood up. “Want to go to my room? We can watch something while we wait for your parents to leave.”

I didn’t want to watch anything. I only wanted to talk about Flynn, but I stood up anyway and followed Lucas out of the dining room.

“We’re going to my room,” Lucas announced as we walked past our parents.

“Keep the door open,” Diane said.

I shook my head at that. They wanted us to date after we graduated high school, but they also wanted us to focus on our studies for the time being. For some reason, they still let us hang out alone. Were they testing us or something?

I stayed quiet as we went into his room. His room was on the opposite wing of Flynn’s. Lucas’s room had its own living room. There were three couches, a coffee table, and a television with a doorway that led to the actual bedroom. The bedroom had two doors for the bathroom and the closet. It was huge and very extra.

“He’s not home a lot, is he? It’s the first time I’m seeing him here.” I said as he turned on the television.

“Who?” He spared me a glance.

“Flynn?”

“Oh. I don’t know. He’s always out and even when he’s not, he’s holed up in his room. We don’t run into each other.”

“He never hangs out with the family?”

Lucas’s eyebrows scrunched in confusion as he fully turned to face me. “You’re oddly interested in him.”

My eyes widened. I’d talked too much and Lucas had caught on. “Uhh…” I should have just asked Flynn whatever questions I had. He would have annoyed me but I might have gotten some answers out of him. “It’s just weird imagining the two of you in the same family. You’re nothing alike.”

“And thank God for that.” He muttered and returned to browsing through channels.

I forced myself to stay quiet and not ask any questions. I didn’t want Lucas to think I was interested in Flynn. I was, but he didn’t need to know that.

As Lucas found a random show to put on, my mind drifted to Flynn and I tried to put together all the information I had about him.

He has a motorcycle, he worked at an auto shop, and he was Lucas’s stepbrother. He also mentioned something about spanking me but I pushed that to the back of my mind and focused on the appropriate things.

When I first saw him at the auto shop, I’d thought he was working because he needed money, but he was Richard’s stepson. Richard was wealthy and Flynn wouldn’t need to work for anything so why did he know how to fix cars? I doubted Lucas even knew how to change a lightbulb.

“When did your father marry Diane?” I asked randomly.

Lucas gave me an odd look. “Two and a half years ago. Why?”

I shook my head. “Nothing.”

So Lucas and Flynn weren’t stepbrothers until two and a half years ago. Did they hate each other because their parents married each other? Or did one offend the other? Flynn was good at riling me up. Did he piss Lucas off on the first day of being brothers?

“You’re being strange today.” Lucas chuckled.

“Maybe I’ve always been strange.” I joked, hoping he didn’t push it. How could I explain to him that I didn’t even know what we were watching because I was busy thinking about his stepbrother?

Lucas laughed, but thankfully dropped the subject, shifting closer to me to settle properly on the couch.

Flynn Cahallan might not be interested in talking to people or making friends, but I was certain I could break down his defenses.