My Step-Brother, My Bully

"Can you stop this mom’s habit?" I looked at my mom in disgust. What she was doing was making me tired.

I saw all kinds of liquor bottles on the table right next to where she lay her head. I saw her semi-conscious and moaning, looking at me. "Don't set me up!" Se looked at me sharply. "If I want to drink, that's my business. You have no right to tell me what I want and don't want to do." She slapped her hand on the wooden table slowly and powerlessly.

I sighed at the pitiful sight of my mother, which continued to happen almost every night. I couldn't remember exactly when her habit started, but it was clear that this kind of situation had been going on for a long time.

I picked up the other scattered bottles, placing them in a box to keep them safe. The last time, it was because of a bottle that had fallen and broken. My mother's foot had been injured by stepping on a piece of glass without realising it, and I was in trouble for it. When my mother is conscious, it's hard enough for me to handle her, and when she's unconscious, it's even harder. "I'm just worried about how she's doing if she drinks every night. People will talk weirdly about you." And not just about mom, but definitely about me, too. They'll talk worse about me than they do about Mom.

I gasped. She suddenly threw a nearby glass bottle at me. I held my shoulders. This wasn't the first time. This kind of situation has happened many times. My body had been bruised several times by her throw, so I wasn't hurt. But still, I couldn't help but flinch when she threw something at me.

"You stop that shit, damn it!" She cursed, as was her habit. I looked at her timidly. For a drunk person, her throw was entirely accurate, as it seemed she wasn't aiming for my head to inflict serious injury. "What are you listening to people say about me for?" She woke up her body that was leaning on the table. "Just let them say what they want. Why would I bother with that kind of thing? What does that matter?" She gave me an angry look.

Maybe she didn't think it was necessary, but to me, it was more than important. I was so affected by what people said because all that talk pressured me. "I just don't want them to talk nonsense about you. And your health is important too." I squeezed the hem of my shirt tightly. "I just hope you can live a healthier life and not drink anymore." My position doesn't change publicly just because my mother's habits change. I know that, but I hope she lives well, not in this way.

"Shut up!" She threw another bottle at me, but this time, I managed to dodge it. "What does a kid like you know? Asshole, you want to lecture me on how I should live? Who do you think you are, huh?" Her upper body swayed, trying to balance as she yelled at me. "Get lost! I don't want to see you, damn it!" She pointed another glass bottle at me.

"I don't mean to teach you. I wish you'd stop your habits." I wish I could be calm at home, but mom's habits like that don't make me calm.

After I spoke like that, Mom walked towards me staggeringly and approached me with her hand raised. I thought she wanted to grab me, so I quickly dodged.

"You're avoiding me?" She said, losing her balance and leaning against the small table behind me.

"I have to go to college." I pushed my body away from her and walked away from him.

"Look at this damn kid, instead of helping me first, you're leaving, huh?" I could hear her screaming. "Hey Elsie!....Elsie!" Even when I reached the front fence, I could still hear her voice.

I left for college as usual, waited at the bus stop and arrived at the school bus stop. I then walked for a while towards the campus grounds and finally arrived. As I started walking in the corridor, I heard their faint whispers. Then I could feel their gazes glancing in my direction, but some were being blatant.

"Look at that sucker coming." Someone I didn't recognise pointed at me and spoke like he recognised me.

"If I were him, it might be better to disappear than to survive with such a lowly and humiliating status." The laughter of the other children rang out.

I ignored it. What I meant by unreasonable actions was this. They hate and dislike me just because I'm an omega and I don't have a father. To them, my situation is worthy of reproach and contempt.

I saw Delta Liam and Dona walking behind me when I looked over earlier. They are the greatest people I know. We were friends when we were young, but when we became teenagers and the wolf in them rose, the distance between us grew. Those people seemed to be getting better, while I seemed alienated.

"Elsie, have you done what I asked you to do last night?" Delta Liam stopped his steps near me. He was walking together with Donna, and both of them seemed reluctant to address me in such a crowded place that those who had been walking behind me waited until the corridor was quiet before speaking.

I opened my bag and handed him a book. "I'm not sure I can work on it next time since we're in the same class and every time Delta Liam gets an assignment. I got my assignment, but I'm worried I won't be able to focus on it because the time is limited." I explained with good intentions, not because I didn't want to help him. But she gave me an annoyed look.

"I'm just asking you to do it, and you're talking at length because you object? If you don't want to do it, just say so clearly. Don't go around making excuses. How annoying!" He glanced at Donna beside him, who also looked scornfully at me.

Donna averted her eyes. "Just leave her alone. No wonder he's ostracised. His attitude is annoying." Donna then tugged Liam's arm to get him out of there, leaving me behind. "You look pathetic and annoying."

I looked at them sadly. They used to be my friends, but ever since I was ostracised, they stayed away from me. Their attitude also started to report me, and because Liam was a Delta, he put his position higher than me. Liam put our relationship on a hierarchy, getting treated like that from your friend. Of course, it was impossible not to hurt and hurt feelings.

I survived by not putting up a fight with the others because I was just an omega. Plus, since I was five years old, I lost my father figure. Some say that my father died, while others say that he ran away. I don't know which one is true I don't know, but certainly, his existence has no effect whatsoever on me, who can't even remember him. I don't care about him. I'm tired of the family relationship I have. "Alright, I can get through it!" I said quietly to myself encouragingly. My only wish is to graduate from this college immediately and leave here because no one accepts my existence here.

I headed to class, and the seat I was sitting in was at the back. Even though I had sat in the back row so that no one would notice, people were still looking at me. "I'm getting tired of seeing her. Why does she provoke people's emotions so much, huh?" They spoke as if I couldn't hear them, then looked at me with scornful gazes.

"I don't know. She's instinctively annoying. So it's no wonder people get annoyed when they see her." The woman laughed while giving me a dismissive look. I tried not to pay attention to them and tried to ignore what they were saying.

I'm tired of this unhealthy study environment, but what can I do? Other than enduring, I had no other choice. I started to tidy up my seat and took out the books I had brought when the lecturer came in.

Many discussions I didn't understand before were now explained. I paid attention and listened well until the class finally ended.

"Hey, make sure your hand doesn't touch my book!" The man beside me pointed at his book near my desk while I was cleaning up my book and putting it into my bag. I glanced at him silently while he gave me a sharp look. "I don't want my book to get dirty because of your touch." She then took the book and left the classroom. I could only sigh at their overreaction to me. Those who didn't want to get into trouble with me avoided me like I was a disgusting virus, while some others bothered me openly.

"Ah, seriously," I complained softly after the man left, then followed him out of the classroom. Right in front of the class, I saw a group of women sitting with enthusiastic faces, and I was a little curious at the looks that I hoped someday I could be that enthusiastic about something.

"You know, I heard that new students will transfer to this campus." I glanced at them.

The blonde woman held her forehead. "Ah, I heard that he's the son of an alpha, and it's rumoured that he'll be the next alpha." The other kid added.

I glanced at them for a moment as I adjusted the position of my bag while continuing to walk in the corridor. I didn't intend to listen, but they were talking loudly enough that it was hard not to listen, although I was curious, not about what they were talking about but about what made them look so happy.

"To add to the excitement, she says he's very handsome." Her voice sounded enthusiastic.

"Wow, I can't wait to meet him." the brunette woman responded.

I averted my eyes from them. Their conversation was unimportant, so I kept walking towards the bus stop. I waited at the bus stop while listening to music. I listened to more than three songs until the bus finally arrived. There weren't many college kids on the bus, so I didn't have to get on the bus in a hurry. I sat in the middle row, right by the window.

Fifteen minutes later, I arrived home, just as I opened the door. I found something unusual. "Didn't I see something wrong? What's going on?"

I was shocked to see the house so clean and tidy. The house's appearance was unprecedented, very different from when I was about to leave for college this morning. Usually, mom would make the mess worse when drunk instead of cleaning it up like now.

I vividly remember that the house still hadn't been cleaned up, and other than me, there was no one else to clean up the place. "What's wrong with mom? Why is she suddenly cleaning up? Is it because of what I said last night?"

I looked around the room in surprise but couldn't find mom there. "Thank goodness she didn't tire me out again." I smiled, left downstairs, and headed to my room for a quick nap.

I had fallen asleep in the room upstairs, but this time, I woke up to a noise coming from downstairs. Spontaneously, I got up from bed, remembering that Mom wasn't home earlier. I was worried that a stranger would come in to steal, knowing that only me and mom lived in this house together.

But when I looked down, I saw mom standing in neat clothes. She looked different. Her face also looked excited. She looked cheerful. I immediately went downstairs to approach her. "Mom, what happened?" I asked as I stood near her.

When I noticed she had just returned from somewhere dressed up like that, I could tell she would meet someone necessary. Surprisingly, she seemed so happy. She glanced at me. "I'm getting married." Her short reply made my eyes widen to look at her.

I stared in surprise before digesting her words. "Getting married?" I said, surprised at her words.