Stay With Him

“Your home?” I gasped, literally shocked.

Alexander’s smirk deepened just slightly  but enough to make my stomach twist. He didn’t respond to me. He instead leaned back in his chair, one long finger tapping idly against the stem of his water glass. 

"Mom, please tell me that he is lying", I turned to my mom.

Mom laughed, light and oblivious. “Oh, Emma, don’t look so shocked! We’ve been talking about this for weeks.” She spoke.

“Weeks?”, I asked things getting more complicated. Jason cleared his throat, suddenly looking a little sheepish under his expensive tan. “Well… yes. We wanted to surprise you both with how smoothly everything’s coming together.” Jason spoke and I glared at my mom in disbelief.

How could she really do this to me?.

Mom reached across the table and squeezed my hand. “Sweetheart, I am really sorry but Jason has to fly out to Singapore next week for a major acquisition, three weeks minimum. And I’m going with him. It’s a working trip of sorts.” She explained but it didn’t actually make sense to me.

“We thought it would be the perfect chance for you and Alexander to settle in together at the house. Get used to the new family dynamic without us hovering.” She added and I instantly felt the blood drain from my face.

The new family dynamic?.

Three weeks. Alone. With him.

“No, I won’t stay with him” I said loudly and the words came out sharper than I meant. “Excuse me?”, Mom blinked.

“Mom... I mean, that its great for you guys to go for your trip but I can’t just move in with....” I flicked my gaze toward Alexander, who was watching me now with the kind of detached amusement a cat might show a cornered mouse. “With a stranger. I barely know him.” I added.

Jason chuckled, reaching over to pat my shoulder like I was a skittish child. “That’s exactly why this is perfect timing. You’ll have the whole place to yourselves. No pressure, no parents getting in the way. You’ll be brother and sister in no time.”

Brother and sister?.

The phrase worsened the moment and Alexander’s smirk vanished for half a second and was replaced by something colder.

“Regardless of what you saying, I’m not moving in,” I said looking at Jason. “I’ll stay with Mia. Or Sarah. They both have spare rooms. I can couch-surf for three weeks. It’s fine.” I continued.

Mom’s smile faltered after my words. “Emma Isabelle, don’t be ridiculous. You’re not going to impose on your friends for half a month.”

“I’m not imposing. They’ve literally beg me every day to stay over, so....",

“Enough.” Jason’s tone shifted, filled with the quiet authority of someone used to being obeyed. His son was authoritative as him. “You’re family now. Or you will be. That means you live under our roof. Alexander’s already agreed to keep an eye on you while we’re gone.” He added.

“Keep an eye on me?,” I asked turning to look at Alexander. When did he agree to that?.

“I’m very responsible, my dear step sister”, he said, the words dripping with mockery only I could hear. “I’ll make sure nothing… happens to you.”

A shiver raced down my spine that had nothing to do with the air conditioning.

Mom sighed, exasperated. “Emma, honey. This isn’t a negotiation. The movers are already at the house. Your room is being set up as we speak, right across the hall from Alex’s. It’s a beautiful place. Huge windows, ocean view, your own bathroom. You’ll love it.” She murmured.

I stared at her, betrayal burning behind my eyes. “You already did all of this without asking me?”, I asked her. “We wanted it to be a surprise,” she said softly. “A good one.”

It wasn’t.

Three weeks.

Three weeks of waking up across the hall from the man who’d seen me at my most reckless and most shameless moment. Three weeks of shared bathrooms, shared kitchen and shared food. I felt like screaming, just thinking about it.

 “I need air.” I pushed my chair back an inch and sat up. Mom started to protest, but Alexander spoke first. “Let her go.” He was calm, enjoying the situation I was in.  “She’ll come back.” I hated how certain he sounded.

I stood on shaky legs and walked fast toward the glass doors that led to the terrace overlooking the water. The night air hit me and I gripped the railing until my knuckles ached. I felt like crying but it was all useless. They had already made up their minds.

Behind me, through the glass, I could see them, Mom laughing at something Jason said, Jason nodding fondly, and Alexander…

He was watching me with his green eyes.

I wasn’t going back inside. Not yet and maybe not ever tonight.

I stayed out there until my arms ached from gripping the railing and the chill seeped through the thin black sundress. My phone buzzed twice in my pocket, probably Mia or Sarah checking if I’d survived dinner but I didn’t check it. I couldn’t handle their teasing right now. Not when things had completely changed. 

How could I really tell them that the man I dry humped in the club is my step brother?.

Minutes went as I thought about everything then the door opened behind me with a soft hush. Footsteps approaching me came next but I didn’t turn. I already knew who it was.

He stopped a few feet away, close enough that I could smell his expensive cologne.

“You’re going to catch pneumonia out here,” He spoke in his deep voice. "I’m fine.” I hissed out.

“Your mother is ready to leave,” he said. “They’re taking Jason’s car. You’re riding with me.” He added.

 “What?”, My head whipped around so fast that my hair stung my cheek.

"Come over and we go home", He spoke hands in the pockets of his dark trousers. "I am not going with you", I hissed out. "I wasn’t asking", He said then turned and walked away.

I followed him without any other word until when we reached his car that was parked two spaces down a matte-black Range Rover, windows dark and engine already purring. He opened the door for me and I hesitated.

“Get in, Emma,” He said with a serious face. “Or I’ll put you in.” The threat was enough for me. I slid into the leather seat quickly and the door closed with a heavy, final thunk.

He circled to the driver’s side, folded himself behind the wheel, and pulled out of the lot without looking at me. The parents’ car drove away ahead of us and it made me realize how serious the situation was.

No one spoke as he drove but his car was filled with the  low thrum of whatever dark playlist he had on, slow bass and no lyrics, just boring.  Every time the car hit a curve, my black dress shifted up and every time I corrected it, he noticed.

By the time we pulled through the tall iron gates of what was apparently now “our” house, my nerves were shredded. The place was enormous, modern glass and stone, lit from within like a lantern against the night. Movers’ vans were already gone. My old life had been unpacked and put away without me lifting a finger.

Alexander killed the engine and walked out first. I waited until he was halfway to the front door before I followed. I didn’t bother running because deep down, some terrified part of me already knew what he can do to me. I was honestly afraid of him as much as I found him so tempting.

Three weeks was the beginning of something I wasn’t ready to name.