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24 || Panic attack
My boyfriend is not happy. He’s not mad at me but he’s not happy with the situation.
Amelia nudges me with her knee, I shake off thoughts of Calum and try to participate in the conversation. Rose and Taylor will leave after our finals, we have to cherish every moment.
Today, it’s just us four at our table. I like it. I missed it. I love having their boyfriends at our table but it’s different with only the girls. It’s us.
“Girls,” I say and my hand goes up. Everyone stops talking. Rose shoves her burger into her mouth, stuffing her cheek like a starving bum. Amelia sips from her coke. “I was thinking…” Well, it’s Calum’s idea or rather, Dani’s but I don’t tell them that as I propose the plan of switching our mode of operation. “It can help us.”
It can help me.
Calum is doing his part. I have to also do mine. Rose dumps her burger on her
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To Tempt My Stepbrother 25 || Sinfully perfect
CALUMShit. Shit. Shit.How do you define useless? Watching the love of your life cry into the arms of her best friend instead of yours. Being unable to comfort your superstar. Is it okay to touch her on school grounds but as a stepsibling offering comfort? “Your dad is okay,” I say as a contribution. But Cathy’s face is hidden in Amelia’s neck, away from me. A small crowd has gathered around us, I chase them off to their next class but allow Rose and the other girl, I think Taylor is her name, step up to the duo. They don’t ask questions but join in the hug and the emptiness I thought was under control burns a hole through my chest. I do miss Sam and Lucas. And Tessa. I miss my friends. Seeing there’s nothing more than a crying girl, the rest of the students disperse, leaving us alone once more. The girls break the hug but Amelia stays at Cathy’s side with an arm on her shoulder. I ball my hands in my pockets to refrain from touching my girlfriend. My baby. I failed her. I kn
To Tempt My Stepbrother 26 || Avoiding him
“You’re avoiding him,” Amelia says.For the past hour my best friend has been here, she has not failed to remind me about the man next door. He’s trying and I’m…well, I’m not.I fall flat on my back to the bed, arms and feet spread wide open. Amelia grunts but stays out of my way. Squinting at the ceiling, seconds roll by without me talking. Eventually, she will have to drop this topic because I have nothing to say to her or Calum. A pillow comes down on my face, once, twice and a third time before I jump.“Jesus!” I scramble out of her reach before the fourth attack. “What’s your problem, Amelia?”Glaring daggers right back at me, she murmurs, “You are my problem. You’re avoiding him.”My knees sink into the bed. Slowly shaking my head, I grab a pillow to defend myself from her.“I’m not avoiding him,” I reply
To Tempt My Stepbrother 27 || Go to sleep
The silence drags on for two minutes. I nibble on my lip without a reply to Calum. Emotions war in his eyes, he offers me a sad smile and attempts to leave but the sound of my zip opening stops him. Eyes on the task at hand, I step out of my gown.I’m nervous.“Thank you,” he says. He removes his clothes with more grace than I did. When he’s naked, I take off my underwear. “Want to get in the shower?”“Already did,” I answer.Calum laughs but it sounds strange to my ears. “Me too.” I stare at his dick, his beautiful length and he hides it behind his palms. “Just ignore it,” he says forcefully with a faker laugh. “Little man doesn’t know how to behave around you.”There’s nothing little about that man but I nod to ease some off his tension. I get into the bed first and flip the bedside lamp on while he goes off to switch off
To Tempt My Stepbrother 28 || Fix it!
I think I did well in the tests today. But that joy evaporates as soon as I unlock my phone. The drive to school with Calum was awkward, and I don’t want a repeat of that on our way home. But that might be the only option because of Amelia.A: I won’t be able to drop you off today but I know someone who wouldn’t mind doing that.Amelia! I bang my head against my locker.This girl.She’s really going to do this to her best friend? I told her earlier I would hitch a ride home with her. She didn’t ask questions but she must have put two and two together. I call bullshit on her having to leave without waking me yesterday. She wanted to get me alone with Calum. Well, that didn’t work so well. Now, we are just weird around each other. And I’m partly mad at him.Me: Betrayer.A: He hasn’t left. I think I saw his car outside.Rolling my eyes, I slam my locker close. I mis
To Tempt My Stepbrother 29 || The answer is still no
Calum pulls up at the house. I’m about to thank him for the ride but Dad’s car is sitting right in front. Is he home? I wrench the door open and jet to the front door, banging on it like a demon on the loose. Calum calls my name but I’m on only one mission: Get to my Dad. The doctor said he might not be home until the end of this week.The door opens at the same time Calum gets to me. He pulls the key from under the doormat and I shrug. I wasn’t thinking, I still am not. I need to see my dad first. Pushing past Dani and into the living room, my feet grind to a stop.Dad is on the couch. He smiles. “Cathy, I—”I lunge into his lap, my arms tightening around his frame as my face buries into his chest. Dad wheezes with laughter but doesn’t let go. My tears soak his shirt and he plants a kiss on my temple.He is home. He is fine. He didn’t leave me.Death is inevitable
To Tempt My Stepbrother 30 || All girls, no boys
Calum hasn’t said a word to me. Last night, he walked right past me into his room without so much as a glance my way. For the nth time, I reread through our texts that ensued after. Fine, I was a bit too much but he sprung it up on me. They ganged up on me and I didn’t appreciate it.Me: I didn’t mean it that wayMe: I’m sorry.Me: baby. My loveMe: please say somethingC: Goodnight CatherineI didn’t send him another text after that. But now as I wait for the girls, I think I should have. He’s upset. And I know why. I told him off. I hurt his feelings. It’s all I seem to be doing these days.But it’s also his fault. Is it? I don’t know anything anymore. He had good intentions, but a bad time.We didn’t have breakfast as a family today. It’s quite normal given our different schedules but Dani and Dad were both home and I can’t help the feeling t
To Tempt My Stepbrother 31 || Break up
Calum is finally talking to me. It’s Wednesday. Our midterms are over and we have the rest of the week off. Calum snaps a finger in my face.“Did you hear anything I said?” he asks. I just smile. To have him talking to me again, even if it’s with a big scowl makes me happy. “Cathy!”I push a foot forward, and he braces an elbow on his car’s roof. “No. Not really. What did you say?”Annoyance twists his expression and his eyes twitch. These days, he’s unkind to me. I told him I wouldn’t be joining him home yesterday and he didn’t even ask why. Just a simple okay was all I got. I don’t like this new Calum.“Are you going home with me today?” he asks.“Yeah. That’s why I’m here.”“Right.” He unlocks the car. “Your door is open.”Two minutes later and my stepbrother hasn&rs
To Tempt My Stepbrother 32 || My heart
“It’s breaking,” I whisper over the phone to Amelia. The only reason I didn’t run off to her house after the fight with Calum is because I want to be alone and I don’t want to bother her.“What?” she asks.I place a hand over my chest and the organ protected by my ribcage beats faster. It hurts.“My heart. It’s breaking.” “Cathy,” she says. I tug the cover over my head. It sounded like a good idea to call her. Now, I’m not so sure. I just want to hide here until the pain goes away. “Do you want me to come over?”“No, it’s fine.” Pretending she’s here, I roll on my side and stare into space. Calum should be in his room. “Can I tell you something?” Amelia hums in response. “I feel so alone sometimes.”“What do you mean?”My eyes shut. I put into words w
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