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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
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To Tempt My Stepbrother 31 || Break up
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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
To Tempt My Stepbrother 33 || Sad place
CALUMDon’t try to understand women. Sometimes, they say they don’t want you but what they mean is: please stay. And when they say they need space. They could simply mean: hold me but don’t say a word to me because I’m mad at you for reasons that shouldn’t be known to you.I’ve learnt all these with Cathy. But I don’t find them cute anymore, not with the way she has treated me over the last few days. If she really wants me, I don’t know. We have fallen apart.She’s now my sad place.I don’t think of her and smile. I think of her and remember the look of vehemence, disgust and anger when she told me she didn’t want to go anywhere with me. I can try to deal with that. The space will do both of us good anyway.What I can’t deal with are the ridiculous prices and conditions it requires to find an apartment that will sublet for two months. That’s enough t
To Tempt My Stepbrother 34 || No in-between
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To Tempt My Stepbrother 35 || Blue Story
It’s 6:15 pm when Calum knocks on my door. I am refreshed, well-fed and thinking clearly. We can have our talk today. Or skip it till Saturday.I open the door to a smiling Calum. He sizes me up and I almost spin to give him a better look of my dress. He came. I thought he wouldn’t.“Would you like to take a walk with me?” he asks after a minute of silence. I nod shyly and he almost stretches his hand to me, slipping it into his pocket at the last minute. “Shall we?”“We shall,” I whisper.Calum opens the door wider for me to step out first. I wait behind to lock the door and we head towards the elevator. Inside the metallic box, I steal glances at his profile. What’s he thinking?His finger drums a rhythm on his hip, the only audible sound in the elevator till it pings at our stop. Sticking by his side, we head outside the hotel and the cool London breeze hits our
To Tempt My Stepbrother 36 || Sweet and Tender
Oh.I’m not impressed.Calum departs from my side and I follow him to the front of the crowd. There’s a man on the bench. He has a guitar. His body is bent over the guitar he’s hugging to his chest. The guitar case is open on the floor for onlookers to drop money in it. Calum wanders off to the man, leaving me alone to watch and wonder. What’s his plan?They exchange words for a while and the man gives a curt nod. Dew coats the bench, my eyes follow the moisture, then move back to the man’s threadbare outfit. The thin shirt hidden under his black coat can barely keep the cold of the night away.On Calum’s return, he rocks on his soles. “So…I don’t think we will be having our concert tonight or anytime before we leave.” I pout. He barks out a laugh. The small crowd thins out after hearing him. When I count again, we are less than ten. “Except you’re up for perf
To Tempt My Stepbrother 37 || Can I see?
Calum further proves his point by strolling into the room naked. A towel dangles from his neck with another tied around his neck. He beams and his not-so-little man jerks in a wave. Asshole.“Do you want to pick out something for me to wear?” Calum asks. I don’t answer. I scoot to his wardrobe and pull out his boxers. “Really?”I want to feel the heat of his body. Undoing the buttons of my pyjamas top paired with skimpy shorts stopping an inch below my ass, I tell him, “I can take off my shirt so we are even.”“Sounds like a fair trade.”When we are both in the same state of undress, he guides me to the bed and spoons me from behind. The heat of his chest spreads through my back. Pushing my hair out of the way, he litters kisses from the path below my ear to the curve of my neck. I drag the cover over our legs and bring his hand to palm my stomach. My boobs are in desperate need
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