chapter 4

Jessica’s POV

“I will go check the door." Mom said, wiping her hand with the large towel while I looked on.

When she left, I rested my weight against the counter with my hands crossed on my chest and a relieved look on my face.

I was glad she didn't ask me to go check the door as I wasn't mentally prepared to meet anyone today, most especially, my so-called stepbrother without a name, not even a nickname.

Before the door bell interrupted, my mom was behind the cooker so I had to replace her but instead, I was staring blankly at the pan of eggs I was supposed to be stirring.

The sizzling sound and the scent of butter should have been comforting, but my thoughts were somewhere else, in fact it was everywhere else.

The conversation with my mother replayed in my head.

Your stepbrother’s coming home. — She sounded like it meant anything to me.

I had never met him and have never even seen a photo of him even when he was a kid.

Her husband, my stepfather barely talked about his son, and whenever I asked if he had a family apart from us, he always gave the same vague answer; “It’s complicated.”

And honestly, I didn’t care.

I had my own complications to deal with like getting rejected by the guy I had been secretly obsessed with for weeks.

Just thinking about last night made my stomach churn but I was quick to snap myself back to the present.

He had flirted with me at the bar, he knew I was watching him, he allowed  me to fall into that moment, let me think there might be something there.

And then, like the weather which wasn't constant, he tossed me aside with five cruel words: “You’re not really my type.”

I clenched my jaw and poked hard at the eggs.

Before my reaction could spiral into something more dangerous, the door creaked open and it was followed by a soft laughter from my mother.

“What’s so funny?" I asked, tilting my head towards the door but I couldn't see anything because of the staircase.

Just when I was going to return my attention to the cooker, a yell made me snap my head back to the door.

“Watch your mouth!” Seth snapped. “You don’t barge in here and start shouting like some lunatic.”

Curiosity made me turn off the cooker and with the spatula still in hand, I headed for the living room.

As I stepped out of the kitchen, my entire world slammed to a halt.

Standing in the middle of our living room was no other person than Nate Lincoln.

No, freaking way.

I blinked hard, thinking maybe I had finally lost my mind. But there he was wearing a black hoodie, a backpack slung over one shoulder, the same messy dark hair and brooding expression.

He was the same guy I had watched yesterday score goals on the ice and then crush me like I was a joke.

And right now, he wasn’t alone, he was toe to toe with my stepfather, his eyes burning with defiance.

The air between them crackled like live wires, both of them too stubborn to back down. My mother stood between them, arms spread like she could keep two bulls from charging.

“You don’t summon me here and pretend everything’s fine,” Nate spat.

“And you don’t get to walk in like you own the place!” my stepfather shot back at him.

I felt my heart in my throat as I tried to piece the puzzle together while my thoughts screamed in protest.

No, it can’t be. This isn’t happening. Nate can’t be the anonymous stepbrother I already detested.

Fuming, he tossed his head to the side and at that instant, his eyes landed on me. I saw recognition flicker in his eyes as his expression shifted from anger to confusion then disbelief and then something I couldn’t read.

“Wait,” he said, his voice low. “You…” He took a step toward me, his jaw tightening.

“You two know each other already?” Mom asked, looking all flustered.

I opened my mouth to speak but then closed it as I revised the words in my head before I spat out, “I—I’ve seen him around school.”

“School?” Nate huffed like it was a dirty word. “She’s your daughter?”

“Yes.” Mother affirmed, her eyes darting between us but she said nothing.

He shifted his gaze to Seth, his eyes narrowing. “So that makes us what? Step-siblings?”

The room went dead silent at his words.

My face flushed so fast that it felt like I had fire under my skin. Nate looked straight at me, and for a long second, neither of us said a word.

“Nope.” He said, shaking his head in defiance.

My head was spinning so I had to rest against the wall for support before my legs could give way.

This was way too much for me to handle. Just yesterday, I was just a girl crushed by a rejection.

Today, I was… what? The stepsister of the guy I had been obsessed with since the day he transferred? The same guy who thought I was beneath him?

This wasn’t awkward, it was cruel.

“Can someone explain what the hell is happening?” I finally blurted out, unable to stay quiet anymore.

Nate looked at me, his face unreadable, “You knew who I was?” He sounded like he was accusing me.

“No! God, no. I had no idea.”

“Jessica, sweetie, we didn’t tell you because we didn’t know when he would actually come…” Mom said, rubbing my arm tenderly.

“And you thought it would be better to spring it on me when he walked through the door?” I snapped.

“You couldn’t even give me a heads-up?”

“She didn’t know I was coming either,” Nate said flatly. “Don’t take it out on her.”

Furious as memories of the previous glued even more firmly in my head, I swirled around to face him, “Don’t act like the hero now, I'm speaking to my mother, don't interfere.”

“She is my mother too, I didn’t know you were my sister.” He huffed, rolling his eyes while I scoffed.

My hands were itching to whack him across his face for having the guts to refer to my mother as his.

“We’re not related by blood, so…”

“Jess." Mom yelled.

Before I could fire back, my stepfather growled, “Enough, all of you.”

“Don’t order me around.”

“Oh there you go again with your favourite word, ‘don’t’" I rolled my eyes in disgust while mom kept rubbing my arm, trying to soothe me.

“Can we please sit down and talk like normal people?" Mom pleaded, her eyes going around the three of us but none of us flinched.

A minute later, Nate turned towards the door, “I’m leaving.”

He hadn’t even twisted the knob when Seth spoke again. His voice was hard and cold, and it stopped Nate dead in his tracks.

“It’s either you stay under the same roof with me,” he said, “or risk your shot at playing at the national level.”