Stepbrother Bestie (A Stepbrother Romance Novel) Read online

  STEPBROTHER BESTIE

  By Alycia Taylor

  Copyright 2016. All rights reserved.

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  Chapter 1

  Valerie

  Wow…He really went through with it…I thought as I eyed my stepbrother. He was already home and packing his car, just as he had told us he would when he had stormed away from the dinner table the night before.

  I shook my head and rolled my eyes.

  “What is it?” my boyfriend, Zachary asked me before his eyes crossed between my gaze and down the street to where Shawn was loading his car.

  Looking back at him, I shook my head again. “Oh, just Shawn…He’s in a rebellious stage.”

  I supposed that was the best way to describe it to him, without going through every grievance my stepbrother had.

  Since turning eighteen, life for me had gone from good to great. My mother and stepfather had given me the freedom that I needed to flourish and I was taking advantage of it…responsibly, of course. After all, I still had the rest of the year’s worth of good grades to earn before going off to college.

  I had big ambitions, and everything seemed to be falling into place.

  “What is he doing?” Zachary asked as we both stopped to observe my stepbrother trying to shove the remainder of the boxes into his car while my mother helped him.

  I stared at the two of them for a while before I answered.

  Life for Shawn wasn’t as great as my own was turning out to be. So for the past few years, he was bitter.

  It was a shame that bitterness had caused us to grow apart pretty drastically. Before my parents, well, his father and my mother, got married, we were friends. I had known Shawn since Kindergarten and we were best friends until about ninth grade.

  When our parents first started officially dating about a year before, after years of flirting with one another, we had thought that everything was going to fall right into place. Shawn would finally have an official mother figure and I would have an official father.

  Yet, our grand ideas quickly dissipated after the wedding. As it turns out, living together under the same roof as brother and sister didn’t go so well for us. Our friendship quickly turned to rivalry and that dissolved the relationship we once had to almost nothing.

  We still cared for one another, but not in the way that we thought we always would. I knew there was still a friendship there somewhere, but it was buried under the regret and poison that had worked against it for the past three years.

  Of course, that was far too strange a story to explain to Zachary, since I didn’t quite understand it all myself.

  Therefore, I just answered, finally, “He’s moving out…Going to live with his mom.”

  Zachary stared at me with a hinged jaw and a confused expression. “Doesn’t his mother ignore his very existence?”

  I nodded. “Yeah, pretty much. I doubt she could be very happy with actually having to take care of anyone but herself, but she agreed to have him stay there.” I shrugged, not too sure about my stepbrother’s mother.

  I didn’t particularly like her, because I saw what she had done to Shawn. Growing up, all he wanted was a relationship. She would tell him that she wanted to see him and basically lie to him about how much she missed him. But when he asked her when he was going to see her, she would dodge the question, with an excuse at the ready, almost every time.

  Then, when she actually would be cornered into making plans with her son, especially when he was little, it was all Shawn would talk about. And on the day that she was supposed to come, he would wait for her for hours. I knew this all too well, because I was usually the one waiting with him; she would never show.

  In all the years that I had known and lived with Shawn, I had seen his mother a total of three times. I seriously doubted that Shawn had seen her many more times than that.

  She was a selfish, horrible woman and I couldn’t understand why, even now, he would trust her enough to try to live with her. But I supposed it was really his prerogative. There wasn’t much that I was going to do about him going, especially since lately, for whatever reason he wasn’t even speaking to me.

  This bothered me and I had confided in Zachary about his, but he just told me that he was jealous.

  Though I felt that there was something more than that, I couldn’t disagree with him. I knew that he felt my father treated me better than he treated Shawn, but that certainly wasn’t my fault.

  Zachary shook his head as he watched the discussion play out between my mother and my stepbrother. They were always very close, which was why it seemed so natural when his father and my mother decided to get married; she was already a solid mother figure in Shawn’s life and had been for years.

  “I don’t get it,” Zachary answered finally, “At least his father wants him.”

  Zachary, like me, was raised by a single mother. Both of our fathers had passed away, which was part of what drew me to him in the first place.

  We both had similar experiences and feelings, which made him easy to talk to. Zachary understood not only the feelings I had concerning my father, but also the friendship that Shawn and I had once shared.

  Zachary was not the jealous type, which was good. When we first started dating, Shawn and I were still trying to maintain our friendship and so, I spent a lot of time with him.

  As time went on though, he witnessed the decline in our friendship and was there for me, when I didn’t feel like I could talk to anyone else. It wasn’t like I could talk to my mother about it, because she seemed to be on Shawn’s side a lot of the time. And it just didn’t seem right talking to my stepfather about his son, whether he agreed or not; especially because I was afraid of what I might admit once I started to talk.

  “At least he has the option to live with both of his parents,” I said carefully, shrugging my shoulders in a way that came across far more envious than I had meant it.

  Zachary smiled, though, in an understanding way and closed his hand around my own. He didn’t say anything, but he really didn’t have to. I knew that he understood and I was once again overwhelmed with a sense of thankfulness.

  I looked back at Zachary, leaned up and kissed him, simply needing to feel that extra sense of comfort wash over me. Feeling this comfort and understanding touch made all of the difference in the world to me.

  At least I have Zachary, I thought to myself, relishing in the closeness that the two of us acquired easily.

  With him, I found that special connection that unfortunately, I had once felt very strongly between Shawn and I. Even though I yearned to have that feeling once again with Shawn, I was happy that for now, what I had with Zachary was enough.

  Chapter 2

  Shawn

  God this is going to be terrible, I thought as I packed the last box into my car, which I bought with my own money after working for the past two summers. It wasn’t a great car — in fact, it was just about on its last leg — but I didn’t care. Lesser of the two evils, though…

  It was mine and so far, it had succeeded in getting me anywhere I needed to go.

  My stepmother helped me pack while my father sat in his office, watching the two us, upset that I was leaving.

  “You know, Shawn…” my stepmother, Diana said as she stepped back from the car and put her hands on her hips, staring at me in a slightly more motherly way then I would have liked at this moment, “you don’t
have to do this.”

  I shrugged, trying to keep emotions out of it.

  Even though she had helped me move, it didn’t mean that she agreed with my decision and in a way, I couldn’t blame her. She had been more of a mother to me than my own flesh and blood ever was, but I needed a change of scenery.

  It wasn’t a good environment for me or the family. I had learned to despise my stepsister for being daddy’s little girl, when he wasn’t even her real father, and resented my father for treating a girl who wasn’t even his real daughter better than he treated me.

  My life wasn’t always like that though. Once upon a time, not all that long ago, I had one parent who really cared for me. My father was a great man and always treated me well.

  However, then he had to go and get married, which changed everything for me. This move, really, was just a very long time coming.

  It was almost three years to the day, actually. My father and stepmother always made a big deal out of their anniversary and I had no doubt they were in love. I just wasn’t feeling it. While everyone else’s lives seemed to get better that day, my life took a turn for the worst.

  I liked the life my father and I had, but when he got married, I realized that I wasn’t enough. He started to change, which only compounded the estranged nature of what was once a very strong relationship.

  Yet, I had nothing against my stepmother, or really even my father marrying Diana. In fact, out of everyone, I was closest to my stepmother then I had ever been to anyone; and out of everyone in the household, I knew that I would miss her probably the most.

  I had known her for most of my life, and she was the one constant influence who didn’t do a paradigm shift the moment she and my father said “I do.”

  But after much consideration, I realized that this move was just something I had to do.

  Still, I watched as she gave me a look of warning before she moved in close to me and placed her hand on my arm. She sighed. “I know that these past three years have been rough on you and I wish I knew how to make it better.”

  “It’s not you,” I said before looking down at the ground. “I assure you.”

  Even though I didn’t look up at her face, I was sure that her lips were pursed in the silence that came before another deep breath. “Your father means well, Shawn.”

  “Then how come you can tell me what to do and try to help, without making me feel like I am the black sheep of the family? He alienates me and I’m sick of it.”

  At this, my stepmother turned her head and stared at me with intensity before she asked in an honest, yet revealing way, “You think your mother is going to treat you better?”

  Hearing her say this, I felt my shoulders slouch as the truth of her words sunk in. If anyone was qualified to speak the truth about my mother, especially to me, it was Diana. She had been with my father and I through every missed birthday and disappointment since I was five. It was her that was there to fill the gap, even before she married, or even dated my father.

  Diana had never let me down. Not even once. I might have not liked what she had to say, but regardless, she was always there for me.

  She, at the very least, knew how to treat both her daughter and her stepson equally, without showing obvious favoritism.

  “No,” I replied stiffly before looking back up at her and adding, “But there’s no surprise there. With Dad, our relationship has changed and I don’t like it. My mother has always tried to push me aside, so I might feel more at home there.”

  Diana chuckled in a strange way. “I don’t think that’s a very good reason. After all, your father has watched you grow up. Your mother doesn’t even know you. She lives in the same town and you’re lucky to receive a text from her.”

  I shrugged. “Yeah, well, that’s my decision.”

  She nodded and rubbed my arm in something of a supportive gesture. “And that’s your decision, Shawn. You know that you will always have a home here with us, but if you feel like this is something that you have to do, then I support you.”

  “Do you think my father ever will?” I asked, even though I didn’t want to let on that I actually cared. Still, I was pretty certain that my stepmother knew better anyway.

  She shrugged and answered encouragingly, “I think you just need to give him some time. I know that Valerie and I are going to miss you though, so make sure to come back and visit.”

  I smiled at her, but didn’t say anything that I was feeling. I just shrugged and laughed. “You know I’m just going to be across town, right? It’s not like I’m moving to Africa…” Then, I teased, “What are you going to do when Val and I go to college?”

  “Cry,” she answered quickly, before a small laugh. “A lot.”

  I smiled at her and shook my head. “Well, you’ve got a little bit of time left still, so maybe you’ll get sick of our faces before then.”

  “Never,” she answered as tears began to well in her eyes. After another heavy sigh, she clapped her hand on my arm solidly. “Go. Now. Before I bribe you into staying, or something.”

  I smiled and gave her a hug. “Thank you, Diana. For everything.” I quickly turned around and got into the car, before she really did say anything that would convince me to stay.

  As I left, I spied my stepsister, Valerie, watching from a few houses down, alongside her boyfriend, Zachary.

  The two of them were making out, which made me roll my eyes as I passed them. Even still, I waved, but they paid me no mind.

  He was an okay guy and everything, but just like everything else in Valerie’s life she could do no wrong when it came to picking a boyfriend. To my father, but even to my stepmother at times, Zachary was wonder boy, while I was always the underdog who never seemed to rise to the occasion.

  I had gotten a lot of, “Why can’t you be more like Zachary…” from my father, which really angered me. He got good grades and seemed to excel fluidly at any sport he tried, while still managing to have just enough time for Valerie.

  It was exceedingly nauseating.

  After all, I wasn’t Zachary and even though there was a part of me that did want to be a little more like Zachary in certain ways, I was never going to be like him. I wished people would just stop implying that was a possibility.

  Granted, I hadn’t had a particularly bad life. I knew from some of my friends, things that I heard and the way my own mother treated me when I was little, that things could be worse. But under my father’s unforgiving thumb was just not how I chose to live my life. I didn’t want to have my father looking over my shoulder anymore and pointing out every single one of my mistakes. I wanted to be able to enjoy what I had and take pride in my own accomplishments, as small as they may have seemed to everyone else but me.

  I was also sick of Valerie outdoing me at everything.

  In a way, I longed for the flippant nature that my birth mother showed. I didn’t necessarily need to have anyone’s approval. I just wanted to do my own thing without having the constant stain of someone’s disapproval following every move I made.

  I figured living with my mother, which would basically be like living by myself, I would have the freedom I sought and it would give everyone a chance to cool down.

  I was angry, yes, but there was a deep-seated reason for that anger that had very little to do with the actual people involved, but rather the situation.

  Therefore, I decided that if I was able to move away, I could lessen the burden of that anger, which would make me able to enjoy the people who I knew, deep down, still truly cared for me.

  I wasn’t even off of my father’s street before I heard my cellphone ring. I answered the phone and put it on speaker, but I knew who it was before I even said hello.

  “Hi, Dalilah,” I yelled into the phone.

  “Did you leave yet?” my girlfriend asked, after a pause, “It sounds like you’re in the car.” Dalilah was a good girl, but had wild hair. She was the one who had encouraged me to go to my mother’s house, but I wouldn’t dare tell anyone
that. My family already disliked her as it was.

  “Yeah,” I said. “I’m on my way.”

  “Good!” she answered, sounding relieved. “Do you need help unpacking?”

  “No…I should be good,” I replied, now starting to get nervous. My mother knew that I was coming, but after not seeing her in almost a year, I wasn’t exactly sure what to expect.

  Now that I had officially left, I was beginning to think that I had made an impulsive decision. What if she changes her mind? I thought, feeling slightly panicked. “Hey, listen, can I call you back?”

  “Sure…” She sounded a little put off, but I didn’t care. I needed some time to think and I knew that talking to my girlfriend wasn’t really going to help.

  She was beautiful and alluring, but had a temper and a touch of a controlling personality that could be a little rough. Still, she was always there for me whenever I needed her, so I couldn’t help but want to stay with her.

  “We’re still on for later though, right?” she demanded.

  “Yeah, of course!” I hoped that I could actually keep that promise.

  The truth was that with my mother, I could never tell what kind of mood she would be in when I got there, or what kinds of plans she would have. Likely, she was going out with her friends and couldn’t care less what her new roommate was doing, but I could never be too sure. Therefore, I knew that only time would tell.

  Chapter 3

  Valerie

  I was feeling fantastic! It was about a week after Shawn had moved out and I had just had my molars removed.

  It also helped that I had gotten to take the day off from school. As a senior especially, even one who valued my grades as highly as I did, it was always nice to only have to go to class four days out of the week.

  I was high from the laughing gas and I found everything absolutely hilarious. On my way out, my mother met me at the door.

  “How are you feeling?” she asked me.

  “Weeeee!” I answered. “No pain, Momma Bear, none at all!” I let out a roar of laughter, which made my mother roll her eyes.