Stepbrother Bestie (A Stepbrother Romance Novel) Read online

  Confused, I narrowed my eyes and thought aloud, “Do you think it could have been a mistake?” Then, I amended, “But that’s a lot of steps to take to make an error like that, I think.”

  Valerie agreed. “I told her that she needs to come over and we need to work this out together.”

  I nodded, still thinking about the phone. “It makes sense that someone could have tampered with her phone…” Then, for the question that I really wanted to know. “If your mother didn’t write the note and kick you out of your house, then who did?”

  At that, we heard the front door open. I tensed and whipped around, ready for a fight, but soon realized that it was just my mother.

  She looked at my pugnacious stance strangely, but either did not notice or chose not to mention my injuries. Instead, she replied, “Different girl, huh?” She gave a sly smile and I rolled my eyes, hoping that Valerie was not offended by her comment.

  “Mom, this is Valerie,” I answered.

  My mother shrugged. “I know. It’s just that you had another girl here before. I was curious about it.”

  Valerie said hello to my mother, but not much else. That was perfectly fine with my mother though, since she had always viewed her and her mother as the reason she and I never had a good relationship; despite the fact that if she really thought that was true, then she was even crazier than I gave her credit for.

  “How are you, Mom?” I asked, trying to be causal and end the awkwardness that my mother was purposefully creating between Valerie and me.

  “Fine…” she answered and rolled her eyes. She observed the remnants of Valerie’s belongings around the house. “I didn’t know she was staying here.”

  “She just got here,” I answered flatly. “You haven’t been home.” I wasn’t surprised that my mother noticed this right away though. After all, she had a knack for finding women’s clothes that didn’t belong to her. With the company that she kept most of the time, she had to know whether her boyfriend was sleeping around, or if she was the only woman in his life.

  It was sad that I even knew that about my mother, but it was a fact that was common knowledge.

  Instead of acknowledging my comment, she looked directly at Valerie. “Why are you here?”

  Valerie looked at me as though she was slightly ashamed, or perhaps just confused, considering the situation that we found ourselves in and was unable to accurately explain the reason for her being here.

  I stepped in and answered immediately, “She got kicked out.”

  At first, my mother looked surprised, but then that expression faded and she shrugged before she grumbled, “Paul is really cleaning house, isn’t he?”

  “Paul?” Valerie asked and then looked at me apologetically as though she had not meant to say anything.

  I was curious too though. “What are you talking about? Why would you think that Paul had anything to do with this?”

  “Because he was the one who kicked me out of the house,” my mother answered, as though she was revealing something that I should have known a long time ago, as though just a casual reminder. Staring at my blank expression, she must have either realized that I didn’t know for the first time, or decided that perhaps the way she told me wasn’t the best, because she moved toward me. “Shawn…Honey, I didn’t leave you. Not like your father told you I did.”

  “What?” I demanded, not sure if I should believe the woman who had never been there for me throughout my entire life over the man who had at least raised me and gave me a good life for the majority of it.

  “Yes,” she answered, now slightly upset by the rush of emotions that seemed to be spiraling back to her. She took it upon herself to sit down before she continued. “You see, right after you were born, your father and I were having some marital problems. I had a touch of post-partum depression and he was using it to his advantage. He was egging me on, telling me that I was an unfit mother and wife. One night, I was so upset, I demanded to know what I should do and he told me to leave. Afterward, whenever I would try to make it back into your life, he would tell me that it would be worse for you if I just randomly showed up. He told me that you didn’t need me in your life and for a long time I believed him.” She shrugged. “Then, you came to live with me.”

  Skeptical, I answered harshly, “Yeah and you never actually even tried to work with me. You just came in and out of my life randomly, even though I wanted you there.”

  Seeming upset by this, my mother’s face fell before she answered, “I’m sorry, Shawn. I could hardly get past your father. He was the one who made everything so difficult for us. He was the one who told me that you didn’t want to see me. He was the one who kept us apart all of these years.”

  At first I didn’t respond. It was a lot to take in and I was very nervous that she was just trying to make things worse. After all, she had never even tried before now. She would always cancel and my father would always be there, telling me how much she loved me and how much she wished she could be there. I had always thought he was just lying to make me feel better, but the thought that he was actually the mastermind behind my ultimately motherless childhood was a far more intimidating option.

  When I didn’t respond right away, she sighed and shrugged. “Look, I know this isn’t a conversation that we should have in front of anyone and I understand that it is a lot to take in, but I am telling you the truth when I insist that your father is the reason that I was such an absent parent. I never wanted to be this way.”

  I narrowed my eyes at her before I finally got up the courage to ask, “Then why are you this way? Why now? After all this time…After all of this time that I have been living in your house and you were still absent, why would I believe you?”

  My mother was quiet for a moment before she answered, “Honestly, I was afraid that you would leave. I was terrified to upset you.” She shrugged. “I’ve had a very long life. I have gotten into some situations that I am not proud of and I have some habits that I wish I could denounce, but right now, all I want you to do is to worry about your father and what he is capable of. He is a master manipulator and I do not want you to get caught up in it.” She shook her head. “It just isn’t worth it.”

  Chapter 37

  Valerie

  I had watched the scene unfold before me and I wasn’t quite sure what to make of it. I certainly didn’t want to say anything, because I knew that it wasn’t my place.

  In all of the time that I had known Shawn’s family, I had never seen his mother act like this. While I couldn’t say it was a welcomed change, since it muddled everything up and brought more questions out of the situation than answers, it was something that I just couldn’t shake. There seemed to be something going on that was too strange to comprehend.

  Much like I am sure Shawn was feeling, I had the sense that my entire world was being turned upside down and I wasn’t sure who I could or even really wanted to trust.

  As Shawn’s mother walked into her room, Shawn stared after her with an odd expression. I couldn’t help but wonder if this was what was supposed to come to pass.

  If what Shawn’s mother was saying was true, then my mother needed to get as far away from Shawn’s father as possible. Instead of taking care of her, he was tricking and manipulating her; to what end, I had no idea, but I knew that it couldn’t be good.

  After all, if the hurt I saw in Shawn’s mother’s eyes was genuine, then his father had taken everything from her, every single time she had ever tried to retrieve it; and now, it seemed like he was trying to do the same to my mom.

  Therefore, when Shawn decided to leave the room without another word, after his mother did the same, I figured that I should call my mother and see how quickly she could get over here.

  I waited a few minutes until I was alone and pulled out my cellphone. I called my mother to tell her to be right over and she said that she would have no problem with that.

  The few minutes it took for her to make it to Shawn’s mother’s house was agonizing. Wit
h the new, increasingly plausible idea that Paul was behind everything bad that was going on inside the family, I could not help but think that there was something very strange going on. With that thought came a whole slew of possibilities circulating around inside my head that made me fearful about what exactly was taking my mother so long.

  But I didn’t want to seem paranoid, so I refrained from calling her phone.

  However, finally, I heard a knock on the door and I ran to answer it. My mother seemed slightly nervous and asked if I was all right.

  I hugged her and told her I was, but that we really needed to talk.

  Once we were settled in the living room, I told her everything that I knew about Paul and what Shawn’s mom had told us. Overhearing us, Shawn also came out of wherever he was and seconded my fears. “I think that it was Paul who messed with your phone and wrote the note to Valerie.”

  My mother stared at him for a long moment before she shook her head. “I don’t think so…Not Paul.” She breathed in deeply and let a ragged breath loose before she added, “I just can’t imagine…I know you’re angry with him, but I just can’t see why he would do that to me…and to you both.”

  I shrugged, trying to be diplomatic in the idea that both of them were having a discussion that I still had not taken a side of. True, the more I thought about it and the more that I thought about the way that Shawn’s mother had acted, the more it seemed as though there could be a sneaky side to Paul that none of us could have predicted. But then again, that sounded so absurd.

  Paul was such a nice, mild-mannered man, except when it came to his son and the few times that his ex-wife was mentioned.

  That was when I had seen a whole new side to him. I had always thought that he was just frustrated with Shawn and angry with his ex-wife, but right now, I was contemplating the idea that there was far more to my stepfather than ever met my eye.

  My mother still looked skeptical, but in the silence that ensued between the three of us, she seemed less sure of her original conviction.

  “Well, he was the only one who had access to my phone…and none of the other contacts were tampered with…” She shrugged. “I called a few of them, just to make sure and everyone answered.” After a few more moments of quiet thought, she looked between Shawn. “But why would he do that? What purpose would it hold?”

  Shawn offered a consoling shrug. “If it’s anything like the reason my mother gave, it’s so that he could take total control. I don’t know what his end game is, but if any of this is true, and it is looking like it is, then it can’t be good for any of us.”

  My mother sighed and shook her head. “I just don’t understand. Everything was going so well. We were finally a family after all these years…why would he take it from me?” She passed her eyes between Shawn and I before she amended, “From us?”

  I didn’t want to believe it either and so, I carefully placed my hand on my mother’s shoulder, unable to imagine what she was going through. “Well, do you think that anyone else could have done it?”

  At first, she shrugged before she answered carefully, “I don’t know, but I do think that our next stop should be to ask Paul a few questions.”

  After a few seconds of thought, I nodded. “I think that is a very good idea.”

  Chapter 38

  Shawn

  “What are they doing here?” my father asked as he eyed the two of us coming in behind Valerie’s mother. He was watching the news, his nightly ritual.

  “They have come home for a chat,” Valerie’s mother answered, almost cautiously. Even though she had tried to make it abundantly clear that this had nothing to do with Paul and that we must be mistaken, regardless of the mounting evidence against him, there was still a sense of distrust in her voice.

  He spat out a bitter laugh. “Well, I think that my son said quite enough when he moved out and apparently, Valerie decided to follow.”

  I watched as Valerie’s mother drew in a long breath and then pulled the note that Valerie had given her for proof. She brought it over toward him and pushed it into his hand. “Did you do this?” she asked, obviously trying to keep her composure.

  He glared at it for a long time, before his lips curved into a smile. “No. I didn’t write this. Why?”

  “Because I couldn’t imagine who else would. I didn’t…And no one else lives here.”

  Casually, my father shrugged and ushered toward me before he answered, “Maybe he did it. You never can tell. He’s sneaky.”

  I felt my blood pressure begin to rise as my fist clenched. I have been taking this kind of abuse from my father for too long. I certainly wasn’t about to take any more of it. He wasn’t going to make me out to be the bad guy this time. I was trying to help. I narrowed my eyes at him and stepped closer, but before I could say anything, Valerie’s mother answered him.

  “He didn’t do it,” she replied solidly. This made me feel better about the situation. I figured that even if she was upset with me, she was still willing to help me figure out what was going on and that was important. She believed me and right now, she seemed to be the only person on the planet, besides Valerie, who had any kind of faith in me.

  I calmed, feeling that at least someone had my back and sunk back a little to watch the scene unfold.

  At this, my father turned off the television and stood up, now facing the three of us. Valerie had just come along to bear witness, because she really didn’t want to get involved, but she did want confirmation that what my mother said was correct.

  I wanted the same validation, but I was a little more willing to participate, if I needed to, in order to have the truth come out.

  However, I did realize that since my father had cut literally everyone else off, it was ultimately between him and Valerie’s mother. She needed him to tell her what happened. We tried to convince her already, but she wanted to hear it for herself.

  Therefore, for as much as I could stand, I wanted to remain in the background. There was no reason for me to butt in when I didn’t have to. I remained quiet.

  “How can you be so sure?” he demanded, after a condescending laugh.

  “Because I know him. And right now, I’m thinking that I might know him even better than you do,” Valerie’s mother replied. “But this isn’t about him. This isn’t really even about Valerie.”

  “Of course it is!” he hissed bitterly. “Everything is always about her.”

  “No, Paul. You’re wrong. If this is about Valerie in the way that I fear, then the only problem here is between you and me.”

  “You know, Diana, she could have written this,” he answered, thrusting it with his hand.

  “I did not!” Valerie hissed. “If I wanted to leave, I would have just left!”

  Her mother put her hand up to silence the outburst before she looked back at her husband. “No, Paul. Again, she didn’t write it either.”

  “Oh and what are you? Some kind of teenage whisperer? You’re pretty naive to think that they wouldn’t pull something like that to tear us apart, just so they could be together…as gross as it is…” With that, my father’s lips curled upward in disgust as he looked between me and Valerie.

  “No. I’m not naïve. I’m very observant and just like I know your son, I also know my daughter. I’ve spent far more time with them and don’t you dare say that their love is anything but beautiful!”

  At this, everyone in the room gaped at my stepmother. I certainly didn’t expect that.

  “They are just doing it to spite us!” my father insisted angrily.

  “No. They’re not,” she answered. “I have watched the two of them try to navigate their feelings for one another since before we were even dating. While I hoped, for the sake of our marriage, that things would go differently, I can’t say that I’m surprised. The only thing that I could think of that did make me curious was the fact that they didn’t do something like this sooner.” She shook her head. “Seriously, think about it. You have been completely unfair to Shawn f
or years and he has tried to be good until now. Doesn’t that say something for the kind of man that he is?”

  “Yeah,” my father spat back, “He’s weak. He couldn’t just pick any woman in the world. He had to go after your daughter.”

  I felt my teeth clench as I growled at him. “I am not weak, Dad!”

  At this, all eyes were on me. I hadn’t meant to speak, but his comment made me so angry that I couldn’t help but try to prove him wrong.

  “Oh, really? Then why are you always the one to mess everything up for everyone. All you do is leave a cloud of destruction in your path. You’re just like your mother! All she ever did was build her life up, just so she could tear it apart. She had you and took off and you brought Diana and me together, probably just so you could watch us fall apart.” He narrowed his eyes at me and stared me down. “You’re not stupid, but you are pretty conniving…” He smiled in a wicked way and took a few steps toward me, “You’re enjoying this, aren’t you.”

  “Just tell us the truth!” I answered, trying not to say anything that I was going to regret. Even though my blood was boiling and my level of aggravation was skyrocketing, having all of those things said about me that wasn’t true, I refused to stoop to his level. Now that all eyes were on me the only thing I wanted to do was ensure that the truth was spoken. That was it. “Did you write the letter?”

  My father ignored me, continuing to taunt me with his words. “You probably don’t even like Valerie. You are probably just doing all of this so that you can make the world fall apart. You strive in destruction and chaos. While the rest of the world burns, you think you are going to rise from the ashes. Your mother thought the same thing, but look where she ended up…”

  I asked him again, “Did you mess with Diana’s phone?”

  “You’re pathetic!” he yelled.

  “Answer my question,” I replied, trying to stay level-headed as my father moved swiftly into my personal space. He was crowding me profusely, and it was all I could do to keep from hitting him.