I clench my teeth. “About the same.” I hate these conversations. The awkward, stilted flow of forced words from a broken relationship. It’s almost like we’re strangers, and I don’t know if it will ever change. I don’t even know if I want it to. I hate him.
After throwing his jacket in the car, he sighs and looks up at me. “I wish you’d decided years ago to go to OSU instead of changing in your last year of undergrad. Would have saved me thousands in out-of-state tuition.”
It takes everything in me not to go off on him, to explode out all the feelings I’ve been holding back for years.
I shrug, the tension thickening between us. “Yeah, well, it’s where I’m going to get my Master’s, so I figured why not go now?”
“That, and your sister is going there.” I hate his tone. The way he accentuates that one word.
“She’s not my sister.” It’s an automatic response, and one I’ve practically growled at my father. Too late to take it back now.
A triumphant sneer forms on his lips. “The law says so, and everyone knows she’s your stepsister.”
His attitude screams out that he knows I want Kira. Not that it matters. I don’t care what people are going to think anymore.
“Fuck that.”
His eyes flash as he slams the car door and stomps over to me. We’re eye to eye, but that doesn’t mean he stops trying to appear larger than me.
“Listen and listen good, Brayden. I am your fucking father, and you will respect me and what I’m about to say.”
I let out a harsh laugh and shake my head, my eyes hard. “After all the shit you’ve done? You lost that a long time ago.”
He grabs hold of my shirt and pushes me back against the side of my car. Face inches from mine, the explosive, testosterone-fueled rage I know all too well—one of his character traits I inherited—emanates from him. My fists are balled up, ready to lay the fucker out.
“Stop acting like a little spoiled-ass punk kid. Grow the hell up. You’re twenty-one now, and that means only two more years of tuition from me before you have to pay for it yourself.”
He pushes off me and heads back to his car.
“Fine by me.”
“One last thing.” He opens the door again and points a finger at me. “If you want to stay in this house, make sure you keep your fucking dick away from your sister.” He slips into the car, slamming the door, then revs the engine as he backs out.
My nostrils flare with each harsh breath, nails digging into my palms. The pain is the only thing that kept me from hitting him, from getting out all of my anger and frustration. Blood thumps through my veins as I stand there, waiting to calm down before I tear through the house and do the exact opposite of his words.
An anger fuck will not win me any points with Kira, especially for our first time.
Instead I stare down at the concrete beneath my feet, anger boiling off me as I attempt to blow the driveway up with my mind.
When it doesn’t work, and I give in to the fact that I do not have superpowers, I head inside. Once in the shade of the garage, I notice Sonia’s SUV parked there. Another oddity for a Wednesday afternoon.
The thought that maybe they were having a little afternoon delight flies right out of my head when I walk into the kitchen from the garage.
Sonia stands at the kitchen island, shoulders shaking. She gasps at the sound of the door shutting and turns to me, her fingers quickly wiping the tears from her cheeks.
“Brayden, you’re back.” She gives me her best attempt at a smile. “Any luck?”
I nod, my hands twitching at my sides to offer her some comfort, but not knowing how. The hurt on her face makes me feel bad for my stepmom for the first time. Sonia didn’t know what she was getting into when she started sleeping with my father. I’ve been pissed at her for years, but the sad expression she’s been wearing the last few weeks is melting my anger because it reminds me so much of what my mom went through.
That fault lies with my father, not her. I see that now. Vulnerable and lonely, she was easy prey. And I know the only damn reason he married her was to have the perks of a wife again.
“Yeah, I’ll be just a few buildings down from Ryan and Dana.”
Her fake smile reaches her eyes as it turns into a real one. “That’s great. I’m happy you’ll be close.” Her gaze flickers to the clock on the wall. “I need to be getting back to work.”
“Home for lunch?”
She picks her purse up from the counter, along with the keys laying next to it. “I somehow forgot my phone this morning, so your father and I met for lunch.”
I step aside, opening up the path to the door.
“Dinner will be a little late tonight.”
I give her an honest smile. “Don’t worry about it. I know how to feed myself.” I did it for years before he married you.
She reaches out and squeezes my arm. “Thank you.”
After she leaves, I stay in the middle of the kitchen, listening to the sounds of the house, thinking. Lost in thought, lost in memories, lost in dreams. There’s a duality going on, deja vu like energy buzzing through me.
The click of a door, followed by the sound of water rushing through the pipes in one of the walls, reminds me I’m not alone.
She’s here. Upstairs.