My Volatile Stepbrother

"You're marrying him?! Mom, you can't do that." "Don't be silly, sweetheart! We are in love. I know you don't understand why the rush, but Brad is just ..." Cassie's mom went googly-eyed, thinking about her soon-to-be husband. Cassie exhaled loudly in disgust. "He is Chetum's father. You know what that means. He'll be awful to me.” "Well, you're saving money by living off-campus, so unless you want to pay for your room and board there—" "No, mom," Cassie said, putting her hand up and adjusting her glasses. She was happy not to work while taking five university courses. It gave her time to go to her chemistry and biology clubs. "Honey, listen," she began, placing her hand on her daughter's shoulder. The earrings she had on were gaudy and her blond hair looked brassy. "I want you to learn to accept when things aren't perfect." "As if I can't accept that. Nothing in my life is perfect." "Except for your brilliant brain, Cassiopeia." If she was using Cassie's real name, Audrey meant what she said and Audrey was being honest about her confidence in Brad. Still, Cassie wanted once more to beg her mother not to do this. It felt like her father was barely buried and Audrey Nichols, soon to be Audrey Staples, was already jumping into a new marriage. It didn't feel right. Of course, Cassie couldn't completely blame her. Brad had money and he was quite handsome, even if he was that brutish kind of guy that Cassie couldn't stand. And then there was his son, Chetum. He was an entitled brat who was cruel to everyone in high school, including Cassie, and continued to be in college. It was as though he were following Cassie around like a dark stain that wouldn’t come out. That perfectly described how she felt the first time she saw him walking around Dale University, the college she considered to be her safe place. Now there was the matter of him becoming her stepbrother which made her skin crawl. He was too close for comfort. Cassie pulled her fingers through her shoulder-length plumb-brown hair. This was going to be nerve-racking, but she had to ask, "So, when is the wedding?" Sweat was collecting at her mid-back and dripping. "It's in a few days," said a different voice. Audrey and Cassie both turned around and there was Chetum. He grabbed some of the grapes from the table and began tossing one juicy chartreuse orb after another into his mouth. "Mom, what's going on?" Cassie asked in utter confusion. Audrey cracked a smile that looked more like a wince. Cassie stared at Chetum. He chewed with an evil grin on his face and laughed. "Don't you know?" he asked the room. When Audrey didn't say anything, Chetum continued, "We're moving in." "What? When?" Cassie asked, gulping. "Tonight, but not until after my game." "That's right," another voice chimed in. Cassie watched as Brad entered. Brad walked over to Audrey and gave her a kiss. The smooching sounds they were making were causing Cassie to cringe. Her upset was visible to Chetum, who didn't miss out on the opportunity to poke fun. "Does that upset you?" he asked. Cassie scowled at him and then rushed upstairs to her room. She felt horrible. She opened her chemistry book and did her best to study but her hands were shaking. After adjusting her glasses, she threw in some ear buds and listened to lo-fi music to help her concentrate. The bass began to fill her head and the surround sound carried her into another world. Soon she was tapping her foot to the beat and temporarily forgot about the drama that had just become her life. As long as she had school, she could dream of getting her degree, and then escape the town of Lincoln once and for all. When she turned on the computer and navigated to her Brightspace account, she found the Biology lessons the professor had put up for extra credit. She began studying the bones in the body, determined to have them memorized by the end of the week. She was bopping her head to the music as she clicked one right answer after another. The animated anatomical skeleton was congratulating her on a job well done after each accurate choice. A bar beside him was now filled with green indicating her correct answers. When she answered another question right, his bones were tossed into the bar. Cassie was grinning at the monitor when she felt a tap on her shoulder. Upon turning around, she saw Chetum. She yanked her white earbuds, pulling out some of her hair in the process. "Wh-What are you doing in my room?" she asked him. He had a half smile of wickedness on his face as he chewed gum, glancing at her up and down. His amber eyes were glittering with glee at the prospect of terrorizing her. "This is going to be my house soon, so I figured I'd inspect the place." "N-Not in here you w-won't." Cassie had a slight stutter from when she was a kid but had gone to speech therapy to work it out. Now it only cropped up when she was extremely nervous. "I'll d-do what I w-want," he said, cruelly mocking her. Continuing with his intrusion, he began touching her framed poster of the periodic table and collectible Star Wars figures mounted on a shelf over her bureau. Cassie was trembling as he picked over her beloved trinkets. What sub-humanoid creature does this kind of thing? He wouldn’t listen to logic if she tried to explain how upsetting this was. He was too thick. What was she going to do? As he made his way closer to Toddy, her favorite teddy bear, Cassie was terrified he’d damage the toy. Toddy’s maple-brown curly fur was slightly dull in places and his right foot had almost come off despite multiple repairs. She watched Chetum touch the bear’s ear with his tanned thumb and index finger. "Ch-Chetum, don't touch that," she begged. "What? This stupid thing? Haven’t you almost graduated from Dale U? That would make you twenty-two—" "I'm twenty," Cassie corrected him. "What? That doesn’t—” “I skipped a few years,” she said, proudly. “Well, you're too old to have stuffed animals!" "My father gave that to me," Cassie said. "Oh, yeah? Your dead dad?" he asked. He tilted his head, tossing his thick ash-blond bangs to the side. Cassie noticed that he had a bruise on his neck. Probably from his neanderthal football practice. She couldn't believe people still engaged in such a barbaric sport. She held back tears as she tried to formulate the best response. "Chet?" Brad called from downstairs. "What's going on, dude? You've got a game to suit up for!"