Chapter 3
1452 Words
I didn’t sleep much that night.
Every time I closed my eyes, I kept remembering Adrian’s face. The way he looked at me across the dinner table. The small smile he gave me like he already knew something I didn’t. It made my stomach twist in a way I couldn’t explain.
Which was annoying.
Because he was my stepbrother.
And stepbrothers were definitely not supposed to make your heart beat faster.
I rolled over in bed and buried my face in my pillow.
“Ugh,” I groaned quietly.
Buttons jumped onto the mattress like she had been waiting for me to wake up. She stepped on my stomach, which hurt way more than it should have.
“Buttons,” I whispered. “You’re not helping.”
She just meowed at me like she disagreed.
Sunlight slipped through the curtains, lighting up the messy disaster that used to be my room. Boxes everywhere. Clothes half folded. Books stacked in random towers that looked like they might fall over if I breathed too hard.
I sat up and rubbed my eyes.
“New house,” I muttered to myself. “New life. Totally normal.”
Except it didn’t feel normal.
Not with Adrian walking around the house like he belonged in every room.
I shook my head quickly and climbed out of bed. No thinking about him. Today I was going to unpack and act like a normal person.
Totally normal.
Five minutes later I was sitting on the floor staring at the same box of books and thinking about Adrian again.
This was getting ridiculous.
A knock sounded on my door.
I froze.
“Yeah?” I called.
The door opened and Adrian stepped inside holding two mugs.
“Morning,” he said casually.
Why did he always look so calm?
I glanced at the mugs. “Is that coffee?”
“Yep.”
He walked over and handed one to me.
The smell hit me instantly warm and sweet. Vanilla.
“Oh,” I said. “Thanks.”
“No problem.”
He leaned against the wall like he had all the time in the world while I tried to figure out how to drink coffee without looking awkward.
Which, for the record, is very hard when someone like Adrian is staring at you.
“You planning on unpacking today?” he asked.
“I already started,” I said quickly.
He looked around the room.
Then he raised one eyebrow.
“This is started?”
I glared at him.
“Yes.”
“Interesting definition.”
“Wow,” I said dryly. “You’re so helpful.”
He smiled a little.
“I try.”
I took a sip of coffee so I wouldn’t say something stupid.
Which was also a mistake because the coffee was hot and I almost choked.
Adrian laughed softly.
“You okay?”
“Yes,” I coughed.
“Sure you are.”
He pushed himself off the wall and picked up one of my book stacks.
“You don’t have to…” I started.
“Relax,” he said. “It’s just books.”
He carried them to the shelf while I watched, trying very hard not to notice things like how his sleeves were rolled up or how easy everything looked when he did it.
I looked away quickly.
After a few minutes he set the last book down.
“There,” he said. “Less chaos.”
I glanced at the shelf.
“…Okay that actually helped.”
“I know.”
I narrowed my eyes.
“You’re very confident.”
“Someone has to be.”
Before I could answer, he walked toward the door.
“See you downstairs later,” he said.
Then he left.
And the room suddenly felt way too quiet.
By afternoon the house felt busy again.
Dad was on a phone call somewhere.
My stepmom was rearranging something in the living room.
And I was carrying laundry down the hallway.
Which is when I turned the corner and almost ran straight into Adrian.
The basket tilted.
A jar nearly fell.
But his hand shot out and caught it before it hit the floor.
“Whoa,” he said.
My heart was racing.
“Sorry,” I said quickly.
His fingers were still around the jar.
And mine.
We both noticed at the same time.
I pulled my hand back like I had touched fire.
“I had it,” I said.
He smirked.
“Did you though?”
“Yes.”
“Looked pretty dangerous.”
“It was not dangerous.”
“Sure.”
I crossed my arms.
“You’re very annoying.”
“And yet you keep running into me.”
“That was an accident.”
He leaned a little closer.
“Was it?”
My brain immediately stopped working.
“I…what?”
He laughed quietly and stepped back.
“Relax. I’m kidding.”
I grabbed the laundry basket and rushed past him.
Why did he always do that?
Make everything feel normal and weird at the same time.
Later we ended up in the kitchen together again.
Which seemed to be happening a lot.
I was trying to organize the pantry while Adrian made coffee.
He kept humming quietly.
It was distracting.
“Do you always hum like that?” I asked.
“Like what?”
“Like you’re in a movie.”
He looked amused.
“Didn’t know I sounded that dramatic.”
“You do.”
“Good to know.”
I reached for a jar at the exact same time he did.
Our hands bumped again.
We both froze for half a second.
Then I pulled my hand away.
“Sorry,” I said automatically.
Adrian chuckled.
“You apologize a lot.”
“Well maybe you should stop standing in my way.”
“Maybe you should stop rushing.”
I rolled my eyes.
“You’re impossible.”
“And you’re cute when you’re mad.”
My brain shut down again.
“I’m not”
He grinned.
“Very convincing.”
I turned back to the pantry so he wouldn’t see my face.
Why did he say things like that so casually?
Like they didn’t mean anything.
The rest of the afternoon passed like that.
Small conversations.
Almost bumping into each other.
Looking away too quickly when our eyes met.
By evening my brain felt exhausted.
Not from work.
From Adrian.
I went upstairs and collapsed onto my bed.
Buttons jumped beside me and started purring immediately.
“Don’t look at me like that,” I told her.
She blinked slowly.
My phone buzzed.
Adrian: Survived your first full day?
I sighed and typed back.
Me: Barely.
Adrian: Wow. I thought you were tougher than that.
Me: I am.
Adrian: Hmm.
A second later another message appeared.
Adrian: Come downstairs.
My heart skipped.
Me: Why?
Adrian: Movie night.
I stared at the phone.
This felt like a bad idea.
A very bad idea.
But five minutes later I was walking down the stairs anyway.
Adrian was already sitting on the couch with a stack of DVDs.
“Hey,” he said.
“Hey.”
He held one up.
“Pick.”
I sat down on the other side of the couch and pointed at one randomly.
“That one.”
“Bold choice.”
We started the movie.
At first everything felt awkward.
Like we were both pretending to focus on the screen.
Halfway through I reached for the popcorn bowl.
So did he.
Our fingers brushed again.
My heart jumped.
Adrian looked at me.
Not smiling this time.
Just watching.
“You’re really bad at sharing popcorn,” he said quietly.
“I got there first.”
“Did you though?”
I grabbed a handful quickly.
“See?”
He laughed.
The tension in the room didn’t go away though.
If anything it got worse.
Like the air between us was getting heavier.
When the movie ended Adrian stood and stretched.
“Well,” he said. “That was fun.”
“Yeah.”
He walked toward the hallway.
Then he stopped and looked back at me.
“Maya?”
“Yeah?”
“Try not to avoid me tomorrow.”
My stomach flipped.
“I wasn’t avoiding you.”
“Sure.”
He gave me a small smile.
Then he disappeared down the hall.
I sat there for a minute staring at the dark TV screen.
The house was quiet again.
Too quiet.
And for some reason I had the strange feeling that living here wasn’t going to get easier.
If anything…
It felt like things between me and Adrian were only getting more complicated.
- Writer
