MATED TO MY STEPBROTHER

TEN

ISABELLA’S POV

“I actually did end up driving you home.”

A sigh escaped my lips as I unfastened my seatbelt, turning my head to face Kai. He stared at me with confusion written all over his face, a pang of guilt hitting my chest for the first time throughout the ride home.

“I know right? I’m sorry,” I groaned as I reached for my bag. “I just said that to get away from Grayson. I didn’t know you’d actually drive me home. Thanks.”

“You’re welcome?” he looked more amused than offended. “So, if I wasn’t there you’d just have- how much longer do you think you can avoid him? You got into my car because he was staring. If I wasn’t with you, would you have vanished into thin air?”

“If possible,” I let out a painful chuckle then looked around me, a thought suddenly hitting me. “Wait a second, we’re aren’t at my old house. How did you know the way here? How did you already know where Grayson lives?”

“I don’t know,” he shrugged then took off his seatbelt. “I just kinda know. I told you already. I know a bit about him.”

“Yeah stuffs like how popular he is, the amount of girls he hooks up with on a regular and how he loves to attend parties,” I tried to recall all the things he told me about Grayson. “You didn’t include his address. Or does everyone at school know his address? Is that also public information?”

“If you’re worried about getting kidnapped, don’t worry you’re safe,” he laughed lightly as he got out of the car, forcing me to quickly do the same. “Grayson might have stalkers but I don’t think they’d be interested in you.”

“Oh, that’s a relief then,” my laughter was sarcastic. “Until they find out I’m his new stepsister and then decide to transfer whatever grudges they might hold against him towards me.”

“I think they’d just see you as a threat,” Kai was having fun pushing me. “He always has a lot of girls around him so of course they’d be jealous to know you live with him. A few might misunderstand while some would just come to you to ask for tips. Whichever way it ends up, you’re in for a ride, Grayson Zucker’s stepsister.”

The words made me cringe, the thought of what I was other than his stepsister worse.

“Why did my mum have to get married again?”

“Because she fell in love?”

“No, because she’s selfish,” my mood changed in an instant. “Because she doesn’t care about anyone but herself. She couldn’t even take care of one daughter and she thought the best thing to do is add other kids? Because she’s so kind and thoughtful? As if dealing with one brother from nowhere wasn’t enough, she decided to add one more? Now what am i? a girl with stepbrothers I can’t even stand and genuinely wish they never showed up in my life because all they do is-”

“Isabella-”

I paused my words halfway to let out an exhale, years worth of pent up frustration threatening to spill out. I ran my hands through my hair then raised my head to look at Kai, only to see Beckett standing right by his side.

“s**t,” I breathed out, watching his already cold expression grow colder. “Beckett-”

He didn’t wait to hear another word from me. All he did was exchange one final glance with Kai and then leave, slamming the door behind him as he got inside.

“That’s your brother, right?” Kai bit his lip. “Your other stepbrother?”

“Crap, yes,” I mirrored his actions by biting my lip too. “God, I wasn’t even referring to him. I was talking about- God, this is all his fault.”

“I’m sorry,” Kai wrapped his arm around my shoulder as I hung my head low. “I tried to stop you but he heard it all already. He should understand you though. Right?”

I shook my head. Beckett wasn’t going to understand. We were barely on speaking terms already and it had been that way ever since my mum remarried the first time and brought him to our house.

“I’ll just try to talk to him,” I freed myself from Kai’s embrace. “Um, thank you for driving me home. I’ll see you tomorrow then.”

He nodded in response and then got into his car to drive off, another sigh escaping my lips as I turned to head inside. My steps towards the door was slow, the dread from whatever I was going to meet inside getting to me.

I finally pushed the front door and stepped in, only to meet Beckett in the living room. He wasn’t seated but stood by a corner, arms folded, eyebrows furrowed together.

“I think you’re the selfish one here, Isabella.”

I blinked, suddenly unable to take a single step further. Beckett, on the other hand, took another one towards me, his head shaking in disgust as he eyed me from head to toe.

“I am the selfish one?” I didn’t want to reply him but I couldn’t bring myself to stay silent. “Not her? Not the woman that only cares about herself?”

“Cut the crap, Isabella,” he hissed. “We both know mum doesn’t care about just herself. You just have a problem because all you want her to do is care about you. But you need to wake up. The world doesn’t revolve around you and it never will.”

His words stung. Not because he was right but because he had absolutely no idea what he was talking about yet said it so confidently.

“She has never cared about me.”

“Because she got married again?” he let out a scoff. “You know what, I never cared about the fact that you hated me the very first day I moved in with you. Or the fact that even when my dad died and me and mum were broken, all you could still care about what yourself. I never cared about you and I still don’t. but I care about mum. And this marriage is the only thing that has made her so happy after my dad died. So you can go ahead hating me and our new brother for all I care but I wont allow you ruin this marriage simply because you keep on acting like a five year old with serious attachment issues.”

“You won’t be able to ruin this marriage, Isabella. Not this time.”

Words choked up in my throat but none came out. All I could do was remain in my spot, hands trembling by my side as Beckett threw those words at me.

I wasn’t surprised. They couldn’t even get to me. I’d heard worse from my mum herself. But what I wasn’t expecting to hear was her voice right at that moment, appearing out of nowhere.

“Ruin what marriage?”

Beckett and I immediately turned in the direction of the voice, a figure I wish I didn’t recognize appearing from the doorway. She had her travelling bag by her side, a hat on her head as she always did whenever she went on vacations.

“What were you two talking about?” her gaze shuffled between mine and Beckett’s. “What happened again? What happened, Beckett?”

“You’re back from your honeymoon?” I spoke up, trying to ease the tension that now filled the air. “I thought you were supposed to return a week later.”

“No, I wasn’t,” she looked away from Beckett to reply. “I sent all of you texts to let you know about the change in my plans. But clearly you were too busy planning something else to see my text.”

“What?”

“What did she do, Beckett?”

“What did she do, Beckett?” I almost couldn’t believe my ears. “Seriously, mum? You’re just going to conclude i am the culprit without even knowing what happened? Are you ever going to change, mum?!”

“And are you ever going to change?!” she flared at me. “I might not know what exactly happened but I know what I heard. And you can’t blame me for jumping into conclusions. I know you never wanted me to get married.”

My lips parted but no words came out. She was right anyways. I never wanted her to get married and I still wanted to ruin that marriage.

“You’re right,” when I finally spoke up, my words came out weakly. “You’re very right. I did not want you to get married. But at least, I hoped you’d have an amazing honeymoon. So amazing you’d never return.”

Her face fell and my heart did the same. But I ignored it all and stormed out of the living room and the house in no time. I could feel tears well up my eyes but I didn’t stop until I was at a reasonable distance away from the house, my heart now tightening in my chest.

I allowed a single drop of tear roll down my cheek. Just a single drop. Just enough to have me realize how alone I felt and how it felt like I had nowhere I could run to.

My phone wasn’t with me so I couldn’t call Kai even if I wanted to. And I didn’t know where he lived well enough for me to go there unannounced.

So, I did the only thing I could think of and resumed my steps, walking all the way back to college.