Stepbrother's Darling

Moving day

Mirabelle’s POV

The week goes by slowly, and when I finally receive that cleared statement and electronic receipt from housing and finance? I practically jump for joy.

My Dad always comes through for me, he tries his best, which is why I listened when he asked that I live with Amelia. It was going to cost me nothing, but now it’s cost me my morals and virginity. I’d be a liar if I said I regretted it, and I’ve always been honest with myself.

Marcus is on a business trip. He did say goodbye to me before he left, and I made sure to thank him for his hospitality and secretly curse both him and Amelia for the handsome demonic spawn they raised together.

While Vaughn kept his distance the past few days, the second that I got my bags and told Amelia I was leaving, he appeared out of nowhere and told her he’d be heading back to campus. It's a four-hour drive, and he told me I’d be going with him. I couldn’t argue, I was saving on transportation and to keep whatever bit of my dignity was left? I slept the entire ride and when I was tired of sleeping, I still kept my eyes closed.

“Sleeping Beauty, if you keep pretending you’re dead, you’ll miss your first look at Bradley-Thorne.” He says.

That does the truck, my eyes snap open, and I immediately get that warm fuzzy feeling I always get when I think about this place and how happy being here will make me. Bradley-Thorne is a wonder, expensive cars everywhere, students laughing, teasing, running and just overall excited to be here.

This is going to be the best year, I’m going to make an impact here, yeah. That brings a smile to my face. I’m smiling so big at everything, and I wait for Vaughn to tease or taunt me, but he doesn't, if anything, he drives slower to the women's dorms.

I don’t remember telling him my doom number or anything but he gets it right. We get out of the car, and he doesn’t let me lift anything except for my duffel bag. “Room number?”

“226,” I say, checking every door until I find it. “Here,” I sigh in relief.

The door is already open. Inside, a girl with long hair is dancing on her tiptoes. When her head turns, and our eyes meet, she stops dancing to her invisible music and turns towards me.

“Oh my God! You must be Mirabelle! Hi! I’m Arielle,” she greets enthusiastically. “Come in,” she grins.

“Hi,” I say with a smile. “Nice to meet you.”

“, No,” she stares down at my hand. “We don’t do handshakes, we hug.”

I give her a hug.

Arielle smells expensive, her perfume is soft yet alluring. “And who is this handsome devil?” She asks, still clinging to me.

“Devil is right,” I snicker. “He is my not acknowledgeable stepbrother.”

Vaughn pins me with a glare, “Where is her room?”

“Oh, so this room is big, but it's hardly a double, so I had to get creative. We have our bathroom over there, and this is my room behind the curtain,” she says, pulling it open to show me. “And your room is over there. I figured we didn't need a study room, but if...”

“I love it,” I nod. Vaughn takes my suitcases inside my room, leaving in an awkward silence with Arielle. “Thanks for planning it out. We can always study at the library, and this should be our sanctuary.”

Arielle gasps, holding a hand to her chest. “Uh, you get me.”

Vaughn emerges from the room, towering over us. He looks Arielle up and down, and then he looks at me. “You’re welcome.”

“I didn’t say thank you,” I frown. Why would I thank him? He forced me into the trip back here, and besides, he was coming for his own classes, right?

“This one is fragile, Arielle,” Vaughn says, his voice flat. “Don’t let her break. And don’t let any of the campus dogs sniff around, I’ll be watching.”

Arielle snorts out a laugh, “And you are?”

“Vaughn Thorne,” he calmly says, his name startling her. “Her very protective, extremely judgmental older stepbrother.”

“Right,” Arielle nods, walking over to Vaughn and putting a hand on his impressive bicep. “Well, Vaughn. Relax your territorial hormones, Mirabelle is safe here, and she doesn’t need her older brother hovering. Let a girl have a college experience.”

Vaughn’s lips twitch with a smile, “Should I?” He asks, “I’ll think about it.” His gaze shifts to me. “Don’t forget to call your boyfriend, Mirabelle. Wouldn’t want him to worry.”

Low blow.

I have been feeling guilty ever since that night in the Thorne mansion and he can’t seem to let it go. “Goodbye, Arielle. And little sister? If you get lonely tonight, ask around for my dorm, I’ll be waiting.” He winks.

My blood boils, his words sound normal, composed, but it's almost a threat, an invitation to rebel. Im not taking it. Once is enough. I’m going to ignore his existence from hereon out, and maybe just maybe he’ll give up on pestering me.

“Wow,” Arielle sighs. “Protective stepbrother is a serious understatement.”

I force a shaky laugh. “Don’t worry about him, he’s just a pain in the ass.”

“Aren’t all brothers? I have four.”

“I have none,” I say. I don’t consider Vaughn my stepbrother. He’s a pest and a one-night stand, that’s all he is to me.

Arielle frowns, “But—”

“He is my mother’s stepson, but she’s not exactly my mother, she’s dead.” I sigh, and it’s hardly a lie, Amelia is dead to me. “I have one parent, my dad. He’s great.”

“Oh, sorry about your mom. But hey, we have something in common, I have no dad either, he drank himself to insanity and left my mom. He’s dead, hopefully.”

Hopefully?

I laugh. That’s how I used to feel about Amelia, until I erased her existence myself, and now, she’s practically dead. Last week was with a ghost, and I f****d a ghost’s very hot son, but he too is a ghost now.