Everything I Hate About Liam

Which is more annoying? Your mom getting remarried without asking for your consent or even giving you the slightest clue? Or your stepbrother acting like he owns the entire world? It took me a whole year after the wedding to get over the betrayal of my mom remarrying. But my disgust for my stepbrother has only grown ever since I laid eyes on him. Just because our parents got married doesn't mean you get to infest my life. The day he opened the bathroom door on me, knowing full well I was inside taking a shower, was the day I concluded there was something seriously wrong with him. I was so furious that I hated him even more for an entire week. Where does he get the audacity from? Is it because he's the star player on the hockey team? Maybe it's because his father owns the house? I honestly don't get it. What freaks me out the most is that he doesn't seem to think he's doing anything wrong. That can't be normal. He's definitely a spoiled brat. At first, he'd do things like that occasionally. Then it became a weekly thing. Then a daily thing. At this point, I was starting to wonder if respecting personal boundaries physically hurt him. Which brings me to this morning. I woke up way earlier than usual for school. Apparently, Liam had come into my room looking for his stuff. Which still makes absolutely no sense to me. What exactly would his stuff be doing in my room? "What are you doing?" I groaned. "I'm looking for my hoodie." I buried my face deeper into my pillow. "Then look somewhere else." "Nope." Drawers opened. Closet doors slid. Things shuffled around. It wasn't even morning yet. What on earth is wrong with this guy? "Liam." "Hm?" "Get out." "Can't. This is an emergency." I rolled my eyes and tried to go back to sleep. A second later, cold air hit my skin. My eyes flew open. Liam had yanked the blanket off me. "What the hell?" Then I saw the look on his face. That stupid grin. My stomach dropped. No, no, no. His grin widened. "Oh, this is amazing." Heat rushed straight into my face. I snatched the blanket back so fast I nearly strangled myself with it. "Liam." "Dude." "Shut up." "I didn't even say anything." "You were about to." His shoulders started shaking. The i***t was trying not to laugh. Failed miserably. A loud snort escaped him. I wanted the floor to swallow me whole. It was just me and him, why was I so shy? "It is six in the morning," he wheezed. "Leave." "And this is the first thing I see today." "Leave." "I'm just saying, some people wake up and check their phones. Apparently you wake up and…" "Liam!" His laughter exploded through the room. I grabbed the nearest pillow and launched it at his head. He ducked. The pillow smacked against the wall behind him. "Violent. Very violent." "Get out before I kill you." "Noted." He took two steps toward the door. Then stopped. "I actually found my hoodie yesterday, by the way." I stared at him. The room went silent. "You what?" His grin turned downright evil. "Yep." I grabbed the second pillow. His eyes widened. "Oh, that's a bad look." The pillow left my hand. Liam bolted out the door. The second it slammed shut, I heard him laughing from the hallway. "I hate you!" I shouted. "You love me!" he shouted back. I threw the blanket over my head and seriously considered never leaving my room again. I lay there for a few minutes to get over the awkward feeling. I had a test I had prepared all night for. I stumbled up and got to the bathroom to shower. I swung the door shut and locked it from inside. I tried opening it to confirm it was locked. I wasn't taking any chances. I only took a few minutes, then came back and picked black straight jeans and a grey tee shirt with my sneakers from my wardrobe. Liam had scattered most of my stuff looking for who knows what. I like all my stuff in order , you could say it was OCD. I took my time to fold and arrange everything back in place. I stood in front of the mirror looking at my face then my outfit. It was all done. I felt good even though I looked almost exactly the same as always. I loved how I dressed, but my stepbrother seemed to have a problem with it. I may not be the best with fashion but I was definitely not that bad, right? I took my backpack and unzipped it to make sure the bars of chocolate I bought for Chloe were intact. It was the 20th of the month ,right around her expected time of the month. …….. I got to school on time. I don't like being late. I walked the hallway looking for Chloe. We have projects together. Teachers love to pair us for almost everything. She was just as academically driven as me. She is such a smart girl. I was looking for Chloe … tell me why I met Liam instead. He was dressed in his usual sporty oversized shirt. He walked toward me with a mocking smile. Beside him were two of his teammates. "Hey, my lovely brother, how did you handle your little situation this morning?" His teammates were already laughing. It was obvious he had already told them about it. "I'm sure you sorted yourself out well in the bathroom," the one on the right said, laughing and tapping Liam. His name is Dan, a hockey player who chases girls more than he chases pucks. If I'm not mistaken, the only reason he's on that team is to get girls' attention. I stood there embarrassed. As if that wasn't enough, Liam thought it was okay to add … "You don't have a girlfriend. Who were you thinking about while doing it?" "Me?" I froze on the spot and clenched harder on my backpack with my left hand. My eyes, which had been looking down throughout the entire conversation out of shame, suddenly shot up like they had a mind of their own. I looked up at Liam for a split second, looked away, and walked off quickly with anxiety crawling up my chest. I could hear them laughing and murmuring as I walked away.