Her Stepbrother (Love Triangle)

Chapter 1

Chelsea

"Are you serious, Mom? You married him without informing me of your plans?" I flop down onto my bed and close my eyes, wishing this wasn't happening.

"Virgil and I have been dating for five years now. Also, he's a good man. Therefore, I don't understand what your problem is, Chelsea." Is she kidding me?

"His son, Mom," I state firmly, rehashing the same conversation mom and I always seem to have.

Mom knows Kevin, and I rarely get along. Kevin has his generous moments. However, most of the time he's annoying.

Kevin is like a mosquito, you have to keep swatting away. Regardless of how many times you smack at it, the damn thing keeps biting you until you squash it.

I don't have any issues with Virgil because my mom is right. Virgil is a decent individual. So at least we agree on that subject matter. However, his son is a different version from his father. Hence, Kevin is the one I have a dilemma with, and the one I hate being around.

"Unfortunately, Kevin is your stepbrother, so now you must find an alternative to get along with him and find it quickly." I glare at her while she strides out of my room.

I follow behind her. "I'm not the problem. He is. Kevin had done nothing but made my life miserable since you and Virgil started dating." Well, almost the entire time. Kevin wasn't always annoying.

I'm unsure of what changed inside of Kevin as he grew older. Though, I liked the younger version of Kevin better than the older version.

I snatch the suitcase from my mom's hand and inquire, "What are you doing?" I ask, hysterically.

She tosses the suitcase onto my bed and announces, "pack your belongings, Chelsea. We are moving." Oh no, she can't possibly force me to live somewhere I wouldn't be happy living.

Initially, she runs off and gets married without giving me a warning. Next, she advises me to pack my belongings to move in with my enemy.

Okay, I might have exaggerated a little. Still, Kevin is an annoying pest I cannot get rid of. "I'm not living with Kevin," I declare, infuriatingly.

Mom spins around, appearing to be furious, "Then get yourself a job, young lady, and pay for your own bills, considering I refuse to ruin my chance at happiness just because you're a brat."

I throw the suitcase onto the floor, "You and Virgil know that Kevin and I don't get along." I take a deep breath before asking her, "How the hell could you do this to me, Mom?"

Mom's eyes flicker with madness as she speaks. "As I previously mentioned, Chelsea. You could get yourself a job and maintain this house by yourself, or you could learn how to make friends with your stepbrother. Indeed, you and Kevin behave like two children when you're in the same room together instead of the eighteen-year-old teenagers that you are. In fact, you and Kevin are too old to behave the way you do, anyway."

Mom understands I'm unable to work, otherwise I would have to drop out of high school. I have two months left before graduation. Therefore, working is not an option for me at the moment.

Ugh, life is so unfair. "I wish Dad was still here." I uttered.

"Oh, please, Chelsea. Stop wishing for a man who hasn't been here for you since you were twelve-years-old. News flash, Honey. He's with Lori raising his new daughter, or did you forget?" Ouch, mom's words stung.

I didn't forget.

How could I?

Mom has a habit of deliberately reminding me that my father had replaced me with his new family.

Dad cheated on my mother, and Lori became pregnant. Evidently, my mom isn't the forgiven type. Thus, he didn't stand a chance with her after his affair.

Mom rushed my father out of the house as soon as she saw the text messages between Lori and my dad.

My father apologized time and time again, yet mom wouldn't forgive him. My mother couldn't handle the embarrassment of her husband impregnating another woman.

Furthermore, I don't fault her for it. Some situations are unforgettable, and impregnating another woman is a mistake that even I couldn't forgive.

Of course, dad blamed his affair on the alcohol he consumed, and claimed it was a one-night stand, and promised never to do it again. Still, mom wasn't having it.

Admittedly, I have always wondered about my little sister. Except, I didn't want to be the one to reach out first.

Since the day my father left, I have always questioned how my father could leave me and start over with a new family, as if I never existed to him. Clearly, when he and mom divorced, dad divorced me too.

Following their divorce, dad would visit, until mom met Virgil. Once Virgil walked into mom's life, dad walked out without an explanation and never came back.

Sometimes I blame Virgil for my father leaving, because if he and mom never dated, my father wouldn't have turned into this jealous jerk and left me.

Clearly, I don't understand how dad assumed he had the audacity to be jealous when he cheated on my mom and was living with his new girlfriend.

Presently, I stand in the middle of my bedroom with tears in my eyes, demanding to hurt my mother the way she had hurt me with her words. "If you didn't date Virgil, Daddy wouldn't have left me. My life wouldn't be changing the way it is. You put Virgil and his son before me, and that's not fair, Mom."

Immediately, mom removes her cell phone and shoves it toward me, "Here. Do you want your father? Call him. I will not deal with your attitude just because you're not getting what you want. Apparently, I spoiled you your entire life, Chelsea, and I have always put you first. Always. So, don't feed me that bullshit."

I stare at my mother's hand in disbelief. "Well, you're not putting me first now. Obviously, if you didn't climb into Virgil's bed a year after you and dad had broken up, then daddy would still come around." I might have been young when she and dad divorced, though I remember certain things.

Mom raises her hand and slaps me across my cheek. With contact, I suck in a deep breath and hold my cheek.

Mom has never put her hands on me in the heat of anger, not even when I would backtalk her as a child.

I notice tears form in my mother's eyes. "I'm sorry Chelsea." She comes over and draws me into a hug. "I didn't want things to happen like this, and I'm sorry for uprooting your life. You have and always will be my reason for living, but Virgil makes me happy. I love him so much, Chelsea. And, I need for you to understand that and meet me halfway."

I wrap my arms around my mother. "I'm sorry, Mom, for being a brat, but I really hate Kevin."

"I know you do, but boys will be boys. Other than that, It's a boy's job to drive a woman crazy. If he isn't, then he isn't doing his job right." Mom snickers before she releases me.

"I wish Virgil drove you crazy." I smile to pass it off as a joke, although I meant it. Perhaps, if Virgil drove mom crazy the way his son does to me, mom wouldn't have married him.

Mom picks a hairpiece off my dresser and tosses it at me. "That's not funny, young lady."

Obviously, mom must really love Virgil for her to move in with him. After my father had cheated on her, mom said she would never become dependent on another man again. Yet, here she is, moving into another man's house.

Previously, I heard Virgil and Mom mention marriage, but I never heard them make any plans. Thus, I assumed I would have more time to adjust, or I was hoping so, anyway.

Kevin and I knew each other before mom and Virgil even dated. Currently, we're enrolled in the same school together. Also, we share the same group of friends and even attend the same parties.

Even though Kevin and I had known each other for years, we have barely spoken until our parents dated. Recently, he has developed a habit of calling me 'sister' and I believe he enjoys doing it because he realizes it irritates the hell out of me.

Kevin irritates me with his taunting, teasing ways. I'm unsure if he does it intentionally or unintentionally.

Kevin is spoiled like me and used to getting everything handed to him on a golden platter.

All the girls at school drool over Kevin, and he enjoys the attention. There is always a girl hanging off his arm, or trying to climb up his body when we're at parties. Yet, when a dude comes near me, he plays the protective brother role and follows me around like a lost puppy.

I guess I will have to adapt to him since mom has done ran off and married his father. After all, what choice do I have? I love my mother, so for her, I will try.

I cannot promise everything will be sunset and roses, but I can promise for my mother's sake.

I will have to accommodate to sharing my mother since that's not something I'm used to, considering it has been my mother and me for six-years, and I've always had her full attention.

Now, she will have to divide her attention between the three of us, and that isn't something I like.

Perhaps, I am a spoiled brat, but I don't enjoy sharing. I guess it comes with being the only child.

Although I might not be my father's only child, I am my mothers.

All my life, I have been the apple of her eye. So, for this reason, I refuse to allow Kevin or her marriage to come between my mother and me.

I'll just have to distance myself from my stepbrother to prevent arguments.

Formerly, I have seen Virgil's house, and it's enormous. Virgil's house is a mansion compared to ours. Hopefully, my bedroom will be on a separate floor from Kevin's. If so, avoiding him at all costs will be simple to do.

In the meantime, I could spend more time with my best friend Jason, and avoid being home as much as possible.

I'll definitely be marking the days off on the calendar, counting down the days until graduation day.

Once I graduate, nothing or nobody will stop me from moving out.

When you plant two spoiled teenagers in the same flower pot who are used to getting everything they want when they want it and never had to share anything a day in their life unless they wanted to, is a recipe for disaster.

And, our parents are going to be caught in the middle of the storm.