My Hateful Stepbrother

Four

Two days later, just when I thought Lucke and I had started to have a peaceful non-relationship, he screwed it up.

It started when I got into the shower; it was Wednesday, so I had classes very early in the morning. When I got out of the quick shower, I found that I didn't have a towel, which was strange since I always had them in the bathroom and no one had entered. Surely my dear stepbrother had stolen them to annoy me. I was thinking of changing the lock and locking it every time I left my room, even if it was just to go to the kitchen for two minutes, he was dangerous.

I sighed in frustration, I couldn't do anything, not even shout for someone to bring me a towel. The only ones at home were Lucke and me, and since he had stolen them, I didn't think he would pay much attention to me. Trying to stay calm, I took the small towel I used to dry my hands. It was tiny and wouldn't do much for my body. But it was better than nothing, right?

I tried to dry myself a little, but I could only do it with my arms. The rest of my body was still soaked. Annoyed, I decided it was a waste of time. I wasn't going to manage to dry myself with the small towel. I would have to go out and look for one somewhere in the room. I remembered seeing a couple at the back of the closet, they would surely help.

I opened the bathroom door slowly, the cold air seeped in, giving me goosebumps. I stifled a groan and put the small towel between my legs, trying to at least cover my private parts. I stepped outside and closed the door, went straight to the closet, in search of the damn towel. I really needed to get a new lock if I planned to live in this house, Lucke would make it increasingly difficult for me. And I couldn't even understand why. I hadn't done anything wrong to him, he probably just wanted to make me suffer, to annoy his father. It was clear they didn't have the best relationship.

I grumbled when I didn't find any damn towels. Had he taken them from there too? The guy was crazy!

"Let me tell you little sister that you have a fantastic a*s," murmured a voice behind me.

No, it couldn't be.

I turned around.

When I saw Lucke looking at me with amusement on his face, I screamed in terror. He was sitting on the stool by my vanity, and his eyes were on my body. Moving from my breasts to my crotch, which was still covered by the small towel. Slowly, he wiped the smile off his lips.

I screamed again, went to my bed, and covered myself with my blanket, looking at him nervously. My breathing was labored, and my heart felt like it was going to jump out of my chest. I never imagined he could be here when I came out of the shower n***d.

The bastard had seen me n***d. No one had ever done that, not even my mother. My eyes filled with shame, but I forced myself to hold back my tears.

"What the hell are you doing here?" I asked, almost stuttering.

He gave me a crooked smile.

"I was hoping you'd give me a striptease" he murmured without erasing the smile. "If you excite me just by being n***d, I don't want to think about what you'd do if you moved that cute little a*s of yours."

My mouth fell open.

It was just before my eyes wandered to his crotch. And yes, he was visibly aroused. I pressed the blanket tighter against me, not out of fear of my stepbrother, but of myself. Why were my n*****s reacting this way? As soon as he said the word "excite," I felt a reaction, but that was wrong. I shouldn't be getting excited just because my body excited him. He shouldn't even be here! I needed to have a serious talk with his father; harassment and provocation were not conducive to a healthy relationship.

I raised my eyes to his again. He had one eyebrow raised and was looking at me with malice. If he weren't so attractive, resisting him would be much easier.

"You took my towels, didn't you?" I asked, glaring at him.

"No, the cleaning fairy stole them" he replied mockingly. There was no remorse in his voice.

I took the blanket and wrapped it around my body, covering myself with it. My stepbrother smiled and got up from the stool, took a step toward me, just as I took a step back. This was ridiculous; he looked at me as if I were his prey, as if he wanted to devour me. Nikki's words echoed in my head, and now I found myself agreeing with her. Lucke was looking at me like he wanted to claim me. And I was determined not to let that happen.

"I came to tell you that your mother called you" he murmured, stopping in front of me, "when you're done, go and call her."

He winked at me and turned around, leaving my room.

I gasped and collapsed onto my bed, trying to process what had just happened. This was getting out of hand; soon it would be as if Lucke was in my shower, watching me bathe. I was sure he was capable of something like that, like a complete psychopath.

Afterward, I locked my door and dressed quickly. My heart was still pounding, but gradually I calmed down. I combed my hair and headed to the kitchen, where the phone was. I had to call my mother before she started to worry. I dialed her number quickly. I had been delayed getting to class because of Lucke, so that left me little time to talk to my mother.

She answered on the third ring, which was unusual since she was on her honeymoon.

"How are you, sweetheart?" she asked as soon as she picked up.

I smiled, even though she couldn't see me. "I'm fine, Mom. How about you? Have you been to any beautiful places?"

"Oh yes, this is really fantastic. For your eighteenth birthday, I'll bring you to see Italy. It's magical!" I smiled at her description. Now we could afford to go to Europe. "Although these headaches I've had are ruining the trip a bit, I think I'm not very good at flying."

I sighed, at least she was happy. I also dreamed of marrying a man like Arthur, one who would love me and treat me well. Unfortunately, since I met my stepbrother, every time I think of the image of my perfect man, his face appears in my mind. Which is stupid and unacceptable, since he has nothing perfect about him, except his physique, and that doesn't help much.

"Is something wrong, honey?" my mother asked worriedly. "Have you had problems with Lucke?"

I shook my head, although again, I knew she couldn't see me.

"No, Mom, I'm fine."

"Are you sure? I know adapting to a new lifestyle is difficult, especially at your age."

I wanted to tell her that my stepbrother was making my life impossible, but I couldn't. That would ruin her honeymoon. My mother was a very anxious person. If I told her I was having problems in my new home, and that Lucke had seen me n***d, she would get angry, then she would tell Arthur, who would also worry about me. I didn't want to bother them while they were enjoying themselves. They'd only been married for less than a week, and they had every right to enjoy it. They were in Italy! Anyone who went to that magical country had to enjoy it.

I switched the phone to my other ear and grabbed my bag, ready to leave. My mother spoke again. Her worried voice made me feel bad. I was already worrying her for nothing. Lucke would surely move on and leave me alone. I was going to college in a year, just like him, so there were only twelve months left for us to separate; this wasn't going to last forever.

"I'm sure" I said, trying to reflect joy in my voice, "I'm off to school. I'll call you when I can."

"Alright, darling" she sighed, "I love you."

"And I love you, mom."

When I got to school, I met up with Abby. We had breakfast together while she told me everything about my first crush. She even showed him to me as we walked down the hall. And yes, I had to agree, the guy was handsome. His black hair stood out, he had blue eyes, a bit darker than mine. He was also tall and slim, played football, and had a bunch of cheerleaders after him, although he didn't seem very interested in them.

I quickly found myself comparing him to my stepbrother, and my stepbrother came out on top. I scolded myself; I shouldn't be doing that. What was happening to me? Although my best friend didn't help either, she had already made a whole plan to win over Lucke and couldn't find another topic of conversation besides him. She talked about how I should look, and how sexy his voice probably was. She didn't even know him! But that's how my best friend was; she obsessed over boys before getting bored and moving on to another.

Sometimes, I really wondered why we were friends; she was so different from me. Next to her, I was the most boring girl in the world, but even so, Abby always seemed to be there for me, and vice versa. She could tell me anything she wanted, and I would listen without judging her. That was probably why. I was just a very good listener.

She nudged me when Dereck passed by. The guy looked at me and gave me a soft smile before disappearing down the hall.

"He's very cute" she murmured when we stopped at her locker, "and he likes you."

"Abby, we don't know each other. He hasn't even texted me yet; he doesn't like me."

I was serious; Abby had given him my number two days ago, but the guy hadn't even sent me a message. I didn't want to sound desperate or anything like that, although I couldn't stop thinking that if he were really interested, he would have texted me by now. He had probably already fallen under the spell of some pretty popular girl. I would understand if that had been the case. I wasn't popular or anything like that. I was like one of those invisible students that only teachers noticed, but I liked it that way; it was comfortable.

My best friend opened her eyes wide, her gaze fixed on someone behind me. I was going to ask her what was wrong when I heard a really nice voice.

"Of course, I like you."

I turned slowly and found Dereck looking at me with a perfect smile. He was leaning against one of the lockers, in a denim jacket and black shirt. He was attractive and dressed well, which I liked. I looked into his bright blue eyes and started to feel nervous.

"Hi Dereck," my best friend greeted him with a bright smile.

"Hi Abby."

She closed her locker and grabbed her bag. "Dakota, I'll wait for you in class."

I nodded silently, and we both watched as my best friend walked down the hallway, swaying her hips in a way only she could. I looked back at Dereck, but he was already looking at me.

"I couldn't write to you because I was doing exams," he apologized, "but I promise to do it today. I don't want to lose your attention."

I gave him a relieved smile, glad he hadn't written earlier because he was busy. I had flirted before, but I never really knew how.

"I'll be waiting," I replied, still with my silly smile.

Abby would be very disappointed in me.

***

That same night, as I was getting ready to sleep, a message came in. I quickly sat up in bed. I had been messaging with Abby, but I knew it wasn't her since we had already said goodnight. I grabbed my glasses and phone, and when I opened the message, I saw who it was.

Dereck.

I had spent half the afternoon doing homework and trying to ignore the music Lucke had in his room, so much so that I had forgotten that Dereck promised to write to me.

Dereck: Hey beautiful. I'm keeping my promise; I'm writing to you.

I smiled and wrote my response.

Me: I'm glad you are.

Dereck: You looked beautiful today.

Me: Thank you, you looked great too.

Dereck: Will I see you at school tomorrow? I'd like us to have lunch together in the cafeteria.

Me: Sure, find me in the English classroom. I'll probably be there :3

Dereck: Great :) Sleep well, I'll see you tomorrow.

I put my phone on the nightstand and took off my glasses, then fell asleep with a smile. At least I had gotten a date.