OFF LIMITS STEPBROTHER

Chapter Three

Leilani’s POV

I had no idea how long I had been sitting on the floor.

At some point, I had stopped crying properly and was just sitting there with my back against the bed, my knees pulled up to my chest while I stared at the little key holder Mom had given me.

It was ridiculous, really.

I had known about the apartment for months. I knew I was leaving tomorrow. We had discussed it, I had agreed to it, and I had spent enough time imagining what it would be like to finally have a place of my own that I should have been excited.

Instead, I had ended up on the floor of a hotel room crying like someone had died.

Maybe something had.

My life as I knew it, perhaps.

I wiped my face with the back of my hand and immediately regretted it when I felt how wet my cheeks were. My mascara was probably ruined by now, and if Nora saw me like this, I would never hear the end of it.

I was just reaching for the tissues on the bedside table when the door opened.

“Leilei?”

I froze and cursed under my breath.

Of all the people who could have found me looking like this, of course it had to be Hardin.

I quickly rubbed under my eyes and tried to pull myself together before looking up at him.

“Yeah?”

He stood in the doorway for a second, his body casting a shadow over me, while his gaze kept moving from my face to the tissues scattered around me and then back again.

“Were you crying?”

“No.” I croaked, watching as he raised an eyebrow at me. “Okay, maybe a little.”

“A little?”

“I’ve had a very emotional evening.”

He stepped into the room, closing the door behind him. “I can see that.”

I pushed myself up from the floor, smoothing my dress down even though there was nothing wrong with it.

“I’m fine.”

“You don’t look fine.”

“I look gorgeous, actually.”

That made him laugh, and I hated how easily he could still make me feel better without even trying.

“You look like you cried.”

“Well, thank you. That’s exactly what every girl wants to hear on her graduation night.”

He shook his head, walking closer.

“Did something happen?”

I looked away before he could study my face too closely.

“Nothing happened.”

It wasn’t exactly a lie.

Nothing had happened.

“The masquerade is starting any minute,” he said. “Nora already left.”

“Already?”

“She was looking for you, but she said she’d go ahead.”

I glanced towards the mirror and immediately wished I hadn’t. My eyes were red, my mascara was definitely smudged, and my hair had somehow managed to lose whatever shape it had had earlier.

Hardin noticed me staring at myself.

“You have time to fix your face.”

I grabbed my clutch from the bed and walked past him.

“Come on.”

He followed me out, and as we made our way down the corridor, I tried not to think about the fact that this might actually be one of the last times I would be walking beside him like this.

I failed almost immediately.

***

If I didn’t spot most of the decor frim earlier, I would have sworn that it wasn’t the same hall we had left an hour ago.

The lights had been drastically reduced, the music was louder, and almost everyone had a mask on. There were people gathered around the dance floor, some already dancing while others stood around talking and taking pictures.

I stopped at the entrance.

“Wait.”

Hardin turned towards me.

“What?”

Before he could question me further, I walked towards the table covered with masks.

There were so many of them that I spent a few minutes picking through them before finally settling on a black one with small silver details around the edges.

I held it against my face and looked at Hardin.

“Well?”

He had already picked his own, a dark mask that covered most of the upper half of his face.

“It looks good.”

“That is all?” I retorted, barely able to control the disappointment I felt. I hated being unable to get a hold of my emotions.

“What else am I supposed to say?”

“I don’t know. Maybe something that makes me feel like I didn’t waste five minutes choosing it.”

He looked at me again, his eyes piercing mine.

“You look beautiful.”

I immediately looked away.

“Thanks.”

I put the mask on before he could see how warm my face had suddenly become.

He didn’t seem to notice it or he probably didn’t want to make things awkward, especially since he walked in on me crying earlier.

The DJ had switched from hip pop, to slow dance music and as though on cue, people began moving towards the dance floor.

Hardin held his hand out to me.

“Come on.”

I stared at his hand for a second reconsidering all my life’s decisions before placing mine in his “Where?”

“To dance.”

I blinked, barely registering what he had said “You’re asking me to dance?”

“Would you prefer I ask someone else?” He inquired in that long British drawl that I had become accustomed to hearing.

“No.”

I tightened my fingers around his.

“Definitely not.”

He laughed as he pulled me onto the dance floor.

At first, I was painfully aware of everything.

His hand settled against my waist while mine rested on his shoulder, and even though we had danced together severally in the past, especially at family functions and due to my lack of dates, still something about tonight felt different.

Maybe it was because I knew I was leaving.

Maybe it was because I had just spent the last hour crying over exactly that.

Or maybe it was simply because I had wanted to be this close to him for so long that my brain had decided to notice every single detail now that I finally had the chance.

His amazing smell and the way his hands felt as they held me. To be honest? I wanted to engrave this moment forever, thst I forgot that tomorrow I would wake up somewhere else and that Hardin would still be here, going about his life as though nothing had changed.

I let myself enjoy the dance instead, allowing him to lead me while the music played around us.

Then his foot caught against mine.

“You almost stepped on me.” I giggled, stepping away from him in the opposite direction.

“Sorry.” His lips curved up in a bright smile, but when my eyes met his, his pupils were dilated and I knew something was wrong.

It was especially evident when he took another step and had to steady himself.

My smile disappeared.

“Hardin?”

“I’m fine.” He countered almost immediately, tightening his grip around my waist

His expression had changed. His eyes weren’t focusing properly, and there was a slight crease between his brows as though he was trying to figure out what was happening.

“You don’t look fine.”

He rubbed his forehead.

“I just feel a little weird.”

“Weird how?”

“I don’t know.”

He tried to move again, but his balance shifted so suddenly that I grabbed his arm.

“Okay, no. You’re definitely not fine.” I struggled as I led him to one of the chairs at the corner.

“Maybe I drank too much.”

“You barely drank.”

He corked his head to the left, and pulled his eyes to a squint.

“How do you know?”

“Because I was there.” I glanced towards the table where we’d been sitting earlier.

His drink was still there and from here i could see that it was still half empty.

My stomach tightened.

“Did you drink anything else?”

He shook his head.

“Just that.”

Hardin wasn’t the type to get drunk after half a glass, and whatever was happening to him had come on far too quickly.

“Come on,” I said, slipping his arm over my shoulder. “We’re going upstairs.”

“I can walk.”

“Then walk.”

He tried.

He made it approximately three steps before leaning almost all of his weight against me.

“Right,” I muttered. “Clearly.”

Getting him upstairs took longer than it should have.

By the time we reached his room, he was barely keeping his eyes open, and I was beginning to panic.

I helped him sit on the edge of the bed before easing him back against the pillows.

“Just stay here.”

He closed his eyes.

I pulled the covers over him and stood there for a moment, watching him.

“I’m going to get someone.” As much as I would rather not leave him alone, I managed my legs to the door

“Laney.” I paused in my tracks, and whenI looked back, his eyes were focused on me.

“Can you help me?”

Alarm bells went off in my ears at his words.

Help him?

I knew exactly what my brain wanted that question to mean, and I hated myself a little for it.

“Help you with what?”

I walked back towards the bed, trying to sound normal even though my thoughts were already getting ahead of me.

He reached for my hand and caught my wrist.

His grip wasn’t particularly strong, but it was enough to make me stop.

“Please.”

I stared down at his fingers around my wrist.

For one completely stupid second, I thought maybe this was it.

Maybe after all these years, after all the times I’d watched other girls flirt with him and wondered what it would feel like if he looked at me the same way, he was finally going to…

“…Nancy.”

Everything inside me went quiet.

I stared at him.

He was already looking away, his eyes closing again as though the name hadn’t just knocked every ridiculous thought out of my head.

Ofcourse he would need his actual partner here with him

What exactly was I thinking to begin with? I should really go and get him help.. Maybe his dad was still in the room they had organized the send off earlier.

I swallowed, forcing myself to loosen my expression before he opened his eyes again.

“You want Nancy?” I asked, running my eyes over him once more. Beads of swear had formed on his forehead and his lips were nkw slightly ajar.

I carefully pulled my wrist from his hand.

“Okay.”

My voice sounded perfectly normal.

At least, I hoped it did.

“I’ll help you.”