He stood up and leaned down, pressing his lips to my hair before walking out of the room. My thoughts darted about as I tried to digest what had just happened. He’d kissed me on the forehead and been sweet to me. His mom had died, and I hadn’t known; how could I have lived here for three months and not know his and Zane’s mom had died? For a moment I’d wondered how she’d died and then I realized it didn’t matter, the point was she was gone, and he had opened up to me a little.
A few minutes later, I moved and went downstairs hoping to talk to him, but he wasn’t around. Cate had put on a movie, and we sat watching the screen, pigging out on takeout food. In the few weeks, Cate’d been here, I’d put back on a few of the pounds I’d lost, something that made me happier than I’d been in a long time.
Later that night in bed, I wasn’t able to sleep because I was nervous about my mom and Shawn coming back. I didn’t want to get into more trouble. I’d never really been in trouble and I hated Shawn yelling at me.
I also hated getting into trouble when it wasn’t my fault and when they didn’t believe me. I was also nervous because I didn’t ever want to be hurt like that again. I paced around my room for a while and then decided to go downstairs for a soda. As I passed Cooper’s room the door was open, and he was sitting staring at a picture, tears dripping from his nose as his shoulders shook.
I should have walked past, ignoring him, but I couldn’t. I knocked on the door and when he looked up, he had a broken look in his eyes. I didn’t think about what I was doing as I walked over and sat beside him. I slid my fingers through his and held his hand while he cried. A current ran up my arm and the hairs rose as I gave his fingers a gentle squeeze. I glanced down at the photo in his hand as he held on to my hand as though I was his lifeline.
In the picture was a beautiful brown-haired woman, chasing two little brown-haired boys around the yard. Everyone in the photo was laughing and my heart thudded painfully in my chest at the family in the image.
“She was beautiful,” I whispered, running my finger over her face. He nodded and swallowed, his voice shaking as he spoke to me.
“I’m…” He swallowed and tried again, his voice breaking, “God, Bailey, I am so sorry for ripping that picture of your brother. I swear I didn’t know. If you’d done that to any of my photos of my mom, I’d never have forgiven you and I need you to know how sorry I am. I wouldn’t do that to anyone and I’m so sorry.” I turned towards him as he turned to look at me, and he leaned down pressing his lips gently to mine.
The kiss was gentle, but the butterflies in my stomach erupted and after a second, he pulled back.
“I shouldn’t have done that. Can you leave, please?”
His words hurt me, but I was too numb to move, confusion washing over me.
“Bailey, leave now!” he barked a moment later and I nodded as my feet carried me towards the door. My head swam and I slipped from his room without a backward glance. I walked back to my room and flopped onto the bed closing my eyes and trying to ignore the burning of my lips, as I realized that my first kiss was with my stepbrother. I also realized that the entire thing was totally and completely messed up. I was screwed. I knew the second our lips met that I wanted more from him and that thought scared me.
If I was honest, I’d liked him from the moment I’d seen him in school before I knew who he was. He was gorgeous and his eyes did something to me in the instant he’d looked at me, but then he’d been such a colossal dick to me and now I had to live in the same house knowing I’d just acknowledged I had feelings for him.
For the next few days, things were fine between us. He gave me a lift to school every morning but didn’t speak a word the whole time. As we reached the end of the week, he finally broke the silence. “Bailey, I can’t do this. I can’t want you and you can’t want me. It’s wrong on so many levels. You’re my stepsister and I’m your stepbrother. Can you forget about what happened the other night, please?” He turned his eyes on me and I could see the bags under them. I nodded but didn’t trust my voice, so I didn’t speak.
After he dropped me off, he took off and left me standing there in the garage alone. I was so confused because one minute it seemed like he did want me and then the next he was pushing me away.
Every time I saw him over the next few weeks, he would barely make eye contact with me and would quickly leave any room I was in. If we had a class together he’d avoid me or make fun of me which hurt on so many levels and made me even more confused because sometimes I caught his eyes on me and then he’d quickly shake his head or rub his hands over his face before turning away.
I was more alone than ever, and I was so lonely that I wished I could just run away, but each time I thought about it, I knew I couldn’t. I didn’t have anywhere else to go. Plus, I had to stay because I couldn’t shake how I felt about Cooper.
I’d see him and my heart would race, but I tried not to show it. I tried to ignore my feelings, but it wasn’t easy to do that when he was in the next room and I saw a side to him that was soft and sweet which intrigued me enough to keep me captivated by him.
As I settled into life at my new school, I began to make a few friends. Elisha, Grayson, David, and Selene didn’t care that I was considered a charity case, or that my surname was still Walker and not Christie.
Elisha or Lish as everyone called her, was brown-haired, dark-skinned, and had lots of gorgeous curves which made me a little jealous. Grayson was freckled, pale-skinned, and had glasses. He had buck teeth and was as tall as a rake with black hair. He was amazing and was completely in love with Selene, who was also dark-skinned with a gorgeous figure. She could have been anyone’s friend, but she loved Elisha, so she was our friend. David was tall, blond, and gorgeous as well. His bone structure was incredible, and his smile was catching. When David smiled, you couldn’t help but smile back.
When David asked me on a date, I didn’t hesitate to say yes, and it soon spread around school that I’d been asked out by David Jones and accepted. Anytime I saw Cooper that day he was scowling, and when the school day ended, he took off in his car, leaving me stranded again. Elisha came to the rescue taking me home and chattering nonstop about the summer formal and how David and I could go together if we dated for more than a few weeks.
I tuned her out after a while and when we arrived at the house, I saw Cooper’s car pulling into the garage. As she stopped, she smiled over at me. “So, it’s on, then, shopping this weekend for the summer formal?”
I smiled at her. “Sure, let me run it past my mom first and I’ll let you know for sure tomorrow.”
I jumped out from her car and jogged into the house, meeting Cooper on the stairs. The look of venom he gave me as he moved past me gave me chills and I wanted to turn back around and walk out the door. I contemplated it for a moment, but I was worried about him twisting where I was, so I walked slowly up the stairs after him. His bedroom door slammed shut and I ran up the rest of the stairs, and into my room.
A second later the door to my room flew open and Cooper stormed in. He marched over to me and spun me towards him, pulling me close to him and pressing his lips firmly to mine. He kissed me with a passion that made my knees weak, and my stomach come alive. I ran my fingers up his arm, tangling them in the rough hair at the back of his neck. He licked along my lips and I opened my mouth to him.