Stepbrother Dearest (5 page)

see me upset. It took a few minutes to compose myself before walking back out to the lobby. As hard as it

was, I refused to look at him.
Refused.

“What the heck took you so long?” Bentley asked.

“I ran into a little glitch. But it’s over.”

Victoria put her hand on my shoulder. “Everything okay?”

“Yup. Let’s go.”

Victoria and Elec walked in front of us. She was still hanging onto his arm while both of his hands were

in his pockets.

The four of us packed into Bentley’s Prius and drove to an all-night diner. Avoiding my stepbrother

became a much bigger challenge in the confines of a small booth where he was sitting right across from me.

Still, I kept to my word. I’d focus on his sleeve tattoo or play with the salt shakers but never looked up. I pretended to enjoy being immersed in conversation with Bentley, who was sitting to my left.

We ordered our food, and so far, I’d been successful in not making eye contact with Elec.

“So, Greta, there’s this party next Friday at Alex Franco’s house. I wanted you to come with me,”

Bentley said.

“Sure. Sounds like fun.”

“Good.” He leaned in and lightly kissed the side of my face.

Elec was mindlessly playing with some sugar packets. If I were Victoria, I’d find it peculiar that my

“date” wasn’t even talking to me. But what did I know?

She tried to make conversation. “Elec, what are your plans after graduation?”

“To get the hell out of Boston.”

And that was all she got.

A few minutes later, he seemed to be texting under the table.

Then, my phone vibrated.

Bet I can get you to look at me.

I ignored him and didn’t text back.

A few seconds later, our food arrived, and we all dug in. I was happily ensconced in my pancakes when

I heard Elec say to Victoria, “You have some milkshake right there.”

“Where?”

“Here,” he said before pulling her into him and tongue kissing her right in front of me. I watched in

horror as he did to her mouth, the same things he’d done to mine during the encounter at the cafe. My face

burned up in anger as he slowly and sensually moved his mouth over hers.

“Damn, you two, get a room,” Bentley said.

When Elec finally backed away, Victoria covered her mouth and said, “Wow…and here I was, thinking

you weren’t interested.” She laughed.

My stare burned into Elec’s, and he silently mouthed, “Told you.”

“Excuse me,” I said to Bentley as I exited the booth and promptly asked the waitress where I could find

the bathroom. Before I could grab my bearings, Victoria came in after me.

“What was that?” she asked.

I leaned against the sink. “What was what?”

“That whole thing…Elec kissing me like that, and then you running off. Did it upset you that he kissed

me?”

I dodged the inquiry. “He can do whatever he wants. He just bugs me.”

“You didn’t answer my question.”

Sure, why don’t I just admit that I’m obsessed with my stepbrother, so much so, that it turned me on a

little watching him kiss you, because everything he does seems to make my body react.

“You know things between him and me are rocky, Vic. I also don’t want to see you get hurt.”

“Don’t worry. I’m a big girl. I’m just having a little fun. I know he’s leaving.”

This was exactly what I was afraid of.

“Don’t mind me, okay? Elec just gets under my skin. It’s no big deal. I just needed a breather.”

“Okay, if you say so.” She crossed her arms. “Are you feeling good about Bentley, though?”

“We’ll see. He’s…nice. I think I’ll definitely give him a chance.”

“Good.”

When Victoria hugged me, I could smell Elec on her, and it made me crazy. It was my reaction to that

whiff of smoky musk that served to remind me that he was driving me insane and that it needed to end. I

vowed in that moment to do whatever it took to shake this thing I had for him.

“You ready to go back out?” she asked.

“Yeah.” I nodded and took a deep breath. “Yeah, I’m ready.”

The events that took place next seemed to occur in rapid succession. As we walked back toward the

booth, I heard silverware flying and then a loud crashing sound. A crowd of people gasped before I caught

sight of Bentley on the ground and Elec kicking the shit out of him. Bentley’s face was bloody, and Elec’s

mouth was also bleeding.

“Elec, what are you doing?!” I screamed.

He continued kicking Bentley with all his might.

The restaurant manager ran toward us along with a waiter who assisted him in pulling Elec away from

Bentley who was keeling over on the ground in pain.

I bent down. “Bentley, what happened?”

“That lunatic punched me for no reason and so, I hit him back. Then, he just started beating the shit out

of me. I tripped, and he started kicking me when I was down.”

“Are you okay?”

“I’ll be fine.”

“You don’t look fine.”

I helped him up, and he leaned against me. The two men were still holding Elec down as police sirens

approached in the distance.

What was happening?

Victoria walked over to Elec. “What the hell is going on?”

He spit some blood onto the floor. “Do
not
let her leave with him.”

I looked over at Bentley. “What started this? I don’t understand.”

“Nothing. That freak just attacked me.”

“You fucking liar,” Elec spewed as he lunged forward to charge at Bentley again, but the men holding

his arms restrained him.

Two officers walked in and began questioning each of the guys in separate corners. Victoria and I just

stood at the sidelines, dazed and confused as to what could have possibly happened in the short time we

were in the bathroom to have caused this. I’d wished I could have heard what they were saying to the

officers, but they were too far away.

After they were released, Elec walked straight past Victoria and over to me. “Let’s go. You’re not getting

in his car.”

“Who the fuck do you think you are, trying to take my date home?” Bentley shouted.

“I
am
her home, fucknut.”

The cab ride with Elec and Victoria that night had been extremely uncomfortable. Bentley had freaked

out and taken off in his car after he found out Elec was actually my stepbrother. The cause of what

happened in that diner remained a mystery to me. The entire way back, Elec said nothing to either one of

us. He sat in the front while we sat in the backseat.

When we got home and he went upstairs to his room, he slammed the door so hard, it made me jump.

I’d thought about trying to talk to him, but my better instincts told me to just let him be alone.

By the time I woke up the following Saturday morning, Elec had already left to work the entire day at

the bike shop.

My mother sat at the granite island in our kitchen on the stool next to me. “Do you wanna tell me what

happened last night? Randy got a call from his cop friend saying that Elec was involved in a fight over at

the diner and that you were with him?”

I put down my coffee and rubbed my temples. “We were having dinner…Elec, Victoria, myself and this

guy, Bentley, from school. Elec and he got into a fight. We don’t know what started it because it happened

when Vic and I went to the bathroom. So, I really don’t know much more than you.”

“Well, your stepfather is fuming, and I don’t know what to do about it.”

“He needs to just let it go. Guys get into it sometimes, and it may not have been Elec’s fault. You need to

explain that to him.”

“There’s no talking to Randy when it comes to Elec. I don’t understand it.”

“Neither do I.”

***

I’d decided I was going to talk to Elec that night and had been waiting for him to come home all day.

The bike shop closed at six, so I’d expected him back by seven, but he never came home.

Unable to sleep, a sinking feeling came over me. Finally, around midnight, I heard footsteps and the

doorknob to Elec’s room slowly turn.

At least, he was home.

About a minute later, came the sound of his door busting open.

“What the fuck, Elec? You reek of alcohol,” I heard Randy yell.

I jumped up and plastered my ear to the wall.

“Hey Da-da,” Elec seemed to be slurring his words.

“Boy, you just continue to make me so damn proud. First, you start a fight and humiliate me in front of

this entire community and now, you have the gall to set foot in my house tonight drunk? Well, you’re gonna

wish you never came home.”

“Really? What are you gonna do? Hit me? That’s the one thing you haven’t done. I’m so ready for it.”

“You would love that, wouldn’t you? No. I’m not gonna hit you.”

“Right…you’re not going to hit me. You’re just gonna
hate
me…like you always have. Sometimes, I

wish you’d just hit me once and for all then leave me the fuck alone.”

“You’re a loser, Elec.”

“Tell me something you haven’t before.”

“Okay, then, I’ve got news for you. I’m not going to help you pay for college after all. You’re on your

own. I’ve made the decision tonight. I’m taking the money I would have allotted you and giving it all to

Greta.”

What? No!

Randy continued, “I’m not wasting my hard-earned money on a fuck-up who wants to be a pansy

writer. If you decide you want to have a real career some day, come talk to me. Until then, I’m not spending a dime on you.”

“You were never planning on paying for my college anyway, and you know it.”

“Why would I want to…for someone who’s done nothing but disappoint me from the day he was

born?”

“That was the start, wasn’t it…the day I was born? I never even stood a fucking chance, did I? Because

Mami never aborted me like you asked her to.”

“That’s a fucking lie. Did she tell you that?”

“Even if she hadn’t told me, I could have guessed it. Is that why you’ve been slowly killing me with

your words my entire life to make up for it?”

My heart was breaking.

“Have I? Then why aren’t you dead yet, Elec?”

I gasped in horror. I couldn’t stand back and listen to this anymore. I ran into the next room and was

even more horrified to find Elec sitting at the edge of his bed with his head in his hands. The smell of

alcohol on him was pungent. His back was rising and falling with the heavy breaths that escaped him.

“Randy…stop! Please
stop
!” My stepfather stood there with his arms crossed, looking at me blankly. In that moment, the man standing in front of me might as well have been a total stranger. “He’s your son. Your

son!
I don’t care what you convince yourself he did to deserve it, there is nothing that could
ever
justify talking to your child like that.”

“Greta, you don’t understand our history…” Randy said.

“I don’t need to know anything to understand that the words that came out of your mouth tonight cut

deeper than any weapon ever could. And I’m not gonna stand here and let you abuse him like that.”

Neither of them said anything. The room was silent. Elec’s breathing seemed to have calmed down and

with that, so did mine.

I turned back to Randy. “You need to leave.”

“Greta—”

“Leave!” I screamed at the top of my lungs.

Randy shook his head and walked out of the room, leaving me alone with Elec who was still in the

same position.

I ran to my room and returned with a bottle of water, putting it up to his mouth. “Drink this.”

He gulped it down in one sitting then crushed the plastic and threw it. I kneeled down to pull off his

shoes.

He was slurring his words and muttering something I couldn’t understand.

I stood up and pulled his blankets down. “Lie down.”

He took his jacket off, throwing it clumsily onto the ground and crawled over to his pillow. He lay on

his stomach and closed his eyes.

I sat at the side of the bed and was still shaken by what I’d walked in on. I felt so badly for Elec and

was so ashamed of Randy. I knew I needed to talk to my mother tomorrow. How could she have not

overheard and intervened tonight?

Elec’s breathing had evened out. He had fallen asleep. I ran my hand once through his silky black hair,

relishing the ability to touch him freely without his knowing it. My index finger brushed lightly over the cut on his lip that he sustained from the fight with Bentley. It was right around his lip ring, and I shuddered

when I realized that his lip must have torn.

The reason for the constant anger he exhibited was now clearer to me than ever, yet I still felt like I

knew nothing about Elec’s life.

He looked so innocent in his sleep. Without the smirking or the glare of his eyes, it was easier to see

past his harsh exterior in order to catch a glimpse of the boy hiding beneath—the same boy I now realized

had been damaged by the man married to my mother.

A teardrop fell down my cheek as I adjusted his blanket before exiting the room.

Back in my own bed, I thought about how ironic it was that this guy who’d done nothing but try to

chase me away and intimidate me was the one person in the world I felt like I wanted to protect.

***

By the time I got up the next morning, Randy and my mother had already taken off for an overnight trip

out to the Western part of the state.

Mom had left me a note on the kitchen counter:

Randy surprised me in the wee hours of the morning with an early birthday trip to the Berkshires. He’d

already packed the car by the time I woke up! I didn’t want to wake you. It will only be one night. We’ll be
back late Monday. There are plenty of leftovers for you and Elec in the fridge. Call my cell if you need
anything. Love you.