Wrong: A Spoiled Stepbrother Romance (13 page)

*****

Rorke

A beam of sunlight traveled millions of miles to Earth unobstructed, intent on finding the very small crack between the hotel curtain and the window of the room I was in. It was a direct hit, landing directly on my closed eyelids, waking me up with that friendly 'You're on fire' sensation. After I angrily threw a pillow towards the window, the rude beam of light was momentarily blocked. Still tired, I attempted to fall back asleep which turned out to be impossible given how annoyed I was.

This was this first morning in weeks where I had been allowed to sleep in a little bit later and it would be wasted. Each morning Hubert insisted I talk to him on the phone as I jogged, like he didn't trust me to do it without proof. When I had told him I needed these two days off for the wedding, he had absolutely protested it, saying I should only go to the ceremony and come right back to the gym. It took quite some convincing to let him allow it but finally he agreed, “But you call me on that morning jog,” he demanded. Since I had every intention of eating and drinking my father into the poor house after the ceremony, it felt like a lie assuring him that I would. The promise rang in my head as I lay exhausted in the bed, knowing that I had to stick to what I had agreed to. Bitterly I peeled back the covers of the bed, cursing my trainer's name under my breath.

I found yesterday's shorts and yesterday's hoodie and got them ready to put on. As I went to step into the gym shorts, my body felt a little different. By this point every morning, no matter how hungover or tired or whatever, I would always be harder than Chinese math. Looking down at my lower half, I found that my dick was asleep, not feeling the obligation to awaken with the rest of my body. This was odd, it was always at full staff in the morning without fail. Looking down, I was amused and confused finding my trusty tool resting so comfortably. Just as I was about to shrug it off and head out, I suddenly remembered the activities of the night before...

Madelyn.

My dick magically began to rise as the vivid memories of the previous hours flooded my mind. The way we twisted together as she rode me until we both came. The pleasant sensation of reliving that moment cut short as I remembered that I really did cum, right inside of her. No condom or nothing. While I guess I really should've been worried, I couldn't think about just how damned hot the whole thing was. I mean, she's my uptight, snotty stepsister. This wasn't supposed to happen and that made it so, so hot.

Before leaving, I grabbed my phone to call Hubert, get some proof so that this jog would actually mean something. First I saw that thankfully, he hadn't called yet. Next I saw that I had a text waiting, it was from Madelyn.

“Wanna dance?” she had texted me at some point during the wedding, before we had done much more intimate dancing. I wanted to keep talking to her, to open back up the lines of communication. Without much of an idea of what to say, I could only think to text her "Sure," hoping she'd find it funny. She didn't write back.

Once I got outside, I wanted to get a little distance away from the hotel before I called Hubert. Have a nice sweat going on and some loss of breath before talking to him. Make it sound like I was really giving myself a go of it. I was almost all of the way out of the parking lot when I heard it.

“Rorke?” a female's voice reached my ears. My head quickly turned to the sound that was calling my name. There was my new stepmother Carol and dear ol' dad, standing by the door, seeing off their guests. I had been spotted so I had to go over.

“Son,” Carmine addressed me, “surprised to see you're even awake,” he said while patting the backs of a few old men as they left the hotel.

“Yeah, I'm on a pretty strict schedule,” I proudly informed him even though I knew it would fall on deaf ears.

“That's good to hear. Hope you've had time to find yourself somewhere to live. By the way, have you met Roger Balive?” Father moved to reveal a man that had been standing with him. A short, overweight, balding man with a kind face. “Roger here has just sold my entire estate. Say Roger, did that sale include the carriage house?”

Roger stepped forward and looked at me with apologetic eyes. “Yes sir, it does. The entire property.”

My father didn't look at Mr. Balive but instead watched me closely, studying my face to watch the anger start to grow. He thrived on my misery.

Mr. Balive left the uncomfortable moment and I chose to not even address my father, turning instead to Carol, I tried to speak quietly.

“Hi, Ca..Mrs...'Mom'...” the two of us laughed as I struggled for the right way to speak to her, “Sorry I missed the breakfast.”

“Oh, it's ok. You're obviously busy with this... stuff. Very proud of you.” Her response was reasonable and calm, I don't know why Madelyn was always insisting her mother was so irrational.

“So, um, is Madelyn still in there?” I asked while pointing back towards the hotel, “Eating breakfast?”

My new stepmom got a wild look in her eye, excited about something. “Oh, no. Maddie had to leave early this morning. You didn't hear it from me but I'm pretty sure she's getting back together with her ex-boyfriend. They've been talking back and forth, hell, she was even texting him during the wedding. Anyway, she's been talking to him about getting back together which is good because she doesn't have anywhere to stay. She's gonna get to go live with him and maybe have a little fun while she's at it...” As she finished that sentence, stepmom's voice got low and she elbowed me playfully in the ribs even though I was horrified by what she was saying. She didn't know, she thought this was amazing gossip that would, for some reason, entertain me.

“Speaking of which, what are you gonna do? The house is definitely sold, all of it is. He seems pretty serious about making you go live on the street.” Just as she finished talking, my delightful father showed up at her side, wanting to oversee the conversation.

“What's going on here?” he asked, his new bride staring up at him with complete admiration. Not knowing any better, Carol tried to diffuse the tension.

“Oh nothing,” she told him with a playful pat on the chest, “I was just explaining to your son here how you kept me up all night and how sore I am right now.”

My father and I both looked at her with complete shock. I think she was unaware of what she was saying until it had left her mouth. Her face soon read complete embarrassment and she excused herself, leaving my father and I alone together. Carmine came in real close and voice got real terse.

“You've got one week and then you're out, you understand? The house is gone and I don't care where you go.” The overwhelming scent of breath mints wafted over my face even though I tried to squirm out of the way. Father remained stiff and incredibly close to me, holding on to my arm and not willing to back down. In desperate need to get out of there, I gladly backed off first and faded away from my father, breaking into a jog in only a few strides. As I slowly made distance between Carmine and me, I started to dial Hubert.

“It's almost 10 o'clock in the morning!” he barked into the phone as soon as our connection was made.

“Hubert, it's been a very rough night but I'm here now, let's do this.”

“Fight's in one day, I hope you're ready. Your opponent didn't take two days off. Whatever it is, you'll be running some extra today,” he insisted as we started our way into the woods.

*****

*****

Madelyn

The morning after my parents’ wedding, I needed somewhere to go and fast. The Fratelli estate was out of the question, I needed some time far, far away from Rorke. Even though he had been the one who proposed meeting up, when I texted Derek that morning, trying to sweet talk him into letting me stay over, he responded quickly insisting that it wasn’t a “good time”. I’m not sure why I was surprised. Without any other idea of where I could go, I remembered the phone number one of my co-workers had given me. The little old lady who was looking for someone to help her around the house. It was a long shot but one worth attempting. As soon as I was far enough away from the hotel and my family, I called Mrs. Rosenbloom that morning, naively believing she may be the answer to my prayers.

“Hello? Mrs. Rosenbloom?” I had to repeat several times. “Your niece gave me your number,” (repeated several times) “would you be able to meet?”

Once I was finally able to get through to her and she understood I wasn’t trying to sell her anything, Mrs. Rosenbloom carefully spelled out her address. She felt the need to add in some directions, as if she was completely unaware that GPS existed. After I repeated “uh-huh” a million times, we hung up with the understanding that I was about to audition for the chance to have a place to live.

Pulling up outside the house she had painfully directed me to, I couldn't help but feel some delight upon noticing just how close it was to the fun of downtown. She had one of the only houses amid a swath of high-end buildings, a holdout from the aggressive gentrification that happened before I got there. She was clearly stubborn and I hoped that she may also have a kind and patient side too. I at least would have to exhibit such, it took several rings of the doorbell before she finally answered.

The woman who answered the door was quite elderly and I then saw why she would need help around the house. Within moments of speaking with her, it was clear that her prickly personality hadn't dampened with age, she curtly demanded I get inside before one of her "pervert neighbors" gets a good look at me. As Mrs. Rosenbloom struggled with the turning of several locks, I was delighted to see how cozy and clean her home was, maybe the chores wouldn't be so bad after all.

"Shoes! Take them off!" she barked so suddenly and loudly I almost jumped right out of my flats. "Unless you like scrubbing dirt out of carpet all night." I politely followed her demand and waited until she showed me the exact spot I was allowed to sit on the plastic covered couch.

Next she was quick to list off a number of chores she expected to be completed daily. It was exhausting just to hear her say them, never mind the potential of being chastised for not doing them to her high standards. It took all of my power to convince myself that I could do it, that I could power through it because I didn't have any other firm option. Still though, I had to wonder if she had been down this road before.

"A couple of nurses have tried," Mrs. Rosenbloom answered after I repeated my question a few times. "but I haven't been able to find the right fit."

"Oh well, I'm not a nurse, you know," I informed her.

"Can you clean though? That's most important."

She had me there and through gritted teeth I assured her I could. Without even fully understanding my desperation, Mrs. Rosenbloom suggested a "try out", for me to prove to her how much she'd want me around. While I had thought we had already established that, I needed to be sure before we went any further.

"Could we do it today?"

Mrs. Rosenbloom accepted my proposal after making me promise that I wasn't a "doper". She didn't need to know that my only hidden shame was that I had intimate relations with a family member. Nobody needed to know that. Ever. As I was pondering how pathetic my life had become, this sweet old lady handed me a sheet with a list of chores and took on the demeanor of a drill sergeant, insisting I get started at once.

*****

At a few points, I worried that that night would never end. After scrubbing an already spotless bathtub for 45 minutes, Mrs. Rosenbloom came by to tell me that I could finish for the night. "Don't want to burn you out on the first day," she said with a chuckle. I wanted to tell her that I wasn't going to be taken advantage of, I wanted to tell her she couldn't find the right fit because she was insane but I bit my tongue. If I was being granted this favor, I'd have to be polite and appreciate it.

When she offered me to come downstairs to watch the news with her, I politely declined, insisting I was very tired. Mrs. Rosenbloom seemed a little disappointed, so much so that I almost gave in and thought about joining her. She showed me to a room down the hall, already insisting it was "my" room when she opened the door to the sad space. Just a small made bed and bare walls.

Once I finally got her out of my hair, I collapsed on the mattress and wanted to cry. This was my last real option and it was horrible. Playing with my phone, I decided that I wasn't above showing my desperation and made one last attempt the only place I could think of.

"We meet tomorrow or never again"

I felt empowered sending such a stern ultimatum to Derek and started to worry he wouldn't respond. Not 5 minutes later I received his response, a simple "ok". My eyes closed though I wasn't falling asleep, instead trying to figure out how to push past all of the hurt Derek had caused in order to let him save me.

*****

Sleeping in wasn't an option, Mrs. Rosenbloom walked straight into my room at 7am sharp. It took me a few minutes to remember where I was and who she was. She helped that process along by insisting I get out of bed right away because there were chores to do. Knowing I needed to keep this relationship alive, I texted Derek that I'd make the long drive and meet him at 7pm with another warning that this was his last shot.

Breakfast was a piece of toast I was allowed to eat while sorting through the piles of newspaper Mrs. Rosenbloom had saved for whatever reason. Though I knew they would just end up in the trash, she insisted I write down the date of each before it went into a separate pile. The whole time she hovered over me to make sure I did it properly. Once that was finally done, there were gutters outside to clean and leaves to be raked, all of which I did while only silently complaining. When the clock struck 5, I had to let her know my plans.

"Ok, all the yard and gutters are clean. Thank you so much for letting me stay here, Mrs. Rosenbloom," her face fell a little, clearly hoping I'd be able to finish a few more things that evening. "I'll need to be on my way and will make my decision shortly. I'll get back to you as soon as possible. I'm just going to go freshen up..."

She seemed slightly surprised by my words. "Oh, ok. But you'd be a fool to pass this up, it's a great deal for this area. Save some money and all I ask is for a little help with some chores."

Thankfully she let me escape to the bathroom to wash the dirt and grime off and to change to look as best as possible to entice Derek. When I returned to say goodbye, she was listing a few more things she wanted me to do when I came back. All I could do was politely acknowledge that I had heard her, waiting for her to finish. When I finally got outside, my head was spinning trying to figure out how in the hell I was going to live like that if it came to it. The meeting with Derek had to go well or else tub scrubbing was my future.

"I'm on the way," I texted Derek, having a hard time believing I was actually going through with it. In just a short time, I was going to plead with Derek to take me in, give me somewhere to live. Though my heart didn't want to, I'd have to find some way to forgive and forget. I was out of other options.

The sun was starting to set as I reached my car, taking a deep breath to prepare for the meeting I desperately wished didn't have to happen. Sitting in the car I waited a minute before starting it, stalling to buy some time to be sure this was what I wanted to do. My phone came out and I thought of checking to see how Rorke's fight was going but held back, I had to work to keep Rorke out of my mind. The car started as I pledged to focus on Derek and Derek alone, the only option I had for a proper relationship.

I dreaded each mile of road I traveled on the way to my cheating ex-boyfriend. How had it come to this? How had I messed up my life so badly? Why was I going to go though with something I dreaded so badly? As I wondered these questions over and over in my head, I had an epiphany. My life was screwed, and in a way always had been, because of the decisions I made. It was becoming difficult to concentrate on the road as I was basking in the revelation being shown to me. All of the decisions I had ever made were the result of trying to do what I thought was right. Time after time I ignored what I wanted because I felt I had to follow some unclear moral code that only I believed in. Truth was, people followed their hearts all the time and most seemed happy. Why wouldn't I ever allow myself the same freedom? On my deathbed I didn’t want to be looking back with regret over all of these missed opportunities.

A new me was born in the car that night. Without any care or concern for any other drivers on the road, I pulled an irresponsible u-turn and started to drive without dread, drive straight to where my heart wanted to go.

*****