Page 53 of Whispers of Obsession

Two hours later, I’m making my way back downstairs. I got ready for senior night, so I can leave the dinner and head straight there.

“Wow,” I say when I see my mother. She’s all dressed up. God, I really hope it’s not for Sean’s benefit. I think I’d die if they got back together. He’s…not a nice guy. Or maybe the problem with Sean is that he was alwaystoonice. To me anyway.

We head to my stepfather’s house together. The whole drive, I feel sick to my stomach. I hate the man, and haven’t seen him in years.

When we get to the impressive house that I once used to live in, but could never really callhome,my anxiety ratchets up by about a thousand. Just seeing the outside of the grand property again makes my palms sweat. I have to consciously force myself to breathe, and not to fling open the door and run as far away as I can.

Mom grabs a gift for Slater and a bottle of wine from the trunk once we’re parked and asks me to go ahead and ring the bell.

Sean answers it, much to my disappointment. In my head, I thought maybe this would be bearable if Slater’s somewhatfriendly face was the first thing I saw. My stomach sinks and twists into a painful knot.

“Hello, Cora,” he says. His voice is like nails on a blackboard, and I have to suppress a shudder.

Swallowing hard, I try to force out a welcome, a smile, anything, but I can’t. Satisfaction flashes across Sean’s face.

“Hello, Sean,” my mom says warmly, passing him the bottle of wine. “Thank you for inviting us over.”

That’s how you thank your host, Cora.

Yeah, but I don’t want to thank him for shit.

“How…lovely,” Sean replies, looking at the wine like it might poison him. What an ass. We can’t all drink hundred dollar bottles like they’re tap water.

Mom’s smile falters for a second, but then she sticks it firmly back in place. “Where’s the birthday boy?” she asks brightly, shifting the gift, wrapped in dollar store wrapping paper, into her other hand. Sean eyes the gift like it’s a bomb.

I want to snap that it won’t fucking bite him, but honestly, I’m a bit hurt by the gift. She didn’t manage to get me, her daughter, a gift on time for my eighteenth, but she managed to scrape enough together to get, and wrap, something for Slater?

The stupid thing is, he won’t even appreciate whatever it is she’s got him. Not because he’s an ass like his father, but because he’s rich. There’s nothing inside that gaudy paper that they won’t already have for themselves but a thousand times better.

The money spent on the wine and present would have been better spent putting groceries in the fridge.

“Come in, come in. We’ll go through to the lounge until Slater arrives,” Sean says, stepping out of the way to usher my mom in. I don’t move. My feet are frozen to the porch and my brain is trying to slowly compute his words.

“He’s not here?” I ask, dumbfounded.It’s his birthday meal, how can he not be here?

Sean’s smug grin is serpentine, matching his slick public persona. It’s hard to believe he looks so much like Slater, and yet so different. They both share the same dark hair, but where Slater’s is a little wild, Sean’s is oiled back and immaculate. Similar dark blue eyes stare down at me, but they lack all of the warmth and sparkle of his son’s. I think Slater may even be taller than his dad now, but without seeing them side by side, it’s hard to know for sure. I do know though that no amount of time away from Sean’s presence has changed my feelings towards him. He still creeps me the fuck out with the intense way he stares at me.

He shakes his head, waits until my mom’s back disappears into the lounge, and then leans forward. If my mom was to come back, it would look like he’s just closing the door, but he isn’t. He’s crowding my space. Intimidating me. Taunting me.

“Poor little Cora, still pining after her big brother for love.”

Deciding that it’s better to be in there with Mom than out here with him, I step past Sean - with difficulty because he doesn’t budge an inch to let me past - as he closes the door.

His hand on the small of my back turns me rigid with fear.

“Come, little Cora. You can tell me all about what’s been happening in your life. Are you still desperately trying to be good?”

“So, when will Slater arrive?”I ask, what feels like hours later.

We’ve only been at Sean’s house for around an hour, but it feels like so much longer. My ex-stepfather barely spares my mother a glance - and I don’t miss the hurt puppy dog looks that she keeps giving him - but he has been unable to tear his eyes from me the entire time.

It’s disconcerting, the looks he’s giving me. My stomach is so twisted and knotted like barbed wire, that I don’t know how I’ll even be able to eat, and that will just bring more unwanted attention my way.

When it’s time to sit at the table, I take the seat furthest away from my stepfather that I can. The table is set for six people, but as far as I know, we’re only waiting on Slater to arrive.

I could ask who else we’re expecting, but I refuse to start a conversation with the man. It’s bad enough that I’ve spent the last hour being grilled non-stop about school, my exams, my grades, graduation, my job, my love life. I had to run to the bathroom when that topic came up, but there was nothing in my stomach to lose.

“Shortly,” is my stepfather’s only response. I remain silent as we wait. My mother sips her wine. The whole atmosphere is uncomfortable and awkward. Sean appears to be enjoying himself though.

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