Page 34 of Puck My Stepbrother
Could I really tell Dad about Levi’s advances? I sure as hell couldn’t mention the sex. If I did, I would have to fess up to my own unwanted feelings for him. For all I knew, Levi could defend himself by citing sex or our shower together.
Numerous scenarios cluttered my mind, but none of them seemed good enough to bring up.
“You know that in order to keep harmony in this house, you’ll have to coexist with Levi,” he said.
“So you don’t believe a thing I’m telling you.”
“Don’t put words in my mouth, Quinn.”
“But that’s really what you’re saying. You’re telling me that Levi’s word means more than mine does.”
Now Dad threw his fork onto the bowl, making a clanking sound. I’d struck a nerve, which had never happened prior to his decision to remarry, so I didn’t know how to react.
“Look, Quinn, we’re not getting anywhere with this. We’ve been through all this before. We’ve got a wedding coming up soon, and I can’t afford to have the two of you at war.”
“War? Now who’s being dramatic?”
“Don’t get fresh with me, son. You know exactly what I’m talking about.”
“If you don’t want me to speak my mind, why did you even bring it up?”
“Because you looked troubled. Forgive me for wanting to be your father. I thought I could help you by?—”
He stopped himself there, seeming to find any attempt at helping me pointless.
In truth, I’d surprised myself in this conversation. I’d never talked back to my father in any way, shape, or form in the past. I’d never needed to. Before, it’d been Dad and me against the world, and I knew I had him in my corner. All that had changed the moment he’d decided to remarry and move us in with my old bully.
“I think you know exactly what I’m getting at, Quinn,” he said. “You think you know everything, anyway.”
“Okay, I think I’ve had about enough of this.”
I rose from the table, abandoning my dinner. No way would I sit there and listen to another minute of this.
“You know you’re only proving my point by doing this, don’t you?” he asked.
I didn’t answer him. As far as I was concerned, his question didn’t deserve the dignity of a response.
I headed straight up to my room, where I knew I could avoid Levi when he returned home. Not long after, I heard the front door slam shut, followed by the unmistakable thumping sounds of Levi marching up the stairs. The thumping stopped in front of my room, and I understood that he was eavesdropping or making his presence known. He tapped his fingers on the door, but I didn’t answer.
Instead, I froze. Not that I’d been up to anything—I just didn’t want him to know I was there. Forget how the light in my room gave me away regardless. I would do anything to keep my old bully at bay for as long as possible.
But even more earnest attempts at avoidance wouldn’t last forever. As much as Dad’s comments hurt me, he’d had a point. I had to find a way to coexist with Levi.
The whole thing reminded me too much of school, when Levi would do whatever he wanted to me and get away with it. This was no different. Instead of teachers, I had Dad telling me to suck it up. At least in school, I’d gone home and hadn’t had to worry about Levi until the next school day. And I had summers off! Now the game had completely changed.
I felt trapped with Levi. How’s that for dramatic?
14
LEVI
“Have you been avoiding me?” I asked when I stepped in front of him in the upstairs hall.
He didn’t answer at first. Typical Quinn, thinking he could avoid a problem by dodging a direct question. But I thought there was more to it this time. His lips moved even though no words came out, as if he was rehearsing what to say.
Ever since I’d fucked him in my room, my thoughts of Quinn Standish had ramped up—yes, an amazing feat given how I’d thought of my stepbrother-to-be pretty much twenty-four seven even before we had sex.
“Come on, Quinn,” I said. “I wasn’t born yesterday. You’re gone when I wake up in the morning. You’ve practically jailed yourself in your room by the time I get home at night. The rare times I have seen you, you’ve darted out of sight like letting me see you would start the end of the world as we know it. It couldn’t be more obvious that you’re avoiding me, so what’s the problem?”
