Page 134 of Step Bully

I’d overheard everything they’d said to Jules that night from my place perched on the stairs. I’d felt bad for him, even though I’d still hated him. No one deserved to hear that kind of shit from their parents.

“Whatever it is, it’ll be way nicer than what my dad will say.”

“You think?”

“That my father is a homophobic asshole?” I snorted derisively. “Oh yeah. I know he is.”

“Shit. So you have to worry about it from both sides.”

“Yep. The only time they give a shit about me is when I do something wrong. Otherwise, I don’t exist.”

Jules snuggled into me and hugged me tighter. “We’ll figure out a way to hate each other again. Or at least pretend like we do while we eat turkey and ignore everyone except Riley.”

“There’s no point pretending in front of her, right?”

The idea of lying to our four-year-old sister didn’t sit right with me.

“No way. Besides, it’ll make her so happy. She hates when we fight.”

“Tea time will be a whole new experience.”

“Speaking of tea time, where did you find those cookies?”

“I bought them when Mom announced her diet. I needed a cookie stash in case it lasted for more than a few days.”

“I had a giant bag of chocolate-covered pretzels in my closet for the same reason.”

I snort-laughed and rubbed my cheek against his head, enjoying the friction against my stubble.

“Hey, Ash?”

“Yeah?”

“It’s going to be strange sleeping away from you. Is that weird? Can I say stuff like that?”

“You can say anything you want to me. And yeah, it’s going to be weird.”

We’d slept in my room ever since that night all those weeks ago. I wasn’t looking forward to sleeping without him, even if it was only for a few nights.

“Movie night again?” he asked.

“Yup.”

“What did you pick?”

We’d taken to switching who picked the movie, and so far, I’d enjoyed every one of Jules’s choices, and he’d seemed to enjoy mine too.

“Kick-Ass.”

“Really? Going fringe with the comic book references.”

“You’re the one who pulled outThe Watchmenfor your last pick. You had to know there would be retaliation.

“You’re a secret geek. Admit it. You’re one of us.”

“Nope.”

“You are.”

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