Step-Brother

The long school day finally came to an end, and I could go home. "Home" was the word I called it, but it didn't feel like that to me. It was a terrible experience going to a school full of supernaturals, but it was even worse going back to a house filled with them.

I wasn't old enough to get my own car, and I had refused my stepfather's offer to get me a driver, so I usually took a taxi to and from school. It was a twenty-minute drive from school to the mansion where I resided, and soon I was already there.

I took off my shoes and headed up the stairs. I knew my mom wouldn't be home at this time of day, and my stepfather would probably be at work, which meant it would just be me and Silas. Silas, whom I hoped I wouldn't run into.

I slowed my footsteps, hoping to make little noise so as not to attract his attention. Unfortunately for me, vampires had very good hearing, and before I even got to my door, the one next to mine swung open. I was faced with a shirtless Silas.

"Hey, kiddo, how was school?" my stepbrother asked with a half-grin that displayed his perfect white teeth and sharp fangs. Silas was over six feet tall and had the most stunning pair of honey-brown eyes I had ever seen. His dark brown hair was messy in a way that made it look like he had just woken up from a nap, only I knew better than that. Vampires don't sleep.

"Don't call me that," I growled.

"Someone's grumpy. What happened? Something go wrong at school?"

"Why can't you just leave me alone?"

"Seriously, this attitude isn't good at all." I ignored him and focused on unlocking my door. This was my room, and it held all my private stuff, stuff I didn't need Silas meddling with. I would have just placed garlic on my door, but that would probably be going too far, since this is Silas's house more than it would ever be mine.

He sensed my bad mood and chose to leave me alone. I locked my door and headed straight for the bathroom to take a shower. The warm water was soothing against my skin, and I couldn't help but sigh in relief. Thank God tomorrow was the weekend; I could spend the day catching up on some sleep. After scrubbing myself clean, I wrapped myself in a towel and dried my hair. I pulled on some shorts and a baggy shirt. I didn’t think I had the energy to change into something later, so it was better to wear something comfortable.

I had just settled in my bed with my phone in my hands when my stomach growled, reminding me that I hadn’t eaten anything other than an apple for lunch. I rolled my eyes and pulled myself to my feet before making my way out of the room and toward the kitchen. I searched the fridge and cabinets for something to eat, but I realized that Mom hadn’t gone grocery shopping for a while now. All I could see were leftover takeout, colas, and a filled-up wine bottle, which I knew contained stuff that would leave me nauseated. Goosebumps rose on my skin just thinking about it.

I heard footsteps behind me and glanced over my shoulder to see Silas leaning against the door. "Are you hungry?"

I nodded.

"Come on, I'll take you out to eat." He turned around and gestured for me to follow, and I did. Silas grabbed his car keys from the counter, and we prepared to go out. He froze in his steps, however, just after stepping out of the house. He glanced over his shoulder at me with a frown. "You can't go out like that."

"Why not?" I looked down at myself. The t-shirt almost reached my knees, and I didn’t see anything indecent about what I was wearing. Plus, I just didn’t want to take the trip back to my room to change. This would have to do. "It's not too short, is it?"

"It is. Go change."

"If I go to my room, I won't come back down. If I happen to die of starvation, it'll be on you."

He groaned in response. Silas got into the car, and I climbed into the seat beside him. The car smelled clean, awfully sweet, just like him. I put on my seatbelt, and Silas started up the car and pulled out of the parking lot. He turned on some music, which I was relieved about. On most days, he would just try to initiate conversations with me. This was why I chose to take a taxi to school every day. He was a meddler—a meddling vampire.

We pulled into the restaurant Bill (my stepfather) brought us to every weekend. The food here was to die for, and so was the blood sausage they served. But Bill had stopped ordering that after I had thrown up the last time while watching him eat. Normal people would have been offended by my actions, but not Bill. Bill had chosen to drink wine (which you can guess was blood) every single time, just so he wouldn’t make me uncomfortable. Silas didn’t take anything whenever we came; he just sat there and watched me eat the whole time. I often wondered what he was thinking, why he stared at me with such longing in his eyes. Maybe vampires could smell the blood pumping through one's veins; that was the only explanation I could think of.

Silas guided me to the booth we usually took every time we came here. The restaurant was only half full, and I think most of the people here were couples on dates. There was this one couple two booths away from us; I think the guy was a vampire, but I knew the girl was human. They had this love-drunk expression on their faces as they looked at each other. It was... weird. Like, why would someone choose to be with a vampire when they could be with their own kind? Did that come off as racist?

"Do you think they’re cute?" Silas asked with a smile, noticing my stare. I looked back down at my hands.

"I think they won’t last."

"Hmm." He wanted to say more; I could see it in his gaze. But for some reason, he decided against it, and I was left wondering if I had said something wrong. It wasn’t very nice to predict someone else’s relationship, no matter what I thought.

"I mean, it’s a weird match, but if they love each other, then they'll pull through."

"You say it as if it’s wrong to love someone that isn’t like you. It’s unfair, but we don’t just choose who we fall in love with, Kerry."

"You sound mad." I watched him carefully. My lips pulled up in a knowing smile. "Could it be that there’s also someone you like who isn’t a vampire?"

"You could say that." Silas didn’t even try to deny it. I became more intrigued. I knew Silas attended a private college away from the city, so I didn’t know much about his social life. I would understand if there was a secret girlfriend he hadn’t told our parents about.

"Is she someone from your college?"

"No."

"Then someone from your dad’s company?"

"Kerry."

"You can tell me, I won’t tell anyone."

"Waiter!"

In the end, Silas didn’t tell me anything about this secret love of his. But I wasn’t too bothered; I had a feeling I would find out sooner or later.

---

I helped Mom prepare dinner that night. I wasn’t a fan of cooking, but then again, I loved home-cooked meals, so there’s that. Mom said she was trying out some Italian recipes today, so I’d get to eat something new.

Bill and Silas were already seated at the dinner table. Bill was nursing a glass of wine (blood), and Silas was scrolling through his phone. He only looked up when I was seated across from him, stuffing my face with food. There was that longing look again—why did he only have that look when he thought I wasn’t looking?

"Kerry, slow down, you’re going to choke yourself," my mother warned.

"It’s alright, Stella. I’m sure Kerry had a long day." I frowned slightly at Bill. I didn’t like it when someone pronounced my full name, and he knew it. Jerk.

"We came back from a restaurant not long ago," Silas exposed, flashing me a teasing smirk. Bigger jerk.

"Does it even matter? Why won’t you guys just let me eat in peace?"

"You’re cute when you get mad, kiddo."

"Don’t call me that, Silas." Silas shook his head in amusement, and I went back to stuffing my face. But of course, Bill had to speak again.

"By the way, dear, your mom and I wanted to have a word with you."

"What about?"

"Well, since you only have a year left of high school, we were wondering which college you would like to apply for. I would recommend the one Silas attends; it’s one of the best in the country, and your mom would feel at ease if you were closer to the family."

"I don’t want to."

"Kerry, you haven’t even given it a second thought."

"There’s nothing to think about, Mom. I’m moving to Hawaii after high school."

"Hawaii? Seriously? When you said that a year ago, I laughed because I thought you were joking. Why in the world would you want to move to Hawaii?" I could see the angry lines on my mother’s forehead and knew that she wouldn’t back down on the topic. Neither would I. Not today.

"I don’t see anything wrong with wanting to move to Hawaii. The weather is nice, The beaches are beautiful, and the schools are fine (and most importantly, there are no supernatural beings there). I think I’m old enough to make my own decisions, Mom."

"But Bill wants you to go to a private college. You could make better plans for your life, Kerry."

"Well, maybe I don’t want Bill’s help anymore! I don’t want to owe him any more than I already do!"

"Kerry, you don’t owe me an—"

"Listen, Bill, I appreciate everything you’ve done for Mom and for me. I’m not ungrateful, but I don’t want to feel indebted to you anymore. I eat your food, live in your house, and depend on your money, but I’m terrified of you! I can’t help but think you might lose control and kill us someday. I’m not comfortable! This isn’t the life I wanted! Mom… Mom, how could you have married him?! You didn’t even know his kind existed five years ago. You… I don’t want to stay here anymore." I got up from the table and hurried to my room.

"Kerry!"

I bolted the door and buried my face in my pillow. Sobs wracked my body, and my chest felt tight. Why? Why did I say those hurtful things? Bill didn’t deserve that, and neither did Silas. Why couldn’t I be like my mom? Why couldn’t I be accepting?

I don’t know how long I stayed like that. I could hardly breathe with the pillow pressed against my face, but I didn’t want to move. I was numb—everything was numb. I wondered how they’d react tomorrow. Would I even have the courage to face them?

I felt completely exhausted, and before I knew it, I had fallen fast asleep, unaware of the figure that snuck into my room that night.