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“No, but—”

“Then that is still my house, my rules, and if I invite someone to stay, I don’t need to run it by you.”

“Mom, I could’ve been walking around naked,” I say because she’s looking at this all wrong. I never said she had to ask for my permission. A simple heads-up would’ve sufficed.

“Were you?”

“No.”

“Then what’s the big deal?”

“I’m just…not used to anyone else being here.”

“Well, get used to it. From now on, he’ll be a permanent fixture.”

Permanent?

“But—”

“Graham said he’s been couch-surfing with different friends every night. Is that really how you want your new stepbrother living?”

“I don’t know,” I answer honestly. I don’t know Khaos. Maybe he likes that kind of lifestyle. His name is Khaos. “He said he had a job here.”

“Am I sensing some sibling bonding happening already?”

“No,” I say a little too loudly, shaking the memory in the kitchen from my mind. My eyes were closed, so I didn’t see anything, but I can imagine how Khaos and I looked. Together. Panting. Sweating. Coming.

My face is in flames when I leave the bathroom. Guy’s already on my bed, glued to his phone.

“Just introductions. Guy came over.”

“Oh, good. Guy will restore order.”

Frowning, I assure her, “Everything’s fine.” There’s nothing to restore.

“Will he be joining us tomorrow night?”

“What’s tomorrow night?” Hope blooms in my chest. Is it a celebration for one of my wins? Finally?

“Family dinner.”

Just as quickly, those delicate petals of hope wither and die.

“We don’t have those.” Her wedding wasn’t even a family occasion.

“Now that we have a family, we do.”

I bite my tongue, knowing it won’t do any good to voice my thoughts on the matter.

We had a family. It wasn’t big, and it was far from perfect, but my dad, my mom, and I were a family. Although, I can’t remember a single family dinner together even then. We were not my mother’s priority.

Apparently, I was neither of theirs.

If I was, my dad wouldn’t have disappeared without a trace and my mom would’ve thought about my safety before inviting a stranger to move in. She would’ve thought about me at all. But she didn’t. She never freaking does.

“Great,” I bite out. “Guy will be there.”

Guy screws his face up.