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“Watch your tone. I’m still your older brother and I’ll still belt you across the mouth when necessary.” Rex’s cold warning jolts me, but I still scoot closer, pressing my face against the backs of his legs. “I didn’t know who shewas.”
My stepfather shoves a hand through his perfectly styled hair and laughs. “You expect me to believe that?Jesus,man. She’s barely out of highschool.”
Rex curses. “She’s legal,though?”
“If she wasn’t, would you havestopped?”
Silence drops like a curtain, finally giving me my chance to interject. “Stop talking about me like I’m not here.” I reach for my silk pajama slip and tug it over my head. “I’m an adult. I can speak formyself.”
“You’re only an adult on paper,” spits my stepfather. “In real life, you’re a daydreaming baby who can’t walk two feet without tripping into a ditch. Is that what happened here? She tripped and her mouth landed onyour—”
Rex plows his fist into my stepfather’s face. He staggers back, hand pressed to his nose. Blood begins to ooze out almostimmediately.
“Getout!”
“I warned you,” Rex says, pointing at his brother. “A warning is more than I give most men. You should havelistened.”
My stepfather visibly reins in his temper. “You’ve come into my home, defiled Clara and assaulted me. How am I going to explain this to her mother? She looks like she’s been working a street corner.” He looks at the blood on his hand and winces. “It’s time for you to go, Rex. Go and don’t ever comeback.”
“Thisis the Clara you mentioned in your email,” Rex murmurs, finally turning to look down at me, but I can’t read his shut-off expression. “I didn’t ask her name. I would haveknown.”
“Yes, well. It’s a little late for regrets.” My stepfather sneers down at me. “Believe me, I know she’s tempting, I’ve thought about waiting until her mother is asleepand—”
Rex cuts him off with a growl. “Youdon’twant to finish that sentence.” He steps into my stepfather’s space and the man’s face turns white as a sheet. “If you ever lay a goddamn finger on her, you won’t live to see the nextsunrise.”
My heart floats up into the clouds and I come to my feet, prepared to launch myself into Rex’s arms. He’s not angry at me for lying. He understands that we’re not related by blood and we’re free to be together. At least, that’s whatIthink.
“Christ, you can’t be serious about her,” says my stepfather slowly. “She’s your niece. You were inhigh schoolwhen she was born. There’s no way around this. You pursue something with her, the stigma will follow you. Followher.”
Several beats of silence pass. “I’m not. I’m not…pursuing her.” There’s the sound of Rex’s belt jangling as he tucks his shirt back into his jeans with hasty movements. But all I can hear is the rushing in my ears. It’s over. It’s over and we’ve barely even started yet. “I’ll get gone soon enough. But I’m going to have a word with her first.” Rex grunts. “Go on. Get back to yourparty.”
“Oh yes. Can’twaitto explain my broken nose.” My stepfather’s sarcasm hangs in the air as he turns to leave. Before he gets too far, though, he turns back to face Rex. “Dad was always right about you. You find a way to blackeneverything.”
Rex stands there for long seconds, hands propped on his hips. I can sense a deep sorrow…or maybe disappointment in him. It corresponds to the sorrow inside me. The one that deepens every time someone tells me to get my head out of the clouds or laughs at me for bumping into something. My attraction to Rex is about more than safety, isn’t it? More than belonging. We share a spirit, don’twe?
I move forward to wrap my arms around him from behind, but before I can comfort him, he turns to look at me and all I see is his anger. Regret. And still a touch of sorrow. “Did you know who Iwas?”
“Yes,” I say, refusing to be anything but truthful this time. “Iknew.”
His eyes widen in surprise before narrowing to slits. “You lied to me,girl.”
“No.” I sidle forward. “I found a loophole. There’s adifference.”
“Yeah. A huge difference. Once that ended with your uncle’s cock in your mouth.” He drops his head forward. “I shouldn’t even be speaking to you about things likethat.”
“I like it,” I whisper. “I like everything aboutyou.”
“You can drop the act now. I see what’s going on here.” His laugh holds no humor. “You like pissing off your new stepdaddy. Well, I’d say you achieved that and thensome.”
“No, I…” I shake my head, confused. “When I want to piss him off, I just hide his flaxseed oil. His face turns all redand—”
“Stop,” he barks, before taking a slow step closer to me. “Stop beingso…”
“Random?Ridiculous?”
“Who calls youthat?”
My lower lip pokes out. “Everyone.”
