Chapter 7
CHLOE
I pushed open the door to Adam’s room feeling incredibly nervous. It just seemed so wrong for me to be here, especially after I had just seen him half naked. The thought of him in his boxer briefs wouldn’t leave my mind, no matter how hard I tried.
His chiseled abs. The deep groove of an oh-so-sexy V leading right to his…
I pushed the thought into the back of my mind as I eased Adam into his bed. “Where are your shirts?”
“There should be a clean one in the drawer.” I was actually quite surprised by the condition of his room. I always assumed that a boy’s bedroom would look like a pigsty but overall, everything was quite tidy. There were a few pieces of dirty laundry here and there, but other than that, the carpet looked vacuumed, there were no questionable pieces of trash laying around, and his closet actually looked color coordinated.
I headed over to his bureau and started opening up the drawers.
“Not that one…!”
But, it was too late. I had already opened his underwear drawer, where all his briefs were folded neatly in piles. Right next to them were…
“Are these… condoms?” I asked, holding up the small square package.
“Put that down.”
“They are, aren’t they?”
“Of course they are. Haven’t you ever seen a rubber before?”
“Of course I have,” I said quickly, not wanting to look like such an obvious virgin.
“Well, then stop gawking at them already and get me a shirt, will you? Third drawer from the top.”
I dropped the condom with the rest, my heart tightening with the realization that Adam had probably slept with a bunch of girls in his life. He probably had a girlfriend and everything.
But, what did it matter? He was my soon-to-be stepbrother. It wasn’t like we could ever…
What was I thinking?
I quickly grabbed a shirt from the third drawer and tossed it at him. I refused to look him in the eye. My cheeks were on fire and I was hot all over. Why was I feeling this way? I couldn’t possibly be attracted to my stepbrother, could I?
Once he was dressed, I helped him with his shoes. “How are you feeling?” I asked as I pulled him off the bed.
“Fine. My chest is a little tight, but I don’t feel like I’m dying anymore.”
“That’s good,” I sighed in relief, opening the front door for him.
“If you want, I can drive us.”
I shook my head. “You’re in no condition to drive. I got it.”
“Alright. Try not to kill me on the way there,” he teased, getting in the driver’s seat.
“Wait… what are you doing? I thought I was driving…”
“You are,” he said with a look of confusion on his face.
“But you’re…” I peeked into the car, seeing that the steering wheel was on the opposite side of the car. “Oh… right… I was just...”
Feeling a little embarrassed by my mistake, I kept my head down as I rounded the car, opening what really should have been the passenger side. Taking a deep breath, I finally jumped behind the steering wheel, my hands already in the 10 and 2 position.
“You got to turn on the car first,” Adam said, looking concerned over at me. “Are you sure you want to drive?”
“Yes, no problem at all.” I turned the key, hearing the old motor sputter to life. It sounded like a monster, its stomach rumbling in anticipation for its next meal.
Carefully, I eased out of the driveway.
On the road, I had a little bit of trouble with the gear shifter.
Adam reached over, placing his hand on mine. “Here… it can be a little tricky sometimes.” With his help, I managed to get the car into drive.
“Thanks…” I whispered, feeling a tingling sensation crawl up the length of my arm. It was like his touch was… electrifying.
Eventually, I eased my foot off the brake and crawled forward. My posture was ramrod straight, my chest nearly touching the wheel.
“Are you okay?” he asked, glancing over at me.
“Fine.”
“Okay… you need to make a right turn at the stop sign.”
“Right turn… okay,” I nodded.
At the stop sign, I turned as I usually did, thinking nothing of it.
“Whoa! Whoa!” Adam exclaimed.
“What?” I asked, wondering what I had done wrong.
“You’re on the wrong side of the road!”
“Shit!” Suddenly, the headlights of an incoming car shone in my eyes, blinding me. I braced for impact, my body tensing.
Honk!
I willed my body to move, but it was like I had turned into a statue.
“Chloe!” Adam shouted my name but he sounded muted like I was hearing him from underwater. “Get out of the way!”
Still, I couldn’t move.
At the very last second, he reached over and jerked the wheel in his direction, practically laying on my lap in order to do so.
The car swerved into the right lane before he yanked on the emergency brake. The wheels squealed against the asphalt, my body jerking forward, my forehead nearly slamming into the wheel.
“Get out.”
“What?” I looked at him, my fingers shaking from our near-death experience. “I can drive… really.”
“Look, no offense to you, but I don’t want to die on my way to the hospital. I feel better now, I shouldn’t have a problem driving. I swear.”
I hesitated. “Are you sure…?”
“Yes.”
I sighed, unbuckling myself and getting out so we could switch positions. Adam waited for me to settle in before he started to drive. He was a very confident and smooth driver. With one hand on the wheel, he looked completely at ease. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see his muscles dancing underneath his skin.
“I’ll have to show you how to drive properly sometime.”
“I know how to drive,” I protested. “You’d have a hard time too if everything was backward from what you recognized.”
“I’m not talking about that. You were so… stiff. A good car ride comes when you feel comfortable behind the wheel.”
“Are you actually offering to help me?” I asked, a little surprised.
“You helped me. It’s only fair.” He shrugged like it was no big deal. “Besides, I don’t want to be your chauffeur the entire time you’re in America. Spending that much time with you would probably drive me insane.” He paused. “Pun intended.”
I rolled my eyes. “I’m not that bad and you know it.”
“If you say so.” He took the exit onto the motorway. The older car started to rumble and shake as he pressed down on the gas.
“Are you sure that this thing can handle the express?”
“You mean the highway?”
“Whatever. You know what I mean,” I said, once again finding him incredibly annoying. For a split second there, he was becoming bearable. I should have known that it was too good to be true.
“Yeah. It should be fine.”
“How long has it been in the garage?”
“I don’t know, a few years maybe? I think the last time he used it was when I was still playing football in the peewee leagues.”
The car rattled harder. I clenched the door handle, my heart rocketing with fear.
“Relax. Nothing is going to happen,” he assured before he turned on the radio, muffling the noises coming from the undercarriage of the car. “Ooh. I love this song,” he turned the knob, causing the song to reverberate through the speakers.
“God, what is this?” I covered my ears with my hands, trying to drown out the sound of people screeching. It was like the band was being brutally murdered. How could anyone like this?
To my horror, Adam started to sing along. His voice pierced through my skull.
“Stop!” I begged, pressing my hands even harder against my ears.
He only sang louder, irking me further.
“Adam!”
He smirked wildly, “What? You don’t like my singing?”
I took my chance to turn off the music. “No! And that wasn’t singing. That was screaming.”
“The correct term is alternative.”
“I don’t care what it is. It was awful.”
“And what? Your taste in music is much better, is it?”
“As a matter of fact, it is,” I said, crossing my arms over my chest. “At least I listen to legitimate music.”
“Like?” He looked over at me momentarily before he returned his eyes to the road.
“Adele.”
“Hmm. I’ll have to give that one to you. She’s a pretty good singer.”
“You like Adele?” I asked in surprise.
“Hello from the other side…!”
“I must have called you a thousand times…!” I sang back, unable to help myself.
We both looked at each other for a moment before we burst out laughing.
“You’re a horrible singer,” he commented.
“So are you.”
“Want to start a band together?”
“What would we call ourselves? Ear Bleeds? Or Shattered Glass maybe?”
“How about Tone Deaf Stepsiblings?”
“Has a bit of a ring to it…” I said, playing along with the ridiculous conversation.
“Anyway. We are here.” Adam parked in the visitor lot.
When I looked over at him, the light from the overhead street lamp shone on his face. His typically sun-kissed skin looked like it had been bleached. His eyes were sunken. His lips still a little swollen. By the way his chest moved, he was probably still having a hard time with his breathing.”
“Come on. Let’s get you inside. You look like shit.”
“Gee. Thanks,” he said, his voice a little shaky.
“What’s wrong?”
“Nothing… just a little dizzy…” He held his hand up to his temples, closing his eyes.
“Adam… you’re starting to worry me…”
Suddenly, he tumbled forward, his head slamming into the steering wheel.
Hoooooooooooonk!
He set off the car horn, causing it blare through the parking lot.
“Adam!” I screamed, quickly scrambling out of the car and opening his door.
His body practically collapsed on mine.
I did everything I could to keep him from falling out of the car, putting all my strength into shoving him back into his seat. “Help! Someone help me!” I cried out, praying for a miracle.
What had happened to him? Why did he just pass out? Was he still breathing?
To my relief, one of the hospital security guards came up to the car, flashing a torch in my face.
“Please… you have to help him. He had an allergic reaction earlier this evening… and he just blacked out. I don’t know what’s wrong with him…” I started to rant, the words pouring out of my mouth like the faster I spoke, the more it would help Adam.
The security guard was a beefy fellow who picked up Adam with ease, carrying him into the hospital.
I followed right behind them, my heart in my mouth, fearing the worse. Despite hating him, I didn’t want something bad to happen. Especially when we just seemed to be bonding with one another…
Inside the hospital, Adam was quickly placed on a hospital bed and rolled toward one of the examination rooms. I tried to keep following him, but one of the nurses held out her arm, stopping my advances. “I’m sorry, Miss, but you can’t go back there.”
“But…”
“They will take good care of him. Don’t worry.” She placed a hand on my shoulder, squeezing it slightly.
I gnawed at my bottom lip with worry.
“Please take a seat. We will notify you when you can see him again.”
I nodded, shuffling toward the waiting room where I waited, and waited, and waited.