Chapter Six
Andrew drove me to the train station. We didn’t talk in the car – I felt awkward and uncomfortable around him, ever since I’d made the announcement that I was planning to leave.
“Kristin, are you sure this is what you want?”
I stared at him, my gorgeous stepbrother. What I want is you, I thought, afraid to say it out loud. Instead, I nodded my head slowly.
“I think this was moving too fast for me,” I said quietly. “I’m not really the fast kind of girl, you know?”
Andrew sighed. He reached for my hand, twining his thick fingers with mine and squeezing gently. The comfort was reassuring, but I knew that I couldn’t back down. Unless Andrew was willing to be with me and me alone, I couldn’t keep playing these dangerous games. I knew that somehow I’d wind up getting hurt.
“It’s your decision,” Andrew said stiffly. “I respect that.”
We pulled into the train station and I shifted awkwardly in my seat. Part of me wanted to throw myself across the seat and kiss him, but I knew I couldn’t do that – it would be betraying Victor.
“Well, thanks,” I said softly. “I’m really sorry, Andrew. I didn’t know this would happen.” I sighed. “I just…I don’t want to get hurt. You can respect that, right?”
Andrew nodded slowly. “You know you don’t have to leave, right? You can stay, Kristin. You don’t have to go back there – back to that den of wolves.”
I wrinkled my nose, nodding. “I know.”
“And when you’re really ready to leave again, you can come and stay with me,” Andrew added. “I don’t want you to feel like I’m upset with you for leaving.”
I blushed. “I know,” I said softly.
A train whistle blew loudly from the station, making me jump and squeak with surprise. Andrew laughed.
“You’re so cute,” he said. He leaned forward and my heart skipped a beat. He’s going to kiss me, I thought in excitement. He’s gong to kiss me goodbye – he really does like me! But instead of a passionate kiss on the lips, Andrew’s mouth gently pressed against my forehead.
“Bye,” I whispered. Tears filled my eyes as I grabbed my bags from the backseat and slammed the door. I kept wanting Andrew to follow me, to chase after me.
But he never died.
The train ride home was enough to fill me apprehension. I didn’t want to go back with my parents, but I knew that I really didn’t have another choice. After all, this was my fault. I was the one who had lied to my mom, regardless of how ridiculous the circumstances had been, and I was the one who was going to have to face the consequences of my actions.
Hell, to be honest, I was surprised that she was letting me come home at all.
Mom picked me up at the local station, an hour later. The air in the car was icy, and her lips were set in a tight line.
“Mom, I’m really sorry I lied,” I said softly. “I didn’t mean to hurt you.”
Mom heaved a huge sigh. “I know, honey,” she said. “But what you did was wrong. It’s a sin to lie to your parents.”
For a brief second, I had the strangest urge to laugh. I knew that it was wrong – I knew, deep down, that Mom was right. But it was almost like my few days with Andrew had taught me something…that my mom was actually ridiculous.
“Kristin?” Mom asked sharply. “Are you listening to me?”
I blushed and sank lower in the seat. “Yes, ma’am,” I said quietly. “I’m listening.”
The odd urge to laugh didn’t fade for the rest of the day. When Mom and I got home, I carried my stuff upstairs and without thinking, shut the door behind me. An hour later, Mom was beating on my door and screaming angrily.
“Kristin, if you don’t open this door right now, I’ll break it down! You won’t be allowed to have a bedroom door, do you hear me, young lady?”
I got to my feet and yanked the door open just as Mom started beating both of her fists against the white-painted wood. She came stumbling into my room, gasping for air, her face bright red with anger.
I couldn’t explain why, but suddenly, I had to bite at the inside of my cheeks to keep from bursting out into laughter. It was ridiculous!
“You treat me like I’m a little kid,” I said pointedly, staring at my mom. “Weren’t you ever allowed to close your bedroom door when you were a kid?”
My mom’s eyes flashed angrily at me. “Kristin,” she spat through clenched teeth. “You need to learn how to act like a proper young lady if you’re going to stay in this house,” she said angrily. “And respecting your parents is the best and first way to do that.”
I frowned, narrowing my eyes. “It’s just a door,” I said blankly. “What the hell do you think I’m going to do in here by myself? Listen to music with curses?”
The sting of my mom’s hand across my cheek was enough to make me cry out in pain.
“Kristin, I don’t know what you learned out there on your own, but you’re in my home now,” Mom breathed angrily. “And you’re going to play by my rules.”
Suddenly, Andrew’s face popped into my mind. It was the strangest thing – he’d used almost the exact same phrase shortly before I decided to come home. But he’d been telling me that I didn’t have to do anything I didn’t want to.
Now, my mom was telling me the opposite.
Dinner that night was even worse. Dean and Mom treated me like a kid – I wasn’t even allowed to serve myself, for fear that I’d drop the dish on the floor. It was fucking ridiculous. I didn’t know if they’d actually gotten worse, or if it was just in my mind. After all, I’d had a couple of days away from my parents. And I’d gotten quite the “education” about how different things could be in a house with no rules.
“Kristin,” Mom said. “You’re coming to Bible study with me tonight. The theme is learning how to obey what God wants for us.”
I rolled my eyes. “I have to study,” I lied. “I should be on track when I start the next semester.”
“Then maybe you should have thought the better of lying to me,” Mom snapped. “You’re coming and that’s final.”
I looked up at Dean, hoping to plead my case. “Dean, I really need to finish this paper,” I said. “Please?”
Dean sighed. “Kristin, you lied about doing that before,” he said slowly. “Listen to your mother. She knows what’s best for you.”
“But I’ll be right here,” I exclaimed loudly.
Dean and Mom looked at each other.
“I don’t know,” Dean said slowly. “Your mom rules the roost around here. You know that, kiddo.”
Defeated, I slunk back down in my chair.
Bible study was even worse than I thought it would be. The rest of the people there were young – like teenagers – and I was obviously the oldest one. Even worse, some girl asked me which high school I went to because she’d “never seen me around.”
It was like my hot night in bed with Andrew and Victor was the most distant of distant memories.
At home, I crawled into bed and turned out the lights, with my door wide open (of course.) Mom and Dean stayed up watching old reruns of Family Matters and then around eleven, they finally went to bed. As quietly as I could, I pulled my laptop out of my bag and booted it up.
Without thinking too much, I wrote:
“Dear Andrew,
You were right. This is completely miserable, and it’s gotten even worse. I can’t stay here anymore. Were you serious about me being able to live with you?
I miss you.
Kristin.”
I almost wrote “love” before my name, but decided that was too mushy and stupid. Besides, I was sure that Andrew didn’t feel the same way about me. He was a cool, older guy. He’d taken my virginity, and I was sure that was the extent of his affection towards me. It wasn’t like he was the kind of guy who fell in love, at least, that’s what I had to think. Andrew was too cool for things like love. Besides, I imagined if he loved anyone, it was probably Victor.
I debated hitting ‘send’ for a solid ten minutes. Then I heard a cough from my mom’s bedroom, and the yellow glare of light appeared in the hallway. It’s now or never, I realized. I have to do this or else I won’t get the chance again. Nervously, I pushed ‘send’ and watched the email fade away, out of my inbox, towards Boston.
“Kristin?” Mom was standing in the doorway, wearing a hairnet and glasses. “Why aren’t you asleep?”
“Your cough woke me up,” I mumbled, turning on my side and facing away from the door.
Mom sighed angrily, but she didn’t say anything.
Finally, I fell into a deep, troubled sleep.
In the morning, I went downstairs and turned the coffeemaker on. Normally, I wasn’t allowed to touch it, but the thought of Andrew rescuing me made the thought of punishment much more bearable.
“Kristin, what are you doing?”
I jumped a mile into the air at the sound of Dean’s voice.
“Um, sorry,” I said quickly, blushing to the roots of my hair. “I wanted some coffee.”
Dean glared at me. “You’d better not have broken this,” he warned. “This was a very expensive piece of machinery!”
“Sorry,” I mumbled. “I really wasn’t trying to do anything wrong.”
The knock on the door made me jump again. Dean turned to me, glaring.
“Are you expecting anyone?”
“Me?” I shook my head in surprise. “Of course not.”
Mumbling under his breath, Dean went to answer the door. When he yanked it open, Andrew and Victor were standing there, holding a bottle of wine and a basket of fruit and chocolate.
“Hey, Dad,” Andrew said, a huge shit-eating grin spread across his handsome face. “Long time no see!”
When Dean recovered, he backed away from the door. For a moment, I was terrified that he’d tell Andrew to get the hell out of his sight – after all, I was shocked that Andrew had showed up with Victor. But when I saw Victor’s easy grin, I couldn’t help but relax.
Thank God, I thought as Andrew and Victor kicked off their snow boots inside the foyer. They’re here to save me.
“Hi, son,” Dean said tightly. “Why didn’t you call?”
“Didn’t have time,” Andrew said casually. He pulled Dean into a big hug. “How are you?”
Dean made a grumpy face. “I don’t like being surprised,” he said stiffly.
“Mr. Medina,” Victor said kindly. “We thought you’d be happy to see us.”
Dean looked at Victor like he was vermin. “Who are you again?”
“Victor Gallo,” Victor said. “We’ve met. Twice, I think. But it’s nice to meet you again,” he added. “Thanks so much for not minding that we’re here!” Before Dean could wriggle out of the way, Victor pulled him into a tight hug. I hid a smile behind my hand.
Andrew grinned at me. His eyes clung to my body in my thin nightgown and I blushed when I recognized the blatant look of lust on his handsome, Grecian face.
“Hey little sis,” Andrew said. “How are you?” He pulled me into a hug, sliding his muscular hands over my body and down the curve of my back. When I felt him squeeze my ass, I cried out in delicious surprise. Arousal was flooding my body and I could practically smell the musky juices of my pussy as Andrew kissed me on the cheek. His stubble scraping against my sensitive skin made me shiver.
“We’re here for a quick visit,” Andrew said, pulling away and grinning at Dean. “Hope we’re not putting y’all out!”
Dean’s fake smile wavered, then disappeared completely. “I’m sure your stepmother won’t be thrilled,” he said slowly.
“Who, Carissa?” Andrew smirked. “She loves me.”
“You will refer to my wife by her title, which is your stepmother,” Dean said frostily.
“Or by her name, which is Carissa,” Andrew replied. I was astonished at the carefree, roguish way he talked with Dean. Slowly, I felt like I was beginning to understand why Andrew had chafed under Dean and Mom’s rule. But he was stronger than me – there’s no way Andrew would have put up with the same bullshit that I’d had to go through myself.
“Who keeps saying my name?” Mom demanded, stepping into the kitchen and glaring. She was only wearing a thin robe over her nightgown and her cheeks flushed pink when she saw the pair of handsome men standing in her kitchen. Immediately, she turned to me and glared.
“Hi, Carissa,” Andrew said. “Nice to see you. We brought breakfast,” he added, gesturing to the basket of goodies in Victor’s arms. “This is my friend, Victor.”
Mom turned to me. “Kristin, get upstairs!” She barked loudly. “You’re not decent!”
“We’re all family here,” Andrew said easily. I gasped again – I loved the way he was able to diffuse tension in the house. “I think Kristin’s fine.”
“She looks great,” Victor added. His eyes draped all over my body and I blushed when he stared at my breasts. I could feel that my nipples were stiff, poking two small holes in the cotton of my nightgown. His attention made me feel naughty – just looking at him, I remembered how delicious his tongue had felt, lapping at my asshole.
“Yeah, sis,” Andrew said with a smirk. “You look really great.”
I blushed. “I’ll be back,” I said softly. “I’m going upstairs to change.”
The buzz of voices continued while I tossed my nightgown over my head and wriggled into jeans and a sweater, wearing my new silk panties underneath. I wanted Andrew to come upstairs, to burst into my bedroom and throw me on the bed, but I knew that he wouldn’t try something like that with my parents around, watching us like hawks.
When I went back downstairs, Mom, Dean, Victor, and Andrew were all sitting around the table, sipping at glasses of orange juice.
“Pity,” Andrew called to Victor. “We really should’ve brought champagne for mimosas.”
Mom looked scandalized. “You’re my child,” she said. “You won’t be drinking in this house!”
Andrew snickered. “Carissa, I’m twenty-seven,” he said. “Last time I checked, the drinking age was twenty-one.”
Mom flushed scarlet. Her features turned angry. “My house, my rules,” she said through gritted teeth. “And you won’t be drinking, not when your father and I are around.”
Andrew shook his head and laughed. I had to bite the inside of my mouth to keep from laughing – how the hell did he manage to stay so cool in the face of Mom’s ridiculous rules?
“Kristin, I don’t know how you stand it here,” Victor teased. He passed me an apple and winked at me. “These rules seem a little strict.”
“Yeah, Sis,” Andrew said. He raised an eyebrow at me and licked his lips, keeping his dark eyes locked with mine. I felt a shiver of arousal and lust course through my body and I shifted in my chair. My pussy was soaking wet, and the crotch of my panties was rubbing against my skin, making me feel intolerably horny.
“This is our house,” Mom said stiffly. “And we make the rules. Kristin does not pay rent, therefore she is obligated to do as we say.”
Andrew snickered. “She’s twenty-two, Carissa,” he said. Every time he called my mom by her given name, she flinched. It was almost enough to make me giggle.
“She’s still my child,” Mom said.
“She’s your child, but she’s not a child,” Andrew said. “Don’t you know that it’s dangerous for girls like her to be so sheltered?”
Mom and Dean glanced at each other. Just when I thought Mom was about to open her mouth, Andrew kept going.
“Girls like her get out in the real world and realize they don’t know anything,” Andrew said. “She’s going to like, wind up doing porn or dating some abusive asshole because she doesn’t know how to respect herself with people her own age.”
Mom’s jaw dropped.
“That’s enough of that kind of talk,” Dean said angrily. “Andrew, if you can’t learn how to talk to adults, you’re not going to be allowed at this table any longer!”
“So what, Dad?” Andrew countered. He shook his head. “I have my own place, and my own job – I’ve done just fine. But what you’re doing to Kristin is a crime,” he added. “And she should really have more autonomy.”
“Kristin, you want to come out with us later?” Victor asked. “We’re going out to dinner.”
“She most certainly does not,” Mom roared. “She’ll be staying in. Kristin is being punished. She lied to me, and she’s grounded.”
Andrew burst out laughing. “She’s twenty-two,” he repeated. “You can’t ground her, Carissa. You can kick her out, but grounding her doesn’t really work.” He glanced at me and winked. I felt a warm, delicious feeling spread from my lower belly to the rest of my body.
“Thanks,” I murmured under my breath.
“I’ve just about had it with you coming in here and giving my daughter dangerous ideas,” Mom said. “Your father and I are proud that you’ve managed to make it on your own, Andrew. But this isn’t the time to lecture us. Kristin is staying home today, and that’s final.”
I stood up, knocking my chair over. “Actually, guys,” I said. “I’d love to go. I finished my paper. I don’t have any more work to do until next semester.”
Mom stared at me, her jaw hanging open. “Kristin, think about what you’re doing,” she said slowly. “Think about this. Your actions have consequences. You can’t just run around with these boys, willy-nilly!”
“Or what, Mom?” I sassed, putting my hands on my hips. “You won’t let me have any dessert?”
My mom looked as angry as she had the day she’d slapped me, but she pinched her lips tightly together.
“Fine,” she said tightly. “Go out with Andrew and his ‘friend.’ Then you can see for yourself the horrors of the real world.”
“I will,” I said, smiling sweetly. “Thanks, Mom.”