Page 19 of Step Brother Bear

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I emerge from my room two hours later, looking like some Texan beauty queen, or at least an attempt at one. I don’t have the nerve to tell my mom to change everything back. Besides, maybe Lewis will like this new look. He always told me he preferred my hair straight.

I enter the kitchen area, with Mom trailing my heels and fidgeting with a strand of my hair that has already started curling, just as a knock echoes from the front door.

“Coming!” Darrell chimes.

I busy myself with glancing around the kitchen, catching full countertops steaming with food. Lewis’ voice triggers a fight or flight response, and I freeze as he enters, already engaged in a conversation with Darrell. He sees me, and his expression changes. “Wow, hi.” He smiles, one of his brilliant grins that always had me weak in the knees, but right now feels a little less bright. Perhaps it’s a glob of smoky eyeshadow lodged in my eye.

“Hello.” I wave.

A weird silence passes between us. He breaks it. “I hope this isn’t crossing a line. When I saw your parents in California, it felt like fate.”

My heart should sing at his words. He never mentioned anything romantic when we were together, but something about the way he says it annoys me, as if he rehearsed in the car on the way here, and not in an endearing way, but in an acting way.

I open my mouth to speak, but Mom beats me to it. “Oh, Lewis. It’s totally fine. You’re like family.” She removes the distance between them, wrapping him in a hug. The idea of Lewis was always her favorite part of me. I never brought him around, since I didn’t want to be around them, so I guess her sentiment is true. He is like family—the kind you never see but pretend to love.

Darrell pulls my mom to him, putting on his devoted husband-and-father act he always wears in the presence of strangers. “Well, I hope you’re hungry, Lewis. Dinner is ready.”

“Starved.”

With that, we all trickle into the dining room, where Mom has dressed the table with her nicest china, already full with food from—God knows where, because my parents definitely don’t cook.

We all take our seats, Lewis beside me and my parents across from us. I’m so nervous about what to say, especially in front of my desperate-looking parents, that I almost forget about the other person who also lives in this house, until he enters the dining room, dragging a chair from the kitchen and taking a spot next to me. “I see you all were about to start without me,” Derek says, glaring at my parents as he pulls the place setting from Darrell and arranges the plate and wine glass in front of him.

Because I know Darrell, I catch the steam blowing from his seams at his son’s behavior, but he’s nothing if not a fantastic actor so I doubt Lewis catches it. “Oh, I didn’t know you were home. I’ll grab myself another plate.” He stands, placing his hand on Derek’s shoulder before leaving the room. I don’t miss the squeeze, his fingertips digging into Derek’s injured shoulder. Derek winces but hides the pain, putting on a forced smile. He turns to Lewis, ignoring me in between them. “Oh, and who do we have here? You must be the new assistant my parents hired.”

Lewis scrunches his face but his smile doesn’t leave. “Oh, no. I’m Lewis. I’m…”

Derek interjects. “Oh, that’s right, the gardener?”

“No, I’m…”

“Oh, I got it. My stepmom’s personal trainer.” He eyes him up and down. “I gotta say, it’s not obvious, but don’t worry, bro, I totally believe having lean muscle is just as impressive as having actual muscle.”

“Derek!” I say through, clenched teeth.

His eyes flick to mine, and he winks over a cocky smile. He scrunches his face as he takes me in. “Wow…you look…shellacked…” He grimaces and tugs a strand of my straightened hair.

“I apologize, Lewis,” Mom interjects. “This is Derek, Isabella’s stepbrother. You know how siblings can be.”

I cringe at her words, almost taking the place of Derek and his constant reiteration that we’re stepsiblings.

Lewis smiles. “Oh, don’t worry. I have friends who are older brothers. I know how protective they can get. Nice to meet you, dude. Heard a lot about you.” It’s not true. I never talked about Derek to Lewis. He knew I had a stepbrother, but that’s about it.

Derek’s lower lip protrudes and he eyes Lewis from head to toe before blowing out a breath and turning his attention to the chicken breast before him. He jams his fork into the meat and brings it to his mouth, taking a bite as if he’s a wild animal. Which makes me wonder…

I look for a sign of his shift. His eyes hold a crazed look and his teeth seem too big for his mouth. This isn’t going to end well.

Darrell returns with another plate, seeming to also notice Derek’s subtle transformation and giving him a death stare. Derek catches it and cools a bit, the lines smoothing between his eyes.

I try not to let my worry show and pick at my own chicken breast. Mine is smaller than everyone else’s. Must be the doing of my mother. It pisses me off. I snatch a roll off the center of the table, wishing she could see me silently rebelling against her weight-loss wishes, but she’s too busy yapping at Lewis, who to his credit seems genuinely intrigued by whatever self gratifying tales she’s choosing to spew.

I clean my plate, a second away from licking the remnants, when something brushes against my leg, making me jump. No one notices my startling. Lewis discusses a controversy over different paperweights featuring his colleagues’ business cards. My parents stare at him as if he’s a stand-up comedian.

This time the brush isn’t a mystery. I glare at my stepbrother, his hand trailing up my thigh, heading underneath my skirt. He smiles, not looking at me, resting his head in his other hand as he pretends to listen to whatever Lewis says.

I attempt to swat him away from under the table, but he tightens his grip on my thigh, nails almost breaking skin. I wince and Mom gives me a quick sideway glance, causing me to freeze in place. It’s exactly what Derek wants to happen. I don’t look at him but I can practically feel the pleased grin at the corner of his lips as he drags his fingers up, moving closer and closer to my core.