PRINCE CHARMING: A Stepbrother Secret Baby Romance(71)

“It’ll all be okay. Just breathe. Have you spoken to him since it happened?”

“Yes… I told him to find someone else and that it was over,” I said, noting how sad my voice sounded.

“Good. You did the right thing. I mean, you can’t totally pretend it didn’t happen, but for now, just act like it didn’t. For your sake and your parents’ sake.”

“I just want to go home. I miss you, my dad, and our friends at school. Maybe I should just come back early. But Mom would be so upset, though. I don’t know what to do!”

“Just relax for this weekend. Make decisions tomorrow,” Sarah said.

I took a deep breath. “All right.”

“My boyfriend is about to get home, so I gotta go,” she said. “I’ll talk to you later. Text me if you need anything.”

“I will. Thanks, Sarah. Goodnight.”

We hung up, and I felt so cold and alone. The bathroom had a Jacuzzi, thank God. I turned the steaming water on and felt soothed by the scents of lavender I poured into the tub. I ripped my clothes off, feeling dirty and unclean. Perhaps I could wash away my sins, and none of this would have ever happened. I cried softly as I scrubbed my hands and feet with the soap, the roaring of the water spout hiding my angst.

I wrapped myself in a fluffy towel and put on my robe after an hour in the bath. My phone pinged. I had a friend request from none other than Ash. With shaking hands, I accepted.





ASHTON


I was rarely uncomfortable in a car, but the ride home had been hostile. My dad and Emma wanted to sit together, so I was forced to sit with a highly uncomfortable Amy. She stared pointedly out the window, her arms crossed tightly.

“How did you like the beach, Amy?” Emma inquired.

“It was beautiful. Thanks.”

“How about you, Ashton? Did you enjoy yourself?”

“Very much so,” I answered, deepening my voice, trying to hint to Amy that I had enjoyed our sex together. Amy’s face was slightly pink. Fuck, I loved it when she got nervous like that.

“Ah, I am so happy that we are finally married,” Dad said, putting his hand on Emma’s thigh.

“If only the stress of the formal ceremony wasn’t still there, but I think having it at the bed and breakfast will help. I also think we’re going to need a handyman,” Emma hinted, smiling at me.

“I’m happy to help. Seriously, it’s not an issue,” I offered.

I was hoping this would make Amy think I was less of a dick, but she still didn’t look at me. I couldn’t stand it anymore. I pulled out my phone and texted her.

Ashton: What is your issue? I thought you would be okay with what happened?

Amy’s phone vibrated. She looked down at it, then over at me, and sighed. She typed back.

Amy: Seriously, now that our parents are married, it’s over. Just stay out of my way the rest of the summer. Go hook up with one of your groupies I saw on your social media.

Women could be so crazy sometimes, I grumbled inwardly.

Ashton: Really? Wow. Okay. Consider yourself ignored.

We finally got home. I picked out my things from the trunk and saw Amy’s rather heavy purple suitcase and grabbed it as well. She looked for her luggage. When she saw me carrying her bag, she scoffed and followed me up the stairs.

“I could have carried that myself, you know,” she said with an icy voice, so different from her usual sweet, soft one.

“Whatever. I’m just leaving it outside your door.” I plopped her bag down and put mine in my room. I walked back out to see Amy walking out of her room with her shower caddy.

“You can take a damn shower up here. I’m not going to walk in on you, you know,” I said indignantly.

She rolled her eyes at me. “I’ll do what I want.” She stomped down the stairs with her nose in the air.

An ache came over me—the kind I hadn’t felt since my mother left. “Fuck her. Who cares what she thinks?” I mumbled to no one.

I needed to do something—to fix something. Tinkering with my car would work. I threw on an old tank top and some sweatpants, my work clothes. I trudged down the stairs, passed one of the main bathrooms where I knew Amy was fiddling around behind the closed door. The cool air of the garage hit me, and I found it soothing. I closed the door behind me, sealing myself from the world.

I rummaged through some of my tools and rolled myself partially under my car. I began fixing a leak. The leak. The one that had been evading me, the one I could fix. I liked machines and cars because they weren’t complicated. If you had the right parts and the right amount of work ethic, you could fix it. People were far more complex. If something was broken, sometimes you couldn’t fix it, even if you tried.

I didn’t think I could fix things with Amy.

A good hour went by. My phone vibrated. I rolled myself out from under the car and pulled off my gloves, which were covered in grease. Jen, a girl I had known from high school, had texted me. She always did have a crush on me.

Jen: Hey Ashton. Can’t wait for our date tonight. I thought you’d never ask.

Ashton: Hope you like smoking, because that’s what’s up. It’ll be fun.

Jen: Yeah. Wouldn’t smoke anywhere else. You always have the best shit. And that new bong you showed me a pic of looks amazing. We’ll get so high!