PRINCE CHARMING: A Stepbrother Secret Baby Romance(74)

“My ride is here. Gotta go!”

“Be careful, sweetie, and have fun!” my mom replied.

I waved to Gary and left, feeling the cool night air hit me as I walked out of the house.

“Hello. Could you please take me to the Metro North station?” I asked the driver,

He nodded wordlessly, and we pulled away. I looked up at Ash’s room, seeing his strobe lights reflected in his window. He didn’t even chase me or come after me. How could he really care?

I put on my headphones and scrolled through my music, being careful to avoid rock music because it reminded me of him. I settled on a girl power ballad and looked at myself in the window. I looked pretty but sad. I needed to cheer up.

The driver stopped the car at the train station. I rummaged in my purse and pulled out a crisp twenty-dollar bill, always a generous tipper.

“Thank you,” I said, “have a good night.”

“No, thank you. Be careful on the train!”

I got out of the car into the cool night air. Summer evenings here were a tad colder than San Fran. I’d never taken the train before, so I was excited. I made my way up to the platform and looked at the ticket machines. It was easy enough to get a ticket, but thank goodness I had Gary’s card, because boy, was it expensive! I sighed to myself and took my printed ticket and wait on the cool platform for the train. When it arrived, I shivered with excitement.

“New York City, here I come!” I said cheerfully.





ASHTON


“Your room is even cooler than I remembered,” Jen said, looking around.

I’d hidden the photos of my mom so no one would see how emotional I could get over them. My bong was set up, ready to smoke. My strobe lights were on, and I had some rock music turned down low. I could hear the hair dryer in Amy’s room, and my heart sank.

Keep it together, Ash. Who cares if she’s around or not? She’s basically your sister now, so it doesn’t really matter.

Jen waved her hand in front of my face. “Hello? Are you there? It’s me,” she said, giving me a kiss on the cheek.

“Yeah. I’m here,” I jolted out of my stupor.

She giggled and pushed me onto my bed, pecking me again on the lips. Her firm breasts pushed against me. Damn, was she hot. I kissed her back somewhat reluctantly. I pulled my head away to stare at the ceiling.

“What’s wrong?” Jen asked, sitting up and straddling me.

“Nothing. Let’s smoke first,” I said.

We took turns puffing, and soon, the room was filled with smoke. I was so much more relaxed. She came onto me again, and I returned her affections this time. Then I heard small footsteps at the bathroom door. The door slammed open.

I sat up, nearly knocking Jen over. Amy, looking gorgeous in pink, stood in the doorway. Her eyes were so sad, but her hands were clenched in anger and annoyance. She screamed something about smoking and stormed out of the room. I tried to call after her, but it was too late.

“Shit,” I said, collapsing back onto the bed. I closed my eyes and grumbled.

“Damn. Your stepsister is so uptight about smoking!” Jen said, not understanding the dynamic between Amy and me.

“Just forget it. Let’s pop in a movie,” I said.

“Oh! Goody!” Jen chortled cheerfully. “I’ll pick!”

My heart hammered from the shock, and my face was red from embarrassment. Now Amy would never talk to me again, and it really was over. Jen fumbled excitedly with the movies before picking an old Disney one. She cuddled beside me, and I felt terrible.

I tried to lose myself in the movie until I saw the lights of a car pulling into the driveway. I sat up and said, “Be right back,” to Jen before walking downstairs. My dad and Emma were relaxing with wine in the den.

“Did Amy leave?” I asked.

“Yeah, she’s heading to the city,” Emma said.

“Fuck…” I grumbled to myself. She was going to the city by herself? It wasn’t entirely safe if you weren’t street smart, and besides, I wanted to be the first one to show her around. I needed time to think about what I was going to do. I also had to be back early to help Emma with the bed and breakfast. I was so overwhelmed. I had never been this worried about anyone or anything in my entire life.

I stormed back upstairs; Jen was curled up on my bed. “You gotta go. Family emergency.”

“What the fuck? Not fair. I feel like I just got here, and I can’t drive! Seriously, Ash.”

I looked around for money and shoved some twenties in her hands. “I’m sorry. Take a cab. It’s an emergency, really,” I replied.

She narrowed her eyes at me and got up. She put on her coat without looking at me. I could almost feel the anger radiating off of her.

“Fucking asshole,” she said as she left.

I would deal with her later, but for now, what was I going to do about Amy?





AMY


The hustle and bustle of Grand Central station was almost as huge as my excitement from just being there. This was the wonderful Grand Central Station I’d seen in movies and in advertisements. True to tale, it was very busy. Even on a weekend night, there were tons and tons of people. I felt like a fish out of water, looking around and trying to take everything in. A few men leered at me, but I was so used to creepy men by now.