Royal Prick (A Stepbrother Romance #2)(4)

“I understand, Mom, I’ll stay away from him,” I mumbled, lying through my teeth. I couldn’t take my eyes off the photo of him no matter how hard I tried. All I could see was a misunderstood boy, with the potential for so much more.

His eyes were dark and bleak. The contours of his face in the lighting made him look darker, more sinister than he really was, I was sure. He had dark brown hair that was spiked in a million different directions, the kind of hair that said he did nothing in the morning to tame it. God to be those hands, those fingers. I could feel my cheeks growing pink and a heat creeping up my neck.

“I doubt he will do anything to hurt you, but the fact that he fights in the underground arenas all but says he will do anything for some money. Besides, his mother Olivia is certain that he just needs a little bit of time with his father. I’m not convinced in the least bit, though. He left them for a reason.” My mother was preparing her tea in our over the top kitchen. Mark, Royal’s father wasn’t biologically my dad, but he’d been married to my mom since she was pregnant with me, and he treated me like I was his own flesh and blood. He gave me the things I needed for a better life and was the father to me that mine never was or even tried to be. He treated my mom right and was an all-around great guy which was all I could ever ask for.

“Maybe it’s true?” I shrugged, trying to give the guy the benefit of the doubt. My mom had always been a negative nelly, always believing the bad in people before she even bothered to hear the good that they might have done.

“Don’t be so na?ve, Noelle.” She scolded me like I was a small child. I wanted to roll my eyes at her but didn’t. I knew better than that. I didn’t have the time in my day for that lecture again. My mom was all about money and popularity, uncaring to those of lesser stature than her. In my eyes, she would be forever ungrateful. Just another unhappy, rich snob.

I couldn’t help myself, I had to sneak another peek. My eyes drifted back down to the photo she had placed in front of me as I ate my breakfast. Royal. I said the name in my head letting it roll around and simmer in my mind for a few minutes.

It was a name that reminded me of royalty, of a person who considered themselves above others, though he didn’t look the part at all.

He oozed sex appeal and charm,,that coupled with the pale blue eyes and the darkness of his skin made him more appealing to the eye. Then there was the fact he was smirking in his photo, which was all but saying f*ck you to the correctional officer in front of him. Still, I wanted to reach through the photo and shake the shit out of him. He was a bad boy; it was written all over his face, and I was curious.

“When is he coming?” I blurted the question out. I wanted to meet him; to be the first to question him and bring to light all of his discretions. I wanted to rip him apart and piece him back together. To figure out everything there was to know about him, and to dissect the sad look in his eyes. Something in that photo made me want to know him. It made me want to know why he would endanger himself and those he loved most.

“Tomorrow, possibly tonight. Your father is picking him up from the airport sometime soon. I don’t really know, Noelle.” Her voice was short as she sipped on her tea and scrolled on her phone pretending to listen to anything I was saying.

“Oh, okay. Well does he need any help with anything? Maybe getting enrolled in classes, sports, or extra-curriculars?” I peppered her with questions. I didn’t want to sound overly excited, or too eager because she would take it the wrong way, but I had been alone in this giant ass house for years. Having someone else here with me, someone the same age as me would maybe make the house seem a little smaller and hopefully more like a home.

My mom lifted her eyes from her cell phone screen, her eyes narrowing on me, as she digested what I had said. “Sports? Really, Noelle, he’s a damn criminal for Christ sake. Criminals don’t play sports, and if he’s got a track record like that…” she pointed to the information underneath the photo, “…I doubt he has the grades to back himself up to join any extra-curricular activities.” I could feel my mouth drop open. Her assumptions on who he was were horrible. Just because a piece of paper said something about you didn’t mean it defined you, and apparently my mother didn’t get that memo. I must have taken too long to answer because before I could speak she was talking again.

“Please don’t tell me you see hope in this juvenile delinquent?” I could hear the disapproval in her voice. How could she be so rude, so mean? We knew nothing of him except for who his father was, and that wasn’t even enough to judge someone. So what, he had a record. So did a lot of the guys I went to school with.

“I’ll be the judge of who I see him as. Just because a slip of paper tells you someone did something wrong, doesn’t mean that they’re at fault and it definitely doesn’t mean that he’s a criminal, at least not by choice.” I couldn’t believe I had stood up against my mother. The breath in my chest stilled as I waited for her to let me have it.

“I cannot…” She was flustered as she searched for a word to use against me, a word to describe her pure disapproval of me.

“Well I did, and it’s done and over with. Let me see him for myself and get to know him for the person he is before I judge him. Your assumption on who he is and my assumption are clearly very different. I need to be able to decide what type of person he is and whether or not he deserves to be treated like a criminal. After all, I’ve been alone in this house literally my whole life. It would be nice to have some company for a change.” I pushed off from the marble island counter and walked over to the farmhouse sink, setting my bowl in it.