Stepbrother Dearest(21)

He was still acting strange after we got in the car and before he started the engine, he turned to me.

“I ran into your stepbrother upstairs.”

I swallowed the lump in my throat. “Oh?”

“He said to give you these, that you’d left them in his room.” He handed me a pair of pink lace panties, the second to last piece of underwear that Elec had been harboring.

I took them and stared out into the street in disbelief, confused as to whether I was angry or slightly amused.

When I composed myself, I turned to him. “He’s just trying to mess with you…and me. It’s sort of what he does. I know this sounds silly, but he took all of my underwear as a joke and hasn’t given them all back. Nothing else is going on.”

He sighed but still seemed a little uncomfortable. “Okay. That was just really weird.”

“I know. Believe me. I’m sorry.”

Corey was looking straight ahead at the road, so I took out my phone and discreetly sent Elec a text.



Greta: Why would you do that???



Elec: Don’t get your “panties in a bunch.” It was funny and you know it.



Greta: It wasn’t funny to him.



Elec: You don’t even like him.



Greta: How would you know that?



Elec: Because you like me.



Greta: You’re full of yourself.



Elec: You wanted to be full of me too once, remember?



My jaw dropped.



Greta: Why do you always do this?



Elec: What’s that?



Greta: Revert back to your inner *.



Elec: In her *, huh?



Greta: You suck!



Elec: I do…very well. I’d show you if I could.



Greta: Why are you doing this?



Elec: Because I can’t f*cking stop.



I wasn’t going to write back. He texted again.



Elec: Come home.



Greta: What?



Elec: Come home. Hang out with me.



Greta: No!



I shut off my phone and glanced over at Corey who was still looking ahead quietly.

Elec was out of his mind. Who did he think he was, trying to prevent me from casually dating while he continued to whore himself out?

Elec had cast a shadow over the rest of the night, and while we were able to make small talk at the Mexican restaurant, I knew that Corey was totally turned off by what Elec did. The sick thing was, I wasn’t even that mad. If I were being honest with myself, it secretly satisfied me that Elec cared enough to want to sabotage my date.

I tried to focus my attention solely on Corey and was doing a half-assed job while eating my flan dessert. All I could think about was Elec. He’d not only gotten under my skin tonight, he’d hijacked my entire mind.

My phone chimed just as we were getting ready to pay the bill.



I need you to come home.



Greta: No.



Elec: I’m not messing around this time. Something’s happened.



My stomach suddenly felt unsettled.



Greta: Everything ok?



Elec: No one hurt or anything. We need to talk.



Greta: Ok.



Elec: Where are you? Will it be faster if I come get you?



Greta: No, Corey will take me home.



Elec: Ok. Don’t take too long.



My heart was pounding.

What was this about?

I’d made up a story about severe stomach pains and asked Corey if he wouldn’t mind driving me straight home. He wasn’t too thrilled, but then again, the whole night was shot after what Elec pulled.

I couldn’t get home fast enough.

Corey hadn’t even waited for me to go inside before he drove off. I headed straight up the stairs and knocked on Elec’s door before opening it.

He was sitting on the bed waiting for me with a troubled looked on his face. Actually, I’d never seen him look so upset. He got up from the bed and caught me off guard when he immediately pulled me into a hug. “Thank you for coming back.”

His heart was beating through his chest as he held me firmly. My body yearned for him to hold me even tighter.

“What’s wrong, Elec?”

He released me then led me by the hand over to the bed where we both sat down. “I have to go back to California.”

All of the food I’d just consumed felt like it was coming up on me at once.

“What?” I put my hand on his knee because it felt like I was losing my balance. “Why?”

“My mother is back.”

“I don’t understand. She was supposed to be in England until the summer.”

He looked down at the ground and hesitated before looking up at me with melancholy in his eyes. “What I’m about to tell you can’t leave this room. You can’t tell your mother, and you absolutely cannot tell Randy. Promise me.”

“I promise.”

“My mother wasn’t in England. Shortly before I came here, she checked herself into a hospital for severe depression and substance abuse out in Arizona. It was supposed to be a six-month program, and then she was going to stay with a friend for the remaining time until the end of my school year.”