Forbidden Desire

I bit into my lip to hold back the cry of pain as I finally acknowledged to myself that I’d done the unthinkable, I’d fallen in love with my stepbrother. As tears coursed down my cheeks, he looked up as if sensing me in the window, and I stepped back so he wouldn’t catch me spying on him.

I heard the engine of his car as he pulled out of the driveway and curled up on my bed in the fetal position. If I still had the habit, I would’ve stuck my thumb in my mouth and suck. I felt the warmth of my tears as they fell on my cheek and wiped them roughly away. I have to do something.

TYLER

I could’ve sworn I saw Lora looking out her window as I made my way around the car to the driver’s side, but she disappeared from view just as I looked up at her. What the hell was that about earlier with the phone? Some shit’s going on with her. For the past few weeks something’s changed between us and just this last week alone she’s been acting strange but today was the worst.

First slamming out of the car and then the phone thing, now this. I wish she’d talk to me, but then again, I don’t. If she tells me she’s acting this way because of some guy, I think I might lose my shit. But that can’t be it, I haven’t seen her with anyone, and besides, it’s none of my business. Like hell, it isn’t. Don’t Tyler, just don’t; you know that shit’s not going anywhere.

As I drove down the driveway, I tried to remember where things had started to unravel between us. I didn’t even hear what Sherry was saying as my mind was too preoccupied with Lora, and I even contemplated turning around and going back to see if she wanted to join us.

It was our parents’ idea for Sherry and me to hang out together since it was a Friday night, and she was bored after going to dinner with the two older couples. Since she didn’t know anyone else here, I agreed, but now I think I should’ve asked Lora to tag along. It’s just that she’s been so volatile these last few days that I don’t know what kind of reception I would’ve gotten. I wish I knew what the hell I’d done to set her off, though, the little pain in the ass.

Then I started thinking that maybe she’d caught on to the truth, that somehow I’d given myself away. Can’t be, I’ve been very careful not to show my hand, not even dad, who knows me better than anyone else had caught on to what was going on inside my head.

The thought that she might have sensed it and that was the reason for her strange behavior had me slamming down on the brakes. “Hey, you okay?” I looked over at Sherry, who was looking at me with a look of concern. I shook my head to clear it, reassuring her that I was fine as a sick sense of dread coursed through me. It can’t be.

I’ve been so careful, had gone out of my way to keep my growing feelings hidden. There’s no way she could know that anyone could. What a fucking mess. This shit would screw things over in a big way if it ever came to light, the fact that I’d fallen for my new stepsister. I could already hear the jokes and, worse, see the horror on our parents’ faces.

It wasn’t always like this. In the beginning, she was like any other sister, I guess. She was shy around me, both of us feeling the other one out to see how we would fit in this new dynamic of blended families. We’d settled into a kind of groove within the first three months, and I realized that having a new sister at seventeen wasn’t the horror show I thought it was going to be.

In those early days, she was more interested in getting to know the town and the ins and outs of life here, and I was more than happy to be the one to show her. Moving from a small town, it had taken her some time to get used to being in a much bigger city. But once she made friends and got over missing the ones she’d left behind, she started to relax and was more at ease with me. Then it got so that it was hard to miss her bright, beautiful smile each time she looked at me.

Once school started, I began to notice the way my friends and some of the other guys at school kept checking her out. At first, I warmed them off under the pretense that I was looking out for my new little sister, but it didn’t take me long to realize I was just fooling myself. I was starting to get jealous of other people’s attention to her.