Inconvenient Attachment

Chapter 58

I'm feeling particularly chirpy this morning, traipsing round my kitchen making myself some toast and a cup of tea. All that is circling through my mind is last night - with Rafe. His words repeating till I'm questioning if they're real. Images flashing till I'm unsure if it was a dream.

It wasn't a dream. It was very fucking real.

Rafe Cameron loves me.

The one thing I've wanted to happen my entire life and I've finally got it. I have to pinch myself to make sure I'm conscious.

My love bubble is quickly burst when my hungover cheat of a brother trudges into the kitchen, throwing himself down on a kitchen stool.

I don't even bother to look at him. I have nothing to say. How he's treated my best friend is inexcusable, drunk or not, he knew exactly what he was doing.

"Make me some breakfast." He groans demandingly.

I scoff shaking my head and keeping my back turned. If I look at him, I'm gonna knock his head off his shoulders. A minute goes by as I'm chomping down on my toast and sipping from my mug.

"Are you ignoring me?" He asks gruffly. I don't reply. "What I do with my time has nothing to do with you, Vanessa." He states abruptly. I still say nothing. "Fine, I'll make my own breakfast then. Didn't want your measly little hands all over it anyways." He retorts snidely before coming to stand next to me to use the toaster. "Can you get down off your fucking high horse now and just speak." He growls leering down at me. I laugh. "What's so fucking funny!" He raises his voice at me.

I look at him and see him for what he really is... pathetic. "You're a joke." I tell him casually.

"You're the fucking joke, beating up an innocent girl when you don't even know what's gone on." He continues yelling.

So that's what this is about. He's crying cause I punched his new girlfriend. "Innocent?" I scoff. "She put her hands on me first? She was asking for it with that gob of hers." I retort, peering up at him fearlessly.

"She was defending me!"

I bite back my laughter. "Defending you from what? Poor defenceless Sarah? Your little sister? Come on Topper, grow the fuck up if you need defending from us two." I sarcastically smirk up at him, I can see his jaw ticking with each response I give him.

"She didn't know who you were, did she!"

I furrow my brows at him, confused why he's making himself look so dumb. "So she didn't know Sarah was your girlfriend? Does she know who you are? A liar and a cheat." I pull a face of disgust as I look at him. He doesn't even seem to care.

"Why don't you just keep your ugly little nose out of my fucking business, alright. It's got nothing to do with you." He seethes through gritted teeth taking a step towards me and point his finger in my face. I don't step back, I remain where I am, letting him know he doesn't scare or intimidate me.

"It is my fucking business when you're cheating on my best friend. I'm glad you cheated on Sarah, she got a lucky escape from you. She always deserved better. You were a shitty boyfriend and will forever be a shitty fucking person. I hope the guilt eats you up from the inside out." I keep my eyes fixed to his never looking away, he flinches with every insult I throw at him. I beam with confidence knowing his patriarchal, egotistical, narcissistic demeanour slowly crumbles at my feet.

"You're fucking dead to me!" He yells from the top of his lungs. I can read him like a book. Line by line I can see him scrambling for the broken pieces trying to tape them together but they just keep breaking. Yelling is his only defence now.

"Good I'm fucking glad!" I yell back at him.

"Woah, what is going on here!" We both turn our heads to see mom walk into the room. "Why are you arguing?"

"You haven't told mom, yet?" I laugh cynically. "You haven't told her what a dirty cheating scumbag you are!" I shout at him with pure hatred.

"Oh no." Mom gasps as she hears what I'm saying.  "Topper, you didn't?" She sounds breathless, like she is in disbelief that her son would do such a thing.

"Stop fucking calling me that!" He screams again, this time snapping his hand out and gripping my throat.

"Topper!" Mom screams racing towards us. She grabs his arm trying to pull him off me but he squeezes my throat harder. I waste no time kneeing him in the crotch and watching him fall to the floor holding himself crying out in pain.

"Nice try, you dirty cheating scumbag." I call him it once more for good measure before running upstairs and locking myself in my bedroom to get ready.

Even after the scene in the kitchen, nothing could put a downer on my day. I'm spending the entire day with Rafe, like we planned last night. I'm not going to let anything ruin that.

Shortly after everything I hear the front door slam. I peek out my window and watch Topper steaming up the road.

Once I'm finally ready and made myself look cute for Rafe, I jog down the stairs but stop immediately when I hear mom on the phone.

"Well I don't give a shit, he's just gone for your daughter!" She yells down the phone. I know straight away she's talking to... dad. "I don't care if you don't want him with you - No I'm not sending him to military school - I don't think so - No, stop it! He's your son you can deal with him - Why can't he come and live with you? - I don't care if your 20 year old bimbo of a girlfriend doesn't want him to, he's your son! - well what's the point in you coming here if he's not coming to stay with you! - whatever, see you later." She shouts harshly down the phone before I hear it slam down on the countertop.

Shit.

Dads coming.