The Stepmom

CHAPTER 11

I sat there on the couch in the dim lit living room for hours, waiting for my father to walk through the door I kept glancing at every passing minute. I was focusing more on my Dad to avoid thinking about what I was suddenly feeling for Kaitlyn. I frowned at the TV infront of me. I was watching a horror film I didn't recognize. I'd been watching it for the past fifty minutes and I hated every second of it. Although I wasn't sure whether the film itself was bad or  I was just pissed at my own problems. This film did not deserve to be called a horror. I'd been watching it for so long and it hadn't scared Kaitlyn out of my mind. It was painful to seat through this horrible film but it was better than having unholy thoughts about my father's wife. Once again she managed to worm her way into my head. I let out a frustrated sigh before grabbing the remote control and turning off the TV. Kaitlyn came down the next second, for the first time today. She'd been cooped up in her room the whole day.

She came to seat next to me, on her hands she had a mink blanket, perfectly folded. She spread it on us as soon as she sat down. I turned on the TV and prayed that my dad would walk in because if he didn't I'd kiss the shit out of his wife. Fortunately he did. I stood up and hurried to him.

"Dad, I left you a dozen messages, why didn't you get back to me?" I asked.

"I'm sorry sweetheart, I had back to back meetings today." He gave me a peck on the cheek before putting his briefcase on the dining table tiredly.

"There's something I need to talk to you about."

"I'm really tired Sky, can it wait?"

"I'm afraid not. Miles called me this morning." I said and he frowned, his whole demeanor changing. His eyes grew dark with pure hatred. Miles had been a forbidden word in this house for years now.

"What did that son of a bitch want?" He asked in an inflected tone of voice.

"He said something about doing a story on us, I didn't really let him explain." I said apologetically.  He sighed in frustration before sitting down. I sat next to him and Kaitlyn joined us around the table a minute later. I guessed that she'd been listening to our conversation as we were just a few feet away from her and the TV was not making much noise.

"Are you going to tell me who this Miles is?" She asked looking at me, then my father. He looked down as if contemplating whether he should tell her or not. He fisted his hands with furrowed eyebrows. I took initiative and told her everything. My father stayed quiet the whole time I was explaining. Kaitlyn looked at him empathetically, seeing his husband's face masked with pain and anger. She gently held his hand and said, "My love, I know this is hard on you, but please consider giving him a call, just to know what story he's working on, then you can decide if it's worth doing or not."

"I will not listen to anything that backstabbing son of a bitch's got to say!" He retorted, yanking his hand out of Kaitlyn's in frustration.

"Dad please—" I begged.

"Skylar you know better than anyone else, what he did to us is unforgivable!"

"We're not asking you to forgive him." Kaitlyn said in a pleading tone. "Just hear him out." She begged. He stood up and walked towards the window. With his hands on his waist, he sighed. Kaitlyn and I followed him.

"Dad, you know Miles is going to do the story whether you talk to him or not. If you talk to him, you'll atleast know what story it is before it even gets out." I explained.

"Skylar's right. You should talk to him." Kaitlyn added and my father nodded.

"Okay." He said. "I'll hear him out. But if he pulls the same shit he did last time, he'll regret the day he was born." He threatened. Kaitlyn then pulled him into a hug. I felt the air in the room getting thinner as I watched the couple I hated so much embrace each other sweetly. I couldn't stand seeing them together like this. I know it's selfish of me to feel like this. He was my father. Why was it so hard to accept his relationship like I'd done in the past? I asked myself that question, but deep down I knew the answer. I hated myself for it.

"I'll tell him to call you." I said. I could see them kissing at the corner of my eyes as I turned to walk away. I went back to my room to take a shower and maybe then I'd find the strength to call Miles.

After I was done, I layed on my back on the bed and fiddled with my phone, contemplating.

Should I call Miles or wait for him to call me? I thought for a second. Before I could decide, my phone lit up, vibrating on my hand. The caller ID read, Miles. An uncontrollable frown covered my face and I answered.

"I thought I told you not to call me." I said.

"If you were serious about that, you would've blocked my number." He said smugly. "Since you're not, let's talk about the reason for this call."

"You better pray we never cross paths because that'll be the end of you." I threatened, my blood boiling. I knew Miles was not the reason for that but I didn't like him either. He was the perfect person for me to take out my anger on.

"Whatever you say. So, did you talk to him?" He asked.

I sighed and said, "I did, he's expecting you to be here tomorrow night." I then cut the call and got under the covers. I hoped to soon drift off to the parallel world where everything was going my way. Where I had everything I wanted...

Kaitlyn...

I tried to dream of everything else besides her, but I came up empty. She was the only thing I wanted.

But how could I? She's my father's wife. Who he loved.

He's bad for her Skylar.

But so was I.

The next morning I rushed to talk to my father before he left for work. He usually left really early, but today he didn't. Yesterday must have been draining for him as it was for me.

I knocked on his bedroom door and came in a second later. My dad was already dressed up for work and Kaitlyn was still asleep. I scanned my eyes over her silhouette before darting my eyes back to my dad who was busy tying his tie.

"Good?" He asked and I nodded.

"Dad..." I said. "I talked to Miles last night."

"What did he say?" He asked in distaste.

"He's coming over for dinner." I said cautiously.

"You invited him to dinner!" He snapped making me wince. He looked at tge bed to check if his voice didn't disturb his wife.

"Dad I-I..."

"It's fine. It's fine. I have to go now." He said in a lower pitch before rushing out. I sighed, still staring  where he once stood.

"Sky, what are you doing here?" Kaitlyn asked, yawning. "Where's your father?"

"He just left. I wanted to tell him that Miles is coming over tonight." I said. I sat on the bed next to Kaitlyn. She sat up straight and our eyes met. She quickly looked away as her cheeks turned crimson, making her even more beautiful. I drooled at the sight of her glistening eyes. I wanted to kiss her so bad...

But I couldn't.

I shouldn't.

She was my father's wife.

I scanned her eyes and I could tell that we were thinking the same thing. I thought of a million reasons why I shouldn't kiss her but none of them were good enough for me to stop.

If I don't act on this this instant, it's going to eat at me forever.

Just this once, I thought, my face getting closer to hers. Luckily she broke eye contact once again, stopping me from making a huge mistake I could never take back. I cleared my throat and said, "Ah–I should go." I said as I stood up she nodded shyly and I left the room in embarrassment, cursing at myself.

I almost made a fool out of myself. What was I thinking attempting to kiss my father's wife?

Ugh!

It was getting harder and harder to resist her every passing minute. There's only one way to get her off my mind...

Paris.

I jumped off the bed, grabbed my car keys and a jacket and left.

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