The Stepfather

Chapter 1

The week at school always go by in a blur. I drown out the rest of the world by listening to my music. I do my work only because I don't want to fail again. When I get home, I pull my ear buds out and groan when I hear an unfamiliar voice. "Aria!" My mom, Heather, yells. "Come here please."

"No." I frown.

"Aria." She says warningly.

"Mom, I look like shit. I have homework and -" I stop as I reach the doorway to the living room.

There is a guy sitting next to my mom with his arm around her. He looks like he's in his mid twenties while my mom is thirty nine. "Aria, this is Ryan. We've been seeing each other for a while and we got married today." She says.

I cross my arms over my chest, leaning in the doorway. "Am I supposed to say congratulations?" I ask. "Welcome to the family, dick."

"Aria, please." My mom sighs.

"Please." I say, mimickingly. "How old is he anyways?"

"I'm twenty five." Ryan says.

"He could be my brother." I smirk. "You're okay screwing her wrinkly -"

"You should go to your room." He says.

I raise my eyebrows. "Who the fuck do you think you are?" I snap. "You just marry my mom one day and think you can tell me what to do? Well you can't. You're not my dad. You're not my stepfather. So don't expect me to treat you like it."

He stands up, fixing his white button up. "Look, all you have to call me is Ryan. And I only expect you to treat me and your mother like human beings."

"Fuck off." I growl before stomping off.

I go upstairs and slam my door closed. Does she think this is really okay? Sometimes I can't stand her. She divorced my dad when I was ten and I haven't seen him since. This is the first guy she's ever brought home and she just ups and marry's him.

The next morning, I go downstairs and open the fridge. I bend over and reach to the back of the fridge, pulling out a bottle of water. When I stand up, I see something in the corner of my eye. "Good morning." Ryan says, crossing his arms over his bare chest as he leans against the counter.

I take a moment to check out his abs. Nice. "Could you be any creepier?" I ask, rolling my eyes.

I turn my back to him as I sip on the water. "You should probably wear more clothing from now on." He says.

I choke slightly on my water, realizing what I sleep in: a sports bra and extremely short shorts. I turn around as I put the cap on the bottle. "No one's usually up when I am. Maybe you should go back to your mommy's house until I can move out." I smirk.

"Oh, you'd just love that." He says.

"I would. This is my house, I'm not gonna change the way I live because you're here."

I put the water back into the fridge, taking my sweet time. I wink as I walk away. Asshole.

********************************

"Thanks for picking me up." I say, climbing into Owen's truck.

"No problem. Wanna hangout at my place or yours?" He asks, beginning to drive.

"My house. Just warning you though, my mom ran off and got hitched yesterday." I say.

"No way!" He says in disbelief. "To who?"

"I don't know. His name's Ryan. He's twenty five."

"Damn. If I knew your mom was into younger guys, I would've hooked up with her." He smirks.