My Step-Brothers

Chapter 14: Small Fight

E V A N N A

I examined the laptop. It had a cracked screen, some keys were falling off, and it wouldn't turn on. I wanted to yell at him. How could he do this? Stress and anxiety started building up in me. I was scared to go to Rose. What if she hates me? What if she gets mad at me? I can't tell her that Jayden broke it.
Should I just keep everything a secret? What if she asks for it.

I gripped my hair if frustration. I felt tears coming to my eyes. I put the laptop underneath the bed, and just went to sleep. It was terrible at breakfast. Jayden stared at me intently, his eyes challenging me. I stared at my food, avoiding eye contact.

"Evanna," My Dad said. I snapped my head up and looked at him, "Your mother asked you a question."

For some reason, anger stirred up inside me. How can he say that? He said 'Mother' like she actually was. Did he completely forget about my mom? He didn't even come to her funeral. How dare he call her mother? "She's not my mom," I snapped.

The whole table fell silent. My stepbrothers watched, amused. My dad was angry. "Don't talk back to me."

"Well she's not my mom!"

Rose put her hand on my dad's arm, "It's okay, honey. If she doesn't see me as a mother y-"

"No, Rose. Evanna, you have no right to say that." Dad said.

"What?" I asked, even angrier, "I can say whatever I want! She's not my mom, don't say she is!" I grabbed my plate and placed it in the sink before running upstairs. I shut the door and locked it. That's the first fight we had in a long time.

Your dad hates you now. He's mad at you.

All the time I've been trying to ignore the voice, but it really started to get harder. I was mad at myself. I was mad at my dad. I grabbed a picture of Mom and stared at it. I missed her. Did my dad really have no feelings towards Mom? They were together for 15 years, and with Rose for only a month! He just moved on? Did he care about my feelings, or how it would be if he said Rose is my mom?

"Evanna?" I heard a gentle voice. It was Rose. "Can you please open the door?" Hesitantly I did, and she came in. She sat on my bed, and I sat next to her. "I'm sorry."

I was taken back, "sorry about what? There's nothing to apologize for."

She shrugged, "it must be hard for you to go through this. You can call me mom whenever you feel comfortable. Okay?"

I nodded, and thanked her. When she left, Ethan came into my room. "That's some show you put down there."

Trying to find confidence in my voice, I said, "Get out... please," and he just chuckled. He knew that he terrified me. All I wanted to do was be alone right now, but he just had to butt in.

"Please, Ethan," I pathetically begged, "Can you please get out?" Ethan didn't budge. Instead of leaving, he came closer to me. As soon as he got to my bed, I scooted away from him, making him laugh.

"You're a complete loser," he said, looking into my frightened eyes. "I just wanted to tell you you're doing the dishes tonight." I knew he was challenging me—daring me to argue.

"O-Okay," I said, annoyed that I stuttered. He just smirked and left the room. Whenever I was around them, it felt suffocating. Like they were always ready to attack me whenever they want, and since they knew I was afraid, it just made it even better for them. They had power and control over me, and they knew it. I have to do the chores today. That's fine. Just as long as they don't bother me.

I went downstairs, only to see Dad and Rose leave. I mentally cursed, not wanting to be with my stepbrothers alone. I went to do the dishes, and it wasn't a lot. Just a decent amount. Soon, my stepbrothers were messing with me now. Every minute they would add on a dish. Or a cup. Or literally anything to get me irritated. What would have been a 10 minute chore, turned out to be 30 minutes. My arms ached from washing the dishes, so I decided to just rest.

Before I could go upstairs, someone grabbed my arm and I turned around instantly to see Ethan. "Where do you think you're going? I never said you were done." He dragged me downstairs, and shoved me, making me stumble. "Clean it."

Downstairs was a mess. There were pieces of crumpled of paper—some torn, books everywhere, and... confetti? Where did they get that? They set this up. They just wanted me to clean.

Well there's nothing you can do. Just clean it.

Sighing, I did. I hated it, but I really didn't want to create problems. I'll only make it worse for me. After I finished, I went on my phone. I wanted to text Claire, and see if she answers.

Me: Claire? Hey, text me! I have to tell you something.

I started reading my book, hoping to get a reply. When I heard the doors downstairs, I went down to see Rose and Dad with shopping bags.

I decided to help and take some. Rose grinned at me. "Thank you."

Smiling back, I said, "No problem." Dad and I were still a little awkward around each other, after the fight we had.

"Evanna, can I talk to you?" Dad asked, and I nodded. I followed him to my room. "I'm sorry, Evanna. For snapping at you, and for calling Rose your mother. I understand that you are not ready, and I should accept that."

I gave him a small smile, "I'm sorry too. For talking back."

"I do miss your real mother, if you were wondering. I did love her. I really did. I would have come to the funeral but I was away on a business trip. I'm so sorry." A tear fell down his face, letting me know how much he actually loved her.

"It's okay Dad. You should probably rest."

He nodded and left my room. I just sighed and played with my bracelet.

***

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