My Stepbrother: secret possession

Truth Or Dare

// You might want to listen to "Secret Love" by Little Mix ft Jason Derulo while reading this chapter. I kept replaying it.

"Hey, slut." Embry shouts from her car when she spots me heading towards Leigh's empty car. Beside her are Suri and Lilith.

Even I can't hide the tension in my heart as it begins to race.

God, please give me the strength to endure that obnoxious human.

I have no choice but to turn in their direction and put on the best smile I can manage.

"Hi." I fake an energetic voice in my response.

"You'll be riding with me. We're headed to Embry's, where we're baking cookies. Or is it biscuits? That's what you call them, right?" Lilith cheerfully informs me.

Although I'm anything but cheerful, I can't stop myself from feeling instantly dejected. This time of the day means a lot to me, as I always have the opportunity to spend time with someone I can barely survive without, Leigh.

As a liar, I should probably come up with something, or else I'll lose the rest of the afternoon and early evening with Leigh.

"I have homework. It involves research," I tell the three girls.

"Come on. It'll be fun," Suri pouts. "We've missed you. You're always busy these days. I don't get it. You're a sophomore, and you don't have to deal with science like Quinn or Lilith, but they both have time for the group."

Okay, that hit hard. My instinctive comeback is, "You think literature is simple?" I purse my lips at her, daring her to challenge me. Yes, Lilith and Quinn do the calculations, but not everyone can articulate the expression and form in connection with ideas of permanent and universal interest. Not everyone will study the environment, the culture, and the setting of a particular place and put it into words. Literature also requires intelligence and a lot of hard work.

"No, Ava," Suri frowns. "I'm just saying you need to have fun. We're all you've got, and we're friends."

Correction of speech. They're not all I've got. I have Evie and Leigh, and Lilith and I are not friends, whether I like it or not; we are family. Besides, I don't even know if I can call these girls friends. All they do is insult me with their mean words.

"If I may ask, what is so important that you'd rather go home than hang out with everyone?" Embry stands upright from her bumper and crosses her arms.

"I told you, I have homework," I fire back irritably. She's giving me one of those looks she usually shoots me in the cafeteria, the ones that make my skin crawl.

"Since when are you obsessed with homework? Unless you're hiding something from us? Are you, Ava?" Embry stops a foot away from me with a very malevolent smile on her face.

Her threatening words have the intended effect on me. They leave me feeling uneasy, unable to swallow the lump in my throat. I look away and find solace in the concrete beneath my feet.

"Embry, leave her alone. If she doesn't want to come, it's okay. She's my sister, and she has no secrets. She's only fifteen but has more religious knowledge than any of us here," Lilith firmly says to her friend, who continues to glare at me.