My Stepbrother secret-possession

Bikini Party

"Thank you very much for the pie. I can't get enough of it," I express gratefully.

"You're welcome. I actually followed a British cooking YouTube channel," Auntie Laura tells Mum.

"Is that so? You must be quite attentive. I've tried learning some Asian dishes from TV numerous times, but I couldn't grasp anything. I could barely concentrate," Mum admits.

"Maybe you should try cookbooks. I have some that I would love to share with you," Auntie Laura suggests.

"That'd be nice. Thank you, Laura," Mum replies.

"It's my pleasure. Ava, how are you enjoying the pie?" Auntie Laura asks, prompting me to briefly lift my head. I glance at the two expectant women staring at me.

"It's good," I remark, lowering my eyes back to my mobile phone, my foot tapping eagerly on the wooden floor.

"Good?" They both inquire simultaneously, clearly unsatisfied with my simple answer. I raise my eyes to meet theirs just as the front door swings open, and my terror arrives.

"Lilith?" Auntie Laura exclaims.

"Yeah, Auntie," the girl who came for me reluctantly replies.

"Do you just barge in without knocking? That's disrespectful," Auntie Laura asks, clearly confused.

"I have a key, Auntie Laura. And I'm using it to fetch the girl hiding under the table," Lilith frustratingly announces before swiftly getting on her knees and crawling beneath the table to retrieve me.

I try to find my escape, but she's quick. Her fingers encircle my wrist, pulling me out of my hiding place. "Lilith, I'm serious. I'm sick," I insist, confirming the text message I sent her.

"What's wrong with you, honey?" Great! And Mum just heard. She hurries over, crosses the table, and cups my face with her hands, examining me with curious eyes.

I have to confess. "Mum, I'm fine..."

"Ha!" Lilith exclaims with a sneer.

Suspicion is etched into Mum's and Auntie Laura's faces.

I glance over at the girl who's probably going to win this argument. "I have a different sickness."

"What kind? Rabies?" Lilith amusingly raises a single eyebrow.

"God forbid, Lilith!" Auntie Laura warns her niece.

"Excuse my language, but all I see is a healthy person who devoured the whole pie," Lilith sassily throws at me, her eyes darting to the table.

"What's happening here?" Mum questions both of us.

"I'm sick!" I quickly defend, just as Lilith explains, "We have a decent gathering at the mountain house, which Dad agreed to since homecoming, and Ava is part of the plan, so she's coming with me."

"Lilith!" Mum starts cautiously, and for once, I appreciate her overprotectiveness.

Lilith pouts at my mum and begins, "Susan, please... I need her. She's the closest I have to a sister."