"Nngh..." I moaned,my face red and my left hand over my mouth trying to cover it to avoid anyone hearing me.
His breath was hot against my ear as he kissed my neck while holding my right hand. He proceeded to trace his hand down my body while kissing my neck.
It was really hard for me to hold back, luckily for me no one was home.
"Haha, you know you're really cute. I thought you'd resist again." A boy said, smirking before walking out of the kitchen.
I slid down the counter he placed me on before kissing me, still covering my mouth.
*Why does he have to always this way?*
That boy was my stepbrother. We began living together about a year from that day. His mom and my dad got married, but it wasn't made public yet.
Before we became siblings, we were classmates who barely noticed each other. I was the outgoing type, and he was just a quiet person who only spent time with some guys and some of the girls who he kept breaking up with. He was the complete definition of a play boy.
He's kinda quiet, but his life isn't. He always had a relationship quarrel between girls over him.
When we began living together, he was still quiet and hardly spoke to me. He always left early on weekdays and returned very late at night.
On weekends, he stays locked up in his room and sometimes leaves in the afternoon and returns very late at night. It didn't really bother me since we weren't friends.
My dad stopped asking why he didn't like coming out a lot since his mom explained that he had become that way ever since she and his dad got divorced.
I became worried, I began to feel like that was the reason he dated several girls. I tried reasoning with him. But still, it felt wrong. He shouldn't play with girls' feelings cause his dad played with that of his mom.
I spoke to him one afternoon when we crossed paths. That was the first time I've ever seen him up close. He was cute. Very cute. He looked like he wasn't even bothered by my presence.
"Why'd you stop me?" He asked coldly as I cleared my throat, coming back to reality.
"I wanted to speak with you." I replied, trying my hardest not to look fazed by his cuteness.
"Not in the mood." He said, walking back into his room and banging the door at my face.
*What the... he's so rude.* I thought, walking down the stairs.
I was so mad at him for slamming the door at my face, but I still went back to his room. Our parents weren't around at that time.
I knocked on his door, and silence met me. I kept knocking and calling out his name, but he ignored me.
"I'm coming in." I said, pushing his door open and walking right in.
"Why'd you enter my room?" He asked, turning off his laptop.
"You know, you should at least get to hear me out. I mean, we are siblings and should get to be closer." I said, walking towards his bed.
He stood up from the chair he sat on and walked towards me.
*Hmm?*
"W-wait!" I shouted as he pushed me to his bed.
"Hmm? Isn't this what you want?" He asked, which made me angry.
"Hey! I don't know what you're thinking and why you're thinking that way, but I came here for pure reasons." I said as he smirked.
"Pure, huh?"
"Yes, now get off me." I said as he leaned closer.
"You walked right into my room without any fear. Aren't you scared that I might do something nasty to you?" He asked, his breath hot against my ear.
"I... I didn't think about it." I answered, my face red.
"Hmm..." He stood up and walked away from me.
"S-so..."
"I'll not be answering you. You can leave now."
"Hey, wait a minute."
"I won't speak to you. You better leave, or I'll make you regret coming in here." He said as his phone rang.
"Wait, I..."
"Ugh... Why's she calling?" He asked himself before turning off his phone and throwing it on the bed.
"Who's that?"
"Am i expected to answer that? Why would I want to tell you?" He asked, his tone completely different from before.
"I'm sorry, I'll be leaving." I said before leaving his room.
We didn't speak to each other once again. We crossed path rarely, and whenever that happens, we just walk past each other, both in school and at home.
*Ugh... yet another girl. I wonder where they're off to.* I thought on a particular day.
I was on my way to a cafe with three friends and I saw him walking with a girl who clung to him.
"Isn't that ****?"
"Oh yeah, she's the one. Ugh... I remember telling her not to try dating this guy. He's cute, but he's not someone you can be happy with."
I just walked beside them as they kept trash-talking my stepbrother.
Coincidentally, we went to the same cafe. I saw how the girl with him got continuously shy when speaking with him, but his face was still emotionless. He didn't chat with her frequently. He just kept listening to her.
At some point, they stood up and began walking out of the cafe hand in hand. The girl smiled like she had just won a big award.
"Let's get going. ****" my friends said to me as I stood and joined them.
*A hotel?!* I thought, watching the both of them walk into one.
"Gosh, can you imagine that?!" One of my friends asked, looking at the direction of the hotel.
"Let it be, girl. I know you're mad cause of what he did to you back in middle school."
*Middle school? How come I've never heard of it?* I looked at her questioningly as she looked away.
"It's nothing, just a stupid crush." She said as we kept walking.
*So she had a crush on him, too. Did they go out? Did they have...?* I thought, shaking my head violently.
He didn't come home that night, and I began to feel weirdly conscious. I normally didn't care about him going out with other girls, but I began feeling jealous.
He got back in the afternoon of the next day. Immediately I saw him, I remembered what happened the previous day. I looked away and tried walking past him but bumped into him instead.
"Hmm? Are you trying to get my attention?" He asked, looking down at me.
"I'm not. It was a mistake." I said, trying to walk out.
"You should apologise when you do something wrong, you know." He said, holding me back.
*Oh my God, his hands are... wait, that's not important. He still used this hand to touch ****.* I thought, biting my lower lip.
I tried forcing my hand out of his, but his grip just kept getting tighter.
"You're hurting me." I said, still trying to break free.
"I'm hungry, cook for me." He said.
"There's food in the refrigerator. Go microwave it." I said.
"Then how will you apologise?" He asked as if thinking for a while before pushing me against the wall.
"Jack..." I called, looking away.
"You finally called my name. Why don't you look at me?"
"Don't tease me." I said, my face turning red.
"Sure." He said, as if letting go.
Before I knew what was going on, he placed his hand on my face and drew me in for a kiss.
I slapped him. I looked down as I cursed at him for teasing me. I didn't want to stop it, but I remembered what happened the previous day.
"Jack! Stop this. Don't tease me!" I shouted, tears falling down my eyes.
*Why am I crying? I feel so pathetic.*
He didn't speak to me. He just stood there, probably looking down at me and enjoying how I looked vulnerable.
I didn't look up at him, but I just felt like he saw me that way. I walked out on him and walked into my room, banging my door.
I began avoiding him more than before. I felt like hating him, but I couldn't. I had a strange feeling in my heart whenever I saw him, I always felt like talking to him, but I couldn't. I got extremely jealous whenever I caught him kissing some other girl behind the gym or in an empty classroom.
I felt so bitter when I accidentally saw him walking with some random girl into a hotel.
Life kept going that way for a few months until I gave up on holding back. I wanted to speak my mind out with him. It was already getting troublesome. But I was scared that he'd think I'm harbouring sexual feelings for him.
"Jack, you finally joined us for breakfast." His mom said as he smiled at her.
"Sorry, mom, it looks like I've been making you worried since. Morning uncle." He greeted my father, who smiled at him.
After breakfast, our parents left for work, leaving only the both of us alone.
"Leave the plates there, I'll do the dishes." I said when I noticed him trying to clear the ones on the table.
"Nah, I'll help." He said, gathering the plates and walking towards me.
After helping me with the dishes, he walked back to the sitting room and turned on the television.
"I'm surprised you decided to come out and join us." I said, walking into the sitting room and sitting beside him.
"Well, I just wanted to take a break and relax a little." He said, putting on an action movie.
"Heh...?"
We both sat in silence as we watched the show. It wasn't a boring one, but I wasn't so interested in action movies, and I began feeling sleepy.
And then, before I knew it, the kid took me unawares. He pulled me towards him and kept my head on his lap while looking into my eyes.
"Jack?"
He just smiled at me before looking back into the screen. I was shocked at his sudden benignity. I didn't struggle to break free, infact I laid there peacefully and fell asleep.
I woke up a few minutes later, when the movie had already ended. He sat there, sleeping. I looked at his face for a while while smiling.
"Chloe?" He called as I flinched.
"O-oh, you're awake." I said, trying to stand from the chair as he drew me towards him, our faces few inches from each other.
"You were staring at me right now, weren't you?" He asked, smiling wryly.
"I-I wasn't." I answered, looking away.
"You sure?" He asked, putting a strand of hair that stood out behind my ear.
"I..."
*Oh God, it's getting kinda hot in here.*
He smiled at me and kissed my forehead. I flinched as I felt his lip on my forehead.
I began to ask myself why he didn't kiss my lip but instead kissed my head.
*Wait, this isn't right. I mean, we are siblings.* I thought.
"Hey." He called, his tone cold.
"Hmm?"
"I need to go to my room. Get off me." He said.
"Eh?"
As he walked out, I noticed him smile.
*Don't tell me he was just teasing me?! Why does this boy have to play with my feelings this way?* I thought, covering my face in shame.
We began talking a little bit better during winter break. We watched some movies together and talked from time to time.
I noticed he was a fun person to be with and tried my very best not to bring his daily life up. Our life continued this way, with him teasing me continuously and me slapping him away to show him that I won't fall for his tricks again.
One particular day, it somehow came up, he and my friend, Valerie.
He hesitated for some time before he told me about her. From what he said, she was trying to get together with him in our third year of middle school. That was months after his dad cheated. He didn't want to go out with her, but she pleaded, even putting her body on the line. He agreed to go out with her for just a week to make her feel better. He didn't say anything else.
I tried getting more out of him but to no avail.
"You're asking me all this. Are you getting interested in me?" He asked, smiling at me.
I noticed a hint of pain behind the smile and his voice. He wasn't his usual self. I then let him be.
We kept talking as usual, and he kept making advances. He kept kissing me, and at some point, he went farther.
Well, it was already a year and a half since we began staying together.
"Chloe? Why are you in my room?" He asked, turning off his laptop and standing from his seat.
"Well, you see, the lights went out. I think something's wrong. Dad said he'd get the electrician to come work on it tomorrow since he's not home now."
"Ha... if that's it, then you're welcome to stay." He said as I walked towards his bed and sat on it.
He didn't speak to me. Instead, he sat on a chair and began playing a game on his phone. He was probably thinking about me. But then I made a mistake. The mood just felt... okay.
"Jack... why don't you... come join me." I said, looking away.
"Are you serious?"
"I am."
"I don't think you know what you're saying. You probably already know about me. You shouldn't let someone like me close to you, even in this kind of situation." He said, sounding a bit harsh.
*Now I feel embarrassed. He's been teasing me since, and now he's refusing me.*
I stood from his bed and walked towards the chair, putting my arms around him.
"Chloe." He called.
"Jack, I..."
"No, I'm sorry. I know I caused all these, but... we are siblings. This is wrong, both to our parents and you."
"Don't give me that!"
"Chloe?"
"I know you're holding back. I've noticed it. It's not fair, not especially after ... you've made me feel this way." I said.
"Chloe, I..."
"Why don't you look at me? Not as your step sister but as a girl."
"Because it's hard. I don't want you to feel sad. I'm not good enough!"
"You can't be the one telling me that. I'm the one to decide if you're good enough or not."
"Tch... it's because you don't know what I've done." He said in a soft tone.
"Then tell me, I'm willing to hear you out." I said calmly.
"Chloe I..." He bit his lip before looking away.
He began telling me what happened before the problem with his dad and the problem afterwards.
It began in his second year of middle school, his relationship that is. The female here was in a grade higher than him. She was so friendly with everyone and especially friendly to him. They started out as normal friends before he began falling for her. Before his third year in middle school, his family began to fall apart. He talked about it with the senior. She tried comforting him and took him back to her home that afternoon. No one was home. She prepared something for him to eat, and after eating the food, she went ahead and slept with him. She told him that it was to help him feel better. He didn't refuse, he agreed, and they did the unholy thing.
It didn't stop on that day. They kept up with it even after she left middle school. That was around the time that my friend asked him out. He noticed that his then partner was seeing someone else, and that bothered him. For a week, he refused to contact her and went out with my friend instead. After that week, he and his then partner began seeing each other again. They continued sleeping with each other, and he completely forgot her affair with someone else. That was till my friend caught them.
She was the younger sister to his then partner, but he didn't notice since she rarely came home. She stayed with their mom while his partner stayed with their dad, who always went on business trips.
She was furious and felt betrayed. That was when his then partner told her that they weren't going out, that he just needed someone to be with since he was in so much pain. He was shocked. He didn't get why she said such things. My friend, feeling more and more betrayed, took off her clothe and forced herself to join the two of them in their unholy act.
After that day, he stopped seeing his then partner, he began going out with different girls and breaking their hearts. People didn't know about he and his partner since my friend couldn't tell them.
After he was done explaining to me, I felt sad. He did carry so much burden alone. He just wanted to release some of the stress by going out with countless girls.
"But, I decided to quit it. I swear. I don't want to keep breaking people's heart, it just feels weird. And I... I seriously love you! But then again, we're siblings. It'll never work out."
"Jack..." I called, making him face me.
"Don't worry about it. It's okay to share your burden with others. Now... let me help you carry some of them, okay?" I said, smiling at him before drawing him into a kiss.
It was a long one, completely initiated by me. That was my choice after listening to his story. I loved him too, I wasn't thinking of the future, I was just thinking of that moment. The moment only the two of us stayed, facing each other. That was the moment I wanted to think of and nothing else.
{THAT MOMENT}
