Claimed by My Stepbrother

Chapter 4

I take a look at Sky's terrified face; she's fighting with herself, trying to decide whether to tell them about her date or not.

"Yeah, we went to the movies," I lie, giving one of my most charming smiles, and hug Sky by the shoulders to show our parents how close we are.

I know she won't push me away when they are watching. She’s as committed to playing this game that we're friends as much as I am.

"That's great, so you must be in a mood for good news," my father says, taking his wife's hand in his palm with a smile.

"Why? What happened?" Sky asks, looking at them in surprise.

I feel her tense under my touch, so I squeeze her shoulder a little.

The last time they told us great news was when they decided to live together. Sky was terrified that we were gonna live under one roof. I knew she was afraid of me, of us. I'm sure she felt the same attraction as I did the first day we met, and it scared the hell out of her.

As for me...I just realized that this girl is mine, now and forever, until death tears us apart. Now it's time for Sky to accept this.

I hope this time they'll tell us they're expecting another child. Of course, that would complicate everything, but, from the other side, that would distract their attention from us, and I could put my plan with Sky into action.

"We're finally ready to go on our honeymoon!" Crystal exclaims, smiling widely, obviously overjoyed.

"What?" Sky exclaims, and I feel her start to shake a little.

I press her closer to me, trying to calm her down, and she doesn't even resist. Bingo.

This news is even better than I possibly could've imagined.

I’d almost lost hope they were ever going on a honeymoon. My father is a very busy man, and Crystal is his right hand—that's why she works just as hard. After the wedding, they said that they’d decided to wait to go on vacation until after we finished school and went to college.

"Yes, honey, aren't you excited?" Crystal asks, talking to her daughter, and her smile becomes less joyful.

No, please, do not change your mind.

"We discussed everything and decided that you're both old enough to leave for a couple of weeks without our supervision," my dad says, looking at me, trying to make me understand that he forbids any parties.

The last time they left for a two-day work trip, I threw a massive party for a hundred guests. I was hoping that Sky would relax, drink a little and get tipsy, and I could tell her about my feelings.

As it turned out, this girl doesn't drink. She locked the door of her room during the whole party while I got drunk and passed out with two cheerleaders, and now Sky thinks that I slept with them both that night. The next morning she went to school without even waiting for me.

I don't need any parties this time. All I need is Sky, staying with me for the whole two weeks alone.

"When are you leaving?" Sky asks quietly, accepting the truth that they won't change their minds, and she'll be here with me alone.

"Tomorrow!" Crystal exclaims enthusiastically, smiling widely again. "We have time now before our other projects start, so we decided we wouldn't spend even a minute wasting it."

"But …what about the luggage? You didn't pack anything yet, did you?" Sky asks again, her face pale.

Poor Sky...I guess she realized just now that there's nowhere to run from me. I'll find her and make her mine whatever it takes.

"We're going to the Caribbean, so we don't need much." Dad takes a look at Crystal. "We probably won't need clothes at all."

And then they kiss, softly, deeply, and right in front ofus.

These two are so sweet together that it even makes me nauseous from time to time.

After they go to their bedroom to start packing, and Sky hears their door close behind them, she pushes my hand away from her shoulders, facing me.

"If you throw another party like last time, I swear I'll— " She pauses, her deep-blue eyes emitting anger and confusion at the same time.

"What will you do, angel?" I take a step closer. "How will you punish me then?" I have a sly smile on my face, trying to imagine all the torture she could do to me.

Sky takes a step back, crossing her arms over her chest to stop me from coming closer.

"You know what?" she says with irritation. "I don't care! You can throw as many parties as you want, because every single evening I'll spend with my boyfriend, Caleb."

The smile instantly disappears from my face.

She shouldn't have said that. Not unless she wants her so-called boyfriend to be found crippled. I feel my hands squeezing into fists again, and my breathing becomes heavier.

"Don't provoke me, Sky," I hiss, speaking as quietly as I can so our parents will not hear us. "He's not your boyfriend. You've just met."

"Oh, yeah?" She smiles joyfully, happy with my reaction. "Well, he asked me on a real date tomorrow, so we'll see about that!"

And then she turns around and walks away rapidly before I can find another reason to stop her. A date tomorrow?

Yeah, we'll see about that.

Zac

Our parents left for their honeymoon today, and that means it's the first night we'll spend in this house together alone, her and me, just us two.