1 - Zara
I just about spit out my cornflakes when my mother drops the bomb on me that my stepbrother Kane is getting out of prison.
“What?” I splutter before grabbing a napkin to mop off my chin.
“Don’t you remember, honey?” says my mom. “I told you the lawyers were very optimistic about his parole hearing. Well, the board agreed that he’s been a model prisoner and is no longer a danger to society, so he’s coming home!”
“Oh,” I say, my heart sinking.
The truth is that I barely remember Kane. When his mother and my dad got married, I was still pretty young, and Kane was just this hulking presence in the house with bangs over his eyes, always stomping around angrily and muttering to himself.
Our parents had barely been together for a month when Kane got arrested. Even today, I’m not really clear on all the details. All I know is that it had something to do with him attacking a teacher and hurting him so badly that he nearly died.
I remember his mother crying a lot and that there was a lot of talk about lawyers and the trial, but then Kane was found guilty, and that was the end of it. I literally never saw him again. The prison where he was locked up was really far away, and so Mom could only make the trip once or twice a year.
She never really talked about him too much, probably because he was such a big disappointment. She’s such a sweet lady with a kind heart, so I really don’t even understand how her son could’ve turned out to be such a monster.
“The lawyers called and said he’ll be getting out this morning, and they’ll make sure to it that he gets on the bus,” Mom tells me, jolting me out of my reverie. “Isn’t that great, honey? He'll be getting into town tonight, just in time for him to join us on our beach trip!”
“Oh no!” I wail.
Our beach trip? It’s the thing I’ve been dreaming about all year! Throughout the winter when it was so cold and dreary outside, thinking about going to the beach was the only thing that kept me going.
Instead of being wrapped in three layers of clothes and still freezing my butt off, I would picture myself in a bikini, my skin golden tan as the warm breeze ran through my hair. I could just feel the soft sand between my toes and hear the gentle crash of the waves.
The beach was my happy place, and now my criminal stepbrother was going to show up at the last minute? He was going to ruin everything!
“Don’t you give me that face, Lucy,” Mom says, shaking her head. “Kane is a good boy. You’ll see. He made a mistake, but he's paid for that mistake.”
“But Mom...” I say, hating the whiny tone I can hear in my voice.
“Hush now,” said my mother. “Besides, I think it’s good that the two of you will get a chance to know one another before you head off to college.”
“I don’t want to get to know him,” I say, my appetite completely gone.
“Sure you do, sweetie,” says Mom. “He’s part of your family.”
“No, he’s not!” I sulk.
“Lucy, what has gotten into you, young lady?” says Mom with a frown. “That’s not the attitude I expected from you. Do you remember when you and I first met and you were worried I was going to replace your biological mother?”
“Yeah,” I say, feeling a bit guilty.
“Well, look how well the two of us get along now,” says Mom with a big smile. “The same will be true with Kane once you get to know him.”
“Ugh, fine,” I say.
“He’s been away in an unpleasant place for a long time,” says Mom. “So I want you to make him feel very welcome when he gets here. Do you understand?”
“I said fine, didn’t I?” I say, feeling more than a little annoyed.
“Good, that’s a good girl,” says Mom, patting the back of my hand. “I think this is a sign, you know?”
“Huh?” I say, confused.
“Well, as you know, your Dad and I have been trying to give you a little sister or brother,” says Mom, a merry glint in her eyes. “With Kane joining us and making our family whole again, maybe that’s a sign that we’ll have a new member soon!”
“Great,” I say, doing my best not to let her hear the sarcasm in my voice.
I know Kane coming home is making her happy, but it’s the last thing I want. Even if he hadn’t beaten a teacher nearly half to death, the truth is that his presence is coming at the most inconvenient time possible.
You see, what my parents don’t know is that I have a secret boyfriend.
