Total pages in book: 88
Estimated words: 86629 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 433(@200wpm)___ 347(@250wpm)___ 289(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 86629 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 433(@200wpm)___ 347(@250wpm)___ 289(@300wpm)
“That phone you promised!” she calls after me as I hurry up the stairs. “Come on, Connor, don’t be such a stingy prick!”
I grind my teeth but bite down on a sharp reply. I’ve been dealing with Danielle for a very long time, and I’ve learned that it’s better to avoid her than to get into a confrontation. Mostly because Dad’s so pussy-whipped he’ll take her side on just about anything, no matter how goddamn stupid.
Though it’s my fault for telling her I’d upgrade her iPhone. I only said it to shut her up. That’s on me.
Life’s not easy with a stepmom only two years older than I am.
I stop outside a door at the end of the hall with a pink nametag on the front. It glitters in the overheads. I knock and wait until my sister calls out.
Rowan’s on her bed, legs crossed, books in her lap. Half-read manga is scattered all over. Posters of cartoon dudes with huge muscles and massive swords are plastered to the walls. Full Metal Alchemist, Bleach, One Piece, a bunch of stuff I barely recognize. Pop music blares from her laptop speakers and Rowan beams at me, her dark brown hair cut short. She looks like her mom, but she takes after our dad, and I love her so much it makes parts of me want to fall to pieces.
“Did Mom corner you again?” she asks, grinning massively as I slump down into her desk chair. It creaks under my weight.
“I made the mistake of walking through the front door. How’d you know?”
“You look like you hit a deer with your car, that’s how.”
“It’s always a pleasure coming home.”
She throws a pen at me. “You don’t do it enough, dick. Where have you been? Don’t say working. I’m sick of you working.”
“I’ve been working.”
“Yep sounds about right.” She snaps her book shut and stretches. I don’t know when the hell my baby sister turned into a teenager. I still remember when she was little, a rowdy tomboy that constantly drove Danielle crazy. No matter how many princess parties and dresses her mom tried to shove her into, Rowan always ended up with dirty knees and bruises. She was a terror back then, but she’s mellowed these days, and now she’s turning into a young woman.
I study the scar on her face. The jagged line from her temple down to the corner of her mouth. These days she tries to cover it over with makeup, but I’m always telling her to show it off. It makes her look badass, but she mostly wants to be left alone, and marks like that invite questions. She prefers not to talk if given the option.
Seeing that scar makes me think of Angie again, and why she works at my company, and how I’ve been trying like a desperate bastard to ignore her all these years, and I’m spiraling again.
Rowan’s smile fades. “You’re in a hell of a mood, huh?”
“Nah, I’m fine. How was school this week?”
“Boring. Had a math test. Fucking wrecked it.”
“Language.”
“Still English.” She clicks her tongue and winks at me. “You know I learned to curse from you, right?”
“Your mom never lets me forget it.”
She cackles and flips her book open. “By the way, Deck’s waiting for you in Dad’s office.”
I sit up straight, frowning. “Was anyone going to tell me?”
“I just did. And Mom would’ve if you hadn’t run away from her.”
“Good point.” I get up with a groan.
“You sound like an old man.”
“I am an old man.”
“You’re thirty-five.” She squints at me. “Yep, ancient.”
“Later, little sister. I’d better deal with Deck before he burns the house down.”
“Dad’s more likely to do that. Close the door, asshole!”
I leave it open, humming to myself, as Rowan calls a few choice insults after me. The door slams a second later as I’m descending back to the first floor, going as quiet as I can to avoid attention—
“iPhone, Connor!” Danielle shouts at me as soon as I hit the landing. “Look at this thing. Look at it!” She shakes her old phone at me. The screen is cracked on both sides. “I’m begging you. The glass is cutting my fingers!”
“Scroll TikTok less.”
“I can’t. It’s an addiction and it’s not my fault. Big tech is ruining my life!”
“Then we’d better not reward them by buying another one.”
“Connor!”
I wave her off. “Buy it yourself and I’ll reimburse you. Just get out of here.”
“THANK YOU. You’re my most favorite stepson.”
“I’m your only stepson and you hate me.”
Seeing Rowan always puts me in a better mood, but dealing with Danielle always makes it worse, so the two about balance each other out. I storm into Dad’s office, kick the door closed behind me, and pour an extra-large bourbon, ignoring the big man lurking on the couch against the far wall with his boots up on my father’s coffee table.