Chapter 3

Chapter Three

Bronwyn

I love having Dahlia living here at the house. Smiling as I think about the wedding and how incredible it was, I frown as I realize I haven’t seen her since. This house is huge, and Daddy asked me to do some charity work for the hospital.

“Hey, are you okay?” I ask, knocking on her door. One of the maids mentioned that Dahlia has gotten lost a few times, and I don’t blame her. I kind of hate how big it is at times. It gets lonely.

“I’m fine,” a voice mumbles.

“I don’t think I like that,” I say, trying to open the door. “Why is the door locked? Dahlia, it’s me. Would you please open the door?”

After what feels like forever, I can hear the sound of feet getting closer to the door, and the door unlocks and creaks open slowly. Pushing it open, I squint to see inside. All the blinds are closed, making it difficult to see.

“Do you have a headache?” I ask, worried by the darkness. My mom used to have really debilitating migraines when she had cancer.

“No, I just don’t feel like getting out of bed,” Dahlia mumbles from under the covers.

“Then I’ll be right back, and we’ll spend the day in bed,” I tell her, turning to leave and grab my laptop.

“You don’t have to do that,” she says, sounding panicked, which makes me raise my brow.

“Did I do something wrong?” I ask carefully. I want to fix it if I did. I try to make sure to check in with people, because sometimes I overstep. I really like Dahlia, and I want to make sure I didn’t mess up already.

“You? No!” Dahlia says, pulling the blankets off her head. “I just didn’t think you’d want to babysit me while I lay in bed.”

“Do you feel like talking about it?” I ask. I feel as if I’m playing twenty questions, but she’s not giving me anything.

“No, thank you,” she grunts, covering her head back up.

“I’m going to be back in ten minutes,” I say. “We're going to watch movies together, so I suggest you change your clothes into new pajamas and brush your teeth. Ten minutes!”

Slamming the door shut, I wait as I hear her squeak and feet hit the floor as she runs to change. Smirking, I walk slowly to my room to get my things.

Dahlia doesn’t know anyone here, and school starts at the end of the summer. I need to make sure she doesn’t spend too much time alone.

Grabbing my phone from my pocket, I chew on my bottom lip as I text my friend group chat.

Me:

Hey, is anyone up for hanging out this week? I want to introduce someone to you guys.

The bubbles in the chat go crazy as Chad, Natalie, and Riley all begin to text back.

Chad:

I like new people as long as they’re nice. Are they?

Natalie:

It’s so hot out, want to go to the indoor bounce house and be ridiculous?

Riley:

I’m in, Nat. Wednesday afternoon? Who are we meeting? How was the wedding?

I love my friends. Even though we’ve been attending private school our entire lives, we’re not stuck up. My dad has money, I just get to enjoy it.

Me:

The wedding was alright, I had more fun during the reception afterward. My stepsister is really sweet.

Chad:

How sweet?

Rolling my eyes, I begin to get undressed. My jeans and cute blouse are too much for a day of movies in bed. Frowning at my pajamas, I decide to pick out a pair of shorts and tank-top with clouds all over it.

Daddy stopped buying clothes for me ages ago, so I shop with friends or order online now.

I love rainbows and cute pajamas, but I’m the only one who sees them. When I go to sleepovers, I have a satin sleep set I wear because it’s difficult to find fault with it. Not that my closest friends give a shit about that, there are just times where I have to bite the bullet and spend time with classmates I thoroughly dislike.

Blowing out a breath, I gaze at myself in the mirror as I arrange my boobs in the shelf bra my top provides. When I turned thirteen, I thought I’d either had an alien invasion growing on my body, or that it was cancer.

Mom had died the year before from breast cancer, and I had no idea what was happening to me. The puberty conversation never happened for me, but Daddy had a hell of a time explaining it all to me.

It was really awkward. I did get my period when I was twelve, and I did a little research on what was happening. It was the week of the funeral. I quietly had sanitary pads delivered to me, figured it out, and kept going.

Growing breasts though? I thought I was dying. I honestly ran crying to my father to tell him I was going to die and I had cancer. I feel bad now that I think back on it, because he looked terrified for a moment.

Nope, just puberty hitting hard.

Deciding I’ve given Dahlia long enough, I walk into the bathroom and quickly reactivate my curls with a little spritz of water, ensuring they’re bouncy and pretty. Then, I also brush my teeth, because fresh breath is my friend. If I teased her about it, I should definitely follow my own advice.

Grabbing the little projector to play movies over the blank wall in her room, I load up a little box with that, my laptop, and snacks. Given that I know she gets lost easily, I’ll bring reinforcements just in case.

As I pick up my phone to toss it in too, I blush as I see the messages blowing up the group. I got a little distracted and forgot to check it earlier.

Chad:

brONNIEEEEEEEE!!!

Ugh, I think I prefer Bee to this. Looking through the messages, I giggle as I read them all.

Natalie:

Wait, she’s pretty, isn’t she?

Riley:

Oooh. Does our girl have a crush?!

Playing with the hem of my shirt, I think about it. I’m definitely jealous of all the inside jokes Jack and Dahlia share, even though I’m aware it’s because of all the time they’ve spent together. I want to be that close with her.

She naturally melted into his arms, and I know Jack noticed when I practically growled at him. It’s silly. He’s a lot older than us, I shouldn’t be worried about that.

Oh shit, I definitely have a crush. I’ve been trying to come around to the idea, but I really like my stepsister. Scrolling through my phone, I find a photo of us from when we were dancing. Jack had a drink at the bar while he watched, but I never got a creepy old man vibe from him. The more I think about it, the more I realize how protective he is.

There were a lot of Daddy’s friends and coworkers over, and some of them are dirty old men, even if they are married. I don’t like any of them, nor do I feel comfortable. I’m kind of glad Jack walked us to the house whenever we needed to use the restroom.

Me:

You tell me? Sends Photo.

I smile as they all gush about how pretty we look together, how she seems nice, and then ask if I want to start dating her. They know she’s my stepsister, but it doesn’t even phase them. I freaking love my friends so much.

Me:

I think I do have a crush, but she doesn’t know I do. I’m going to watch movies with her today, but maybe Wednesday we can do Bounce Zone together? Please don’t make it weird.

Three thumbs up emojis follow my message from them, so I lock my phone and lift my box of goodies. Opening my door, I see Daddy lifting his hand to knock on it.

“Are you moving out and forgot to tell me? It’s a little early for that, don’t you think?” Daddy chuckles at his own joke as I shake my head with a smile.

“Dahlia has a headache, so I’m going to watch movies with her,” I explain, hefting up my box to show him. “I’m too young to move out, Daddy.”

Taking the box, he rolls his eyes at me. “Oh, you’ll be leaving me for college soon enough,” he teases me. “Do you think I should call the doctor? I didn’t see Dahlia much after the wedding.”

“I don’t know,” I sigh. “I’m going to need to investigate and get back to you on that.”

“Of course,” he says sagely with a wide grin as he walks with me to Dahlia’s room. “I’ll hold you to that. Have fun.”

Knocking on the door loudly, I notice the muffled scream on the other side as Daddy says, “I hope you feel better, Dahlia!”

Handing me the box back, he winks at me as if he’s keeping some sort of secret before walking away.

“What does your week look like?” I ask quickly before he disappears on me.

Turning as he walks, Daddy shrugs. “Lucia wants to go on a honeymoon, and I think it’ll be nice. I booked a trip to Greece for the next two weeks for the two of us. I have a ton of time off I never use, and you only live once.”

“Good for you,” I say, nodding. “If I haven’t said it yet, I’m really happy for you.”

“Thanks, pumpkin,” he says as he disappears around the corner.

“Dahlia, I’m coming in, I hope you’re ready to binge movies together,” I say, opening the door and peeking in.

She’s huddled under the covers, but her hair looks as if she detangled it and smoothed her curls out.

“Hey,” she says softly. “Did I hear your dad out there?”

She’s so silly. It would have been impossible for her not to have heard Daddy.

“Yes, he helped me bring my box of fun over,” I explain, stepping in and shutting the door behind me. Walking over, I plop my box onto the bed. “Oh, Daddy mentioned just now that he’s taking your mom on a honeymoon for a couple of weeks to Greece, so it’ll be just us in the house.”

Relaxing, she nods. “Good, that’s good,” Dahlia whispers to herself. I wonder why that’s good, when she turns with a brighter smile. “So what are we watching?”

“Whatever you want,” I say with a shrug. I think she mentioned once that she likes mysteries. Setting up the projector, I clamber up into bed with her. “I think I saw a new mystery movie that just came out on my streaming app, but it has subtitles. Will it hurt your head to read?”

“No, it won’t,” she says, shaking her head. “I’m starting to feel better. I may be hungry.”

“Well, lucky for you, I brought snacks,” I grin as I open my laptop and push the box over with snacks. Five minutes later, I’m curled up watching the movie with her.

Dahlia really does seem more relaxed and happier. If I had any hand in that, then I’m glad. We spend the day binge watching movies and order pizza for dinner, and her headache doesn’t return.