Summer Taboos With My Hated Stepbrother Novel – Chapter 1 It took me all of five minutes to realize I hated Alexander Gerard. We were five years old and he shoved me right off the playground slide during recess because he decided it was his turn. That grudge never went away. If anything, it grew stronger the longer I knew him. I still don’t get what made him act like he was better than everyone else. Maybe it was the way he looked, all tall and ripped, or how he led our high school basketball team to back-to-back regional titles as point guard. Sure, girls practically tripped over their own feet trying to get near him. But none of that changed the fact that he was an arrogant, selfish asshole with a massive superiority complex. For years I had dreamed about graduation day, the moment I could finally leave his smug face behind. That thought got me through elementary school and most of middle school. School would end, and I would never have to deal with Alexander again.
Then our parents went and ruined everything. I guess Alexander and I share some of the blame. If we hadn’t been screaming at each other in the hallway that day in seventh grade, the principal never would have called our parents in. They never would have met, never would have grabbed coffee afterward, and never would have forced us to spend time together “working on our issues.” In the end they fell in love and got married. Now he’s my stepbrother, and unless our parents suddenly stop being crazy about each other, I’m stuck with him for good. The worst part is they really are perfect together. His dad is actually a really decent guy. I have no idea what he did to end up with a devil like Alexander for a son, but other than that he’d be ideal. The second Mom and I moved into their house, Alexander flipped into full protective big-brother mode. It was ridiculous since he’s only two months older than me. God forbid he saw me talking to any guy in the hall before class. He once told a boy I liked that I had caught some nasty infection from making out with the neighbor’s dog.
He turned my teenage years into absolute hell. I was eighteen and could barely get a guy to look my way, let alone stick around. If I didn’t get out of that house soon I was going to die a lonely virgin. College was supposed to be my fresh start. Alexander and I were heading to schools in different states. I could finally flirt with whoever I wanted without worrying about my psycho stepbrother popping up to announce I had some contagious skin condition. It was going to be perfect. I just had to survive the summer first. And this stupid graduation party our parents decided to throw for both of us. They were playing the cool card now that we were almost out of their hair. A few hours after the party started they slipped off to a resort across the state for the weekend. While they were getting pampered, Alexander and I were left in charge of the house that was currently packed with most of the senior class. I was the one running around making sure nobody got too crazy and nothing got broken.
Alexander was the one blasting the music way too loud and letting his older buddies bring in alcohol no matter how much I complained. “Loosen up, Kylie,” he kept saying. “We only graduate high school once. We might never see some of these people again after we head off to college.” That would be fine with me. Most of them already thought I had some gross disease because of all the shit Alexander spread. It sucked that he wasn’t on the list of people I’d never have to see again, but that was just how life went. The party finally started dying down around one in the morning.
Most guests had left, which was a huge relief. I didn’t have to keep rushing around like a maniac making sure the house didn’t burn down or that nobody was using the potted plants as a toilet. The few people still there had split into smaller, quieter groups or passed out somewhere. My best friend Janie had disappeared ages ago with some guy from her chemistry class. I figured things were calm enough that I could finally go to bed without worrying the place would explode while I slept.
Thank god I had locked my bedroom door before the party even started. My room felt wonderfully quiet and empty when I stepped inside. I peeled off my clothes, the cool sheets brushing against my skin as I slid under the covers. That was when I heard a knock. “Go away,” I called out. “This room is taken.” “Kylie, it’s me,” Alexander’s voice came through muffled. He tried the handle, but the lock only let the door open an inch. “You gotta let me in. There are people crashed out in my bed.”