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I stood still in my spot and tasted the sour taste of blood on the tip of my tongue as I continued to bite down on my bottom lip nervously.

I wanted to run out of this unfamiliar house and never come back, but my mom's smile brought me back to reality.

For once she was happy again and I knew I had to make this work out for her, even if I wanted nothing more than to leave.

"No need to be shy, Chris! We're all family now." my mom's new fiance exclaimed with wide open arms and a huge grin on his round face.

I was crushed into a tight hug soon after that I weakly returned. Mark was a very caring man so his hug was a sincere one.

"Pablo, can you please help Angela and Chris with their things." Mark kindly instucted his son.

I glanced at Pablo and saw the same loving smile on his face. He was tall and decent looking with very kind eyes like his father. My mom told me he was twenty five and attending college near by.

Pablo was definitely the kind of brother I wanted since he was the kind of person to help me with whatever problem I had.

I was glad that both Mark and Pablo were so accepting and happy that my mom and I were moving into their personal space.

"I'll go tell Royce to help you with the boxes." Mark informed Pablo then disappeared upstairs.

"Well, I need to go to the bathroom. Driving for almost two hours was intense." my mom stated before she rushed to another part of the house.

We've only been here ten minutes and I already felt uncomfortable. I looked around the spacious living room and stared at the huge screen t.v with a whole row of dvds on the bottom.

I made my way towards the L shaped couch and tried to relax my stressed body. This didn't feel like home and I hoped the feeling would soon leave.

"I heard you the first time!"

I turned towards the stairs and felt my heart beat rapidly in my chest when I saw him. I carefully watched as the handsome boy walked down the stairs with an irritated face.

His light brown hair was messy and his firm jaw was tense in anger. The thing that captivated me the most about this boy was his eyes.

They were a dark brown and held so much threat to them it gave me chills when they met mine.

I sat still in my spot and tried my hardest not to notice he was shirtless and only wearing gym shorts. His body was nicely tanned and toned it made me bite my lip in want.

"Royce, you knew they were coming today so go outside and help Pablo with the boxes." Mark's voice finally broke the spell I was in.

Royce was about to yell back at his dad until he noticed me and instead gave me a glare before he left through the front door.

Mark approached me and sighed heavily, "Chris, if he ever gives you trouble let me know, alright?" he said seriously.

I nodded, even though I didn't understand what kind of trouble Royce would cause me?

Mark walked outside as Pablo entered with a heavy looking box. I quickly stood up and offered to help but Pablo stopped me before I made it out the door.

"Let us do it, Chris. You must be tired from the long car ride so let me show you your room instead." Pablo offered with a warm smile and started to guide me upstairs.

I followed Pablo up the steps and through a small pathway that lead to the rooms. He pointed to each door and explained whose room it was.

We walked further down the hallway and I noticed the distance between the other two rooms. "This is Royce's room and I'll warn you now. He hates to be disturbed so don't feel bad if he slams the door in your face." Pablo informed.

"The bad part is that your room is right beside his, but you can design and decorate it however you want." he contiued as he opened the door and lead me inside my new room.

I inspected the wide room and immediately loved the peach colored walls. I also noticed I had a walk in closet which made me smile even more.

"I'll go get the rest of your things so get comfortable." Pablo said as he patted my back then walked out the room.

I stood in my spot then walked to the giant queen bed and realized everything in the room was brand new. The elegant dresser and the desk placed in the corner with a lamp beside it made me wonder just how much was spent.

I sat on the bed and let out a sigh. I felt so uncomfortable and out of place here it depressed me. I didn't even have my own bed anymore so I didn't have that comfort of home.

Just then Royce walked into my room with a box labeled 'Chris's things' on it. He had a bored expression on his face as he set the box down in a very rough way without caring what might be inside.

I couldn't help but stare at his body again and wondered how soft his skin must feel. His face was just too perfect and it really bothered me.

Why did my step-brother have to be so good looking?

I finally stood up when I noticed the way he dropped my items. I tried to fix the box as he looked at me with crossed arms. His stare made me nervous and fidgety.

Compared to his brother Pablo, he was a complete jerk.

I tried to ignore him as I waited for him to leave my room without even giving him a glance. I saw from the corner of my eye as he closed the door and stood by it with crossed arms.

I swallowed hard at his actions and tried not to freak out. I didn't know Royce so I didn't know what his intentions were.

"I'm only going to tell you this once brat. Don't ever go inside my room. Don't talk, look or even freaking touch me. Got it?" he said with so much hate in his voice I took a step back.

I stayed silent as I felt my heart start to beat faster and my hands start to sweat. Why did he hate me already? He didn't even know me..

"I said got it?!" he yelled again, bringing me back from my thoughts.

"G-Got i-it." I studdered out in a forced voice.

Royce was about to say somthing else but was cut short when Pablo opened the door.

He looked at Royce with a raised eyebrow and frown. "Royce, what are you doing in here?" he questioned, looking at me then back at his brother.

"Like you freaking care." Royce replied, rolling his eyes and walked out of the room.

"Are you okay, Chris? Do you ne-" Pablo tried saying but I cut him off.

"I'm fine, thank you. I just want to take a quick nap." I lied.

Pablo didn't look convinced but understood my request. He left my room and gently closed the door.

I walked back to my bed and groaned into a pillow. I had a step brother who was so loving and kind, while I had another one who hated me for some unknown reason..

^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^

...

Eating breakfast with my new 'family' was very awkward and uncomfortable.

Mark and Pablo chatted about some football game while my mom cooked scrambled eggs and bacon.

I ate my bowl of cereal in silence as I tried my best not to look at Royce, who sat across from me with messy hair and sleepy eyes.

Mark basically dragged him out of bed explaining how important it was to have breakfast, lunch and dinner together as a family.

I didn't like the idea either but it made my mom happy so I dealt with it. I even forced a smile on my face, unlike Royce who made it clear to everybody he would rather be sleeping than eating breakfast at 9 a.m on a Saturday morning.

His words from a couple of days ago were still clear in my brain which was the reason I avoided him as much as possible, but sometimes it was difficult.

Especially when he walked around with only sweatpants on or gym shorts. His whole naked torso plastered with nice abs was always shown proudly which caused me to stare like an idiot.

The thing that kept bothering was that I was starting to notice something strange about Royce. Not once since I've been here have I seen him smile or laugh.

He's always locked up in his room or out somewhere doing who knows what. I can tell it bothers Mark since Royce doesn't even bother to call his dad and tell him he's okay.

Another thing that was bothering me was how rude Royce was. No matter what I said or did he was always mocking me. His cold, dark eyes always glared at me even if I tried to be nice to him.

"I'm done."

I looked up at hearing Royce's firm voice and watched as he got up from his chair and started to make his way out of the kitchen.

"Royce, I told you to atleast eat half of your food before you excuse yourself from the table. Your mother got up early this morning just to prepare this meal." Mark scolded his son and pointed at his plate.

It was awkward as I sat quietly and watched the whole scene play out, but I loved that I was given an excuse to look at Royce.

To be honest it was my only opportunity to even see him since he would diseapper everyday.

"And I freaking told you that your little whore was not my mother and her stupid son was not my brother!" Royce suddenly yelled back, causing me to flinch at his voice.

"Apologize right now to Angela and Chris or I swear I will ground you!" Mark threatened as I looked around the table to see Pablo giving my mom an apology stare.

My mom on the other hand smiled and assured Pablo it was okay.

I looked back at Royce and noticed how his veins on his neck popped out and how tense his jaw was. He really had anger problems..

As if feeling my stare, Royce narrowed his eyes at me, causing a shiver to run up my spine at the hate and anger they held.

"Royce, you're grounded so I better not see you step out your room!" Mark informed his son as he followed him upstairs.

It was quiet in the kitchen as I continued to eat my cereal. "Well, let us try to enjoy the rest of our breakfast." my mom happily stated, trying to act like what just happened was normal.

"I'm done eating, can I be excused?" I asked in return.

My mom nodded and I left justing wanting to be alone in my room. I passed by a frowning Mark and continued to make my way towards the safety of my quiet room.

As I opened the door, I heard things breaking in Royce's room next door. Not long after, his door quickly opened and I froze in my spot when I saw his whole arm covered in thick blood.

The thing that scared me the most was the fact that Royce didn't seem bothered at all with the huge cut on the side of his arm. It was like he didn't even know it was there.

I quickly entered my room and locked it. That's when I knew something was definitely wrong with Royce and I had a feeling it was just going to get worse...