DEVIL: A Stepbrother Romance (15 page)

“
W
hat happened out there
, buddy?” Dad asked Mitch across the table. It was the night after UCLA’s big loss and Mitch was treating the family to dinner at a country-themed steakhouse. The kind with buckets of peanuts on every table and shells covering the floor.

“I don’t know,” he replied. Mitch was toying with his cell phone, avoiding eye-contact with everyone. “Miami was just the better team today.”

“Something was off with you,” Dad retorted. “I’ve see you trample guys who were much bigger than some of the players who were tackling you today.”

“There was a lot on my mind.”

“Such as?” Dad queried.

Mitch glanced up from his phone and looked at me for a brief moment, then shuffled uncomfortably in his chair. He shrugged. “Just things.”

“You know if there’s anything you need to talk about, we’re here for you, son,” Dad assured Mitch.

Mitch put his phone in his pocket and smiled. “I’m fine, Dad. Don’t worry.”

Our food arrived, and we all dug in. I could see just as well as Dad that something was bothering Mitch, but I didn’t know what it was. His face was blank as he ate; he was quiet, and he seemed to be deep in thought.

“What are you doing after dinner, Mitch?” I asked.

“I don’t know. I haven’t really planned much,” he replied and took a bite of his steak.

“I was thinking that maybe we could go out and party a little bit, see what Miami has to offer.” I beamed an excited smile in his direction and shook my hips to the country music that was playing in the background.

Mitch rested his fork on his plate and lifted his napkin to his lips. He quickly chewed the rest of the food in his mouth and then started shaking his head. “I just remembered that I have Microeconomics test in a couple weeks. I should probably study.”

“Wow,” Mom cooed. “I’ve never heard you talk about studying Mitch. That’s the kind of thing I like to hear.”

I frowned. I never heard of Mitch talking about studying either. In fact, I was pretty sure he did only the basic minimum to keep himself from being dismissed for the university. I knew just as well as anyone that the only reason he went to UCLA was for the football.

Mitch’s phone cell phone began to ring just as he was about to take another bite of food.

“This is Mitch,” he answered. “Hey Brian. What’s up?... Yeah?” Mitch grew silent as he listened to his assistant, then he let out a big sigh. “I guess it is what it is. After tonight, I can’t say that I blame them. Thanks for the update, Brian. Take care.” Mitch turned off his phone and then went back to his food, head down.

“That didn’t sound good, honey. Is everything okay?” Mom asked.

“My agent called. You know I was shooting to get signed to the Seahawks next year? After tonight’s game they said that they want to see me play through at least another year unless I enter the draft, in which case I could get signed to anyone.”

“Don’t worry about it honey. It’s probably for the best. You’ll get another year of college, and I’m sure after doing one more you’ll decide that you want to finish.”

Mitch gave a flat smile and then looked back down at his food. I can’t remember the last time that I ever saw my brother looking so down on himself. Not since the accident had he ever seemed so bothered.

“I guess I’ll just have to go out tonight on my own then.” I poked my fork in my steak and gave a faux sigh. “A young girl, all alone in a big, unknown city. I hope it’s safe around here.”

Mitch looked up from his food and groaned, “Alight, I’ll go with you. But we’re not staying out very late.”

“Yay!” I wailed like a little kid. Exploring Miami for the first time sounded exciting, and I hoped that getting Mitch out and doing things would cheer him up a bit.

We all finished our meal, and Mitch gave Mom and Dad a hug before they hopped in a taxi. Mom, Dad, and I would be flying out on a commercial plane tomorrow and Mitch would be on a different flight with his team. “I’ll have Annie back early tonight, okay?”

“Alright, Mitch. Have safe flight,” Dad said.

Mitch turned to me as our parents were carried off. “So… Where exactly do you want to go?”

“I don’t know. What’s around here?”

“Your guess is as good as mine. Let’s walk around and see what we can find.”

“Alright, let’s go,” I said. Mitch turned and headed down the sidewalk, seeming annoyed at the fact that I had dragged him out. “Maybe we can find a club to go dancing again. Or we can just stop and have a few drinks.”

“No alcohol tonight, Annie,” Mitch’s voice was stern.

“Why not?”

“Alcohol doesn’t mix with you. I don’t want another situation like the other night on our hands. Definitely not while in Miami.”

“Alright…” I groaned.

The Miami air was fresh, and the city was beautiful. Every turn that we made was met with bright lights and attractive people. The walkway was lined with clubs, and each time we passed one I felt like we were a little too underdressed, both of us wearing shorts and white t-shirts, compared to the cocktail dresses and suits of the patrons. There were a few souvenir shops littered in between, and we’d make the occasional stop to view the “I LOVE MIAMI” tees and other random wares.

As we continued our walk, the breeze picked up, and I could hear the light crash of waves off in the distance.

“Since you don’t want to drink and we’re dressed like bums, let’s go see the beach,” I said.

Mitch nodded and headed in the direction of the sand.

It was only a few minutes before we could see the water, and we both took our shoes off before we stepped off of the sidewalk. The beach was empty and poorly lit, but the sand was soft between my toes.

I held my arms out to my sides and inhaled a huge breath of ocean air. “Mmmm... I love the beach,” I purred.

“I don’t know if we’re allowed to be here,” Mitch murmured. He turned his head around as if looking for something or someone, but no one was in sight. “It’s empty. This is probably a private beach.”

“Oh c’mon Mitch. Aren’t you The Wrecker? The other night you were buying your little sister booze, but now you’re worried about being on a private beach?” I slammed my shoes against Mitch’s chest, gesturing for him to hold them, and then I ran out towards the water.

The current looked a little strong, and foam was forming around the edges of the coast, but not so much that I was worried. When my feet touched the ocean, the water was still warm. I splashed my feet as I ran deeper inside and dipped my hands down into the surface.

“Oh my gosh! It’s not cold! Mitch, come get in with me!”

“Come on, Annie!” Mitch wailed. “The water looks too rough to be playing around like that. You’re going to get yourself soaked.”

“No I’m not!” I countered and stuck my tongue out as I backed up further into the water. Why was Mitch being such a party-pooper? I splashed my hands in the water again, and then turned around to look over the sea, but instead I got a hard smack to the face.

A large wave had come out of nowhere with enough force to knock me off of my feat. I fell backwards into the water, and inhaled a nose full of saltwater. As the wave subsided, it pulled me back deeper into the ocean, and all I could hear was rumbling as I became completely submerged. My nose and lungs burned and my eyes were stinging. Panic overtook me as I struggled to the surface and felt the force of the waves jostling me whichever way they decided.

I thought I was going to die.

Suddenly, a pair of strong hands grabbed onto me, and I felt myself being pulled out of the water. Mitch lifted me up to the surface so I could breathe, and then carried me back on to the sand. He laid me down and stuck his hand under my head as I coughed.

“Let it out,” he ordered. “Let it out!”

I coughed again, finding my breathing incredibly difficult, and then with another cough, a surge of water came rushing from my lungs and out of my nose and mouth. I took a few deep breaths of fresh air, and emotion overtook me. Tears started streaming down my face, and I sniffled, realizing how close I had been to death.

“When are you going to start listening to me?!” Mitch scolded loudly. “I try so hard to take care of you, but you won’t let me!”

I sniffed and blinked more tears from my eyes. “I’m sorry Mitch. I’m so sorry.”

“Do you know what I would do if I lost you?! Do you have any idea?!” He stared straight down at me, his hair slack and dripping water, a mix of anger and terror etched across his face.

I looked deep into his ocean colored eyes, and I felt like I was staring into a portal to his soul. He really cared about me. He cared about me more than I ever knew.

The lines on his face smoothed, and his voice softened. “I don’t want to lose you, Annie.”

It felt like slow motion as I watched his body descend closer to mine. My heart raced, and my legs tingled with anticipation, and before I knew it, his lips were pressed up against mine. My body trembled, and I whimpered when our mouths touched for the first time. In a split second, I had forgotten that I had almost drowned, and the only thing I could think about was him.

My stepbrother.

Mitch.

The Wrecker.

The man of my dreams.

The one guy who I was oh-so attracted to, but disregarded because I knew I could never have him.

I couldn’t believe that he was kissing me, and it was the most earth-shattering kiss that I had ever experienced. Not that I had kissed a lot of guys, but it wasn’t like Raymond, not like the forceful, sloppy-drunk kisses I had at the club. Mitch’s kiss was soft and passionate. It spoke to me without saying words.

My hands instinctively reached up and touched him on the head, pulling him closer to me, begging him for more. I felt his lips part slightly and I ran my tongue against the edge of his soft, wet lips, then tested slipping it inside. I could taste him. For a moment, I could taste Mitch, and then a moment later he was gone.

Mitch pulled away and tilted his head down, eyes closed, hands on his forehead.

I wanted to ask him what’s wrong or ask him to come back and finish the kiss, but I was so overwhelmed and confused that I just stared at him, wondering what was going on.

“I’m sorry,” he said. “I shouldn’t have done that. I don’t know what came over me.”

“No, it’s okay…” I mumbled and reached my hand out to touch him.

He pulled away and stood up, simultaneously sticking his hand in the sand and slinging it into the sky as he rose. “No, it’s not okay.” He turned away and looked out into the ocean.

“But–”

“But what, Annie?” he interrupted. “You’re my sister.”

I sat myself up in the sand and slowly brought myself up to stand. “I…” I began. I didn’t know what to say, but I just wanted to say something. “I want you to be happy, Mitch.”

Mitch sighed loudly. “You would make me happy, Annie. You really would. I mean, you already make me happy. But if I hurt you, or if I tear this family apart, how long will that happiness last?”

“Hurt me? Why would you hurt me?”

Mitch turned around and put his hand on my shoulders, staring directly into my eyes. His voice was husky. “I hurt people. When I play football, I hurt people. When I meet girls, I hurt people. I don’t want to hurt you because I love you too much.”

I swallowed hard. Mitch had told me that he loved me lots of times, but the way he said it there, on the beach, felt different. He said it in the way that a man loves a woman, not the way a brother loves a sister.

“Come on,” he motioned with his head. “I told Mom and Dad that I’d get you home early. I hope you can forgive and forget what happened tonight.”

I nodded and began following him back to the street to catch a taxi. More than anything I just wanted to scream. I wanted to tell him that it was going to be okay and quit acting weird, but deep down inside I knew at least part of what he said was right.
He was my brother.
I wasn’t sure how Mom and Dad would react if they ever thought that Mitch and I had something going on, but my conscience told me that it would be a disaster.

W
hat the fuck
had I done? The whole plane ride back to LA, I couldn’t get my mind off the fact that I kissed Annie on the beach.

The moment I saw her get sucked under the water, I dropped our shoes to the ground and jumped inside to rescue her. It was dark and impossible to see under the water, so I was lucky that the waves hadn’t pulled her too far from the location she went down.

My heart was pounding out of my chest, and for a moment, I thought that I lost her. I looked down at her fragile body lying in the sand, her white tee soaking wet, clinging to her large breasts, her face exhausted but still beautiful. When I saw that she was still alive, I wanted to pull her as close as possible, to let her know how much I cared. It was a moment of weakness, a moment of emotional instability.

I went too far.

Even worse, Annie seemed okay with it. She kissed me back, and the moment I felt her delicate tongue touch against mine, my loins began to burn. I pulled away to prevent myself from going further than what I did, but the damage had already been done. Somewhere deep inside my soul I knew that I cared for Annie as more than just a sister, but that kiss brought those feelings to life.

The plane landed at Los Angeles International airport and the team all shuffled off towards the baggage claim. As soon as my phone got reception again, it started buzzing and showed 3 missed calls during the plane ride. I didn’t recognize the number, so I figured that someone had misdialed or perhaps it was an old fling who’s contact information I had deleted.

Most of the other players were taking the school’s team bus back to campus, but I had hired a private driver to take me back to my house. I recognized the driver immediately as I exited the main of the airport–an old Indian who had drove me several times, yet still held up a sign that said “Mitch,” to make sure I didn’t miss him.

I hopped inside his Lincoln Town car and told him to take me home, and right as we started off, my phone began to ring again. It was the same number that had called several times before.

I picked up. “Hello?”

“Yes, may I speak to Mitch Ryker, please?”

“This is Mitch.”

“Hi Mitch. This is Carl Sandberg from Ameristock. I’m just calling because you currently have a margin call on your account of 1.5 million dollars.”

“Margin call? I think you’ve made a mistake. Last I checked I had over 8 million in my brokerage account.”

“Yes, that seems to be the case, but I show that you’re short on some very volatile stocks. Have you seen the news? The last two days have seen record breaking gains in the both the NYSE and the NASDAQ, and one of the stocks you’re short in particular, Indigo Medical, just received a patent for a new drug which shot the stock up over 1200%. Now your account is underwater.”

I was shocked and had no idea what to say. “So what happens now? What if the stock goes back down?”

“Usually we give about a week to fill margin calls, but since this is such a large sum, we’re only going to be able to keep you invested for 3 days unless the margin is filled. If not, your holdings will be liquidated, and your account will be sent to collections.”

“Alright, I’ll see what I can do,” I said. I tried to hide the distress in my voice. If I told him that I kept nearly all of my money in stocks and that I only had a million left over in the bank, I’m not sure what he would’ve done. I was at least $500, 000 in the hole from what he was saying, so 3 days would give me some time for the stock to fluctuate.

I clicked the phone off and considered if it was some sort of prank, but when I checked the ticker symbol of Indigo Medical, sure enough it had risen 1200% overnight. It was one of my biggest holdings, so it would absolutely destroy my brokerage account. It had to be the work of
him
, I thought. How easy investing seemed when he was on my side, and how quickly things turned when I refused to do what he said.

I cursed under my breath and considered my options. There was a chance that stocks could retract, but it was also possible that they could get worse. My mansion was worth at least 3 million dollars, so if worse came to worse, I could sell the house and downsize myself a little bit.

The taxi rounded the corner to my house, and I could already sense that something else was wrong. A police car was parked near the end of my driveway, and there were rarely police that patrolled the neighborhood. We continued up the driveway, and when I could see the mansion, my stomach sank. 4 additional police cars were parked right out front with their lights blaring and officers were interviewing my assistant, Valerie, who was standing with slumped shoulders and her arms cross. The door to my house was wide open and all around the driveway was wet.

The driver parked, and I handed him a tip as quickly as possible before I jumped out and stormed towards Valerie and the officers. “What’s going on here?” I questioned.

“Mitch…” Valerie mumbled. “I am so so sorry.” Valerie was a petite woman with a bowl cut haircut and a weather-beaten face. I hired her primarily because I wasn’t attracted to her and knew that there would be little chance I’d mix work with sex with her on my team. The other reason was because she was a strong woman, but at that moment she didn’t look strong at all.

“There’s been a break-in,” the officer in front of Valerie said.

“What?”

Valerie explained, “I guess one of the contractors that I hired left the front door open after they finished the work. There was no sign that anyone broke through the door, but everything is destroyed.”

“What do you mean everything is destroyed?” I was in a state of disbelief.

“They went through the house and ransacked everything, turned all the facets on and flooded the whole house,” the officer added.

“Why didn’t you call me?”

“I just got here 5 minutes ago to check on the work of the contractors. I called the police first. I was going to call you, just everything happened so fast.”

I pulled my eyes away from Valerie and stormed to the front door. The flower garden beside the steps was a puddle of mud and there was still water dripping out of the doorway. When I passed through the entrance, I was stunned. All of my furniture was flipped over, and the upholstery was ripped to shreds. The glass vases and other decorations scattered throughout were all shattered. I must have spent over one hundred thousand dollars on fine art paintings, and they were all off the walls, laying in the pool of water that was on the floor, wet paint creating a mosaic of destruction.

Room by room I explored my house, and every room was the same, every floor. Even my computer equipment and security cameras were destroyed. Everything. Right at that moment, a realization hit me, and I ran to the garage to check on my cars.

The Ferrari, the BMW, the Mercedes, and my truck were all fucked. The tires had been flattened, the windows were busted out, and the seats had been torn to shreds the same as the furniture in my house. I opened the door to the Ferrari, sat in ruined drivers seat and tried to start the engine. Nothing. I got out, flipped open the engine compartment, and I could see that all the hoses and tubes had been yanked out of their proper places as well.

It was overwhelming, and it took all of my willpower to not have breakdown right there. I returned to the driver’s seat to take a moment to collect myself, punched the wheel of the Ferrari, and it let out a honking sound.

At least the horn still worked.

“Mitch,” came a voice.

I looked up and Valerie was standing there. “The police want to speak with you.”

I got out of the car and headed back outside where the police asked me a bunch of random questions as they filled out their report. Things like “Do you know who could have done this? If I had told them who I thought was responsible–
him
–they would think I was crazy.

When the police left, Valerie approached me again. “I feel like this is all my fault. I should have stayed with the contractors and made sure they locked up properly.

“No, its not your fault, Val. I have a feeling that there’s nothing you could’ve done to prevent this.” I let out a big sigh. “Hopefully, my insurance will cover it.”

Valerie gulped. “Yeah, about that. I’m not sure myself, but the police were saying that some insurance doesn’t cover vandalism and some doesn’t cover flooding, especially here in California. With both the water and the vandalism, there is a good likelihood that they don’t cover one or the other and will try to fight against your claim. I just want to warn you in case that actually happened.”

“Oh, fuck me,” I muttered. “I’ll call them now and start the process. Judging by the luck I’m having lately, that’s probably going to be the case.”