Stepbrother Broken (The Hawthorne Brothers Book 2) (26 page)

“
Soph, what
’
s the matter?
”
Maddie asks softly, as I try
and stifle my sobs,
“
What
’
s
going on?
”

“
It
’
s
st-stupid,
”
I blubber, thanking my lucky stars
that the campus is nearly empty. I
’
d be quite the sight to come upon
right now.
“
Don
’
t
worry about it.
”

“
I can
’
t
not worry,
”
Maddie tells me,
“
You
’
re my little sister. Did something
happen at school? Is it a guy? Is it a family thing?
”

A
little bit of all three,
I think sullenly.

“
Whatever it is, you know you can
talk to me, right?
”
Maddie presses on,
“
I know we haven
’
t always been super close, but this
has been such a crazy couple of weeks. And I
…
I
don
’
t think there
’
s anyone else in the world who can understand what we
’
re going through right now except each other. We
Porter women have to stick together at times like this.
”

I
bite my lip, leaving my sister hanging on the line. With the way everything
imploded at the lake house, I almost forgot that Luke and I were getting ready
to let our secret slip to our siblings. It would be such a relief to tell
Maddie about what
’
s been going on. And now that Luke
has ghosted out of my life, what
’
s the point in keeping our secret
for another second?

“
Sophie? Are you still there?
”
Maddie asks.

“
Yeah. Sorry. I was just
…
It
’
s kind of a long story,
”
I tell her, shoving a hand through my hair.

“
It
’
s
OK. I
’
m listening,
”
she assures me.

“
Well
…”
I
begin as my heart jackhammers in my chest,
“
I
guess you could say that I
’
m having a spot of guy trouble. And
not just any guy, either. I
…
Christ, this is going to
sound insane
—”

“
Sophie,
”
Maddie cuts in gently,
“
Is
the guy Luke?
”

My
jaw falls into my lap at my sister
’
s words.

“
I
—
What
—
How did you
—
?
”
I
sputter.

“
Holy crap,
”
she breathes,
“
Cash was right!
”

“
Cash? What does Cash have to do
with anything?
”
I demand, leaping to my feet,
“
And how did you know about
—
?
”

“
Cash was totally onto you guys by
the time we left the lake house. And I have to say, I had my suspicions too,
”
Maddie tells me,
“
You could barely look at him
without blushing. So, what
’
s the real story Soph?
”

I
’
m too stunned to deny anything.
“
Luke wasn
’
t just some guy I
’
d seen around Sheridan,
”
I
tell my sister,
“
He was my TA this past semester. I
sort of had a thing for him the whole time he was my teacher. And
…
Uh
…
The feeling was mutual.
”

“
That is so much juicer than what I
imagined,
”
Maddie says excitedly,
“
Go on!
”

“
Okay
…”
I
continue,
“
Well, right after the semester
ended, we sort of hooked up.
”

“
What!
”

“…
In a bar bathroom.
”

“
What
?!
”

“
And the only reason we didn
’
t get it on right then and there is because Luke had
to save me and my best friend from getting beat up by a bunch of skinheads.
”

“
WHAT?!
”

“
So, yeah,
”
I go on,
“
We were already sort of a thing
before I left for the lake house. But I had no idea until I got there that Luke
was John
’
s son. We were both completely
blindsided. And we just
…
Thought it would be better to
keep it a secret, and just pick up once we were back at Sheridan. So we just
spent the week sneaking around, trying not to get caught.
”

“
Your sneaking could use some work,
”
Maddie tells me.

“
I
’
m
getting that, yeah,
”
I laugh wryly,
“
But I mean, it
’
s not like it even matters now.

“
Why not?
”

“
What do you mean,
‘
why not
’
?
”
I
shoot back,
“
Because of Mom and John. Their
choice to shack up for good totally ruined any chance Luke and I had of picking
things up when we got back here. We both thought for sure they
’
d break up, but instead Mom gets a set of keys to the
place? Now, instead of spending the summer with Luke, I
’
m just here licking my wounds on my own
—”

“
Wait. I don
’
t understand. Luke isn
’
t
with you?
”
Maddie asks.

“
Of course not,
”
I tell her,
“
He dropped me off at campus and
split. It
’
s not like we could just pretend
like everything was OK and stay together like a normal couple.
”

“
But
…
It
sounds like that
’
s exactly what you want to do,
”
Maddie points out.

“
Sure, in a perfect world,
”
I scoff.

“
You don
’
t have to laugh it off,
”
she
tells me,
“
It
’
s
not ridiculous.
”

“
I
’
m
sorry
…
Were you not there for the part
where his dad and our mom are an item?
”
I reply,
“
In what universe is it OK for us to go on
—”

“
Man, and here I thought you were
supposed to be the free-loving hippie in the family,
”
Maddie laughs,
“
How am
I
the one telling
you
not to be a prude now?
”
 

“
That
’
s
…
a very good question,
”
I
say slowly, planting a hand on my hip,
“
Why aren
’
t you freaking out about all this? The Maddie I know
would be telling me I
’
m a perverted sex fiend right now.
What the hell gives?
”

Maddie
sighs on the other end of the line.

“
Let
’
s
just say
…
I kind of know what you
’
re going through,
”
she tells me.

“
Wh-what?
”
I stammer.
“
What do you
…
?
”

And
then it hits me. The scene I witnessed that last night at the lake, when the
pickup drove off leaving a devastated Maddie in its dust. I thought she was
just upset about Mom
’
s behavior, and our house getting
sold off, but really
…

“
No
,
”
I
breathe.

“
Yeah,
”
Maddie
replies.

“
You and Cash?!
”
I gasp,
“
You two were
…
But how is that
—
?
”

“
It
’
s
also something of a long story,
”
she tells me,
“
But it involves a one-night stand at a roadside motel,
if you can believe it.
”

“
Madeleine Porter, who
are
you even?
”
I ask, mind reeling.

“
Someone who knows a thing or two
about what you
’
re grappling with,
”
she tells me.

I
sink back down on the bench, landing heavily. How did I not pick up on the fact
that Maddie and Cash had a thing for each other? And here I thought
I
was the actress of the family. There
’
s also the fact that Cash is the last person I could
ever picture my sister with. She
’
s always gone for boring, bland,
safe guys. Bad boy, punch-throwing Cash Hawthorne is anything
but
safe.
I guess I was so wrapped up in my own drama with Luke that I didn
’
t even think for a second about anyone else at that
house. God, what else have I been missing?

“
How are you so calm, then?
”
I ask Maddie,
“
Shouldn
’
t you be just as broken up about this whole thing as I
am? I mean, to be forced to call off your thing with Cash because
—”

“
That
’
s
the thing, Sophie,
”
Maddie cuts in,
“
We haven
’
t called anything off. We
’
re still very much together.
”

“…
What.
”

“
I was totally freaked out about Mom
and John too, at first,
”
Maddie tells me,
“
I bailed on Cash, told him I couldn
’
t keep seeing him if our parents
’
relationship was getting serious. I tried to go back
to Seattle and get on with my life. But I couldn
’
t.
I was miserable without him.
”

“
So
…
What
did you do?
”

“
Luckily, I have a little guardian
angel out here with me in Seattle. Or, maybe a guardian devil? My best friend
Allie, the one who works at ReImaged with me? She arranged for Cash to be hired
by our firm for a PR project we
’
re working on now. He
’
s one of our
‘
everyman models
’
for this denim campaign we
’
re running.
”