Page 18 of The Stepbrother 2: Noah

“You don’t get to marry her and play happy husband and pretend your son doesn’t exist.”

“Maine, if you tell her, you’ll ruin everything, and I still won’t choose you.”

“Well, you may not want to be with me, but Devon Junior will always be in your life. He’s getting too old to be tricked with ‘let’s play a secret.’ Last week he cried for the entire day when you left. He keeps asking to go live with you and her.”

My mind moved slowly, piecing together what was going on. When it did, I snapped.

I burst into the pantry. The door hit a shelf, causing products to fall to the floor. “Devon, what the hell is going on? Please, please tell me you’re not fucking Maine!”

He stood there in shock, not answering.

Maine answered for him. “We were together before you two were.” She sounded and looked so smug, with her arms folded over her chest.

That snapped Devon out of whatever trance he was in. “I fucked you a couple of times because you practically begged me to. We were never together. You didn’t even tell me about DJ until you found out Creed and I were together,” he spat angrily.

She cut her eyes at him. “So?” she yelled back.

My mind was reeling. What did she mean “so”? She was playing with people’s lives. She had always needed to be the center of attention, and I let her be, but this was too far. Devon wasn’t innocent, but I believed him.

I lunged toward Maine. I was going to beat her ass for the old and the new. I swung, and my fist connected with the side of her head. If she’d gone to boxing lessons with Daddy when Jason and I did, she might’ve been able to fight back. I got in at least three good blows to her face before Devon pulled me off her and carried me into the kitchen.

“Get the fuck off of me!” I yelled, jerking out of his arms as we started arguing back and forth.

“I told you to tell her.”

I hadn’t heard Noah come into the kitchen, but I heard him say that. My head snapped in his direction. Maine was sitting on a stool at the center island, and he was wiping blood from her nose.

“You knew?” Who in the hell else knew?

Noah dropped his head. “She told me when she was pregnant. I told her to tell you.”

I shook my head. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

“That wasn’t his place, Creed,” Ashley answered for him. Both of our heads turned in her direction. Noah looked as displeased as I did by her putting in two cents.

“You bobblehead bitch, did I ask you anything? Did I say, ‘Bobblehead bitch, speak for Noah’? No. So shut the fuck up.” I barked at her.

I turned my wrath back to my siblings.

“I know why you didn’t tell me. It’s because you’re both your mother’s children, deceitful and dishonest. Fuck you both.” I started pacing the kitchen, head down. I couldn’t stand the sight of any of them. “I shared my mother with you, Maine. I shared my toys, everything. I guess I should have expected to share dick, too.” At that point, I was just ranting.

Devon tried to interrupt. “Can we go somewhere and talk, Creed?”

I shook my head. “No. Do you know how many pep talks I had to give myself just to deal with you? You’re exhausting but I put up with you anyway. Is DJ why my parents don’t like you? Don’t tell me my parents knew, too.”

I looked at Noah. His face told it all. I threw my hands up. “Everybody fucking knew and let me make a fool of myself?”

I kept eyeing the knives in the butcher block, tempted.

“Aunty Creed, what are you fussing for?”

I turned to find DJ standing right outside the kitchen door. With new eyes, I immediately saw the resemblance to Devon. I’d been an idiot.

“Nothing, baby. I’m over what made me mad now already.”

I pretended like everyone in the kitchen didn’t exist, grabbing DJ’s hand on the way out. None of this was his fault, and I wouldn’t ever act differently toward him.

I picked up my purse, pulled out and handed him the Lego set I’d bought him. It was a miniature spaceship. DJ loved nothing more than Legos. I sent him to play before I took out my phone and dialed the person who had become my lifeline, Tempest. I needed to hear her voice. When I met her in the mall, I didn’t know she and her family would become like a second family to me. She stayed with me for weeks after god daddy died.

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