Page 57 of The Stepbrother 2: Noah

I waited, giving Maine the space she needed to speak.

"Daddy, I need you to tell me why you hate me so much.” Tears began to form in her eyes. “I thought you loved me when I was younger. But lately, it seems like you only care about everybodybut me. You even seem to favor Noah over me. Why can't you love me like you used to, Daddy?"

Her words cut deep, and my heart ached. I opened my mouth to say something, wanting to reassure her of my love, to explain, but before I could respond, Maine's voice grew louder, her words drowning out the sound of the rain tapping the window.

"Don't lie!" she yelled, her voice filled with accusation and hurt.

“My son is gone, and you took everything else but the house I feel trapped in.”

I searched for the words to say to her but couldn’t find them. I was caught off guard by everything she was accusing me of. Had I been a neglectful father? There was a time when Maine would look up at me, wide-eyed and trusting. How did we end up here?

"You’re not even listening to me now. The only person you listen to is your precious fucking Scarlett. If I gave you what she gave you, would you listen to me then? I can be like Scarlett for you, Daddy," she yelled, her voice shaking. With trembling hands, she pulled open her wet robe and let it slip to the ground. The living room was dim, lit only by the occasional flash of lightning, but I could clearly see that she had lost so much weight. Her body was emaciated. How had I not noticed?

Then, in a shocking move, she lunged towards me.

I stumbled backward, the chair behind me toppled over, sending me to the ground. She jumped on top of me and grabbed for the waist of my shorts. I was horrified. I wanted to cry. I bucked her off me and tried to restrain her. Maine fought me, swinging her fists, grabbing my hair, all while screaming.

"Daddy! Daddy!" she cried out, her voice filled with anguish.

My heart ached as I grappled with her, trying to get her under control.

"Scarlett! Call for help!"

I heard Scarlett enter the room.

"Maine, baby. What are you doing?"

Maine stopped suddenly. She jumped up, looked around the room as if she was waking up from a dream, then ran out of the house naked.

I jumped up to run after her. I made it to the door in time to watch her speed off.

“I have to go get her. Something's wrong. Call the concierge doctor service and have them here ASAP." I grabbed my keys from the entry table. What in the hell was going on? I knew Maine dabbled with drugs, but what had she taken to make her act as she was?

Thunder cracked the sky, lighting up the night as I pushed my car to start and backed out of the driveway. I drove half a block before I heard tires squeal and then metal meet metal.

As I raced towards the sound of the crash, the streets were slick with rain, each turn and swerve adding to my rising panic. I prayed. I hadn’t prayed in so long it felt wrong. But I prayed hard and loud. When I finally arrived at the scene, I was still in a residential area. People were coming out of their houses to look, even in the rain.

I saw Maine's car, then the truck she collided with.

I stumbled out of my car, my heart pounding against my chest as if trying to break free. I was dying. The way Maine's car was nothing more than twisted metal told a truth I wasn’t ready toface. I ran to the car anyway. I only had access to the passenger side. I pulled and tugged at the handle, trying to pry it open.

"Help me!" I screamed over and over. But nobody did until a huge man rushed out of the crowd to help me.

Together, we pulled at the door until the metal groaned and gave way.

There was so much blood.

The airbags were in the way. A police officer and another came out of nowhere and pulled me away before I could get to Maine.

Sirens wailed as the EMTs and ambulance arrived.

I knew Scarlett's laugh, cry, voice from anywhere. But I think her screams of anguish would replace all of those memories and linger in my nightmares forever.

Scarlett was beside me now, her body shaking with sobs. I reached out, wrapping my arms around her. We watched as Maine was loaded into the ambulance. I heard Scarlett praying, begging God to forgive her, making promises to be better. It sounded like a song coming from her.

I knew following the ambulance to the hospital would be useless.

I had never fainted before, but I felt light-headed. My heart was beating a million miles a minute. I stumbled. Scarlett righted me. “What's wrong, Troy?”

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