Bullied By My Alpha Stepbrother

Amelia Forbes

“I despise colleges and their stupid interviews,” Dani groaned as she slumped onto my bed.

I gave a small laugh. “How’d it go?”

“Pretty stupid.”

“Dani?” I warned, laughingly.

“What? Why would they ask why I applied for their college? Uhh, ’cause I want a degree?”

I giggled. “You’re silly.”

She only shrugged.

“How did your day go?” She asked, throwing a chip into her mouth.

I shrugged. I was tired as hell like always. I just wanted to take this thing out of me. Groaning, I grabbed my chips from her and began to chomp.

“Oh that reminds me,” Dani started, moving closer to me on the bed.

She whipped out her phone and shoved it toward me when she opened a picture.Content (C) Nôv/elDra/ma.Org.

I stared at it and shook my head. “What am I looking at exactly?”

Dani nearly choked on her potato chips. “That’s exactly what I said too!”

After she had gulped down a cup of juice she continued. “That’s the one and only Jason Davenport.”

What?

I stared at the picture again, searching for some sign of recognition.

His eyes.

My eyes widened. “What’s happening?” I asked Dani.

“Turns out his dad kicked him out.”

I considered that for a moment. “Really? How long ago?”

“Two weeks. The day he found out about everything. Rumor has it he’s been going around looking for a job. Meaning, he’s homeless and smells like a skunk. That’s how these pictures were taken.”

“Wow.” I breathed out.

He looked helpless, scared, tired. He looked like he was going through a lot.

But I really didn’t care. All I felt when I looked at the picture was surprise. But I didn’t feel sorry for him.

“He deserves all he’s got coming at him,” Dani hissed.

I nodded.

He did.

He really did.

Maybe now he’ll know how it feels.

As Dani resumed her account of how her day went, my mind wandered to Mr Davenport. I was surprised, to say the least. I didn’t know what to think of him now. Especially now that I’d found out he’d kicked Jason out days before he had come here to see me.

Maybe he was as disgusted of Jason as I was too. Kicking him out showed that. A fleeting feeling of warmth flowed through me. Jason didn’t get his attitude from his dad. His dad has something he didn’t; empathy, honesty, remorse.

I imagined it must’ve been difficult for him as well, kicking his only son out. Left to wonder and hope he was okay, hope he wasn’t sick of worse still, dead.

I remembered the sadness in his eyes when I’d lashed out at him and I felt guilty. Maybe he didn’t mean bad after all.

Suddenly the thought of raising a child began to scare me again. Accepting your flesh and blood no matter what crime they committed. I never wanted to be in that position.

And it scared me.

Jason Davenport

I screamed out in pain as termites attacked my hand. Racing to the tap, I slapped them off with the blasting cold water. Exhausted, I slumped to the dirt, resisting the urge to scream out in frustration.

I’d been working on the farm for two weeks. So far I’d only accumulated six dollars. Bill-my employer-had increased my salary to three dollars per week when he saw how hard I was working. The small tips I’d gotten from selling vegetables at Bill’s store on the weekends totalled to four dollars. So in total I had ten dollars.

I sighed. It wasn’t even half the price of the cot yet. I wiped the beads of sweat that stood on my forehead. The sun was terrible and my skin was overly tanned.

After a few moments of feeling sorry for myself, I stood and resumed my work. This week, Bill wanted me to renovate the animal shed, change the termite infested wood and clean the chicken coop.

He’d spent four days teaching me how to use a hammer, and now I’d gotten the hang of it he’d let me do it myself.

As I carried the second batch of wood outside, I sighted a sleek looking car beginning to drive away from the farm.

I paused. I didn’t remember the last time I’d seen something that expensive. Stopping myself, I headed back into the shed and resumed my work.

Amelia Forbes

I watched Ashley unpack the shopping bags she’d come with. They’d been visiting more often for weeks now and I’d slowly began to warm up to them. Ashley was even more excited for the baby. It was as if she was the mom herself. She had been going on shopping sprees for the baby.

I’d asked my gynaecologist to keep the sex of the baby a secret for now. I wasn’t ready for that information at the moment.

So Ashley shopped for both genders. Various colours, and various sizes for each month as the baby grew. Watching her was the most adorable thing. Plus, she made really nice conversation.

As she began to gush over a chew toy, the doorbell rang. Adrian opened the door to reveal Mr Davenport. He quietly walked in looking downcast.

Ashley rushed to his side. “Babe, look what I got for the baby.”

He forced a smile and showered compliments on it.

Ashley frowned. “What’s the problem?”

In response he faced me. “Amelia please come with me. I want to show you something.”

Almost immediately, Dani and Adrian formed a protective wall around me.

“It’s not safe for Mel to take any trips in this condition. She’ll be due soon and she needs to rest,” Adrian said.

Dani nodded in agreement.

I gulped.

What could he want to show me? I wondered.

Ashley touched her husband’s arm. “Honey, what is it?”

“I’ll explain. Just please come with me. It’s important.”

I licked my lips. “Only if they come with,” I gestured to my friends.

He nodded in assent. “Of course.”

Together, we trooped to the car. I was curious now. Dani and I exchanged looks and we both shrugged.

I guess we’d find out.