Oh Brother - S01 E10

2 years ago

Oh Brother - S01 E10

Read Story: SEASON 1 EPISODE 10

“I’m going to give you a chance,” I said, crossing my arms over my chest.

Christian’s eyes widened as he sat up on the couch, tilting his head slightly as if to determine whether I was being honest. To the shock of myself and everyone else, I was.

After an entire week of wondering, I had gone insane. It wasn’t his request that had bothered me, or even my mom’s treatment of me, it was Christian. He, himself had drove me insane with thoughts. Curious thoughts of who he was.

Thanks to my mom, I had assumed he was Mr. Perfect. Annoyingly good at everything. Annoyingly too nice. But, I had been wrong. That was proven by the swing he took at the creep. Innocent was what I labeled him as, but it didn’t seem like that defined him by the way he knew how to punch.

“You’re giving me a chance?” Christian asked slowly, still in shock.

My eyes narrowed as I held up my index finger and brought it to his face. “One chance. You’re going to mess it up, so I thought what the hell. Might as well gain a reason to hate you from it.”

Despite my harsh words, Christian smiled. He smiled his childlike smile of his that ruined his bad boy exterior. Now that I thought about it, was Christian actually a bad boy? Was the black clothing he wore actually supposed to match his dark soul?

“When do I get to fulfill this chance for you?” he asked, sounding amused.

“Um… Tomorrow.” I smiled to myself. “You better come up with something fun by then.”

“Oh, I will.”

Christian’s eyes suddenly shone with challenge, the exact way they did in the bowling alley. I couldn’t help but smirk, knowing he was being overconfident. There was no way he’d win this. I was the judge, so there was no way.

*****

Christian walked out of the house and locked the door behind us, looking as nonchalant as ever. I on the other hand was nervous, but surprisingly excited. He hadn’t given me any details, so I had no idea where we were going. But, from the fact we had to wear casual clothing I knew we would be doing some physical activity.

As Christian walked towards me, the sun shone down on him in a way that made him stand out. Dressed in gray sweatpants and a black v-neck, he somehow looked perfect. Not in an attractive way in my eyes, but genuinely perfect. His facial structure was well defined, his blue eyes bluer than the sky. Somehow his hair was both messy and neat, and his body – I had to admit – was something many girls would jump at. Not me, of course.

“Why are you staring at me?” he asked, snapping me out of my thoughts.

Only then did I realize he was standing in front of me, staring down at me as his eyebrows furrowed. Blush filled my cheeks as I realized I gave him the satisfaction of me staring at him. Not even people I’ve crushed on in the past had that satisfaction. I glowered.

“I wasn’t,” I said flatly. “Don’t get cocky.

His eyebrows rose. “I’m worried about today now.”

At that, I smiled. “You should be. Can we go now?”

He nodded and led me to his new black car. A car that matched his everyday outfits. I shook my head, amused by the thought.

*****

I blinked. “We’re going hiking?”

“Yes. Good job Autumn. I once brought a girl here and she thought we were going to do some very interesting things here.”

I fought back a smile and thought about the activity for the day. Of all the things he could’ve chosen, he chose hiking. A part of me couldn’t believe it and was slightly disappointed. There was so much we could do, but instead we were going to shed pounds in a forest that was probably infested with mosquitoes.

“Like I’d ever go near you like that,” I couldn’t help but say back. “Or in any way.”

“You wish you could.” Was his simple, but surprisingly fact-like reply.

I blinked as I made a mental note. Christian was cocky when he didn’t have anything to be cocky about. It seemed like I was already learning something new about him a minute into our day together.

“Can we get this day over with,” I suddenly said, wanting to be rude after his response.

He smiled slightly at that and nodded, taking a deep breath in. I then watched as his eyes wandered around the place, taking in the greenery of the dense coniferous trees and bushes. Now I realized he had brought me here for his own needs, not to please me. I added selfish to the list of traits he was.

Taking a step forward, he said looking back at me with a sudden grin, “Follow me.”

“Only for today and then we don’t know each other. Okay?” I replied, smiling despite my inner self telling me to stick to being a hardcore b---h.

Christian rolled his eyes, but he smiled as well.

*****

We were still walking. In silence, we dodged branches and twigs and just walked with no destination in mind. To both my surprise and dismay, I was actually enjoying something as simple as walking in peace.

The sun was beating hard on us and the area smelled like nature. Other than the plants that surrounded us, there weren’t any living creatures other than the two of us. And even though it was just the two of us, we didn’t say a word. We just walked through the green forest with sweat trailing down our faces, and I was surprisingly happy with this. Probably because I was in the mood to be at peace when life was not peaceful at all.

Looking at Christian’s broad back as he led the way, I suddenly felt my heart clench as he was a physical reminder of my mom. Of how she didn’t love me anymore. Of course I knew I couldn’t blame Christian for that, but he did seem to be the reason why she didn’t. Because of that, I couldn’t help but still feel resentment towards him.

Suddenly Christian stopped in his place, and with my ongoing thoughts I nearly crashed into him. I kissed my teeth at that and stepped back, narrowing my eyes at him.

“What?” I asked, annoyed.

I just wanted to keep walking in peace. It was the only way I wouldn’t feel like crying like the girl I wasn’t over my new life. Because honestly, having your very own mom hate you s----d. Even though I was an independent person, it s----d because she was all I had.

Christian raised an eyebrow, but soon dropped it as his eyes suddenly softened. Once again he was looking at me with pity evident in his eyes. Anger welled up within me because he still seemed to think I was some sort of delicate thing.

“Sorry,” he said. “I want to take a break.”

“I don’t want to,” I shot back, feeling even more annoyed.

Suddenly he reached out towards me and wiped a finger across my forehead. I flinched at the touch, surprised he dared touch me. As I narrowed my eyes at him, he held out his finger that now had a drop of water that I soon realized was sweat.

“Autumn, I’m not the only one who’s tired,” he said. “Relax. This is my chance to get you on my good side, so let’s take a break. Let’s… Bond.”

My eyes widened slightly as I remembered that this had been my goal all along. To get to know this boy who happened to be my stepbrother. It was smart to know your enemies, which made me all the more excited.

Tiredly, I said, “Fine.”