Stepbrother Bestie (A Stepbrother Romance Novel) Read Online Free PDF Page B

that she wasn’t going to like it.
    “It’s really not you,” I said carefully,
trying my best to calm the anger and the hurt that I was feeling in order to
accurately explain everything to her.
    “Okay,” she nodded and continued her
glower as she pressed for more.
    “It’s…my father,” I answered, but didn’t
say anymore for the moment. It was fairly strange to me, but having to provide
an explanation to her was very complicated and aggravating. I wondered how I
could feel something so strongly that it was almost painful, but be completely
unable to accurately express to anyone, even the one person, who after all
these years, still knew me best.
    “I understand you have some unresolved
issues with your father,” Valerie answered slowly, after she waited a good
amount of time for me to eliminate the obscurity of my position. “But what I
don’t understand is what those issues have to do with me.”
    I took a long breath and released it
easily, before I finally blurted, “It’s how he treats you.”
    She narrowed her eyes. “He treats me
well…”
    “Yes, but you are like daddy’s little girl and you’re not even
his little girl.” I couldn’t hide the disdain in my voice now.
    “I am very thankful for your father. He is
the only father figure I have ever known. But to be fair, my mother is also the
only responsible, motherly figure that you have ever had consistently in your
life, so I don’t think that either of us should be hurt.”
    “It’s not about your mother!” I yelled,
but calmed eventually, not wanting the whole school to hear us. “It isn’t about
my mother, or even your father. This is about my father and the way he treats
you, as opposed to the way that he treats me. I’m his actual son, after all,
but I don’t get anything but a hard time from the man, while all you get is
praise.” As I spoke, I slammed my hand down on the table but quickly realized
how loud I was becoming, once again. I made a conscious effort to stop, since I
had made my point.
    At this Valerie stood up and yelled right
back at me, “I’m sorry you feel that way and to be perfectly honest, I don’t
disagree, but I still don’t understand why this is my fault? I didn’t ask for
this. I’m thankful for the way your father has taken me in as his own and I appreciate
it, but I certainly never wanted him to ruin his relationship with you over
it!”
    “Valerie,” I spoke sternly, before I took
in a long, calming breath. Releasing it, I said to her, “I’m sorry. You’re
right. It has nothing to do with you, but after he seemed to treat me so
disproportionately for so many years, I couldn’t help but become jealous of you.”
I had regretted the words the second I spoke them and I knew that she was not
going to let me live them down; not after everything else I had said.
    Now, instead of looking angry, the main
emotion that she had swirling around inside of her body was definitely hurt.
She stood there, straight as a statue for a long while before she answered,
“Jealousy? Is that really what this is all about? You’re jealous of me…because
of the way your father chooses to treat me?”
    “Valerie…” I said as I stood up and tried
to reach out for her, but she casually pulled her hand back from me.
    “No.” She stepped away. “I understand now.
As much as I hate to say it, you make perfect sense. It all makes perfect
sense. You can’t hurt your father, so you are trying to hurt me.” She narrowed
her eyes and spoke with a teeming sense of disgust. “You destroyed our
friendship, on purpose, because you were jealous over something I had no control
over?”
    “Valerie…I’m sorry…” I answered, moving
toward her again, only to be rebuffed once more.
    “No,” she hissed as she recoiled, “you’re
not. If you were, you would have nothing to apologize for. Our friendship was
obviously a matter of convenience to you.” She shook her head. “And therefore, it
never meant anything to