Stepbrother: Moving In/Moving Out by Tabatha Kiss Read Free Book Online Page A

apartment to see him but he wasn’t there. Then Carter told us we just had to swing by your new place to see what you are up to !”
    “We?” I ask.
    I hear somebody step into the hallway.
    “Ahh, there you are!”
    I peak out and see my stepfather bounding towards us.
    “Oh — Kevin, hi!” I say the name loud enough for Seth to hear.
    “Hey, sweetie!” he says. He leans over and plants a quick kiss on my cheek. “It’s impossible to find a good parking spot here!”
    “Yeah…”
    “Oh, this place is wonderful!” My mother pushes passed me and enters the apartment.
    “Come on in,” I say after the fact. I close the door behind them.
    “You just moved in, I see!” She gestures to the open boxes.
    “Yep,” I say. “Still a move in progress.”
    “That’s what Carter said,” Kevin says.
    “Oh, that reminds me—” my mother says. “He told us you two broke up.” She offers me a quick expression of sadness. “What happened there? You two were so good together.”
    “Oh, it… was… just a long story,” I squeak out.
    “Well, you should reconsider. That poor boy looked heartbroken,” she says.
    “When did you start playing video games, Mina?” Kevin says as he glances into an open box next to the shelf.
    “Oh— I, uh — those aren’t mine…” I mutter.
    “They’re mine.”
    I look over my shoulder to see Seth stepping into the living room.
    My mother drops her jaw. “Oh, Sethy!” She rushes over to him and jumps up to wrap her arms around him. He nearly falls over from the shock, but rights the two of them easily. “Hey, Jackie…” he says.
    “What are you doing here?!” my mother asks him.
    Seth glances over at me, most likely hoping that I’d intervene with a response, but I’m frozen in time. “Well…” he says. “Mina… needed a roommate. To help pay the rent and whatnot.”
    “Well, I don’t doubt that —” Kevin says. “This is a nice neighborhood. My first thought was how little Mina was affording this place.”
    I chuckle. “Yeah, well, Seth was getting bored of his old place. And we figured, what the hell, you know…”
    “Oh, that makes me so happy to see my kids together again, helping each other out…” my mother says.
    Seth and I continue our awkward glances and smiles.
    “So, what brings you into town?” Seth asks.
    “I’m remodeling your father’s office,” my mother says. “And this place has way better furniture stores than our two horse town.”
    “Oh, cool,” I say.
    “Are you two busy?” Kevin asks. “We’d love it if you joined us.”
    My mother claps her hands together. “Oh, that’s a great idea! You guys can pick out any missing furniture you need!”
    “Oh, well, we kind of have everything we need already,” I say.
    “That’s nonsense! You don’t even have a couch in your living room.” My mother gestures are the bare room. “No. I won’t take no for an answer. I want an afternoon together with my kids — and then we can go to dinner!”
    I shrug my shoulders, all the while glancing at Seth. “Okay…” I say with forced enthusiasm.
    “I’ll go bring the truck around,” Kevin says. He pats my shoulder as he walks towards the door.
    “Sounds like fun,” Seth says.
    My mother makes her way over to me. “Now, as we wait — I want to hear all about your break-up, Mina,” she says. “Spare me no details!”
    I chuckle awkwardly as she pushes Seth and I out the door with her.
     
    ***
     
    “Mom, please,” I say. “I kind of really don’t want to talk about it.” I take a larger step down the row of sofas and reclining chairs to try and get a little distance from her.
    My mother scoffs. “Well, I don’t see why—”
    “It’s just… all still very fresh, that’s all,” I say, glancing across the show floor. I see Seth and my stepfather chatting as they admire a line of high-definition televisions. “I’d rather the wounds have a chance to heal before dousing them with salt.”
    She throws up her