Off-Limit: NOT my Stepbrother

Prologue

Andrea's POV (16 Years Old)

"The girl is here," a man said, staring pointedly at me as I walked slowly into the house.

My forehead creased with confusion as I stared between the two strange men in sheriff uniform, wondering how they even got into our house in the first place.

Aside from my mum and me, no one else had the keys. Okay, well the Landlady did but she didn't stay around here and even if she wanted to come by, she always alerted my mother.

"Andrea Erickson?" One of the elderly men asked. He was dark-skinned.

"Wh - who are you? Mum?" I yelled for my mum, eyes searching our small house for my mother.

Instead of my mother walking out through the door, my father did. In his two hands were two suitcases that looked exactly like the ones I had in my room.

Oh wait. They were mine.

"Father? Why - how did you get in?" I was shocked because my father didn't live with us. Sure he came to visit us - me, but it was never unannounced. And there was also no time he came or left holding suitcases - my suitcases.

It wasn't even the holidays yet so this visit didn't even fall under the 'holiday' excuse.

"Please help me with her," my father instructed one of the men. The white-skinned one.

Frightened, I took a step backward, eyeing the man up and down as he slowly took a step forward, his shoe heavily thudding on the tiles.

"You'll have to come with us, little one. From today henceforth, your father will be in charge of you. The court has just granted him custody,"

My stomach knotted, a dull ache panging in my chest.

Custody? As in, my father was going to take me away from my mother?

Hell no, not happening.

Pushing the man's hand away from my arm, I shook my head frantically. "I'm not going anywhere with you or anyone, sir. I can't leave without my mother,"

I literally grew up with my mother so them asking me to just leave without her sounded like death sentence to me.

"Please, Andrea. Don't make this any harder than it is for me," my father sighed, glaring at me.

Harder than it is?

My mother and I had never ever in our lives had a reason to bother this man. She worked two jobs to ensure I was living my best life. But him... He just breezed in and out whenever he liked.

"Mum!"

Ignoring him, I kept yelling amidst heavy breaths, attempting to walk forward in search of my mother when my father caught me by my waist, hoisting me up in the air, carrying me out like I weighed nothing.

"Let me go! I'm not leaving mum, Please!" Wriggling in his arm, I screamed loudly. Pain pricked deep into my chest as we moved farther from the house, my vision blurring from the tears that had welled up in my eyes. "Please don't do this, father. I beg you. We can't - I can't leave without my mother. Mum?!"

My eyes scanned the environment for her, hoping to see her running down to meet me, but instead I met nothing - just bystanders who didn't want to interfere.

Why wasn't mum coming out to save me? Was she even okay? Did her fever get worse, landing her in the hospital? I thought to myself, my sob increasing.

My father forcefully tucked me in his car, locking me in the back without any ounce of compassion. Stubbornly, I tapped my hand on the window as I continuously yelled at him to let me out.

It all fell on deaf ears.

When he got back into the car, he ignored all my wails, driving me down to his house - into his own world. Against my wishes.

The only thing he left me with were these words. "You should learn to live without your mother, Andrea because you wouldn't be seeing her anymore."

Sixteen-year-old me thought he was bluffing, hoping he said it out of temporary spite - him and my mother didn't have a sweet personal relationship. But days passed, years too and slowly I began to understand that he actually meant it.

I was really not going to see my mother. And deep down, It didn't feel like it was temporary.

~

One year later, I had grown out of my naivety. If you asked my father, he'd say I was the worst decision he had made in his life.

Unfortunately, he wasn't obligated to give up custody until I was done with college. To me, that was a very long time and I wasn't going to sit by and wait anymore.

I was going to make his life a living hell until he decided to let me go or at least, until he told me where my mother was.

Little did I know that life had other plans and that my worst days were just about to begin.