Stepbrother's Love

The evening air was thick and muggy.

Olivia Smith stood at the entrance of the pool hall, lunch box in hand, listening to the crack of pool balls and men's laughter spilling out from inside.

She really didn't want to go in, but her mother Indigo Smith's almost desperate voice from their phone call still rang in her ears.

"Olivia, just this once, please. Your brother John has stomach issues... don't let him go hungry. Just drop it off and get out of there, okay?"

"I'm begging you. Things aren't exactly smooth sailing for us at the Williams place. We've got to keep him happy..."

'Keep him happy?'

'Babysitting a grown man who could damn well take care of himself like he was some kind of toddler?'

Olivia took a deep breath and pushed through the heavy glass door.

A wave of stale smoke and cheap beer hit her in the face, making her nose scrunch up.

The lighting was dim, and though the place wasn't packed, it felt grimy and chaotic.

She quickly scanned the room, not seeing the person she was dreading—her half-brother, John Williams.

"Well, well! Look who's here—John's little girlfriend!"

Some guy with bleached yellow hair and a cigarette dangling from his lips spotted her first, calling out with a smirk.

The guys at the nearby pool tables all turned to stare. Since Olivia was pretty, their eyes lingered.

She had delicate features and smooth skin, wearing a simple blue-gray dress that showed off her slender figure.

Hearing herself called "girlfriend," Olivia's face went bright red.

She wanted to set the record straight, but remembering John's warning, she bit her tongue.

"Keep your damn mouth shut, Olivia!"

"If anyone finds out about your mom and my dad's thing, you can both pack your bags and get the hell out of the Williams villa!"

Just as embarrassment was eating her alive, a sharp crack echoed from the back of the pool hall, followed by a few impressed whistles.

Olivia couldn't help but look over.

By a corner table, a tall guy straightened up.

He was wearing a black T-shirt, having just nailed a shot, casually holding his cue with an easy smile playing on his lips.

"Hey, Olivia, don't be shy! I've seen you around!"

The yellow-haired guy sidled closer with a grin, reeking of cigarettes.

"Come on, spill! How'd you and John hook up? Dude moves fast!"

The others chimed in with their teasing. Olivia's face was burning as she just wanted to dump the lunch box and bolt.

That's when she noticed the guy in the corner glancing their way, too.

"What's all the fuss about?"

A lazy but ice-cold voice suddenly cut through from the entrance.

Olivia's whole body went rigid, her heart practically stopping.

John was back.

He was working a piece of gum, hands shoved in his pockets, strolling over with that look Olivia knew way too well—cocky with a dangerous edge.

At first, he didn't spot Olivia, but when he pushed into the crowd, his gaze turned razor-sharp.

Olivia quickly stepped forward, holding out the lunch box, her voice barely above a whisper as she tried to explain.

"I thought you'd be by yourself..."

A loud crash exploded right next to her ear.

John didn't even glance at the lunch box before his hand shot out and knocked it flying!

The container went sailing from her grip, hitting the floor hard by Olivia's feet.

The lid popped open, spilling food and soup everywhere, soaking her beat-up white canvas shoes.

"Who the hell told you to come here?"

John's voice shot up, dripping with pure irritation and venom.

"How many times do I have to tell you to stay the hell away from me? Are you deaf or just stupid?"

That familiar terror crashed over Olivia like a wave, and everyone else just stood there, stunned by John's sudden explosion.

In the dead silence, a pool table chimed with the sound of someone running the table.

Then that tall figure stepped out from the shadows in the corner.

Olivia glanced up through tear-filled eyes, saw it was the guy from before, then quickly looked down again when she caught John's murderous glare.

"John, that's enough."

Hearing Charles Green walk over and say this, John froze, then looked like he'd just heard the funniest joke in the world.

The rage melted off his face, replaced by that sick smile, his eyes bouncing back and forth between Charles and Olivia.

"Charles, did I hear you right? Since when do you give a damn about other people's drama?"

He let out another snort, jerking his chin toward Olivia like she was a piece of furniture.

"You want her? She's all yours."

Hearing those words, Olivia just stood there frozen, her face going white as a sheet.

She never thought that all of Indigo's hard work that afternoon would end up as garbage on the floor.

A wave of humiliation and rage swept over her fear.

She suddenly looked up, staring John dead in the eye, her voice cutting like a knife.

"John, what the hell gives you the right?"

"Mom spent all afternoon worried sick about your stomach, making this food! She cut her hand chopping vegetables and didn't even make a peep!"

"I ran straight over here after school without even touching my homework, scared you'd starve! Do you have any conscience left?"

The whole pool hall went dead quiet.

Everyone stared in shock at Olivia, who always seemed so quiet and mousy, now going toe-to-toe with the notoriously nasty John.

Even John looked like he'd been slapped.

He never expected this usually doormat version of Olivia to actually fight back.

After that explosion, Olivia looked completely drained.

She spun around and bolted without looking back, disappearing into the night.

John watched her vanish, running his hands through his hair in frustration, the confusion on his face morphing into something darker.

Just as he was about to take his anger out on his shell-shocked buddies, Charles's low, steady voice cut through from beside him.

"John."

John whipped around to meet Charles's unreadable dark eyes.

Charles was still staring at the doorway where Olivia had disappeared.

"What?"

John's voice still had that edge of anger and irritation at being interrupted.

"You saw what went down. Things are a shitshow at home, it's driving me up the wall. I'm not in the mood to kiss your ass right now!"

He figured Charles was about to give him a lecture.

Charles slowly turned his attention back to John, his expression giving nothing away.

"Don't need an apology."

He paused, then, under John's confused and pissed-off stare, asked point-blank.

"I just need to know—Olivia... what school does she go to?"

Charles's question hit like a stone thrown into still water.

John spun around, the irritation on his face now mixed with disbelief and shock.

"You're asking about her?"

"Charles, are you serious?"

Charles locked eyes with John, his stare intense and unwavering. Though he didn't say a word, he clearly wasn't messing around.

The guys around John immediately erupted, whooping and hollering, whistles and catcalls filling the air.

"Charles has got it bad!"

"I knew it! The way Charles was staring at Olivia earlier was totally weird!"

"No way, I've never seen Charles fall for any girl. I always thought he was..."

"Shut the hell up!"

John's head was splitting from the noise. He shot the group a death glare, and his shout cut through their trash talk.

Running his hands through his hair, he met Charles's unreadable dark eyes, feeling this weird tightness in his chest.

He knew Charles too well—the quieter this guy got, the more dangerous he became.

Then Charles threw out another line.

"Just curious."

"Fine."

John practically spat the words out, his tone sharp as a blade.

"Olivia goes to our school! Celestial University! There, happy?"

The second the words left his mouth, he stepped closer, his voice loaded with warning.

"Charles, let me make this crystal clear! You'd better just be having some passing interest!"

"Olivia came with that woman my dad married, and I can't stand the sight of her! If you wanna stay tight with me, stay the hell away from her and don't drag me into whatever this is!"

Charles didn't bite back at his outburst, just gave the tiniest nod.

His eyes drifted to the doorway where Olivia had vanished, something flickering in those dark depths—too quick to catch.

"Got it."

His voice stayed flat as always. He turned and walked toward the exit, like that bombshell question had been nothing but small talk.

But John couldn't chill out, that burning rage in his chest shooting straight to his head.

'Damn, everyone's just here to screw with me!'

A little past eleven that night, John pushed through the front door, reeking of smoke and booze.

Only a dim wall lamp lit the living room. Olivia was walking from the kitchen with a glass of milk, heading quietly to her room with her phone, the screen's glow lighting up her blank expression.

"Hold up!"

John's voice cut through the silence. Even though he'd toned it down, it still rang out clearly.

Olivia didn't even slow down, like she hadn't heard a thing.

That complete blow-off set John off.

He stormed over in a few quick steps, his tall frame looming as he blocked her bedroom door, his tone aggressive and hostile.

"Olivia! What the hell was that scene this afternoon? Going off on me in front of everyone? Who the hell do you think you are?"

Olivia finally looked up at him.

Those eyes that usually looked so timid now seemed like chips of ice.

Clear and cold, catching the wall lamp's light and John's face, twisted with rage.

No fear—just this sharp, unfamiliar calm that threw John off.

"I threw a scene?"

Her voice wasn't loud, but it cut through crystal clear, carrying this desperate, icy edge.

"John, living in your house means I gotta roll over like some dog, begging for scraps? Get smacked around and then turn the other cheek?"

"My mom and your dad are legally married! They've got the paperwork!"

John felt momentarily rattled by her stare and words, then his anger flared even hotter.

"Don't give me that bullshit! If you're living under someone else's roof, you'd better act like it!"

Olivia let out a soft, bitter laugh, the mockery in it cutting like a blade.

"Don't worry, you won't have to kick me out. Starting Monday, I'm getting a job at that new flower shop by the school."

"I'll make my own money, and once I've saved enough, I'm out of here."

"I won't be like you—just some spoiled little rich boy throwing fits with daddy's money and house, no different from all those other pathetic losers!"

"Say that again, I dare you!"

John jabbed his finger right at Olivia's face, veins popping at his temples, his voice raw with fury.

"Enough!"

Suddenly, a sharp voice cut through their fight.

Olivia's mom, Indigo, came rushing down the stairs, panic written all over her face.

She didn't even look at Olivia, going straight to John and reaching out to calm him down, her voice cracking.

"John! John! Please don't be mad! Olivia doesn't know what she's saying; she's just talking crazy!"

She frantically rubbed John's back, like she was trying to soothe a wild animal.

"I'm so sorry! Please just calm down!"

At the same time, John's dad, Theo Williams, stepped out of his study, his face like thunder.

His hard stare swept over the two of them before landing on John with absolute authority.

"John! Put your damn hand down! What the hell is wrong with you? Apologize to Olivia!"

"Apologize?"

John violently shoved Indigo's hand away, like a bomb going off. He pointed at Olivia and screamed at Theo.

"Dad! Open your eyes! It's her! She started this whole thing!"

"As long as she's in this house, I'll never get any peace!"

His bloodshot eyes burned into Olivia, every word dripping with pure hatred.

"Fine! You think you're so tough? Want your independence? Then get the hell out!"

"Drop out right now! Get out of this house! Get out of my face! I never want to see you again!"

Those words slammed into Olivia like a freight train.

Her body swayed, and she stared at John's hate-twisted face in complete shock.

Indigo went white as a sheet, wanting to speak but choking on the words, instinctively reaching for John's arm again.

"Drop out?"

Olivia's voice turned to ice, sharp with the desperation of someone backed into a corner.

"John, who the hell do you think you are? You think you can just throw out whoever you want?"

She whipped around to face Indigo, her eyes full of crushing disappointment.

"Mom, did you hear that? This is the person you want me to 'get along with'!"

"This is the 'good life' you want me to just shut up and take!"

"ALL OF YOU SHUT THE HELL UP!"

Theo slammed his fist on the table so hard the crystal chandelier shook.

His chest heaved, clearly beyond pissed, his razor-sharp glare cutting through the chaos.

"John! Say 'drop out' one more time and see what happens! You don't run this house!"

He took a deep breath, forcing down his rage, his voice low but carrying undeniable power.

"Now, everyone, get to your rooms! Cool off before you say another damn word!"

Dead silence.

John's chest was pumping like he'd run a marathon. He shot Olivia one last look of pure venom, hatred practically radiating off him.

He spun around like a caged animal and stormed upstairs.

A thunderous crash shook the whole house as John slammed his bedroom door with everything he had.

The massive echo bounced through the empty living room, hanging in the air like a threat.