Page 92 of Scream Little Sister

Dahlia leans into me, eager to know what I’m too afraid to ask.

I take a fortifying breath and drop my arm to my side. Fuck it. “Were you scared of your feelings for Jaxon? What with him being your brother and all that?”

Dahlia averts her gaze.

“Sorry!” I wave my hands in front of me, my cheeks burning with a blush. “I didn’t mean to pry.”

“You really want to know?” she asks so softly that I have to lean in to hear her.

I nod and drop my hands.

Dahlia glances at Jaxon, finding the courage to talk about something so private between them, before she turns back to me. “Yeah, at first I was scared. People in this town are pretty terrible and will find any reason to bully me. It was hard to resist him in the beginning. It’s socially unacceptable to have feelings for your brother, but being without him was breaking me apart. Jaxon didn’t care what anyone thought and, through that, I found the courage to stop caring. In the end, it’s me and him against the world. It’s always been that way, so why fight it?”

What she went through—feelings wise—is similar to what I’m going through. It’s wrong to be with my stepbrother, and our family will tear us apart if they ever find out. Not only that, but I’ve been walking on eggshells, scared my dad will somehowknow I cheated on Justin. I’m supposed to be loyal tohim, but I would rather gouge my eyeballs out of my head.

Sensing the dark path of my thoughts, Dahlia offers a smile. “Who cares what people think? They’ll talk no matter what you do, what you say, what you wear, and who you love. You can’t always please everyone, so you may as well live for yourself and do what makes you happy.”

A cold sweat breaks out over my suddenly overheated skin. Are my feelings for Ryder that obvious to Dahlia?

Jaxon moves in and kisses the top of Dahlia’s head. “My wise little flower.”

I force a smile, even though I want to puke because of how nervous I am about my secret being discovered. “Thank you. You two really deserve each other.”

Dahlia beams a bright smile, then lunges at me with a bear hug. “Thank you for being nice to me.”

Jaxon’s eyes soften for once as he looks at me. I know it’s not directed toward me, but somehow, with Dahlia’s acceptance of me, he doesn’t look seconds away from beating me up.

The world really did this girl a disservice, and I swear I’ll never be party to hurting her.

We leave the store empty-handed, and I follow Olivia and Nova as they lead the way to the escalators for the second floor. A large body leans against the banister, tattooed hands folded together. I peer in his direction as the automatic stairs carry me and my friends to the second floor. My breath catches in my throat.

Ryder stares back at me, his expression blank, but his eyes darkened with unrestrained desire. He’s wearing his usual black clothes, paired this time with red-and-black Vans. His black hoodie with a red star design etched into the chest hugs his broad chest and shoulders. The black parachute pants with countless straps hanging from the large red pockets hug his leanwaist and fall into a straight line. His pants stop at his calves, tied off to give them the parachute effect, and he’s wearing high black socks to cover his tanned skin.

Once I get to the top, I debate walking toward him. I demanded he ignore me as usual so no one would catch on to us, but all I want is to throw myself into his arms.

“Oh, look!” Olivia gasps. “Ryder’s here.”

With his hand on her lower back, Jaxon leads Dahlia toward my stepbrother. Olivia and Nova follow them, and I force my legs to move, lingering further back so I can keep the attention off of me.

“Didn’t know you liked going to the mall,” Jaxon says in greeting to Ryder.

Ryder blinks and shifts his attention to his best friend. He shrugs and sticks his hands into his hoodie’s front pocket. “I like to watch people.”

Ryder peeks at me, and I catch the subtle uptick of his lips before the smile disappears.

Butterflies fill my stomach, and I pull my phone out of my purse and scroll through social media to appear busy and not at all interested in my stepbrother.

“Wanna join us?” Nova asks.

“Sure,” Ryder says.

“Oh!” Olivia taps Nova’s arm. “We should check out Lucky’s for their plus-sized clothes.”

Nova grins. “I’ve been meaning to go there for...”

Her words fade as I part from the group and glance around. No way am I going into Lucky’s with Ryder. It’s a great store where I get a lot of my lingerie for content, but if Ryder watches me pick out my next outfit with those bedroom eyes, I’ll combust into flames.

“I’ll catch up with you guys,” I say as I walk backward. The group turns to me, but it’s Ryder’s gaze I’m hyper-aware of. “I want to check out a different store real quick.”