A fiery line of annoyance zips down my spine as I stand in the middle of our dark house.
I bristle at the thought of it beingourhouse.
Sighing, I throw my bag off to the side. The front door locked automatically behind me, but I check one more time before heading to the kitchen to grab a bottle of water.
After drinking nearly all of it, I throw it into the trash and huff.
I knew Cross was an asshole from the moment I met him. But the more time I spend around him, which isn’t much, the more I realize just how big of an asshole he really is.
Can you fucking stay put? I’m busy and don’t have time to deal with your stupidity.
The fucking nerve.
I stomp my way down the hall and head toward the stairs. The annoyance I have for my stepbrother at the moment is at an all-time high. I stop in front of his bedroom door and smile deviously.
He wants to play games with me by giving out my email and insulting me every three seconds? Then I guess I’ll need to level up and show him that he can’t bully me into submission.
I push on his door and walk right inside his bedroom. I expected him to have a lock on his bedroom door to keep me out, just like I expected his room to be a mess.
It’s not.
It’s neat and tidy. Even the bed is made.
I don’t even think my bed is made.
I flip on the lamp on his desk and give it a onceover. His schedule and a pile of notebooks lay on it, with a few pencils scattered on top. I take a photo of his schedule because it’s always nice to know where your enemy is.
Then I start opening drawers.
Condoms.
Lube.
Loose change.
More pencils.
My fingers skim something in the back of the drawer, and I pull it out.
It’s an old, wooden cigar box. Sort of like the one my father has, but this one is so worn out that I can hardly make out the wordForsecaengraved on the top.
I run my fingers along the grooves and give the box a little shake. Nothing rattles on the inside, and there isn’t a strong scent of cigars like I’d expect, so without hesitation, I flip the box open.
Whoa.
Benjamin Franklin’s face stares back at me, and my lips part.
I grip the wad of cash, and it’s much more than I thought.
This is a ton of money.
Where did Cross get this much money?
Did he rob my dad?
I roll my eyes. That’s unlikely. My father is too anal to let this much money disappear without noticing, and although Cross isn’t the nicest to me, it’s obvious that he cares for his mother. He likely puts up with me and my dad because he knows his mom is happy. He isn’t going to ruin their marriage by stealing from his new stepdad.
Right?
