My heart raced as I walked down the hall. That night, I was just getting into my pajamas when my phone buzzed. It felt good to have his attention again, albeit briefly. He continued looking at me with the wicked grin I’d longed for. Only my stepbrother would look smoking hot with a pair of underwear on his head. He promptly put it on his head and wore it like a beanie. I rolled my eyes and threw one at his face. “I kept a couple for me,” he said seductively. Randy slammed the can on the table in front of me.

When the laughter dissipated, Elec was still smiling at me and said low enough just for the two of us to hear, “I told you they weren’t in my room.” Looking over at Randy’s confused face made me crack up even harder. We both simultaneously burst into laughter. We stared at each other for a good few seconds before Elec snorted and lost it. My mouth hung open, and I looked over at Elec. “Greta, what the hell are you doing stuffing all these underpants inside a can of Pringles?” he yelled. He abruptly got up and walked over to the snack closet. Randy was in rare form that night, complaining that the plain dinner of pasta and red sauce did nothing to curb his appetite. Sure enough, when I turned toward him, his head moved downward again, and he was back to playing with his vermicelli. It was as if he were waiting for me to turn away so that he could look at me when he thought I didn’t notice. At one point, I’d stared out the window to gaze at the neighbor’s laundry lined up and drying in the breeze. He’d just look down and twirl the pasta around his fork.

My mother and I were not really on the best terms either because she continued to insist that it wasn’t her place to get involved in Randy’s issues with Elec.Įlec wasn’t making eye contact with me at the table. Ever since the night I saw how badly Randy treated him, I’d all but avoided my stepfather, except for sitting down with him at dinner. Normally, Elec never ate at home, but this particular Wednesday night, for some reason, he decided to join us. Then, one night after dinner, the tides changed, and I got a little piece of him back.

Stepbrother dearest