The Stepbrother's Sin

Chapter 5 — Threatened

It was the middle of the night when my eyes suddenly opened. I looked at the large windows on the left of my bed, which showed the city's skyline and the tall buildings that were nearby. A small breath escapes my lips before I close my eyes again to fall asleep, but that didn’t work. I felt awake.

Something felt different about my room.

I turned to the right side, only to see Cain standing in the middle of the room, staring at me like a hawk.

"f**k—" My heart jumped into my throat and I quickly sat up. "What is wrong with you?" I stared at him, completely baffled by his presence in my room. Yet again. I didn't lock my doors because I didn't think he would do it again, but he did—he was here.

He stepped closer, and I moved back. "What's wrong?" He asked, his voice was calm. "Are you afraid?"

I didn't respond to that, I only kept my eyes on him and hoped he would get out. He didn't seem like he wanted to leave though. He stood next to me, his lips lined straight in a frown.

"What do you want?"

"Well, aren't you a little snitch?" He neared me and placed his one hand over the headboard of the bed. "Running to your mother, tattling to her like a little school girl? Huh?"

I scooted away, feeling my body pressed up against the bedframe. "You're a creep, Cain!" I pushed his chest, but it didn't budge him even an inch.

He grabbed my wrist, "That's right. I'm the creep here," His lips formed a smirk, "Are you going to go cry about this to your mother?" His tone was cold, so cold.

"f**k off, Cain." I was terrified, yet I refused to let him see that.

"Oh, the schoolgirl knows how to cuss?" He taunted, "You're going to regret ever opening your mouth, Ivy. So watch closely, because I'm going to make it very difficult for you to open your mouth again." He said, a warning setting off in his tone.

With that, he stepped back and left my bedroom. I hurried up to my feet, my heart still racing in my chest. My quivering fingers reached the lock and I twisted it before stepping back from the door. What had I gotten myself into?

The very second night in this new place and I was terrified.

I couldn't sleep all night, tossing and turning and looking up every five minutes. The sound of the rain and wind against the windows was a bit soothing, but I couldn't even relax enough to feel sleepy again. It wasn't long before the sun came up, and I knew that I couldn't lie here any longer.

I had to leave from here.

I sat up, grabbed my phone off of my bedside table, and began looking up various news websites for things to do in Crestwood City. The city had so much going on and I was so curious about all of the things that happened here. I was willing to do anything to get out of the house, even if it was for just a couple of hours.

There was a local library in the city, so I quickly jumped out of bed and went to change into my clothes. I slipped out of my nightwear and got dressed for the day.

Without having any breakfast, I slipped out of the penthouse from the door upstairs and headed straight out.

It was going to be a little unfortunate that Daniel couldn't take me, but I had no problem taking an Uber to the place or walking. The library wasn't too far.

I rushed out of the building, and once I reached outside, I requested an Uber ride. It didn't take long before I was in the car and it was on its way to the library.

My lectures weren't going to start until two days from now, so I needed to kill time by doing something else than staying in the house. It just became uncomfortable after what Cain did last night. His words still rang in my ears. They were more threats than words. I had to keep my doors locked if I was going to sleep in that room anymore.

Once I reached the library, I hopped out of the car and stepped inside.

The smell of books, the sound of the wind against the glass walls, and the warmth of the sunlight coming through the skylights all felt so soothing. It felt so comforting. I smiled to myself while heading towards the rows and rows of books in front of me. It was a beautiful library situated in the heart of the city and it was filled with everything from classics to the newest releases.

The interior was old, yet warm, with walls painted in a soft shade of green, and bookshelves filled with books that stretched up to the ceiling. The bookshelves were made of a beautiful shade of cherry wood, which gave the entire library a cozy, old-world charm. The rows of books were neatly arranged, and the carpeted floor made it easy to walk in, with soft music playing in the background.

I was in awe of everything, from the ceiling lamps, to the marble tables, and the wooden chairs.

In one of the corners, I found a table and grabbed a few books. There were so many choices and I ended up choosing a few classics to read and see if there were any I might want to re-read for the hundredth time.

It was nearly one in the afternoon when I left the library after spending hours reading. Fortunately, the only reason I left the library was to meet up with Natalie in a coffee shop across the street.

I opened the door, and as soon as I walked in, I saw Natalie standing near the counter, holding a latte in her hand. She saw me and gave me a small wave.

"Hey Ivy! It's good to see you again, I'm glad you texted me earlier," Natalie smiled at me while pulling me into a quick hug. "Having a tough time in this new city?"

Once I grabbed my coffee, I sat down with her.

"It's just so overwhelming," I leaned forward while holding my coffee in my hands. "I don't even know if it's a right fit me."

"Oh, you'll get used to it. I also moved here at the beginning of my college. I have a huge family so it was so hard to leave all of them. The move was so hard, I almost wanted to quit college but I got through it, and now I'm almost done and I don't want to leave at all." Natalie took a sip from her coffee and said.

"Where did you come from?" I asked her.

"Northsdale. It's a small town, and it's quite far from here so you can imagine the change I had to deal with when I came here." She laughed a little.

"Must be hard."

"Tough, especially in the beginning, but my parents began commuting and so did I. That's why it wasn't too much of an adjustment after I got used to things." Natalie smiled, her eyes meeting mine. "You're here with your family, right?"

I leaned back against my chair and took a sip of my coffee. "Yes, I moved here with my Mom. She's getting married by the end of the year so we moved earlier so we could settle in and I could start college too."

"Oh, that's awesome!" She exclaimed, a smile forming on her face. "Congratulations to your Mom, and to you too."

"Thank you."

"If you need any help around, don't hesitate to call me. My schedule isn't the best, but I try to make some time to help out whenever I can, since I know myself how hard it can be."

"Of course, and thank you."

"Since I've already given you the tour of the campus, why don't you let me give you a small tour of the city? A couple of places I think you'd like." She offered and sounded sincere.

"Are you sure? I don't want to trouble you so much." I said, feeling a bit hesitant. I had messaged her earlier asking about a few things about the college that I couldn't get yesterday, and she suggested we meet for some coffee.

Natalie was truly sweet. "No, no, no. It's completely fine and plus, I need to take a break from this assignment I've been working on for weeks now. It's going to kill me. It has been days since I left my dorm. The only thing I've been doing is going back and forth on campus."

I laughed at that because I felt that too. Though, it was slightly different since I hadn't even started college yet.

"Well, I'm down. I'd love a little tour around the city." I said, feeling excited.