THE FORBIDDEN STEP-SIBLING AFFAIR

Chapter 2: Mum, Wtf!

Ivy

When the door flew open, mum was standing in the middle of the living room, the man had his back towards the door and I know it is both wrong and nuts to just stand there and watch two adults kiss especially when one of them is your single mum…single hot mum, yeah she was a thirty-nine year old stuck in the body of a teenager, but I just froze and when she opened her eyes she saw me standing there, quickly pushed away the man who turned around to face me and God you can imagine the double shock.

Coach Watson. The senior coach of the “Hunters” or so they called themselves, the hunt academy male football team. Former NFL skipper who had to cut short his excellent football career due to a career ending injury. And also, now here comes a kicker. He was Ethan's father. Word had gone around the school that he was down with flu and he was not going to be available for the game, which explains why we trailed for three out of four possible quarters and his son had to come to our rescue, apparently family was genetic. But then I knew where he got the flu from. The woman he was kissing was a nurse, speaking of nosocomial infections.

"Hunnie, you're home early" Mum finally found her tongue, I had never seen her that embarrassed and it was not even among the most embarrassing things I had found her doing. The list is endless but on top of it was her twerking to a Tik Tok challenge, modern motherhood, she killed the challenge anyway too bad it never went viral.

Honestly, I didn't know what to say to her and trust me she was like my best friend after Ophelia, we could talk about anything and I told her literally everything. That's why she was on my speed dial and it was also the reason of my anger, she didn't see it worth telling me about coach Watson. As a mother, a parent struggling to raise me on her own she didn't owe me any explanation but as a friend-I loved her that way- she ought to have told me because it didn't seem to me like that was the first time. I ended up saying nothing and just went ahead upstairs, left them standing there oozing with embarrassment.

I shut the door and bolted it, threw my knapsack flying across the room to the bed and followed it moments later collapsing on the thick bouncy bed. I exhaled all the qualms hoping my mind was going to clear up and let me think straight. Just when I was planning to ask her for a word of encouragement with the Ethan issue my mum found a way to stab me in the back. It sucked to be me and I could really use some Ophelia advise but at the same time she didn't have to find out what was eating me up...I guess it was time to face it all alone.

"Ivy, can we talk?" Mum’s voice could be heard moments after she tried to open the door and failed.

Unless it was food, that was only because I was starving, the door was staying locked and mum was officially talking to herself. Our first fight in a longtime.

"I'm gonna go make dinner then we can talk then. Once again am sorry, you were not supposed to find out like that"

Turns out I was right about it not being the first time or what did she mean with "not supposed to find out like that" statement? It was all totally confusing really. Before he died in a grisly road accident almost a year back, mum and dad seemed to love each other so much. We were both left devastated after the burial that we went a week without leaving the house, consoling each other since the mourners, friends and relatives had other things to do. You can't blame them really, even Jesus in the bible said let the dead bury the dead. Anyway, mum made it look like she was not going to fall in love again, in fact, she promised me that she wasn't going to find us another dad. We were just fine the two of us. What changed? Or perhaps she thought I forgot. Until she explained and substantiated her actions, to me she was trying to replace my father. It was impossible.

****

Ethan

Another big win without my dad at the stands to watch me and when I got home he wasn't even there. At least the housekeeper was and she welcomed me with the same smile and pride of a mother. Truth be told, the woman had raised me and she knew me more than my father did. There was always this unspoken thing between the two of us and we had not found time to talk about it and that was only because he was trying so hard to groom me into the next him, into more than he was and sometimes, it was time I let it out of my chest, it was suffocating.

I know what you're thinking. He was giving me the world, wasn't he? At eighteen and in my senior year of high school my name was already in the books of the great athletes not only at Hunt academy but also in the entire state, colleges were giving me calls left and right, sending me gifts and girls were swarming around me like a bunch of flies on a stinking bone. Basically, my dad was helping me live his biggest dream that he sadly had just a small taste of it. Who would complain? Of course me, the truth was I didn't need all that. Football was great, and I loved it but my dad used it as a scapegoat of facing the real issues between us, I just needed a father. We talked about football every time and as though it wasn't enough he was my coach at school, my dad at home applying both permissive and uninvolved parenting style perfectly.

"Can I ask you something?"

"Go ahead son" she usually had time for me, too bad she couldn't help with the homework.

"You've been in love for a long time..."

"Hmm now I see why someone has been quiet and focused for the past few days. Let me guess" she had this sweet smile on her face, "You've seen someone different this time?"

"You're a terrible listener you know...anyway. My question was, you probably don't remember this, but how did you know that uncle Ted was the one?"

She exhaled sharply and pulled a chair, she had been waiting patiently for it. We were in the dining where she had served me a glass of milk. Homework was also being a bother as usual making me bite my nails off.

"When you're this young and good looking it's hard to know who it is you want to be with for life. But here is a secret, listen to your heart, how do you feel when she is around? What do you think she can add into your life that no one has added so far? Then this is the most important, do you need her or you want her? So, tell me about this mystery girl" her eyes lit up with a spark of enthusiasm.

"Aren't you running late?"

"I still have like five minutes to go"

"Okay, she is more beautiful than she really thinks she is but what makes it different is the beauty of the heart, she is just calming. There is this heartwarming feeling every time I see her since that incident”

“Incident?”

“We kissed once, it was quick and not supposed to mean anything really. She is just super cute without even trying”

Her beauty was striking and even words wouldn’t do justice, she was not the hottest girl in school but still damn…milky brown skin, her hair was soot black and long cascading down her back to her waist, always neat and lustrous, shiny and silky. Crinkled eye lids, big almond-shaped grey eyes, Nubian nose with wide nose rings, heart-shaped cherry lips. Firm 32F’s, most amazing boobs I had come across. She definitely worked out, her waist was thin and her ass just like her lips, heart shaped and wobbly. She had all the futures of a girl I wanted and surely deserved.

“You’re in love”

“But we just met”

“Sometimes its love at first sight. Give it a shot, will you?”

“Okay, thanks”

For someone not used to shooting their shot, it was going to be hard. All my previous relationships, flings and one-night stands had not required much energy from my end. Those girls started it and all I did was finish. Ivy looked different, though she kissed me first she didn’t look like someone who was going to beg me, follow me around and throw herself around me again. It was time to learn how to fend for myself, nature had fed me enough.

“Hey man?” dad said walking in briskly, he went straight to the fridge and grabbed a coke.

“Good, so how’s the flu?”

Honestly, he didn’t look sick to me which was raising questions. My father had been sneaking around and my best guess was, he was seeing someone and he didn’t want me to know about it. Yeah, that was the only explanation. It had been a year and a half since mum passed away from a terminal illness no one was willing to tell me about yet. All I knew was my mum was always sick and I was some kind of a miracle baby to her.

“Feeling better, how did the game go?”

“Good, but doesn’t feel like a win without you”

“sorry man, we got lots of games coming up. Besides you guys are ready to go without me. You should be”

“Fine, you’ve been on and off lately”

If he wasn’t going to tell me something then I was going to try and reach out, see what it was that he was hiding. Mum had always been the glue that bonded us together and I remember her last words. Saddest day of my life, I was picked from school in the middle of a class. By then she had been in hospital for months, found the entire family in the waiting area. She told us to look after each other and despite my constant assurance, and even her own assurance that she wasn’t going anywhere she passed away in our hands. It took hours of therapy to pull me back from that hole and get me back to my game.

“What do you mean?”

“You know it’s been a year and a half since…”

“Don’t bring up your mother please”

“We got to talk about it, dad. She is gone and never coming back, you can’t keep avoiding this topic for the rest of our lives”

Silence ensued. He had his head hanging, done with my homework I walked up to him. We were both physically imposing and me a replica of him.

“I’m just saying that it’s okay to go back out there. I want that for you, mum would want to see you happy. Introduce me men, we could use a woman around here apart from the housekeeper”

“You serious?” he looked at me with surprise and pride in his eyes, a look I thought was reserved for the pitch.

“Absolutely”

We hugged. If someone would have given me a heads up of how my future was going to turn out I wouldn’t have given my father a go ahead to date. My okay would put me at crossroads, a conundrum where one of us had to give up for the other to have what they really wanted. Trust me, not a good feeling.