Bully Stepbrother

5. Advert

"Promise?"

"Uhm, yeah," he replied, his boxers hanging low on his waist, revealing too much of his V-line.

"Perfect! I can't wait. I'll start looking for an Italian restaurant," the optimistic girl exclaimed with excitement, and suddenly, I felt sorry for her. She had no idea who my stepbrother was.

With a brief kiss, Caden shut the front door, technically in her face, and stormed back into the apartment without even saying 'hi' or sparing a glance in my direction. He climbed each step as if he had conquered life.

"Finally, I have a sister-in-law," I mocked the egotistical guy.

He paused and turned to me with questioning eyes. "Does she look like my type?"

"Well, she sounded like it," I shrugged, intending to annoy him.

And it worked because he looked irritated. "No, she just has the same hole I wanted, that's all," he bit out each word.

Okay, now I really want to hit him. "You're a d**k," I reminded him of what he really is.

"You expect too much from me, Mad. What do you suggest I do? Invite her to stay and then get married in the morning?" He placed his hands on his hips, looking frustrated like a mother.

Caden is someone who never shares a bed with a girl after s*x, and it's the worst thing a man can do to someone. But this asshole claims to be disgusted after s*x. Who says that?

"I thought college would help your maturity, but no, you're still such a little kid," I threw at him.

"Not gonna lie, I'm offended," he dramatically patted the left side of his chest. "But in case you've forgotten, it's called a king for a reason. 'Little' is nowhere close to a throne. So let me enlighten you," the asshole began pulling up his boxers, while I clenched my lids impulsively.

He really is a d**k.

"Can you get your s**t together and listen properly?" I said with terror, my voice almost loud.

"How did my bedroom door open?"

Of course, he doesn't take orders from me either.

I opened my eyes to find him with his boxers back on. Lacking patience, I answered, "Jake unlocked it," I huffed, and continued, "I was saying—"

"And who's Jake?" he asked with a sudden frown on his face.

No, of course, he won't listen to me. Whatever is on his mind is more important than my proposal.

I closed my eyes, frustrated. I took those breaths that don't help matters and forced myself to wear a tight smile. "He's someone." I didn't have time for an explanation.

"So we just moved here two days ago, and you're freely inviting guys into the house on your own?" Caden angrily sputtered.

What the f**k?

"Excuse you?" My jaw dropped, and I didn't care about picking it up. Caden's audacity was unbelievable.

"No, excuse you! This is the s**t I'm not going to tolerate. Take this as your first and last warning. I swear to God, if you dare invite any asshole to my house, I will make sure I cripple him," he venomously warned, his once brown eyes turning almost black.

But all I did was laugh. I laughed so hard that I fell back onto the reclining chair. Caden was frowning while I went insane.

"Look, believe it or not, I have equal rights as you in this house. That means I can invite anyone, just like you bring a different w***e every day to my house. So take this as a warning: stay away from my life," I told him and headed down to the living room.

I thought we could come to some compromise, but no, Caden isn't reasonable enough.

"Don't say I didn't warn you," he smirked and headed to his bedroom.

***

It was early morning when I came out of my bedroom to take a shower before Caden woke up. Unfortunately, I was late because I found him sitting at the kitchen counter with his face in his hands.

And my heart stopped because I knew this wouldn't be a good morning. I debated whether to shower or not.

"You can use the bathroom. I can wait," Caden said when he noticed my presence. His voice was calm, and there was no smirk or attitude evident in his tone or expression.

Okay, this is scary.

"Why?" I didn't believe him. He was clearly up to something. Caden isn't that kind. Never on earth would he offer me the bathroom, especially in the morning when he usually makes a drama out of it. There had to be a catch. I wasn't going to be fooled by his pretense. "What are you up to?" I glared at him suspiciously.

He looked confused as he studied me for a while. "Can't I offer you the bathroom kindly?" He still had that scary polite expression on his face.

I didn't buy it. I stubbornly stood my ground, giving him wary, hooded eyes.

"I'm going for a run. Maybe that will help you feel comfortable," he suggested.

Wow! This is new. I watched Caden put on his trainers and jacket before he disappeared through the door. And just like that, it was as if he'd never been there.

Caden and making me feel comfortable aren't something that goes together. But at this moment, I took the opportunity, even though I was totally confused. I knew I shouldn't trust a smiling cat. I rushed to the shower, my mind filled with various thoughts as I scrubbed my skin and rinsed the conditioner from my hair.

By the time I finished in the bathroom, Caden still hadn't returned. I hurriedly started getting dressed, ignoring my mom's call.

She had no idea that this kind of opportunity only happens once in a lifetime. I was going to enjoy it.

I put on a sleeveless dress and a denim jacket over it. As I finished applying my makeup, I heard the door click. Caden must have returned, but yes! I was all set.

With my backpack hanging over my shoulder, I found him sitting in the same spot he was in earlier that morning. And still, he had that eerie polite expression.

What had changed?

"You okay?" I asked, filled with doubt and lacking courage.

"Of course, Maddie," he smiled, a genuine smile without any scorn. And to my surprise, he called me Maddie.

Okay, he's up to something. This isn't natural.

"So I was thinking, maybe it's time to come to some compromise. If we're going to live together, we have to learn to respect each other's feelings and rules."

No way Caden was saying this.

"What about discussing everything after school? I'll be right there waiting for you," he pointed to the couch with a sincere smile on his early morning face.

"Okay? Who are you, and what have you done with Caden?" My eyes still held suspicion, but I somehow felt comfortable knowing we were both learning to live with each other.

If Caden was willing to make peace, why wouldn't I? It's what I've always wanted.

"I promised you things would be different from now on," he assured me, and his eyelashes fluttered slowly, giving him an innocent look.

Whatever he's up to, I will find out.

"I'll get ready," Caden announced as he approached me. I didn't process anything when he pulled me into a hug for a few seconds, allowing my eyes to wander around, dumbfounded.

When he pulled back, he said, "See you in class," and dismissed himself.

Well, that was odd.

Shrugging off the strange morning, I retrieved my bike and headed to Starbucks.

***

"What can I get for you?" the barista asked.

"I'll have a nitro cold brew with extra cream," I politely placed my order.

The shop was beginning to fill up, even though it was early, and a group of girls behind me in line kept irritating me with giggles as if they were twelve-year-olds.

Stepping aside, I waited for my order to arrive. There was a woman beside me with a young child in a school uniform. The kid had some French words on his tongue, and the mother had to keep covering his mouth and eyes. "Mom, what is vaginitis infection?"

My eyes almost popped out of their sockets, but I decided to mind my own business and ignore the mother warning her child to never say anything like that again.

Luckily, my order arrived, and I grabbed it before heading out.

As I hopped on my bicycle and rode towards campus, I went straight to PSYCH 201.

I was proud of myself for arriving at school earlier that day, and I was grateful to Caden in some ways too. He had been surprisingly kind and understanding, even though it didn't make sense.

After parking my bicycle and chaining it up to the bike rack, I made my way to the first class of the day, PSYCH 201, which was about statistical methods in psychology.

As I walked around campus, I attracted a lot of attention. Wearing makeup was a bad idea. I just wanted to feel more like an adult. In high school, I couldn't wear makeup because Caden had already succeeded in making me feel less feminine.

Although I was on time, the class was already occupied when I arrived. It was noisy, with murmurs wafting from every angle, and the seats were either taken or occupied by backpacks. I couldn't find a familiar face, so I walked down the hall, searching for an extra seat.

While I walked, I thought, Who would want to share a seat with someone who doesn't take school seriously? On my first day yesterday, I'm sure I already made an impression. For all I know, I'm perceived as the girl who got kicked out and arrived late to the next class. If this were high school, I might be seen as an influencer, but here everyone looks at me like I'm some sort of disease.

Fortunately, the guy from yesterday waved at me, and I smiled, heading back to the front row. At least someone wants me next to them.

"Hey," I said as I sat in the chair next to him.

"Hey," he smiled.

"We didn't get a chance to introduce ourselves yesterday. I'm Maddison Thaddeus, but you can call me Maddie," I told him.

"I'm Asher Cooper. It's nice to meet you, Maddie." He had a cute smile that was easily contagious.

With that, we shook hands, and just like yesterday, the professor walked in at the same time as Caden joined us. Once again, the two boys put me in the middle.

The lecture continued as I took notes for both Caden and myself, since we only had one book and a textbook.

Caden was still acting strange, as he focused on the lecture and barely said a word to me. He didn't even bother to look through the notes of admiration piled up on his small desk. Today, I was able to concentrate more than the girls behind me, who were giggling and whispering like mentally disturbed teenagers. I was sure it was all part of the Caden syndrome.

"Sorry," a girl behind me said as she leaned over my neck. It was as if she had read my thoughts about how much they were disturbing and distracting me from focusing.

"It's okay." I gave her a small smile and turned back to the professor.

By the time the lecture was over, Caden had disappeared without a word again. It was weird, but I didn't care. I could handle it if we both mind our own business.

I started gathering my books in my backpack when an older woman approached me with a concerned expression.

"Get well soon, but you shouldn't advertise it. Kids are just going to make fun of you," the woman said. I was confused, just like Asher was, but before I could ask her anything, her phone rang, and she smiled at me, walking away while talking on the phone.

"That's weird," I said with suspicion in my eyes.

Chuckling, Asher nodded. "Very weird."

"Whatever, let's go to room 110 and grab a seat before someone takes them," I suggested, standing up and slinging my backpack over my shoulder.

Asher didn't respond, so I turned to him and noticed a panicked look in his eyes. They were dilated, and he seemed anxious.

Confused, I asked, "What's wrong?"

"Did you put that?" He gestured toward me, making me look down at my chest.

Even more perplexed, I shook my head at Asher. "What?"

"Your back?" He whispered softly, looking around the almost empty class.

"What's on my back?" I suddenly began to panic, and my heart started racing a billion times per second.

Asher stood up and spun me around. When I was able to face him again, he was holding a note that read "VAGINITIS INFECTED VICTIM."

No! Please, no! I didn't walk around school with that. Let this be a nightmare.

I glanced back to see the last group leaving the hall, murmuring and pointing in my direction.

I'm not stuck in a nightmare; I'm living it.

Then I remembered everything. The girls in line at Starbucks, the child asking his mother about the same thing on the note, the attention I attracted on my way to class, and the giggling from the girls behind me during the lecture.

No!

Who would do something so cruel? Who did I interact with that had the opportunity to place the note on me?

Hug? Of course! Caden did it. Caden attached that to me.

That wasn't a friendly hug. It wasn't an olive branch; it was war.

He was polite and offered peace, only to later crush me, and he succeeded. He made me walk around the streets and campus unknowingly displaying that note.

That's when everything sank in, and I remembered the phrase, "Never trust a smiling cat."