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11: The Hidden Treasure
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Dear Stepbrother 12: The Silent Words
[ K A R A ]Hiding in the comfort of my room, I made sure the door was closed and I opened the notebook. Pretty soon, I realized that the book was filled with all sorts of scribbling and poems. They were all handwritten, most likely by none other than Ryder himself. Several of them caught my interest, notably the poems titled ‘Dear K’. It went something like this:* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *Dear K,Should I call you a stranger?Or maybe a friend, or an acquaintance.A housemate. A playmate. A play date.I find it hard to act and behave.When I don’t know the meaning of what I see.You are you, and I am me.And these are the only things that we'll ever get to be.* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *Dear K,It was just a day. Maybe a Thursday. Maybe a Friday.It was just a girl. Brunette, sweet, and small.It was just talking. She said she wants to believe in love.It was just a kiss. Except
Dear Stepbrother 13: The Fire Works
[ K A R A ]I spent the entire night reading and rereading Ryder's notes over and over again. His poems were honest and raw. He wrote so beautifully. I never would have imagined the same mouth that said all those dirty jokes could write such romantic things.And okay, I don't mean to sound narcissistic, but are these poems written about me? Am I… ‘K’?Not trying to get a big head or whatever, but my name started with a K. Also, a lot of the things he mentioned in his poems were like they were taken from our daily lives. I wanted to believe that theory, but I still couldn’t wrap my mind around it. Ryder had said it from day one, he didn’t believe in love and all that crap. This book and his personality was a total contradiction.Maybe he didn’t write this book? Or maybe he did? What is happening?* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *For the next few days, I hadn't seen Ryder at all around the house. Things ended somewhat awkwardly at our last
Dear Stepbrother 14: The Ground Rule
[ K A R A ]By midnight that night, our Fourth of July party had come to a close. Peter and mom were downstairs somewhere, and I think Ryder went out to send Vanessa home. I told Gabe that I wasn't feeling well and I sent him home as well. But I lied. I just wanted to be alone right now so I could think. I needed to figure this thing out with Ryder.My mind was in a complete mess. When I went to confront Ryder, I thought I was doing it so we could set the record straight. But no, that plan went down the drain when I ended up kissing him instead.How could I let that happen? And where do we go from here?I had never felt this way about anyone before. I knew this was wrong, but I also couldn’t deny the fact that I want to see this through. No, I didn’t mean that I want to be in a relationship with Ryder. That would be too much and people would get hurt. I didn’t want a relationship or anything like that, I just wanted to see where this feeling was taking me.So, now I’m wondering, is th
Dear Stepbrother 15: The Chasing Cars
[ K A R A's P O V ] To say that the past few weeks were fun... was a wild understatement. After our mutual understanding that Fourth of July, Ryder and I spent all our days together since then. It was just Ryder and me, two people against the world. We spent the whole day out, exploring the island, jumping off of waterfalls, swimming in the ocean, and Ryder even taught me how to surf, in which I gave up after a good 20 minutes. Surfing is really hard, and you must be in a really good shape! Which luckily, Ryder is… Speaking of good shape, Ryder and I spent the whole night together too. We would sneak out through the back door and to the beach, we’d get milkshakes at the drive-thru, and we watched the Godfather and Fight Club, Ryder's favorite movies, in his room when our parents were asleep. And after that, we would make out until the sun rises and do it all over again. I didn't know how we weren't sick of each other yet, we literally spent every waking moment together. Not to men
Dear Stepbrother 16: The Dare Devils
[ K A R A ]Although I didn’t want to admit it at first, I couldn’t deny it anymore. My summer in Hawaii turned out to be pretty darn magical. And there was one big reason for it: the crazy sexy Ryder Jake Williams.Ryder was always full of surprises and today was no exception. He woke me up super early in the morning, at 4 AM to be exact. He put his finger on his mouth, signaling for me to be quiet. I didn’t know what was happening and he just dragged me out of my bed, out of the house, and into his truck. “Ryder! It’s four AM in the morning, what the heck are we doing?” I groaned and rubbed my eyes.“Trust me, you’ll like it,” he said simply and the truck pulled away from the house.I was never a morning person. I probably looked like crap, my hair was tied in a messy ponytail and I was wearing my oversized hoodie because it was so cold at this hour. I wanted to yell at him but arguing with Ryder wasn’t going to get me anywhere, so I just sat there and let him have his way with me.
Dear Stepbrother 17: The Passing Fancy
[ K A R A ]I didn’t know how it happened, but time was flying by so fast. I blinked and all of a sudden it was already the week before the wedding. Lacey and I had been pretty busy lately, running around all over town, trying to get all the details for her wedding to the tea.Today we were picking up our dresses from the tailor. We debated between several colors for my maid of honor dress, and then we settled with this a soft and silky ivory maxi dress. It was a simple design, yet absolutely gorgeous, and it fitted me perfectly."Honey, you look beautiful!" Lacey exclaimed as she watched me spun around in the dress. “Oh my god, you looked all grown up!”“Mom, I’m eighteen,” I laughed.“Yeah, but I’ve never seen you in a dress like this,” she argued. “You didn’t even go to your prom,&
Dear Stepbrother 18: The Redemption Song
[ R Y D E R ]“Kara, please open the door…” I begged and begged, but there was no response.I messed up. I messed up big time.I had Vanessa leave the house and I was waiting by her door for almost an hour, but she still wasn’t coming out. She didn’t leave her room the entire night. Not even for dinner. Her mom was worried that she was sick or something, and I couldn’t do anything but sit quietly at the dinner table, looking at the empty seat.“She was nervous the entire day. Maybe she was anxious about the wedding too?” Lacey commented about Kara.“Just give her some time,” my dad said to her. “Watching her mom get remarried, maybe this is a lot for her,”“She’s such a sweet kid,” Lacey sighed longingly. “I don’t know
Dear Stepbrother 19: The Special Guest
[ K A R A ]Confession time. I had to be honest. I knew I told everyone that I was waiting until marriage because I wanted to find a guy who was willing to wait for me, but that was a lie. It was just an excuse I made up. It was just a wall that I built because I was afraid… of love.My own dad ran out on me and I saw my mom got her heart broken time and time again. I was scared. I didn't want to fall in love. I had always thought that love was for suckers and people shouldn’t be trusted. So I made up all these rules and lived strictly by them, thinking I could live my life hurt-free, unscathed.But that didn’t work.Now if you want to know another confession, I got one more. Meeting Ryder had changed me and challenged all my beliefs. For the first time in my life, I wanted to feel things. And even if I got hurt in the end, I might be okay wi
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- Dear Stepbrother 64. Peter and Lacey
- Dear Stepbrother 63. Colle and Elle
- Dear Stepbrother 62. The Blue Moon
- Dear Stepbrother 61. The Pura Vida
- Dear Stepbrother 60. The Promised Land
- Dear Stepbrother 59. The Magic Carpet
