The next day, I’m still hurting. More than I did yesterday. My heart misses him. Our hugs and cuddles and kisses. Kissing Jackson is not the same. It only makes me feel emptier, a hurtful reminder I’m doing the wrong thing to heal. I pick the phone from the dresser and smile at the text. It’s from Jackson. He wants to know if I’ll be at the Friday game so I can have his shirt. I send him a quick reply and he promises to bring it to school tomorrow when he comes to pick me up. Jackson dropped me at home today, same thing yesterday because I skipped practice. There’s no point going there when I can’t have Calum. Speaking of Calum, where is that heartbreaker?Rehearsals ended an hour ago. Calum should be here now. I can’t ask Dani about him. She will ask why I missed practice and it will pique Dad’s interest. I open my windows to make it easier to hear him drive in. There’s no sign of th

The walk of shame to Calum’s car is the longest walk of my life. I get in the front seat, fasten my seatbelt and we spend the next second glaring at each other because he hasn’t buckled up. Clenching the steering so hard his knuckles are white, he mutters, “You make things so hard for everyone.” Of course I do. It’s always my fault. My breath fogs the window, I wipe the moisture and draw a broken heart on the surface. “Practice is at four. Be on time.”I tug on the hem of Jackson’s jersey but he doesn’t get the hint. “There’s a game today.” My eyes fall to his chest. No seatbelt. This is plain wickedness. My mouth opens but I can’t find the words to reprimand Calum, neither do I have the strength or will to walk to school. Lowering my gaze to my jeans, I poke the cuts on the knee area. “By four.” “The game doesn’t affect practice.” 

Red. It’s the colour of lipstick on Calum’s shirt when I open the door for him. I wouldn’t have if Dad didn’t request me to. We were about to finish dinner when the bell rang. I step back for my stepbrother to enter inside and he grins. “Did you have fun at the game?” Calum asks. As carefree as he looks, asking me that without a hint of malice in his voice, something hot swells in my chest.My tone is chilly and robotic. “So much fun.” Calum clicks his tongue, obviously annoyed by my answer but I don’t care to take back my words. A lot of questions invade my mind. Did they kiss? They must have. Did he sing for her? That’s our thing. I follow behind him, making faces at his back. He joins us at the dining table and Dani pulls out a small plate for him. I can’t help stealing glances at him. How could he miss it? Why is no one talking about his shirt, even Dad? “How was your date?” his mum asks.Dani finishes up her meal and cradles her glass of orange juice. I stab my chicken,

She’s pretty. She’s sexy. She’s not in high school.She’s not his stepsister.She smells of money. She reeks of confidence. My head spins with a thousand reasons why my stepbrother is grinning at this beautiful woman walking like a model on the runway. The more I watch them, the more I realise how unsuitable I am for him. Calum doesn’t wait for the lady to cover the distance, he rushes over to her with as much grace as a teacher can and hugs her. They hug. I mean, they hug for ten seconds. Yes I’m counting. I’ve been counting every second away from him. Every second in this friendzone. I hate it there. The team erupts in murmurs, Regina leans over to Christie and whispers something in her ear. I’m the only quiet one. My eyes are glued to the pair speaking in hushed tones and hugging like lovers reconciling. The lady is tall and

CALUMYou don’t know how much you miss someone until you see them again. That’s how I feel with Tessa. For the life of me, I can’t stop grinning at her. Tessa catches me smiling for the umpteenth time and smacks the back of my head. I almost forgot she used to be a fighter. Ben struck gold with her.Walking around my room, inspecting stuff and giving them a look of approval or disapproval, she says, “Your stepsister doesn’t seem chatty.” To tell her or not to tell her about us.I bring out my guitar instead. Tomorrow is the runway show. My nerves are in a knot. I can’t get my head out of my ass because I’m still thinking of Cathy. I knew I fucked up the first time with my words, so I went back a second and third time to fix it but it only got worse. Cathy was not wrong about me wanting her but unlike her, I can’t act on my emotions. I’m older and I should know better. The date wi