Before Calum wakes, I leave Amelia’s place to get Dani’s car and drop it off at the house. On my return, my stepbrother is still asleep so I crawl in bed with him. Ashley shows up a few times to check on him. A part of me knows she wants me to take him to the hospital, I also know I should do the same but Calum didn’t want hospitals involved. Someone shakes me awake. I pry my eyes open to see my best friend smiling at me. I sit up and Amelia points to the tray she dropped on the bedside drawer. Steam rises from the plate, I squint at it, my brain unable to process the sight before me. “I brought breakfast,” she says. “Thanks.” Our attention shifts to Calum, I place the back of my palm on his forehead. He’s warm to my touch. Giving my hand a last squeeze, Amelia leaves the room. I drag a chair by the bed but Calum doesn’t stir. My stomach growls and I have to force myself to eat.

Clean and fed, I snuggle up to my stepbrother on the living room couch. Calum smells so good I inhale his scent over and over again. He ruffles my hair and my body sighs in contentment. I look up to him, a finger moving above the bandage that has reduced even more in size to a square. His eyes wrinkle at the corners and he let his hands fall. “You look different,” Calum says. I guess so. Sometimes, I don’t recognise myself in the mirror. I was so used to having a different hair colour each term that I forgot what I looked like in my real hair colour. Like my mum. Propping my chin on Calum’s chest, I play with his stubble.A bang sounds from the television, drawing our attention to the drama we forgot about. I freeze at the scene. A car crash with a lady as the driver. Dark memories roll over me and my pulse spikes. Calum’s arm tightens around my body, his thumb moving in circles on my lower back. My chest cl

My eyes snap open. We stare at each other. Was that his plan? To steal kisses from me and leave? No fucking way.“Sorry for what?” Calum moistens his lips and I feel his regrets. He is sorry for kissing me. For touching me. Is this how it will always be with us? I launch an attack on him, raining punches on his chest, his shoulders. “I hope you had fun at your dumb club.” “Cathy.” He darts a look at the door in warning but I don’t care. I’m tired of him. “Cathy, stop.” “No, you stop,” I snap. My punches grow more frantic, he grabs my wrists and pins me under him. The fight leaves my body and my arms fall to my sides. “Where were you the whole day? Where?” Moving, Calum repositions on the edge of the bed and folds his hands behind his neck. I hate him and I love him. Fuck him. “With a producer. It wasn’t supposed to be the whole day but we ende

“Will you come back to me?” “I will. I’ll always come back to you, Cathy.” My head raises, he slides his palms up to cup my face. The sincerity in his gaze floors me. I don’t know what he wants to say but I believe him. In the end, we will be fine. “Home is wherever you are, superstar. I will always come back home.” * * * Calum finally decides to give his stepsister what she wants. Himself. All of him. The emotional back and forth has taken a toll on him and he's ready to settle. But on certain conditions. Dating his stepsister shouldn't be hard but there are rules they must follow; One: keep it a secret. Two: no touching in public. Three: no pet names. Four: refer to rules one, two and three. These rules seem pretty easy but breaking them is easier. And the problem Cathy has with all four rules is this: she wants to show her first boyfriend off. She wants to kiss him in public, smack his ass, steal chips from his plate and make TicToc

Calum is missing after school on Monday. So, the task of taking me home falls to my dad. He leaves immediately I get out of the car to join his wife for a date. They are too in love. I roll my eyes all the way inside the house till I hear the clangs of pans from the kitchen. A grin teases a corner of my lips when I find my stepbrother stirring stuff in a bowl. My laughter breaks out and his head jerks up. “Hey, superstar.” Giggling, my bag drops to my feet. I grab his collar to kiss him hard and fast because I missed him so much. “Missed you.” I sweep his hair back and peck his lips. “Me too. Where were you?” I point to the bowl of creamy paste, then the eggs. I have an idea what he’s making as there are pans on the counter. But I want to hear his beautiful voice. “What are you doing?” “Making cupcakes for my superstar,” he says. A dot of batter drops to