The Step Brother

1. Trick or Treat

Willow

She sits at the kitchen table, trying to focus on the equations of her algebra homework. Instead, she keeps getting distracted by her mother coming in and out of the master bedroom, wearing a different dress and different heels than the ones she was wearing a few minutes ago.

"What about this one?" Elena asks with a hand on her hip.

Willow drags her eyes away from her work. She reminds herself to hide her irritation. After years and years of turning down guys, Mom's finally found one she likes. This will be what feels like their 100th date and her daughter still has yet to meet the mystery man. But at least Mom's happy.

She tilts her head. "I think I like the green dress better."

"Green dress," Her mother recites. "Which heels with it?"

"Mm, gold?" She tries to recall the different shoes her mother has shown off tonight but they're all blurring together after an hour of this. "The ones with the straps, I think."

"I think you're right." Elena disappears back into her bedroom and comes back seconds later in the silk green dress and gold heels. "Final look. What do you think?"

Her mother is everything she isn't; golden shoulder length hair, ivory skin, legs for days, and a body supermodels work extra hard for. Sometimes she wonders how it's possible she even came from this woman.

"Gorgeous as always." Willow smiles softly.

"You're sweet." Elena glances towards the clock on the stove and makes a move towards her purse on the counter. "Now listen here, Will. I love you and I am so proud of all your accomplishments. So know that when I say this, it's coming from a good place in my heart. But it is Friday night. You are 18 years old. I need you to stop doing homework and I need you to go out tonight."

Emphasis on the ' go out.'

Willow's brown eyes move to her phone sitting in front of her, which she's been using for her calculator. 7:30pm. She keeps her gaze on her textbook. "You guys can't do it at his place?"

This comment makes Mom laugh. She comes to wrap her arms around Will's shoulders, kissing her head affectionately. "That's not what I meant! I'm just saying, sweetheart. You're a senior in high school. These are the years you make memories. You go out with your friends and you meet boys and you learn things about yourself. Stuff you can't learn in these." Mom taps the textbook.

"Plus, it's Halloween," Elena says at the same time her phone makes a bell noise across the kitchen to notify her that her man is outside. "So text Zoey and see what parties are being thrown. I have some costumes in my closet or you can run to the Halloween store. Here's $100. Your homework is to break curfew tonight."

This last part is called over her shoulder as she heads for the door. She turns back with a loving smile on her face. "But you know to call me if anything happens, okay? Be safe. I love you!"

The door closes and the sound of her mother's heels dissipate. The suburban, one story home is quiet.

Willow lets out a deep breath. Her eyes travel back to her math textbook for a beat or two until she realizes she's not going to be able to focus. She's thinking about mom's words. Mom is always right about everything. Not in some controlling mother kind of way. She just respects her mother. Knocked up at 20, a single mom all her life must've been hard but she never showed it. She always did what was best for their family of 2. Her mom's her best friend.

Almost as if on cue, her phone starts vibrating. A picture of her and Zoey at the beach in 5th grade lights up on the screen.

She answers. "You and my mother must be conspiring together."