The Step Brother

Dimples

To be honest, the rest of the precession was just a blur to me. My mom and Jeff exchanged their vows, slipped on their rings, and just like that were married. I stayed behind as they walked out of the church, not wanting to get caught up in the huge mob. Since I was one of the last to leave the church, I looked behind and noticed that Liam was still there, talking to some girl. She had that kind of shiny black hair that looked like it had a blue tinge to it. My eyes narrowed as she hugged him, rubbing his back as if consoling him.

"Get over yourself," I muttered under my breath, walking away.

"Brooklyn!"

Startled, I threw my head to the left and saw the wedding organizer stiffly walking over to me. Her heels looked to be around 7 inches high, and I marveled how she could even take a step in them, much less do that hurried walk.

"You and Liam need to get over to the venue. Cocktail hour is starting very soon, and guests are leaving already!"

She threw a paper in my direction, which was a map to the place Mom had chosen to host her after party. From what I remembered, it was very elegant, very classy, and very spacious. Before I even got a chance to tuck the paper away, the organizer grabbed my hand, shouting Liam's name. She led me to the parking lot and handed me keys.

"It's Jeff's car," she explained, pointing to a black Mercedes that barely stood out. "Now where is that son of his?" she muttered, walking back to find Liam.

Sighing, I uncreased the wrinkles that had formed during the small endeavor. Staring down at the keys, I laughed – I couldn't even drive!

"Alright! Your sister has the directions. Get there as quickly as you can!"

Liam strode out beside me, harshly grabbing the keys and paper out of my hand. "She's not my sister," I heard him quietly breath under his breath. Since the dinner when Jeff proposed, which had been around 5 weeks ago, I'd learn to deal with Liam. We stayed out of each other's way and really didn't bother the other. It was clear he wasn't fond of me, and I wasn't exactly fond of him, but it almost hurt that he had to be so rude.

Trying to keep a solid pace behind him was difficult in my tall heels. At one point, Liam was already in the car and had it started up. I was prepared for him to drive away, but thankfully he waited.

We drove in silence. It was one of those awkward ones too, where no one even bothered to start up a conversation. So, I reached over to the radio, flipping through the radio stations until I reached a familiar Katy Perry song.

This is the part of me, that you're never ganna ever take away fr-

My eyes narrowed at Liam, who was placing his hand back on the steering wheel.

"Since you're moving in," he muttered; more like hissed. "I think now would be a great time to set some ground rules. Here's the first: NO KATY PERRY."

"Okay, here's the second: NO COMING INTO MY ROOM WHILE I'M LISTENING TO KATY PERRY!" I retorted, finishing with a cheeky smile.

We pulled to a stop at a red light and Liam hit his head against the headrest. He squeezed his eyes shut for a few moments, and for a few moments, I felt almost bad for him. There was definitely something else going on in his life; something that pained him. I wanted to reach out and touch his arm comfortingly, but instead my lips curled into a small smile.

"We take a left here," I said quietly. My soft reaction must've surprised him because he looked at me. Sure there was spite in his eyes, and his lips were pursed, but it was a start.

"You have dimples," he said, his tone matching mine. His expression was unreadable, and his hazel eyes blankly drifted over me. "Like Mo-. Nevermind."