The Step Brother

10. Big Win.

Jace

The rest of the week flys by as the family of four settle into their daily routines. Willow wakes up at the ass crack of dawn for some reason and so she'll make the two of them breakfast. He drives them to school, they get looks when they're seen exiting his Jeep together multiple days in a row, he walks her to her first period. They eat lunch together, whether that's in his car with Zoey and Ryder, or if it's in the cafeteria with him doing his best to dodge Sadie.

In math class, he can't look away from her. The way her brown waves cascade perfectly down her back, soft to the touch like silk, the way her hand is always first to shoot up to answer one of Mr. Simon's questions, the concentrated look she gets when working on an algebraic equation in her head, how she crosses and uncrosses her ankles every minute or so. He notices she counts on her fingers and finds that adorable. Everything about her makes his heart swell. He just wants this girl all to himself.

When class is over, he takes her home and comes back for football practice. Everyone on the team is hyped for Friday's game, even more for the after party happening at Ryder's. Normally, Jace would be in on all of it because he had nothing else going on. His heart was just somewhere else. Always somewhere else.

At night, he came home and stayed quiet most of dinner. The parents did most the talking, which Willow also seemed grateful for. The teens were always relieved when they were excused from the table. On the nights they ran into each other in the bathroom to brush their teeth, she'd always hesitate after.

"Jace?" She'd ask. Look like she was about to say something important.

"Yeah?" Did he sound as hopeful as he felt in those moments?

But she would just shake her head and smile as if she talked herself out of it. She'd usually end up saying 'nevermind' or 'goodnight.' He'd be left standing there in the bathroom to overthink whatever she was going to say.

Later in the night, he would hear her whimpers. Sometimes she cried. He never hesitated to check on her. It was the same end game every night; she'd wake up in a panic, see him, not remember what she was dreaming about, thank him, ask him if he could stay. His answer was always yes, probably a beat too soon, before she could get the full question out. It was something he was looking forward to by the time Thursday came around. They'd sleep next to each other, side by side, in her bed he was growing more comfortable in than his own. Even at practice, he noticed his back felt better. Sometimes they would touch. Their bodies inches apart, her foot would brush up against his, she'd roll over onto one of his arms he had spread out, even in his sleep it was hard to resist the urge not to hold her. He woke up one morning before her alarm went off, feeling her head tilted onto his shoulder. When he looked down at her, she was sleeping peacefully and snoring softly. It was an image he thought of often.

The next morning always went the same. She'd thank him. She'd double check with him that this was safe between only them. He promised her every time. He realized quickly it wasn't that she didn't trust him. She wouldn't let him sleep in her bed if she didn't. She was anxious. She needed reassurance. He was only more than willing to give that to her, in any form she needed. They wouldn't speak about it again. From the hours of 12:30ish to 7:00AM, they lived in a private world together where they made the rules.

So when Friday morning rolled around, and he woke up in her pink bed with the squishmellows and the mushroom night light, he was in heaven. This time she asked him what he wanted for breakfast, considering today was the big game. It felt a little like playing house, like if they were married because of course she'd wake him up and ask what kind of cream he wants with his coffee, or maybe she'd ask him if wanted to join her in the shower... Instead, he requested egg whites with oatmeal. He always felt a bit guilty about her making him food. He was capable of doing so himself but she would tell him over and over again that she wanted to, that she was also making breakfast for herself, that it was her paying him back for the rides to and from school.