The Stepfather (MxM) ✓

Chapter 2

I swear, that walk to the door was the longest walk I had ever taken. 

Never mind that, realistically, it was only a couple of feet.

My shoes dragged along the pavement, no doubt adding even more holes in the soles of them. 

My heart was thudding in my chest like someone was banging out a crescendo on a bass drum, louder and louder until all I could hear was a buzzing in my ears.

Was Violet even home?

Would she even let me in? What if she regretted sending the plane ticket?

There were so many questions swirling around in my head that I hardly noticed it when my fist knocked on the bright-blue door. Breath catching in my throat, I instinctively took a step back as the door opened to reveal –

No one.

Furrowing my brows and looking more than a little confused, I peered inside the large hallway until I heard a small cough from below.

Oh.

Right.

I probably should have looked down before my eyes invaded the home of the child that was holding the door open – her hand perched on her hip and looking at me with a judgemental expression. 

The sass radiating from this kid was mind blowing, that was the first thing I noticed.

The second thing that I noticed was the fact that she looked like me. Which was quite creepy in its own right. It wasn't every day that someone travelled to a foreign country and stumbled across a little girl with dark black hair, pale skin, and blue eyes like your own. 

Actually, it must have been pretty damn rare. 

I stood there for far too long, gawking, because the kid thought it best to initiate conversation.

"Hello."

Before my muddle of a brain could even translate that greeting, another voice made itself known. 

One that I hadn't given the chance to respond on the phone, one that made me freeze in my tracks. 

"Honey, I told you not to answer the door," came the soft scolding from the blonde-haired and grey-eyed woman as she gently took hold onto the small girl's shoulders and almost affectionately fanned her thumbs over her arms. 

It was enough to make me gulp loudly when she eventually looked up, one eyebrow daintily raised as though inquiring who I was and why I was there. The thought to turn around and get the hell out of there crossed my mind.

"I'm Sam." It was a pathetic whisper, in its own right, so I didn't exactly expect her to hear me.

"Sam," I said again, looking to her fully as though eye contact was supposed to make it that bit clearer. Which worked, considering that a flash of recognition sparked there and her lips moved into a perfect 'o' shape.

"Alice..." came the hesitant murmur from the woman, her eyes hardly moving away from my face, "go inside, sweetie." 

The one person that was kind of a barrier between my mother and I was gone with a simple clap of her shoes on polished wooden floors. 

Awesome. Great.

Then her hand was on my arm, reaching for me. My eyes flicked up to her as though she had offended me, and I pulled my arm back.

Whether I offended her or not was way low on my list of priorities. 

"Sam..." she murmured, as though she was trying out the name once more for the first time in years.