Chapter 3 Breaking Point

I managed to avoid Adrian for three days. It wasn't easy in a house with twelve bedrooms, but I'd perfected the art of strategic timing. I left for school early, stayed late in the library, and ate dinner in my room claiming homework overload. Mom was too blissfully happy in her new marriage to question my sudden hermit tendencies. But Friday night, my luck ran out. I was in the kitchen at midnight again-apparently my destined time for bad decisions-making tea to help with the insomnia that had plagued me since starting at Westbridge. The house was supposed to be empty.

Mom and Richard had gone to some charity gala, and Adrian was supposedly at Sophia's party. Supposedly. "Can't sleep either?" I spun around, nearly dropping my mug. Adrian stood in the doorway, still in his school clothes but rumpled, his tie loosened and hanging around his neck. He looked exhausted. "I thought you were at a party." The words tumbled out before I could stop them. "I was." He moved into the kitchen, maintaining careful distance between us. "Left early." "Sophia will be thrilled." He shot me a sharp look. "What's that supposed to mean?" "Nothing." I turned back to my tea, but my hands were shaking. Three days of avoiding him, and thirty seconds in the same room had my pulse racing like I'd run a marathon. "Maya." His voice was softer now. "We need to talk." "No, we really don't." "Yes, we do." He moved closer, and I felt the familiar heat radiating from his presence. "You've been avoiding me." "I've been busy." "Bullshit." The curse word hung in the air between us. I'd never heard Adrian swear before-at school, he was all polite charm and perfect manners. This version of him, rough around the edges and clearly frustrated, was somehow more dangerous. "Fine," I said, turning to face him. "You want to talk? Let's talk. Your girlfriend made it very clear where I stand in the social hierarchy at Westbridge. Message received." "What did Sophia say to you?" "Nothing I didn't already know. I don't belong here, Adrian. Not at school, not in this house, and definitely not in your world." "That's not true." "Isn't it?" I laughed, but there was no humor in it. "I heard you two in the library. 'Girls like that get ideas.' She was right to warn you." Adrian's expression darkened. "You were eavesdropping?" "I was studying. You two weren't exactly being discrete." He ran a hand through his hair, messing it up even more. "Maya, that conversation-it wasn't what you think." "Really? Because it sounded like you agreeing that I need to know my place." "I was trying to end an argument, not-" He stopped, jaw clenching in frustration. "This is exactly why we need to talk." "About what? About how awkward this is? About how we're supposed to pretend to be siblings when we're clearly not? About how every time you look at me, I forget how to breathe?" The last part slipped out before I could stop it. The silence that followed was deafening. Adrian stared at me, something raw and unguarded flickering in his blue eyes. "Maya..." "Forget I said that." I tried to move past him, but he caught my wrist. "Don't." His grip was gentle but firm. "Don't run away again." "I'm not running away. I'm being smart." "Smart would be staying away from me entirely." "I tried that. It's harder than it looks when we live in the same house." "Yeah." His thumb traced across my pulse point, and I knew he could feel how fast my heart was beating. "It is." We stood there for a moment, the kitchen filled with tension so thick I could barely breathe. His eyes dropped to my lips, then back to my eyes, and I saw the exact moment he made his decision. "This is a terrible idea," he murmured, but he was already leaning closer. "The worst," I agreed, tilting my face up toward his. Our lips were inches apart when the front door slammed open. "Adrian! Where the hell did you go?" Sophia's voice echoed through the house, sharp with anger and probably alcohol. We sprang apart like we'd been burned. Adrian stepped back so quickly he hit the counter, and I pressed myself against the opposite wall, my heart hammering so hard I was sure Sophia would hear it from the foyer. "Shit," Adrian breathed. "She followed me home." "Adrian!" Sophia's heels clicked against the marble floors, getting closer. "I know you're here. Your car's in the driveway." "Go," Adrian whispered urgently. "Back stairs to your room." "What about-" "Go. Now." I slipped out the back entrance to the kitchen just as Sophia's voice got closer. I made it halfway up the back staircase before I heard her enter the kitchen. "There you are!" Her voice was too bright, too loud. "Why did you leave the party? Everyone was asking where you went." "I wasn't feeling well." Adrian's voice was carefully controlled. "Headache." "Poor baby. Here, let me make you feel better." I should have kept walking. Should have gone to my room and pretended this never happened. Instead, I found myself frozen on the stairs, listening to the sound of rustling clothes and Sophia's soft murmurs. "Sophia, not here," Adrian said, but his voice lacked conviction. "Why not? Your parents won't be home for hours, and that mousy little stepsister of yours is probably asleep." Mousy. The word hit like a physical blow. "Don't call her that," Adrian said, and there was an edge to his voice now. "Oh please. Like you actually care about her feelings. She's nothing, Adrian. A charity case your father took pity on. Don't let her get in your head." "She's not-" "She's not what? Not pretty? Not sophisticated? Not good enough for someone like you? Because you're right on all counts." I'd heard enough. More than enough. I crept up the rest of the stairs and made it to my room before the tears started falling. Mousy. Charity case. Not good enough. All things I'd thought about myself, but hearing them from Sophia's perfectly glossed lips made them feel like truth instead of insecurity. I sat on my bed and stared out at the infinity pool, lit up like something from a dream. This wasn't my world. These weren't my people. And Adrian... whatever I thought I'd seen in his eyes, whatever moment we'd almost shared, it was just proximity and novelty. The forbidden fruit syndrome. He had Sophia-beautiful, confident, socially appropriate Sophia who fit into his world like she'd been born for it. What could he possibly want with me? A soft knock on my door made me freeze. "Maya?" Adrian's voice was muffled through the wood. "Can we finish our conversation?" I wiped my eyes and tried to make my voice sound normal. "I'm tired, Adrian. Maybe tomorrow." "Please. Just for a minute." "Where's Sophia?" "Gone." I almost opened the door. Almost let him in to explain, to make excuses, to probably break my heart even more thoroughly than it already was. Instead, I turned off my light and crawled into bed fully clothed. "Maya?" "Goodnight, Adrian." I heard him sigh, heard his footsteps retreat down the hallway. Only then did I let myself cry for real-for the almost-kiss that would never happen, for the family I was trying so hard to fit into, and for the boy who would always be just out of reach. Some lines weren't meant to be crossed. I just wished someone had told my heart that before it was too late.