My Beloved Stepbrother

"Okay, I understand. Because Dad really like Mrs. Dixon. So when are you and her getting married?" The boy's voice almost made Alexa's heart stop beating.

Her head twisted to the boy sitting uncomfortably across the table from her. Why did he say that? Had he really accepted their parents' marriage plans willingly?

Seriously!

"Thank you for understanding," her mother answered with a smile. "We've decided that the wedding will take place in two months."

Her mother's words invaded her mind again and almost made her lose her mind. Was that the truth? Had her mother been considering this decision for a long time?

"Mom ...." Alexa was about to interrupt, perhaps they could have a quick discussion. About her future stepfather, about the wedding date, or whatever.

"Alexa, he's a good man. And the right father for you and Rylee," her mother said as if she didn't want her decision to be contested by her daughter.

She just bit the bottom of her lip in disappointment. Her hands were clenched tightly on her lap.

That's why she just looked down with slumped shoulders after glaring at everyone sitting at the same table with her, as if to make sure that they were experiencing the same thing that she was. But they weren't. It seemed like she was the only one who couldn't accept the decision and, what was worse, she couldn't do anything about it.

It had been a long time since her decision hadn't been important to his mother. Even if it was just a wish, she wished that what happened on this day, or in this place, was just a bad dream, and that she would wake up at last.

But, damn it, this was reality. She was basically always awake. And she couldn't help but accept everything, preparing her heart for the worst.

When the dinner of the two families came to an end, she looked into the boy's eyes one last time. Did he really agree to be sisters with Alexa? Or was his decision just an act? Alexa didn't understand.

To Alexa Kinsey, he was nothing but a never-ending dream. Going further and further away before she got the chance to express her heart. Memorable pieces of dreams that she has had for the past two years. But will she eventually have to erase them?

***

Her cold-stricken feet carried her through the ever-crowded crowds of Soho. Once again, she sighed heavily, wishing the pain in her mind would be carried away into the air. Her eyes were blurry, her vision hazy, her head foggy, her brain too muddled to think about anything at all.

She wanted to scream at the top of his lungs to make the chaos in her head disappear, to be carried out into the free air. However, she didn't want to risk being perceived as a madman in this public place.

Suddenly, she felt a hard tug on her elbow. Making Alexa Kinsey's body spin against her will. Before she could fully realize what was happening, a barrage of annoying words rushed at her, as if not giving her a chance to gain full consciousness.

"You're going to hurt yourself, huh!" he screeched sharply.

The voice that was so familiar to her brain could break through the dark fog frozen inside her head.

Alexa raised her head, and her eyes widened in surprise when she found the man standing in front of her, gripping her elbow tightly. "I'm not going to do anything stupid!"

"Watch where you're going. If I'm even a little late, you might not stand here in good shape." He slowly releasing his grip on Alexa's arm. Truly, Alexa could see the worry in the boy's eyes.

Alexa snorted. "I wonder, what kind of concern is this?" she asked. Until this moment, her brain could not believe the decision that came out of the boy's mouth so easily. "The attention of a stepbrother?" She did not hesitate to say sarcastically.

"What do you mean?" The man looked offended.

Rightfully so, he needed to be confronted with reality to realize that his decision had a profound effect on Alexa.

His words had forced Alexa into a family issue that she wanted to avoid.

Before the boy's brilliant brain could comprehend Alexa's words, the girl hit him back with the harsh reality. "No, forget it. Because my opinion doesn't matter," Alexa said irritably. "My mom didn't even ask about my opinion. That means my opinion doesn't matter, or she doesn't want to hear my opinion."

"You don't agree with our parents' decisions, do you?" he snapped. "Ever since my father got close to your mother, he always seems more energized throughout the day. It's as if she's replenished his depleted energy, or filled my father's empty soul after my mom left."

"Hey, listen. You know, from what you've said, that you're only thinking about your father. Did you know there are a lot of people who will be involved with your decision?" She wanted to make sure. "Including me!"

The boy's mouth clamped shut. Perhaps his brain was struggling to come up with an answer.

It seemed that fate had always put them in opposite places. Even at this moment, she didn't care if her opinion conflicted with this boy again. Because even during high school, they never agreed. Unpleasant conflicts always fill the middle space between them.

In fact, only this boy can give vibrations to her heart. Only he could make the butterflies in Alexa's stomach fly. Or that she felt excited about going to school, even though her body wasn't feeling well.

"Alexa, why are you leaving suddenly?" That voice broke the tense atmosphere between her and Alexa. Then when Rylee realized there was a boy standing not far from her sister, she said, "Oh, you're here too?"

The boy nodded in reply to Rylee's question. Rylee's presence loosened Alexa's shoulders that had tensed up without her realizing.

"Rylee, let's go!" called her without looking at the boy who was still frozen, as if his feet were planted on the streets of Soho.

"Ok, Alexa!"

She had turned her body around and left him with light steps. Although, tons of weight hung on her back.

Before Rylee did the same, the man had thrown a small nod to her, signaling his departure to follow Alexa.

The man was still standing there. Looking at their backs that were sinking into the sea of people. The pleasant spring air was suddenly stuffy and suffocating. Could time turn back?

As he looked at the girl who was moving away from him in the crowd of Soho, regret filled his mind. He should have thought about her decision, shouldn't he? But it was already done. The decision had been made, the decision regarding her parents' marriage.

Alexa Kinsey stopped her steps after she felt she had walked far enough. It felt like the words she had just said that had left the boy unable to answer were enough to satisfy her. At least she voiced what was bothering her. At least the boy knew that she strongly objected to his unilateral decision.

Then the unpleasant things she experienced while living with her mother made her realize that she should remember her dream. A dream where he had to leave London-England next year. In fact, she has been planning and organizing her dreams long before other kids her age find theirs. Alexa Kinsey was a girl full of dreams.

"Alexa...," Rylee called.

Alexa slowed her pace, and it was then that she realized she had entered Carnaby Street, a pedestrian and shopping district centered on fashion and fashion retail.

"Hm ...."

"Don't give up, keep moving forward. You can stop for a moment to catch your breath, then walk again. Even if you are hurt or feel hopeless, but in life you have to keep going."

Alexa Kinsey also began to pay closer attention to Rylee than the trendy clothes that were no more interesting than culinary to her. Hearing her young brother's motivational words, she became interested in rewarding him with a faint smile, as she was still unable to muster a big smile at the moment. "Strange ...," she muttered, with one eyebrow raised. "Why do your words sound more mature than your age?"

Before Rylee could answer, she interrupted him again. "I'm not that strong, Rylee. You know how I am."

The fact is, sometimes being perceived as strong is not so fun. It meant she had to put up with other people's views and demands about how she should always be able to get through everything, even the tough stuff. But she wasn't that strong. She was just trying to stand tall amidst the storms that were trying to knock her down.

"I know Alexa. The thing that amazes me and mom to this day is, you didn't cry, or maybe you cried but hid it from mom. When Dad suddenly went back to America and left us."

Alexa swallowed, her memory automatically flying back to the fragments of that moment that were stored so neatly in her head. As she recalled it, she couldn't ignore her heart that began to throb painfully. But, she wouldn't let herself stay at that time. She had to move on to the future, even though she couldn't erase that memory from her mind.

"I'm still not really tough. But I want to be strong, I have to keep smiling and laughing. Trying to convince myself that there will definitely be good things tomorrow," she hoped earnestly.

Right, I will definitely have good days in my future, right? She thought to herself.

Rylee nodded as a symbol of agreement at the meaningful words spoken by Alexa. "Oh, yeah! By the way, did you have something with that guy earlier? From the way you look at it, it seems like-"

She nodded immediately. It was unthinkable to hide something hidden in her heart about that boy.

As a result of that question, she felt transported back to the moment when the boy who pulled her arm to save her from almost crossing without looking at the crowded street.

When she remembered the boy's concern, her mind suddenly warmed. The warmth spread throughout her body and filled her empty soul.

The look on Rylee's face was serious and curious. "Really? So, how was your first meeting?"

"Actually, it can't be said to be a romantic encounter like in the movies, or a pleasant one," Alexa said. "I'd say it was enough to make him very upset and angry with me."

Even in retrospect, it was quite horrible, the face that always filled the boy's expression when she accidentally met him at school.

"Wow, right! Apparently, something happened between you before today's meeting," he said. "Tell me about your meeting."

She smiled mysteriously, enjoying Rylee's curiosity, and it was quite fun. "My encounter with him was during a sports competition in the fall. Wait a minute, I actually saw him a lot, but I just saw him and nothing happened because we went to the same school," Alexa said. "But the fall of two years ago really changed everything."

***

Fall, Sports Competition ....

This was Alexa Kinsey's first year of high school. Eden Hall High School is one of the top schools in London, even though she knows full well her brain is not smart enough to compete with the students here.

Still, she wasn't that stupid, as she could pass a complicated test and needed to beat several candidates in order to become a student at this school. Let's just say that she has a mediocre brain when compared to those super-brained students.

She had brown hair and amber eyes passed down from her father's genes. Not as sexy as a Calvin Clein model, and not as pretty as the most popular girl in the school. But, her cute face and innocent gaze did sometimes make people she met would look in that direction for a long time, before turning their eyes in other directions.

Basically, she didn't really like being the center of attention, and being looked at like that. During her high school years, Alexa wanted to be a mediocre student who wasn't the center of attention.

"Alexa, let's go to the field. Everyone's gathered there," called Alice Madison, who was her best friend and the smartest student in her class, class B. Alexa turned her head to the source of the voice. And her eyes landed on Alice who was already at the door frame.

"Has it really started yet? I'm too lazy to wait there," she replied, and still sat on her stool despite the sport uniform wearing on her body. "I'd rather wait in class."

Alice shook her head. "The hundred meter race is about to begin."

"Oh, really?" she said as she straightened up quickly.

"Let's hurry. We have to support our class."

"Ok, Alice," she called out before they ran out of the classroom to the field.

That moment before descending the stairs, who knows what was going through Alexa's mind. And who knows what was blocking the focus of her eyes.

Suddenly, her ears heard Alice scream a second before her body hit something in the middle of the stairs. But it was too late. Alice's scream couldn't freeze her body's movement, couldn't stop time.

All she felt was a hard collision attack. Then her body stopped on the ground floor after getting the same impact for the last time. She groaned as her eyelids closed, her head spinning, her eyes blurry, her ears ringing, pain flooding every inch of her body.

Somehow, she could control herself in the unbearable pain. Being able to get up and hold her body using both hands was a great achievement amongst the numb nerves all over. When her eyes refocused, she saw a boy who was sitting up just like her. Both hands were clutching one leg. Moans of pain and agony were coming out of his mouth.

Her muddled brain could not comprehend what was happening. And her thoughts almost stopped when she realized the injured boy in front of her was Jonathan Flint, a Class A student who was quite smart. All the students must know him.

Oh my God, what had she done? Did she cause that boy to get hurt?

The girl gasped, "Sorry, I'm sorry ...." Those were the only words that could come out of her mouth. "I didn't see you standing on the steps at all."

Jonathan grunted through the pain in every inch of his body. Lazy to answer, and only shot a glare in reply to the girl's apology.

"Oh my, Jonathan, you fell down the stairs!" shouted another boy who had just arrived and stormed towards him. He looked much more panicked than Alexa Kinsey. Practically the moment she saw his friend's reaction, the panic in her rose even higher.

In response to his friend's reaction, Jonathan nodded.

"Oh my, your head is bleeding!" the boy shouted again. His panicked voice completely could not disguise his emotions. Alexa looked up at the boy for a few moments in a confused look, then turned to Jonathan. But his head looked fine.

"Not his head, but yours!"

"Alexa, your head is bleeding!" Alice's voice came between them.

What? But what did Alice say? Her head is bleeding? Right, her head, and not Jonathan's.

She swallowed, while her limp hand lifted slowly, touching her stinging scalp. A thick, sticky red liquid stained her hand. As her eyes began to recognize that it was blood, she gasped. Completely unable to hide the wave of anxiety that filled her.

Try as she might to tell herself that her eye sight was wrong and just a hallucination, she was shaking with fear, and suddenly everything went dark. Her eyes could not see anything, her ears could not hear anything, and her brain was suddenly empty.

Her eyelids raised, the girl blinked to get her focus. It took her a moment to recognize that this was the roof of the infirmary. And she was lying on the bed in the fairly quiet infirmary.

Apparently unconsciousness had taken her until eleven o'clock in the afternoon, long enough. Her gaze went blank again, trying to dive into her mind, replaying the series of events that had led her to end up here. Suddenly the door opened, and interrupted of Alexa's thoughts. Fortunately, the person that appeared was her best friend.

"Alexa, you're awake." A bright and relieved smile appeared on Alice's face.

She nodded while her palms held her head. "But my head is still very dizzy," she replied without trying to get up.

"Stay down, and go back to rest," Alice said as she patted Alexa's shoulder. "Really, I still can't believe how you could get into an accident like that and hurt someone else."

As if her guilt wasn't enough to drive her into distraction, Alice's words sent her further into a pit of regret.

The girl pouted, "I don't know, I feel so guilty."

"Of course you do!"

She looked annoyed. "What does that mean?"

Alice Madison winced as she regretted her words. Maybe it wasn't just a curse that Alexa would throw at her, but something more, like a scratch?

"I mean, he can't run the hundred-meter race, because his leg hurt."

She was shocked again. Another fact that she knew made it even better to remain unconscious and unaware of any information about Jonathan Flint.

"Really?" she sighed in disbelief, breathing as much oxygen into his lungs as she could. Oh my God, what was this?

Why did she have to crash into Jonathan Flint? A role model student whose presence was quite important. Maybe not only him would judge him, but probably all the A class students would look at her with annoyance because their talented athlete failed to represent their class.

"If only you were a little careful Alexa ... Ouch!" Before Alice could continue, her hand flew up to punch Alice in the arm.

"Who are you really friends with? His or me?" asked her.

Alice Madison grimaced again and raised both hands. "Sorry, because I feel a little sorry for him." She sighed, "Considering how he tried to protect you."

Her eyes widened in disbelief. "Trying to protect me?" she repeated doubtfully.

Alice Madison leaned forward to whisper, "You don't remember how you bumped into him and then fell down?"

She raised one eyebrow, then shook her head in disbelief. It had happened so fast, her eyes couldn't capture every detail easily. It was probably true that she had missed a lot. And the limited capabilities of her brain couldn't record everything.

Alice brought her mouth to her ear. "You ran into him as he was taking the stairs, almost reaching the last step. Then you both fell down, but his arms were around you, as if to protect you from getting hurt. If you look at the accident scene, it should have been Jonathan Flint who fainted, and not you."

Alexa was surprised again.

"You were surprised, weren't you?" responded Alice Madison. Then she continued her words, "I was, too. Yeah, though it could have been a reflex movement or a deliberate attempt to protect you, I don't know."

Apparently, the awkwardness could not be digested by Alexa's brain, so the girl could not come up with a proper response.

"But he's quite gentle, isn't he? Even though both of his elbows had to be injured besides his legs. But at least his head isn't bleeding like yours." There was a tone of admiration in Alice's voice.

She nodded. Perhaps, that was the only thing she could be thankful for. When things had gotten so bad. For her and for Jonathan Flint.

***

After Alice Madison left. She tried to close her eyes to reduce the dizziness that was still tormenting her head.

A moment later, she felt a gust of fall breeze from the wide-open window right beside her bed. A sweet and fresh scent entered his nostrils, a perfume that was quite familiar to her nose. If she recalled, she didn't know the last time she had smelled that scent, but it was clear that it had been around her once in a while.

Lulled for a moment by the scent, the sound of sneezing interrupted her, sounding clear and close. It was strangely familiar to her ears.

Her memory recognized the distinctive sneezing sound, somewhere she had accidentally heard it. Unfortunately, her brain could not bring up the memory she needed.

Alexa was interested in finding a voice amidst the sneezing that had not stopped. A shred of hope grew, wanting the sneeze to continue before finding its owner. But it was not Alexa's intention to have the person tortured by his sneeze.

The girl tilted her body to the side, her eyes able to see the white curtain beside her, closed. Slowly, her right hand reached out to touch it. Then opened the curtain that was a barrier for her to know more.

When the curtain opened, her eyes could catch Jonathan Flint there. Lying on his side like her, his eyes were looking straight at her, with no intention of looking away.

Her whole body froze, her consciousness absorbed by Jonathan's gaze. Her hand still reached out to touch the curtain, but could not move to close the cloth again. The only thing she could do was breathe silently, in silence, and keep breathing in the calming scent of perfume that filled the room.

So is that the scent of his perfume, Jonathan Flint?

The cold air also enveloped her, strangely her heart suddenly felt warm when Jonathan's gaze did not leave her eyes. How ridiculous, what kind of feeling is this? Surely her heart was beating out of control.

How is it that when misfortune strikes him on the worst day of the fall, the girl can fall in love so easily?