Chapter 25: Luis’ POV

It felt awkward, and under normal circumstances, I would have crumbled under her strong gaze. But remembering Rolland’s encouragement, I felt like I could straighten my back—so I did.

“Come sit here with me,” she said, patting the spot beside her on the couch.

“Okay.” I did so, and I had never been more rigid while sitting than I was at that moment.

“I see you don’t want to talk about what I saw yesterday…”

“I’m… we’re not—”

“Gay?” She chuckled.

“...” I paused because I couldn’t bring myself to lie. I wasn’t a raging hypocritical homophobe like Garber.

“Look, I know you’ve been avoiding me since then, and I won’t ask why you’re just coming home even though I didn’t see you leave. You’re 18, and you’re an adult, so you can do whatever you like.”

“Really?” I turned, my eyes wide with shock.

“Of course. I’m not homophobic, and honestly, I’d just be happy to know you have a partner, seeing how you’re always cooped up in your room.”

“T-then why did you turn around like that? I thought…”

“You looked like you needed privacy,” she said, and I chuckled, finally relaxing.

“No, no, we were actually wrestling. That was Chen—my best… my friend. And no, we aren’t together, and I don’t have a crush on him either.”

“Oh? So who’s the one you have a crush on?” She asked the question no one had ever asked me before. And honestly, I thought I’d be angry given the kind of relationship we had. But I found myself blushing so hard that I had to cover my face.

“Ohh, I see we aren’t gonna talk about him then,” she teased.

“Please don’t tell my dad. I think he’ll throw me out, and even if I have enough money from gaming to start fresh, not having to pay for my rent and food is something I don’t want to throw away.”

“Oh, what stays here goes nowhere,” she said with a wink before adding, “Did you just say that you see your dad as nothing more than an ATM machine to provide for your basic needs?” She asked, and I sat up, seriously considering it.

“Sadly, that’s been the case since my mom died,” I said.

“Oh, I’m sorry,” she lowered her head and apologized in a low tone.

The air grew heavy, but I had been having so much fun before and decided to lift the mood.

“It’s okay. I kind of regret not getting to know you better earlier.”

“Oh? Why?” She had a look of interest on her face, and I impulsively wanted to ask if she was a gamer, but I decided to take it slow.

This was my stepmother, not a new classmate.

“Well, you’re so cool to talk to. I wouldn’t have thought Clarissa was your daughter if I didn’t know better,” I said with a chuckle, only to realize that I had just called her daughter mean—to her face.

“Oh my goodness, I’m sorry. I’m sorry. Her bullying just got to my head. I couldn’t hold back when I started getting comfortable,” I apologized frantically.

“I’m glad that you’re getting comfortable enough to talk about anything. It’s just… Clarissa hasn’t always been like that,” she said, and I frowned.

“What do you mean?”

“She used to be bullied—to the point of depression and selective mutism before we moved here. And by the time I noticed, it was already too late because I was so busy with work. To tell you the truth, I almost lost her.”

“What?!” I shot to my feet because I was beyond shocked.

That talkative bully had been a victim of bullying? That made no sense at all.

“It’s true, and this may be selfish of me, but anytime I see her talk like that to you, I’m happy because it means she’s opening up. And regarding her tone, I think it’s because that’s all she knows. But I’m schooling her to be kinder,” she said, and I could feel the pain and joy in her tone.

She wasn’t lying.

“Oh my. I’m so sorry,” I sat back down, now torn on how to console her.

“No, no. I understand you, but I just…” she paused for a moment, letting out a small sigh. “I just really hope that you both get to know each other better and become good siblings to each other.”

“That’s right, I should be the only one who bullies her. No one else has the right to.”

“What?”

“Oh, I just mean if she bullies me, then I should bully her back. That’ll teach her to bully her bullies,” I said, and she burst out laughing. And while I didn’t realize why she was laughing, I joined in too.

It was just really nice to see her laughing without any tension.

After we both calmed down, I got up. “I’ll go check up on her,” I said, and she nodded.

“I don’t want to see anyone… cough… cough,” was the response I got after knocking on Clarissa’s door.

“If you don’t open up right now, I’ll break this door.”