Chapter 26: Luis’ POV

“You're so mean,” she said from inside as she unlocked the door.

“Well, I learned from you, so that makes you the best teacher,” I said the moment she opened the door.

“Achoo!” Her loud sneeze was her way of saying welcome, and I entered my stepsister’s room for the first time since she moved into this house.

The room had been decorated in ways I never thought possible.

Pink everywhere. Decorations that were never supposed to leave Pinterest were plastered all over.

“Sit there,” she pointed toward a pink plush chair.

“No. I'll sit on the bed, you sit there,” I said as I bounced on the bed with the lightest shade of pink duvet.

“Do you want to laugh at me now that you know that I'm sick?” she asked, but I took out a chocolate bar from my pocket.

It was a half-eaten leftover from the ones Chen brought the day before.

“What’s that?”

“Leftover chocolates, can't you see?”

“Why is it not in the waste bin?” She sat at the other edge of the bed and wrapped a woven blanket that had way too many flowers attached to it around herself.

“Because that would be a waste, obviously,” I almost rolled my eyes at how ridiculous she sounded.

“It's really nice, one of my favorites,” I said as I stuffed it in her blanket.

“You're such an asshole.”

“Your stepbrother is an asshole. That makes you related to an asshole,” I said, and her face contorted into the most painful frown I had ever seen.

“You…”

“So what happened? You were very excited yesterday but came home sick after your adventures. Did you run into your nemesis or what?” I asked as I rested my back, letting my cramped muscles stretch.

“Yeah, she was from my other school.”

“Oh? So you met a friend then?” I closed my eyes, unable to read her facial expression.

“A friend? I don't have any friends, and I don't need them!” she suddenly shouted, only to enter a coughing fit afterward.

“Calm down, calm down. I don't have any friends either, but I think I need them,” I said after handing her the cup of water on her plush pink desk.

“That's because you're a nerd. I'm not a nerd, and I don't know why they keep saying those mean things to me,” she seemed to be on the verge of tears, so I didn't dare to bully her.

“It's because they're jealous of you.”

“Jealous? Mom said the same thing, but what could I possibly have that they don't? I don't even have a biological father!”

“Oh, I see.”

“See what? You half-blind nerd!” she shouted as she threw a pillow at me.

And I wasn't about to back down.

“I don't have a mother either. You spoiled brat,” I got up and threw another pillow at her, only to watch my stepsister topple to the ground and start crying.

I knew for sure she wasn't injured because the rug was as soft as a teddy bear, and there were throw pillows on the ground to break her fall.

But why was she crying?

“Clarissa?”

“Go away!” She was really sobbing. So I stepped back, pretending to walk out of the room, opened and closed the door, but stayed inside.

“Why did he leave when I needed him the most? Such a useless nerd,” she said through sniffles as she sat up. And while I would have liked to remain hidden to hear what more she had to say, my pride wouldn't allow that.

“So you needed me the most, huh?” I smirked and watched as her face turned red with embarrassment.

I was so going to use this at every opportunity I had.

“No, I didn't mean that, I just…” She trailed off, unable to construct a sentence, clearly needing a shoulder to cry on.

Even though she didn’t complete the sentence, I felt like I understood her, so I pulled her into a hug and let her cry her heart out.

“You know, I've been bullied too,” I said, and she nodded.

“Yes, that only makes sense. You're a nerd.”

“No, it was because I let them. After all, I'm not the only nerd in school, but why did they choose me?”

“Because you wear ugly glasses?” she said through sniffles.

“Do you believe me if I say that I'll throw you to the ground if you interrupt me like that again?”

“No. You won't because I'm crying.”

“Your audacity is so crazy I find it difficult to believe you were bullied. Should I tell you why you were bullied?”

“Why? And don't say it's because they were jealous. I have nothing.”

“That's not true. Did you know that more than 60 percent of marriages end in divorce? That means more than half your school has children from split marriages, yet they aren't bullied.”

“Well, because my mom never showed me my dad to start with?”

“No,” I chuckled as she looked at me. “It's because you think you're lacking,” I said like it was the most obvious thing.

“How so?”

“Well, you never knew your dad, but your mom tried her best to fill in, right?”

“Yeah, she was always working hard, and she tried to make it to my past events and also made time for family moments. She…”

“You see? The list is endless, but when the bullies mentioned it, you convinced yourself that it was a weakness not to have a father. So even now that you do, you're still affected by their words.”

“I don't think I understand…”

“I'll explain it better to you and help you get back at your bullies.”

“Is that even possible?”

“Of course. The best way to get back at your haters is to glow and get over their hold on you. I'll teach you how,” I said, and like that, we spent the next hour talking about it and healing each other's shared trauma on bullying before her stomach grumbled, and we had to go eat breakfast.

I was just as hungry because I had eaten lightly at Rolland's and needed the chicken soup and noodles her mom made for breakfast.