The Step Brother

Willow

She finally manages to hang the last of her clothes in her bedroom closet, deciding then that she's done with unpacking for the day. Only a few more boxes remain but the major parts of  her room are there. She's positioned her desk closest to the window and set up her book case next to it. Jack helped put together her bed frame, which resulted in a lot of awkward silence you can expect with a new step-father.

"Knock knock," Her mom appears at her bedroom door, dressed in her night time robe with a clean face. "Just wanted to check on how things were going. Looks like everything's coming together so far!"

Will looks around the pink bedroom and tries to put on a smile. It still doesn't feel like home and it probably won't for the foreseeable future. Mom's happy, she has to keep reminding herself. "Yeah. I'm excited to get some stuff hung this weekend."

Elena sits on the edge of the bed and pats the spot next to her. Once Willow's next to her, she wraps her arms around her shoulders. "I'm sure Jack would love to help you with that as well."

Will only nods in response to this. She's used to this nightly routine. Just before bed, Mom will come in to talk and they'll usually chat about their day together. They talk like sisters and best friends. But over the last month, Will's felt a bit more distant from her mother that she hasn't experienced before. All of this happened so fast, maybe she's still adjusting...

"Do you like him?"

Her heart stops. "W-Who?"

"Jack." Her mom says it like it's a question, an eyebrow raised.

"Oh," Her shoulders relax. She thinks of Jace and then tries not to. "Jack's great. It was really nice of him to help with the bed frame. Why are you asking me this?"

"Because it matters to me," Her mom says, giving her a gentle squeeze. "I want you to see what I see in him. And, I kind of hope that maybe... he can fill that role of the father figure you've always needed."

"Mom, I like him, okay? As much as I can for only knowing the guy for a month. You're happy, so that makes me happy. I just need you to lower your expectations a bit. This isn't the Brady Bunch. It's going to take time for all of us to get used to each other and adjust to this new normal. That's fair, don't you think?"

"No, you're right, you're right," Her mom says. "But you would tell me, right? If you didn't or if something happened?"

"Of course." She tells her mom everything. In her 17 years of life, the only secret she has kept from her mother is a new one, which is that she may have a crush on her step brother, but she's hoping that will go away sooner rather than later. It's all really confusing.

Her mom holds out her pinkie finger and the two make a pinkie promise to each other right there.

"How about Jace? I saw you two in the kitchen earlier. Is he being nice?"

Willow's eyes naturally glance towards the closed bathroom door, knowing that only a bathroom separates her room from his. Just hearing his name makes her cheeks flush. She hopes Mom doesn't notice. "Yeah. Jace is fine. He's fine."

Please don't ask me anything else about him.

"You guys are okay with sharing a bathroom?"