Chapter 8 Raven: Stepbrothers

• Raven POV
• Last night was a good night in the sense I had no nightmares. I need to get some new clothes, as much as I hate spending money as it delays me moving out, I need new clothes. After stepping out of the shower, I grab my clothes. Putting on the bralette and thong, I walk out of my bathroom to my bedroom. As I turn to put music on, I scream, jumping back and throwing everything in my reach at the fucking spider.
• Hell, if there is one thing I fear, it's fucking spiders. They are my kryptonite; after the devil himself laughed in my face, I fear these fuckers more. The door slams open, and I turn expecting Dave, but instead, it's the Caddel brothers. My calm only lasts a second as I see the spider move out of the corner of my eye, and I scream, running behind them for protection, my arms gripped onto Grayson.
• "Erm, what the fuck?" He looks at me, confused.
• "It's a fucking spider! A big one." I point towards it and hear one of them laugh, and I watch who I believe is Emmett walk into the room and capture it with his hands before throwing it out of the window. My body relaxes slightly, but now all three are staring at me. Why are they here? In my bedroom?
• "Can you please get out while I get dressed?" I ask as I step around Grayson and back into my room.
• "Do we have to?" Ashton grins. He's cute, I like him.
• "No, we can't, who the fuck are you?" Grayson looks at me angrily, and I'm guessing they don't know who I am. I'm guessing these are the sons. Shit. Someone could have warned me.
• "Raven, apparently Dave is my dad." I shrug and pull on a cropped top and black ripped shorts.
• "He's your dad?" Grayson stands confused. His eyes analysed me, no doubt trying to see the resemblance.
• "For now, yes, he was dead for years, but now he is my dad, apparently. Who knows?" I shrug, and they stand confused still. "So, you're my stepbrothers then?" I assume they are.
• "Stepbrothers? When did you get here?" Grayson stands waiting. He's lost, so he had no fucking idea I was here. Did Dave even tell them?
• "About a week ago."
• "And my mother agreed?" He stands annoyed, and I don't have answers for him.
• "God, I don't know, I haven't seen her. All I know is my mother went to look for a new man to milk dry and sent me here claiming Dave was my dad, and he agreed."
• "Why are you in this room?" Emmett now steps forward. His eyes are cold and calculated.
• "Because this was the room my Dave said was mine, is there another room you would like your temporary stepsister to live in? It will be temporary as he appears to be like my mother, so this won't last long."
• They look at me amused, but I'm serious.
• "Look, had our mother known, she wouldn't have given you this room. That is why I am asking. Take the room next door. This is a room my mother knows randoms sleep in after a party. Take the room next to it."
• "Do I have to?"
• "What, did you already unpack and get comfy?" Grayson looks at me unamused.
• "Actually, I don't unpack anymore, as you can see." I point to the suitcase open on the floor and the box next to it.
• "Look, my mother wouldn't let you stay in here. Move next door, please. You're not just here for a night or two, so move to the bigger room." Grayson turns and storms out. Emmett glares at me, and Ashton grins.
• "I will move your things." Ashton walks in and grabs my suitcase in one hand and box in the other, taking them out of the room. I stand looking at Emmett, wondering why he is staring.
• "Anything else?"
• "Yeah, stay out of Grayson's way. He doesn't do well with house guests." Turning, he leaves. I think that he is saying he doesn't like house guests. Grabbing a few things of my things, like my Bluetooth speaker and chargers, I go into the next room and freeze. Shit, this is big, actually huge. Even the bathroom is better. I watch Ashton walk out.
• I finish getting ready and leave, not seeing any of the brothers when I do. They must have gone to speak to Dave or maybe their mum to find out why I'm here. When I get to the biker club, I walk in and see Ava. She smiles and pours me a drink instantly.
• "When were you going to tell me?" I look at her unamused.
• "About what?" She leans over and looks at me. Her face says she knows, damn, she knew and let me drool over them?
• "That the three hot as hell Caddel brothers I had been drooling over lived where I did and are essentially my stepbrothers?"
• Her grin widens, and I stare, shocked.
• "I'm surprised it took this long for you to find out, actually." She laughs.
• "Find out? I fucking screamed at a spider in my underwear, and they came running in. Thanks for the heads up, Ava." I laugh and finish my drink.
• "So, were they welcoming?" She smiles at me.
• "God knows, Grayson was cold and evil, Ashton was quiet a lot, and Emmett complained about the room I was in. Other than that, I haven't seen them!" She laughs at my words, and we talk. It turns out that other than seeing them every once in a while, none of them have spoken to her.
• Which is unusual as they own the club. I would assume they would have asked her questions and checked she had settled into the role. After spending a few hours with Ava, I went straight to the party. There is no work tonight, so it's just the party. I walk into the old run-down barn, and its essence pulses through my mind; it's too similar; the only difference is the number of people, the music and the laughter. It's not darkened, quiet and drowning in screams. I look across the flood of people, trying to rid my mind of the memories. I'm getting to recognise more and more of these people.
• "Well, sugar butt, you again?" I laugh at Jasper's words and turn smiling.
• "Yes, me again. No daggers, though, this time. I need to get wasted." I do; the Caddel brothers have me on edge; they run the city and are apparently my fucking step brothers? Which sucks, as they are hot.
• "Here." He holds out the bottle, and I drink it all, watching as he laughs and hands me his own. "Guess I don't need one." I need more, but his arm wraps around me as we dance. An hour passes, and Ava still hasn't shown up, but she said she might not tonight.
• "You have spies." I laugh at Jasper's words, but nervousness builds in me. His eyes shoot to the side, and I look, my body stopping as I do. Great, Caddel brothers, again! I'm glad it is them, though; I was worried.
• "Not exactly spies," I point out. Spies usually go unnoticed. Plus, I'm not doing anything worthy of spying on yet…"
• He laughs, nodding. "True, let's change that." He leans forward, his lips against mine, and he moves back until I'm pinned to the wall. His mouth has mine captive as his hands roam across my body.
• "Let's find a quiet place." I bite his lip slightly and laugh as he picks me up and carries me out of the barn. Stepping into the trees, he stops by one and places me down. My hand grips the back of his neck, and I pull him to me. Our lips dance together, and a husky groan escapes his throat as my hands unfasten his jeans. The warmth of his hands slid along my thighs, lifting the leather skirt.
• He quickly rids me of my thong, yet another one ripped and gone. He wastes no time in lifting my body against his. My moans wrap around his groans as his hips roll, my hands grasping into his shirt. It was quicker than last time, but still, he reached that spot that had me crying out in pleasure quickly, so I didn't care that it was quick.
• I watch him step back, a sly smile crawling up his face as I flatten my skirt. I go to speak and stop as I hear the clapping. I glance around, my eyes falling on them. Ashton is grinning, highly amused. Emmett looks at me with a cold, stern gaze, and Grayson glares at Jasper. Great.
• "Little sister." Emmett walks towards us.
• "Sister?" Jasper looks at me, shocked. I watch him take a few steps away from me.
• "No, stepsister, temporary for a month, if that."
• "Time to come home," Emmett announces, and I laugh.
• "Are you joking? You can't just walk up to me and tell me I need to come home."
• "Oh, but we can. Leave her, now." Grayson looks at Jasper, and he runs off.
• "He was a great…friend. Thanks for scaring him off. Assholes."
• "Friend?" Ashton grins at me, and I groan.
• "Our mother has requested to meet you, so yes, home." Grayson turns and walks away, Emmett and Ashton following, leaving me no time to argue. Great, now I meet their mother. I leave, get in my car, and drive back. As I get out, I see the Aston open the door and wave me in.
• Walking in, I see them and their mum. No, Dave, though? Panic builds in me; I bite against my lip and rock from one foot to the next.
• "Raven, isn't it?" She looks at me, and I nod. "It's Emilia. I wanted to ensure my sons had welcomed you and were treating you well." Bless, she is kind—too kind for Dave.
• "They have been very welcoming, Emilia; thank you for letting me stay here until I get somewhere sorted for myself."
• The brothers look at me, shocked; wait, did they think I wanted to be here? I fight back the laughter.
• "You're part of the family and are always welcome. Don't be a stranger; anytime you need anything, let me know. I mean it, Raven, you're family, my dear." She hugs me again and walks off.
• "Well, she likes you." Ashton laughs, and I look at him, confused. You're not the first stepsibling for us to have. Usually, she welcomes them, and that is it. She doesn't make a point of saying they are family, so she likes you." He grins, and I nod, unsure what to say.
• "Well, as I keep saying, this won't last long, a month if that, then I am gone again." Turning, I walk out and return to the side I'm staying in. I'm glad they don't question me or follow. Getting into my room, I lay back on the bed. It had me feeling on edge. She was too kind and calm, nothing like my mother at all. I drift between awake and sleep, and the nightmares slowly begin. I didn't drink enough.
• "Raven!" I jump when I hear my dad. Walking out, I stop in the kitchen and look at him, confused. "Why were you in the main house?"
• "Emilia wanted to meet me." I rub my eyes; I feel weird; the nightmare still lingers.
• "Don't, ever again!"
• "Fine, next time, I will tell her no. Happy now?" What did he think I would do? Say I cleaned their room after he fucked a random woman in it? Actually, I should have.
• "No, I spoke to your mother more; she warned me of this." He hands me something, and I take it. I stop and stare. I'm going to be sick. The nightmares are nothing compared to this.
• "Why have you got this?" I scream, tearing up the picture, willing the thing to disappear quickly.
• "A reminder of what happens when you whore yourself out!" His words are loud, and I laugh, but it sounds wrong.
• "Whore myself out? Do you even know the full story of what happened then and what he did? I'm guessing not, or maybe you do, but you're too blinded by your own money-grabbing schemes. You can't see the fucking truth!" His hand swings and hits me, and I step back in shock.
• "Look at you!" He points to my body. "You can deny it, Raven, but this, all this is proof you do." He points at my body again.
• "Fuck you!" His words stung. They don't understand, and no one understands. "At least men know they can't fucking touch and are paying for nothing more than a dance. At least I don't lie and pretend to love someone to get their cash and jump from one relationship to the next. The men I dance for know that is all they get for their money; the women you fuck assume it's a commitment, but the only commitment you have is to their cash!"
• His hand swings and hits me again. I laugh and look at him. He's a fucking fool to think hitting me will have an impact. I've faced the Devil, Dave, and you are far from it.
• "One day, you will regret raising your hand to me. Do you think hitting me hurts? After everything that happened, you think a slap will fucking hurt? Screw you, Dave, I may be a whore, but at least I'm not a prostitute like you and Mother." Turning, I don't give him a chance to respond; I freeze slightly when I see the brothers standing and watching.
• Holding my head up, I walk into the bedroom and slam the door. The ripped picture in my hand burns almost, and as I move, I throw it into the bin. He brought it all back, everything. Why would my mother tell him?
• Just to torture me from where ever she is living? I need a drink.