Forbidden Love: Falling for my Stepbrother

"This time Alexa is really playing with fire.." "I know, almost the whole school is talking about it now." "No wonder, given her performance in the science room!" "Luckily for him, Brett can only be seen from behind, if the video got into Giselle's hands it would end badly for both of them.." "Sooner or later they will be found out anyway, if they keep meeting at school." "What will Brett find in her anyway? Everyone knows that Alexa is just a lowlife looking for easy money.." "Do you think the rumours about her and Professor Axel are actually true?" "Who knows, but I'll tell you I wouldn't be surprised at all." "I don't know how she still walks around with her head held high, given the rumours about her." "What do you expect from someone of her kind? The one who has really sunk to the bottom is Brett Fairnach, out of all the shameless flirts making eyes at him, he picked the one who didn't miss a thing. I have an idea she had been with the whole team before taking him too." "This time I really think she's gone too far, Giselle will make her life hell if she gets wind of any rumours.." "She'd deserve it." "Maybe she thinks Brett will still choose her if the story gets out." "Then she's really stupid." "Right?" "If that girl really thinks she has even a chance to compete against Lyra Sunderland she doesn't know what kind of trouble she's getting herself into." "It could also be that Lyra will be the one to ditch Brett herself, I mean she's got all the guys she could want at her feet, why would she settle for a guy who's screwing her behind her back with the most infamous skank in school..?" "Whatever it will be, remember that it will end worse for Alexa than for him." "Yeah, although I really can't explain how Brett could have given in to Alexa's mooning, Lyra Sunderland is the most popular and admired girl in the school, even the nerds, losers and professors adore her..or do you think it's because of the rumours a couple of weeks ago?" "What rumours?" "Don't you know? Apparently, Lyra is really..innocent as rumoured." "Hmm..?" "I heard that Brett bet Bart Holgrove 10k that he'd be able to get her to capitulate by the end of the year, but seeing as he's now shacking up with Alexa Surkalow behind her back, I guess he's really got it bad.." "Serves him right!" "I bet Bart will be the next to try, as if he has even a chance of succeeding!" Even when the sound of the two girls' squealing laughter had died down and the air became quiet around her again, Lyra dared not move and continued to hold her breath as the conversation she had inadvertently overheard continued to rumble heavily in her head. Why should she have to settle for a guy who's screwing her behind her back? Apparently, Brett had bet Bart Holgrove 10k that he would be able to get her to capitulate by the end of the year. I bet Bart will be the next one to try, as if he has even a chance of succeeding! Painful fragments of sentences and words that refused to leave her even as Lyra tried to push them from her mind, feeling hurt and humiliated. How could Brett have done that to her when he had assured her that he would be willing to wait a lifetime for her until she was ready for intimacy? They had talked about it just a fortnight ago, just before she left for Houston, greeting him with a shy kiss, thinking he was the most patient and generous guy in the world. She'd thought she was lucky to have him, that she could always count on him, and had felt stupidly relieved at the thought of hugging him when she returned because, like every time she'd come home, the looming fear for the future had annihilated her. She had been such an i***t and now she was also having to come to terms with this bloody secret and didn't know how she should deal with it. If she had confronted Brett, the truth would have come out and then Giselle, fiercely protective as she was, would have kicked up a fuss but that wasn't what she wanted, or at least she couldn't afford it. Nor could she pretend nothing was wrong and let Brett continue to tease her though, making her the object of malicious chatter and pitying glances, it would have been too humiliating, she would not have put up with it. Feeling intensifying the headache that had driven her to hole up in that remote corner of the locker room, Lyra thought that she hated secrets and, not for the first time in her life, she wished intensely that she was somewhere else in the world living a life completely different from her own complicated existence. The more time passed and the months wore on, bringing her closer to the fateful eighteen years, the more the weight of time overwhelmed her and between school, her family and now also Brett...she felt less and less strong, unable to fight to emerge and win herself a corner in the world, peaceful and serene, just for herself. She was inexorably tired and didn't know for how long she would be able to go on, sustaining her gruelling rhythms, always ready to excel in everything, terrified of the consequences if she failed. She really was so tired.... "Lyra..dammit, the hell are you? I've been looking for you for hours!" Giselle's excited voice managed to penetrate the wall of melancholy erected around her heart and Lyra promptly recoiled from her gloomy thoughts and struggled to pull herself together and paint a neutral expression on her face as she heard her friend's footsteps approaching inexorably. "There you are..." blurted Elle, planting her hands on her hips as she gave her an irritated look that said a lot about her mood. "What on earth are you doing holed up in here? I've been scouring the school to find you for almost two hours now." "Sorry..." murmured Lyra, straining to smile at her. "Well, what's wrong with you now? What's that face...?" asked Elle, who in the process turned around partially to check her reflection in the door of one of the lockers. "I certainly wasn't expecting fireworks but I haven't seen you in a fortnight!" "I have a bit of a headache.." "Headache?" repeated the girl, frowning. "Must be the jet lag. I didn't sleep at all on the plane." "Seriously, I bet you spent the whole time solving more boring math equations. I've been telling you for ages already, Lyra, you should let your brain rest once in a while..!" "I wasn't sleepy anyway..." "Bah!"huffed Elle, raising a resigned look at the sky. "Get your stuff, I'll take you to the infirmary, maybe the nurse can prescribe you something for the pain and maybe even let you lie down for a couple of hours.." "Aren't you going to be late for chemistry?" "Who cares, and besides, I'm not really in the mood to listen to Professor Axel's pile on books today." "Hmm.." murmured Lyra, vaguely amused by Elle's pretentious grimace. "Tell me about yourself instead. "her friend asked, taking her by the arm once she had collected her backpack. "Did anything exciting happen in Houston..? "she asked her, winking allusively. "I went there for the competition Elle.." "I know that but you were gone for two whole weeks, I thought you and Jackson..but I see you wasted another perfect opportunity as usual!"huffed her friend. "I swear, I'll never understand...!" added Giselle, in annoyance, though she didn't fail to smile cheekily at a group of fourth-year boys they met in the corridor outside the gym. Her friend's flashy hips as well as her bursting beauty had always attracted several glances of pure male appreciation and Giselle, being Giselle, had no qualms about encouraging those glances. Flirting, being desired and pursued by boys was her favourite pastime, even though she had never shown any preference for anyone in the large group of her intrepid admirers. "Did you see the way Johnny Dorins looked at me? I swear I'll give in to his blue eyes sooner or later, and that guy's got a pretty handsome ass, too!" commented Giselle with complicity, as soon as they had left Jonny's group behind. "Don't let Elise hear you say that..." mumbled Lyra in response, saddened as she was reminded of what she had just found out about Brett. "You know I don't care, that girl just needs someone to tone down her ego, ever since her dad bought her the spider she's been putting on so many airs that it looks like she's floating on clouds." "Hmm..." mumbled Lyra, lacklustre. Fortunately, Giselle was distracted by a group of friends they bumped into a little further on and so she couldn't complain about her lack of verve, while for her part, even though she was doing her best, Lyra was really too tired to be able to pretend everything was fine. She had to make an effort, however, because she was invariably drawn into the discussion, which revolved around the plans for the upcoming weekend, and she was questioned more than once. Veronica, a fellow biology student, invited her and Giselle for a shopping trip to Washington on Saturday and insisted that they accept. "You can bring Brett, too if you want Lyra, the other guys are going to join us later in the afternoon anyway, and then we could swing by Sheila's party.." "That is if you and Brett don't have any other plans for you alone, since you haven't seen each other for a fortnight. "insinuated Valerie, strongly allusively. "You're just jealous... "joked Ashley, before she could respond. Valerie shrugged and Lyra merely smiled and promised Veronica that she would think about it and let her know. "I hope you'll decide to join us, it's been ages since we've hung out. "encouraged her Rhonda. "And you too, Giselle, we've only seen you at practice lately." "My dad's been bugging me again and he demands to know where I am every moment..." replied the girl, huffing annoyedly. "I hear you. "assured her Ashley, sighing with participation. "My parents started pestering me with the college thing, they say I need to get my act together and think seriously about my future.." "As all of you should do!" interjected peremptorily the icy voice of Principal Brentwoll, approaching them together with Professor Carling, who gave all but her a stern look. "Shouldn't you be in your classrooms already, ladies?" she scolded them stiffly, the bell had already rung a few minutes before, indeed, and only a few students were still lingering in the corridors. "We were just going..." nodded Veronica, unable to hide her displeasure, and then hurried to say goodbye and leave for the physics room. Valerie and Ashley also took their leave, heading for the history classroom, while Rhonda stayed behind to wait for Giselle since they both had chemistry class with Professor Axel. "And you? Are you waiting for an invitation?" asked Principal Brentwoll, staring coldly at them through her opaque glasses. "I promised Lyra I would accompany her to the infirmary." explained Elle, perfectly unperturbed. "Are you not feeling well, Miss Sunderland? "inquired Professor Carling worriedly. "I've got a bit of a headache..." murmured she quietly. "You look quite pale indeed. "observed the headmistress, leaning over to get a better look at her face. "It's better to let nurse Crutchson take a look at you." nodded Professor Carling, agreeing. "I'll take you to the infirmary myself so you two young ladies can get back to class, and quickly, before you disturb your classmates any further!" added heatedly he woman, and Giselle and Rhonda were left with no choice but to nod, albeit reluctantly. "See you later, Lyra." promised her Giselle, before leaving. Lyra nodded quietly and waited to see her leave before following Professor Carling towards the infirmary, hoping that the nurse would let her rest for a couple of hours, she felt she needed it more than ever.