Stranded with My Stepbrother Chapter 52

-Caleb-

Jacey’s nails dug into my thigh all the way back to the Mastersons’ mansion. I think she was trying to keep me quiet. I didn’t want her to have to face all this alone, so I stayed quiet. As much as I hated Masterson, I knew he wasn’t lying. I was inconsequential at this point. They were keeping me around just to keep Jacey happy.

I imagined the same could be said for my mother, her father, and baby Timothy. Everyone was woven into a carefully crafted web to ensnare Jacey into doing whatever Masterson wanted.

Hopefully, Masterson wasn’t going to revisit fucking Jacey himself.

The mansion was just the same as we had left it. The decor was still inviting. It still had a happy, alive feeling.

It was also festooned with cameras that Masterson used to keep track of us and watch us have sex. I could see one perched ever so inconspicuously just above the crown molding. It was white, so it blended in quite well, and one wouldn’t have seen it if one wasn’t looking for it.

“Home sweet home,” Masterson said, clapping me on the back. “Gosh, doesn’t this bring back memories?”

It sure did. I remembered spending three months in confinement while they got Jacey pregnant with Will’s baby.

“You’ll be staying in your old room. Please feel free to use the pool,” Masterson went on. “Your mother and stepfather are wandering around here somewhere with Timothy, I’m sure.”

“What story did you tell them?” I asked.

Masterson grinned. “I told them the truth. That you came asking for my help, and Will’s children are the price.”

“I’m sure that went over real well with Hank,” I scoffed.

That just made Masterson’s smile widen and take on a touch of evil. “Hank saw the light of day. He isn’t walking anymore, though. I wasn’t terribly impressed with his beating his own daughter. That and his asinine objections, well, a lesson needed to be learned.”

Jacey’s hand flew to her mouth. “Is Dad okay?”

“He’s fine. He has a nurse and your stepmother. Let’s just say his legs did not heal as well as Will’s did,” Masterson said.

I put an arm around Jacey as her breath caught. “I thought we were trying not to upset Jacey.”

Masterson shrugged. “She was going to see him anyway. Might as well rip the bandaid off now.”

“Father,” Will appeared at Masterson’s shoulder. “Let’s just get Jacey resting, okay? She’s had a really traumatizing day.”

“Yes, you’re right, Will.” Masterson patted his son on the head.

Will didn’t look as though he appreciated the belittling gesture, but he didn’t say anything. Instead, he herded the two of us back to our room, as though we might have forgotten where it was.

He sat down on our bed with a long sigh. “This is such a shit show. I can’t believe I ever thought my father was a good man.”

“He had us all believing he was. He’s a great liar,” I replied. I helped Jacey sit down, then both Will and I got her lying down on her side with pillows piled up so she was comfortable.

“Father is a great liar,” Will agreed.

“You don’t call him Dad anymore, I noticed,” I said.

Will shrugged. “I’m allowed my small rebellions.”

“Are you going to be okay?” Jacey asked. “I saw you limping.”

“I’ll always limp. But I’m a lot better off than your father. I’m sorry,” Will replied.

“I’d like to say he had it coming,” I said. “But it sounds like it sucks worse than what we thought he deserved.”

“It does. He might never walk again,” Will mumbled.

Jacey took a shaky breath, and I rubbed her calf. “Is your father at least letting him try?” I asked.

“Oh yes. He likes to watch Hank struggle,” Will said darkly.

“Sounds like him.” I locked eyes with Jacey and mouthed an ‘I’m sorry.’

“They’ll have been told you’re here.” Will glanced at the door. “I’m sure they’ll be showing up any time now.”

As though on cue, my mother came rolling up with Hank, a baby carrier strapped to her front. A fuzzy little head poked up out of the carrier, but that was about all we could see of Timothy. His hair.

Hank looked cranky, sitting in his chair. “Eighteen and pregnant. I couldn’t be more proud.”

“Nice to see you again, too, wheels,” I shot back. “It’s not like it’s her fault.”

“Funny, seems to me all this bad shit started when she started fucking her brother,” Hank snapped.

“I’m not her brother,” I sighed at the same time Will corrected him. “Stepbrother.”

“It’s sick,” Hank grunted. “At least you’re not the father.”

I stood, ready to punch him, but Will grabbed my arm.

“It’s not worth it. And you’ll upset Jacey,” he said quietly.

I lowered my fist. Hank, the bastard, actually smirked at me.

“Hotheaded as ever.” Hank looked up at my mother. “See what a bad influence he is?”

My mother blushed. “I didn’t realize they’d start… you knowing… together when she turned eighteen. If I had, I never would have introduced him into the family.”

“Love you, too, Mom,” I sassed.

“If you loved me, you wouldn’t have put your thing in your sister,” my mother sniffled.

“STEPSISTER!!!” Will, Jacey, and I corrected together.

“Whatever. Mr. Masterson tells me we’re stuck here until Jacey whores for you again, Will,” Hank grumbled. “I’m not real keen on the idea, but I guess I shouldn’t complain.” He gestured to his legs.

“You’d think that would’ve made you shut the fuck up,” I complained.

Hank curled his lip at me. “This is all your fault.”

“Dad! That’s not true. And will you please stop insulting Caleb and me?” Jacey asked, tears streaming down her cheeks.

Seeing Jacey cry broke a dam in me, and I surged at Hank, ready to beat him to death.

Luckily for him, Will grabbed me and wrestled me to the floor.

“Get out!” Will yelled.

“I’m not done—” Hank started.

“OUT!!!” Will repeated.

My mother, prudently, wheeled Hank out.

“I think all we ever see of our brother might be the fuzz on top of his head.” I sighed.

Jacey looked miserable. “I thought maybe we’d reconcile or something. Being in the same circumstances and all.”

“Your dad is a dick. And I say that knowing full well what my dad is,” Will said. “If he doesn’t want to make up, that’s on him. He’s missing out, though.”

Jacey gave Will a watery smile. “Thanks, Will.”

“Just telling the truth,” Will shrugged. “Do you want to go float in the pool? I hear pregnant women like that sort of thing. I’ve been… um… Googling.”

“That’s very responsible of you,” I responded. “Getting ready to be a dad?”

“As much as my father will let me, I suppose. He’s not exactly proud of me right now,” Will muttered.

“That’s so sweet, Will,” Jacey smiled.

“I’ve been Googling, too,” I confided. “There’s a lot to know.”

Will’s cheeks turned pink. “This is probably a very inappropriate question, but is it true women have a heightened sex drive during pregnancy?”

“Yes,” Jacey answered while my jaw dropped at the boldness of his question. “But it goes down again. I guess for four to six weeks after having the baby you’re really not ready to resume sex.”

“Good. I’ll tell my father that. It’ll give us more time to figure out what to do,” Will said.

“Will,” I replied, grabbing him by the shoulders. “You’re not seriously thinking of trying to get us out again. Look what happened last time!”

“There’s a lot more people now to get out, too,” Jacey pointed out.

Will shrugged. “I’m not planning on letting my father get away with all of this. I know it’ll be harder now, but there has to be a way.”

“If you do find a way, you’re coming with us,” I said firmly.

“I’ll have to. He said the next time he’d kill me,” Will responded. “And I believe him.”

“I’d believe him, too.” I started pacing the floor. “There’s cameras everywhere. Oh fuck, did your dad add sound to this room?”

“Yeah, it has sound. But I’m not saying anything that will surprise my father,” Will said. “I did tell him I wouldn’t let him get away with this. He’s just probably watching right now, laughing his ass off at my rebellion. Since he knows I can’t actually do anything.”

I shook my head. “Don’t press your luck, Will. It might not be just you who gets in trouble.”

Will inclined his head at that, acknowledging my point. “Let’s get Jacey in the pool. Do you want me to leave while the two of you get dressed?”

“I have a swimsuit on under my sundress,” Jacey confessed.

“Are there swim shorts in here for both of us?” I asked Will.

Will opened the armoir and got out two pairs.

Jacey covered her face with her hands while Will and I changed, not for my sake, but for Will’s. Then we got Jacey out of bed, and I stripped her sundress over her head.

Beneath, she was wearing a striped bikini.

Will stared for a moment longer than I felt was strictly necessary but then dragged his eyes away. We all walked out to the pool together, me supporting Jacey with an arm around her waist.

Will found a couple of pool noodles, and we got Jacey happily floating in the water. We bobbed around her, chatting as happily as we could, given the circumstances.

Before long, my mother came out with baby Timothy still strapped to her chest. Hank was not with her.

“Why do you have to antagonize Hank, Caleb?” she sighed, sitting at the edge of the pool and dangling her legs in the water.

I raised an eyebrow. “Me antagonize him? I think it’s the other way around.”

“If you could just stop… you know-ing… with Jacey…” my mother pleaded.

“What, so she can ‘you know’ with me instead?” Will snorted.

“As far as I’ve heard from Mr. Masterson, that’s the plan,” my mother said. “He says you two are going to have another baby the old-fashioned way. I can only assume he means that you will be having sex.”

“Maybe he just said that to bother Hank. Trust me, I’d be tempted, and I’m not as big a bastard as Mr. Masterson,” I replied.

My mother shook her head. “I believe him. He’s sick and twisted, but it’s not as twisted as what you’re doing with your sister.”

“She’s not my sister,” I said exasperatedly.

“I’m married to her father. She’s your sister,” my mother insisted.

“Jeanie,” Jacey finally added to the conversation, “I don’t like that you keep calling us brother and sister. We were teenagers when you and Dad got married. We’re not biologically related, and your wanting to play ‘happy families’ is not going to make us that way. Caleb and I fell in love. That’s that.”

“And you and Will?” my mother asked.

I looked at my mother as though she’d grown another head. “You think Jacey’s supposed to fall in love with Will now?”

“She’s having his baby. It would be convenient,” my mother replied uncomfortably.

“Wow, you are certifiable,” I murmured. “You are truly, truly insane.”

“I’m just trying to present the best solutions for everyone,” my mother said, frustrated. “Maybe if you listened to me for once, we wouldn’t be in this situation.”

“As I recall, it was Hank being a dick that had us leaving camp that day. Everything snowballed from there. But you wouldn’t blame your precious Hank for a damn thing, would you? Glad to know how I rank,” I responded sarcastically.

My mother stood. “This is a really unproductive conversation. I’m going to go spend time with your father.”

“Hank is not my father,” I repeated for what must have been the thousandth time.

“And that must be why you think it’s appropriate to screw his daughter,” my mother said icily.