The Stepbrother Ch. 01A – by alupine

“No,” she replied. “We should call him,” she said.

“It’s like 3AM over there,” Aiden replied.

“Right. I guess tomorrow then.”

“So how’s it going with work and stuff?”

“Ok I guess. Really busy. I’ll admit I’m not great at memorizing my lines, and a few of the actors can be a bit… bitchy if the scene doesn’t go quickly. But overall… it’s good. Do you watch?”

“I’ve seen a few episodes, you you did great on the ones I saw. I didn’t think it was going so bad. You can always call me if you need to talk.”

“No, it’s not like that. It’s just a couple weeks ago I was having trouble but, it’s much better now. How are your shoots going?”

“Never better. I finished a shoot for Rene’, that French clothing line, just a few weeks ago. It was really fun.”

“That in LA?”

“Yeah, it’s the first time they’ve done a shoot in the U.S.,” he said.

“There adverts look really good.”

“Yeah. Hey how are you and Jim doing?” he asked.

“We rarely see each other,” she said sadly. “We’re both crazy busy.”

“That’s too bad,” he said sympathetically.

“It’s ok I guess. How is… Sarah doing?”

“It’s Savannah. She’s good,” he replied. “She’s thinking about quitting college to do modeling full time. She’s trying to convince me too.”

“Are you?” Courtney asked.

“I don’t know. Maybe, I mean you did it right?”

“Yeah. I think it was the right choice for me,” she said. “I’ve missed you, you know?”

“Me too, but we don’t live that far away you know. We could see each other more often.”

“The show schedule is pretty tight though. To tell you the truth, I thought about not even coming.”

“Really? I’m glad you did,” he said.

“I’m-”

When they heard footsteps down the hall, they instantly stopped talking. Cara appeared at the door with a wan smile.

“Hello,” she said. “I know the room is a bit small, but it’s only for a few days. How about you come downstairs for dinner? Aiden maybe you could watch the game with the boys? I’m going to set the table and we’ll eat in about 15?”

“Sure,” Aiden said. “Are we eating Johnson and Bailey?” he asked.

“Yes, they delivered it just before you arrived. It tasted so good last year, I figured I’d order it again.” Johnson and Bailey was a high end restaurant that catered full Thanksgiving meals. “It’s good having my older ones back in the house,” she said with a large smile. Then she she left and walked back down the stairs.

“Mom knows you don’t watch sports right?” Courtney asked.

“Well… I do go to USC, and we’re in Los Angeles and stuff, so sometimes I watch the LA Rams,” he said, standing up and shrugging his shoulders. “So are you coming down with me or am I going alone?” he said as he got up from the bed.

“I’ll go help Mom, you get stuck with M&M.”

“Huh?”

“Mateus and Marlon,” she said with a smirk.

“Good one,” Aiden said with a chuckle.

They walked down the stairs together, giving each other a knowing nod as they parted ways. Courtney walked back into the kitchen and her brother went to the couch to watch football with their stepfather and stepbrother.

“Hey dear, can you help me?” Cara said grabbing a tablecloth.

“Sure,” Courtney replied.

They set the dinner table with silverware and plates, then they started placing all the food in the center. It didn’t take long before they were finished with the simple, but somewhat relaxing activity. The round table was large enough to fit the small feast of turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, gravy, green beans, cranberry sauce, and dinner rolls.

“Dinner’s ready,” her mother said loudly, as they carried out the last of the dishes. Aiden was sitting on the end of the couch, typing into his phone and ignoring the game.

“Smells great,” Mateus said standing.

“Just a second till the commercial,” Marlon said.

“Alright,” she replied, walking back. Aiden got up and walked to the table and sat next to his sister. Mateus and Cara also sat down, and he immediately took her hand and kissed it. She smiled broadly, and Courtney looked away.

“It looks wonderful my love,” Mateus said.

“Johnson and Bailey did a great job,” she said. They waited about five minutes for Marlon to turn off the television and sit.

“Oh I almost forgot!” Cara said, pushing her chair back and standing, when Marlon finally sat down.

“What is it?” Mateus asked. Cara didn’t respond, she just disappeared into the kitchen. When she returned she was wearing a smile with a bottle of wine and several glasses in her hands.

“Could you dear?” she asked, handing the bottle to Mateus. He opened it with the corkscrew and filled his glass and proceeded to fill the others. The table was then quiet for several minutes, with only the sound of people eating or an occasional comment on how the food was good until Mateus spoke up.

“So Marlon, which team do you think will win the game?

“Giants,” Marlon replied.

“Are they favored to win?” his father asked.

“Green Bay is, but I’m hoping the Giants can pull an upset.”

Courtney took a few bites of white meat turkey with gravy. It tasted as good as last time.

“Courtney dear, I meant to ask you, where did you get that blouse? It looks so good on you,” her mother said.

“Thanks, it’s from L.L. Market. Jim helped me pick it out,” she said. The peplum white blouse hugged her torso, but de-emphasized her large breasts by drawing attention to her slim arms and waist with frilled fabric. “A lot of my recent clothing buys have been L.L. This is one of my favorites.”

“Mom is right, it looks good,” Aiden said, after sipping a bit of wine.

“Courtney, I was speaking to Gillian Young a few days ago and she said you were having a little trouble on the show?” Mateus said. Courtney’s expression became angry, but then faded as she looked Mateus.

“Everythings fine,” she replied, quickly composing herself.

“Are you sure?” Mateus asked. “I know it’s a tough schedule. I was on the show for ten years, but I was a very accomplished actor before that, so I had the practice. I could talk to her, see if they could give you a break for a week or two?

“No thank you. I’m alright.”

“It’s no problem, we talk every week,” Mateus said.

“No I don’t need any help. It’s just that I was a bit busy shooting a few commercials and ads for G Jeans. That’s over now, so it’s not an issue.”

“Ok. Just let me know if you need anything.”

“Sure,” she said with a nod.

There was an awkward silence. Courtney looked at her brother for sympathy, but he was smirking. She took a sip of her wine.

“Where were you going to school before you got on that Soap?” Marlon asked Courtney.

“I was going to UCLA” she replied.

“Cool. I wanna play football there if I get a chance.”

She nodded silently and put a spoonful of tart cranberry sauce into her mouth. Courtney was about half finished with her meal, but stood up.

“It was very good mother thank you,” she said.

Cara didn’t reply, she only nodded with a sad smile. Courtney took her glass of wine and plate to the kitchen. After placing her plate in the sink with a sigh, she turned to go up the stairs. Her mother was there at the entrance to the kitchen and Courtney took a quick breath in surprise.

“Is everything ok?” her mother asked.

“Yeah, I was just going outside to get a little air, it’s a bit warm in here.”

“It’s so cold outside. Do you want to borrow a coat? I have one u-”

“I ok, I have one in my luggage,” Courtney said, as she grabbed her wine glass, brushed gently past her mother, and walked up the stairs.

Courtney entered the room she shared with her brother and set down the wine glass on the bedside table that separated the two beds. She opened her purse, pulled out a pack of cigarettes and tapped them against her hand. Then she took the last two from the pack and her lighter and slipped them in the bra beneath her blouse. She put the empty pack back in her purse and then put on a knee-length white wool coat from her luggage.

Her mother had never approved of her smoking as a freshman in High School, and she hadn’t told her that she had started up again. It was just recently, within the last week because of the stress from the soap opera.

With her glass in hand she turned around as her brother walked in. She was startled again, almost spilling her wine.

“What’s up?” Aiden asked with concern. “You left pretty quick.”

“I’m just irritated at Mateus. He acts like he started my whole career, because he introduced me to a few people. Hey, could you entertain Mom for a while?”

“Sure, why?”

“I’m going outside to smoke and I don’t want her to know.”

“Ok sure.”

“Thanks, I owe you.”

“Yes you do,” he called after her as she quickly descended the stairs.

As she left the house, she past what must have been Marlon’s cheap compact car parked in front of the garage. She walked by a few of the other two-story houses on her way to the beach cliff, with her black heels clicking across the pavement.

The sky was dark and the stars shone brightly overhead. There was a metal railing and a set of concrete stairs that looked like they went all the way down to the beach while hugging the cliff. Courtney stood at the top of the stairs on a small concrete platform. She set the glass of wine down on the platform while she lit a cigarette that she pulled from beneath her bra.

After placing the cigarette between her lips and inhaling deeply, she picked up the glass. She exhaled white smoke and took a sip of her white wine. She watched the thin lines of translucent liquid run down the sides of the glass, back to the bottom, and then she took another drag from the cigarette.

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