Jayden
As we stood in front of the house, we released our hands from each other’s grip. Allison turned to me, studying my face for a moment before asking softly, “Jayden, are you nervous?”
I smiled, attempting to play it cool. “No, I’m not… Actually, yes. Yes, I am nervous. Really nervous.” I quickly corrected myself, feeling a bit silly.
“It’s been a while since I’ve seen her, you know,” I added, letting out a sigh. “After everything she said to me, I’m… I’m feeling anxious, I can’t even explain it, Alli.”
She smiled and rubbed my back reassuringly. “Don’t be nervous or feel uneasy. I’m here for you, okay?”
I nodded, feeling slightly better. Then, I turned to her with a mischievous grin. “How about you give me a kiss before we go inside?”
“A kiss? Are you serious right now?” she asked, her eyes wide with surprise.
“Yeah,” I nodded.
“Here?” she asked, pointing a finger at the ground. “Oh my goodness!”
“You always say ‘here’ whenever I ask you for a kiss,” I laughed, my eyes fixed on the ground.
Before I knew it, Allison grabbed my face, tiptoed, and gave me a soft, sweet kiss on the lips.
I was caught off guard by Allison’s sudden kiss, but I quickly seized the moment. I deepened the kiss, but just as we were about to get carried away, she suddenly broke free.
I covered my mouth, trying to contain my excitement.
“Oh my goodness, that was about to get good, baby,” I whispered, raising my eyebrows. “Why did you have to stop?”
“We can’t do this in front of your mom’s place,” she said, shaking her head. “Let’s go in now.”
I nodded, and we quietly approached the door. I pressed the doorbell, and my mom’s voice came through the speaker. “Who is it?”
I swallowed hard, glancing at Allison, who gave me an empathetic look. I took a deep breath and replied, “It’s me, Mom.”
There was silence on the other end, and I thought my mom wasn’t going to answer. I shouldn’t have come. With a heavy sigh, I looked down. “I knew she hasn’t changed,” I whispered, and Allison rubbed my back sympathetically.
“Let’s get out of here, Alli,” I suggested.
“Let’s wait for five minutes,” she pleaded.
As we waited, I heard my mom’s muffled sobs through the speaker. “Jayden, is that you? Is it really you?” she asked, her voice trembling.
“Yes, Mother,” I replied, trying to sound calm.
“I’m sorry if I took a while. I was just trying to compose myself. I’ll open the door now,” she said.
The door swung open, and I rushed inside to find my mom crying, her hand covering her face.
“Why are you crying?” I asked, approaching her.
Allison stood behind me, observing us. My mom smiled through her tears. “I’m just happy to see you. I never thought you’d come.”
I led her to the sofa, and we sat down. “Why wouldn’t I come? You were sick, and I couldn’t ignore that. But can you tell me what’s wrong?”
My mom smiled weakly. “I’ll explain everything later. For now, I’m sure you must be hungry. Let me get you something to eat.”
She looked at Allison, who bowed her head respectfully. My mom smiled at her. “Who is she? Your girlfriend?”
I quickly clarified, “No, she’s my stepsister. Don’t you recognize her?”
“Oh, I see,” my mom nodded, understanding. “Well, you two must be hungry. Let me go get you something to eat.”
She left the room, and Allison joined me on the sofa, sitting beside me.
***
As we sat down to eat, my mom inquired, “So, how’s school? How’s everything and… family?”
“It’s fine, ma’am,” Allison replied. “School is exhausting, but we’re managing. Everything’s going fine.”
She smiled and turned to Allison. “I hope my son Jayden is doing well?”
Allison nodded, returning the smile. “Yes, Jayden is doing okay. You know, he’s a really smart kid. He’s actually a computer genius.”
“Yeah,” she chuckled. “He’s clearly mentioned that.”
I felt a surge of anger and dropped my fork loudly. Both women turned to me.
“What’s wrong?” my mom asked, a concerned expression on her face. “Don’t you like the food? Should I prepare something else?”
Tears welled up in my eyes. “Why do you keep calling me son?” I asked, my voice shaking.
“Jayden!” I heard Allison whisper. “Please calm down. You’re being rude now.”
“Not now, Allison,” I growled, still glaring at my mother. “What gives you the right to think you can call me son just because I came here? The last time I remembered, you told me not to call you Mother?!”
Allison looked at my mother, whose eyes were already filled with tears.
“And you said you were sick?” I accused. “But you seem perfectly fine. You were even cooking and moving around like nothing’s wrong.”
“To be honest, I’m not sick,” my mom admitted. “That was the only way I thought you would come see me. To be honest, I never thought you would really show up.”
“You lied to me!” I yelled, standing up, slamming my palms against the table.
“Yes, I lied to you,” she replied loudly and firmly. “That was the only way I knew I could see you, but I’m truly sorry.”
Alison tried to calm me down, but I yanked my hand away and confronted my mom, my face red with anger.
“So, why do you want to see me?” I demanded. “I’m certain you wanted me here for a reason.”
“Yeah,” she nodded. “It’s about me.”
She hesitated before adding, “I’ve met someone I’m going to marry. He lives in France. We met on a dating app, so I’m moving there.”
My expression turned from anger to irritation. “You met someone online, and you don’t even know if he’s real? Like, what the hell!”
“My relationship is real,” my mother snapped.
“How do you know it’s real?” I challenged.
“We’ve video-called many times,” she replied. “I’ve seen his face; he’s seen mine.”
I scoffed, “So what if he’s real? How can you be sure his feelings are genuine? What if you go there and regret it?”
My mother’s expression hardened. “What do you know about love, Jayden? You’ve never been loved properly. To be honest, you’ve never been loved at all, and you’ve never given love either.”
Her words stung, but I couldn’t deny the truth in them. From a young age, my parents had never shown me proper love, and it seemed she was even proud of it.
And regarding giving love? She was right about that too, and it hurt.
I glanced at Alison, who had been watching us quietly. Our eyes met, and I saw the depth of her feelings in her gaze. I felt a pang in my heart, realizing that I had been ignoring my own emotions just because she was my stepsister.
“I just want to feel loved,” my mother said, her voice cracking, tears running down between cheeks. “That’s all. Even if it’s not genuine. At this point, I can’t even tell the difference between love, toxicity, and abuse because tell me why they feel the same.”
In that moment, I understood her desperation. I understood what it meant to crave love and connection. And as I looked at Allison, I wondered if I had been blind to the love that was right in front of me. Should I fight for her and claim her? Should I ignore what others might think?
She looked away, breaking our stare.
That was when I realized I wasn’t even sure if I loved Allison. For me, she was a replacement for my favorite OnlyFans creator who had passed away, a sex partner…