The next three days passed in agony. I had the displeasure of having Holly's homeroom close to my locker, so I'd have to see Ben walking her there, holding hands, looking as loved up as we used to.

It made me nauseous.

But finally, the weekend came and I heard Bryan's loud voice booming through the house.

"Guess who's home!" he called out.

I heard the door to Stefan's room slam open and his excited voice. "Bryan!" I peeked my head out of my room to see him grinning widely as he ran down the stairs. Warily, I followed him and saw Bryan catch our little brother in his arms and hoist him up like he weighed nothing.

"Hey buddy!" Bryan hugged Stefan tightly. Then he smiled at Melanie as she stepped out of the kitchen and walked towards him.

"Hey, bro," she greeted and let him pull her into a hug when he put Stefan down. They were so close, more like best friends than step-siblings. Sometimes I envied their relationship because after my mother died, I found it hard to get close to anybody, except Ben and Kate.

He saw me last and I noticed how the smile on his face became less bright. Anger and sadness burned in his eyes and he walked purposely towards me. "I'm going to kill him," he muttered as he crushed me to his chest. I was stiff for the first few seconds, but as he continued to hold me, I relaxed and slumped against him, finding it hard not to burst out crying. "You know I came back this weekend for you, right? He's going to be in pieces by the time I'm done with him," Bryan growled in my ear as he rocked me from side to side.

My eyes became moist and I hated myself for not being as comfortable with him as I should be. For not loving him like he loved me. Bryan never treated me differently after his mother married my father. He hadn't been jealous when his mother doted on Melanie and me because she had always wanted a girl and hadn't gotten one. He had been like a real brother to us, but I couldn't find it in me to really succumb to all this love. When I tried, I felt like I was betraying my mother, even though she'd been dead since I was seven.

"Thanks, Bryan," I breathed out softly and he kissed my forehead. But then Camilla came in and saw Bryan. She literally squealed and ran into her first son's waiting arms.

"My baby!" she exclaimed, smothering his face in kisses. "I missed you so much!"

Bryan kissed her cheek. "I missed you, too, Mom."

Watching as Melanie and Stefan joined their reunion made me feel like I didn't belong. I backed away before they could notice and began to make my way up the stairs when the door opened again.

"Hey guys..." an unfamiliar, male voice trailed off. "Am I interrupting something?"

Camilla turned around to face the door at the same time as me. Tall, blonde, tanned, like a surfer boy, with short cropped hair. I'd never seen him before now. "Oh, you're Bryan's friend, aren't you?"

"Yes, ma'am. I hope you don't mind me staying here this weekend," he said, giving her a sweet smile that made dimples appear in his cheek, softening the hard planes of his face.

"Of course not! We have more than enough room! Come in, come in!" my step-mother beamed and ushered him inside. But as he stepped over the threshold, his eyes lifted and locked with mine. I froze at the intensity in his grey-blue orbs, but when he blinked, I snapped out of my daze.

Then I ran up to my room like the devil himself was after me.