Catherine’s POV
Gabriel drove like the steering wheel had personally offended him. "Fuck this, I swear, Sasha has done enough. I hate how the school keeps covering her," he muttered, slamming his palm against the wheel. "What kind of psycho beats people for fun? And her little minions? Seriously? What is wrong with people?"
I stared out the window, watching the trees blur past, barely hearing him. My mind kept circling back to Tessa, rembering the look in her eyes when Sasha told her to hit . The tremor in her hands and the apology she couldn’t say out loud.
Tessa clearly wasn’t like them. What could Sasha possibly have on her that she’d rather stay chained to that group than walk away?
Gabriel kept ranting, his voice buried in anger, but I could only hum in response. I still felt a lot of pain from the beatings, so every bump on the road sent a sting up my ribs and my face throbbed like it had its own pulse.
When we finally pulled into the driveway, I sighed in relief. My body felt like it was falling apart, and all I wanted was to curl up in bed and pretend today had never happened.
Before I could even open the door, Gabriel was already at my side, helping out. His hand brushed mine gently, as if I might break if he wasn’t careful.
"Take it slow," he said quietly, his earlier anger replaced by concern.
We stepped inside, and the mont the door shut behind us, I heard voices and turned to see Julian on the couch with a girl, red-haired, too cheerful for this house.
She was holding his hand while giggling about sothing he said. Her nails were painted the sa shade as her hair, and her laugh irritated for no particular reason.
Maybe because Julian looked too relaxed with her. He always smiled with other girls but with , it was mostly always different.
He looked at us imdiately he noticed our presence and the second his eyes t mine, his whole posture changed. He straightened imdiately, eyes narrowing as he took in the bruises, the torn edge of my sleeve and the blood near my lip.
He was on his feet in seconds. "What the hell happened?" he demanded, his tone dark, sharp, I almost thought I had him panic.
Gabriel opened his mouth, "It was—"
"I fell," I cut in quickly, my voice shaky but firm enough to stop him.
Julian’s gaze flicked between us, suspicion written all over his face. "Fell from?"
"Yeah," I said, forcing a small laugh that didn’t sound like at all. "Tried out for the school’s softball team. You know how clumsy I am. Got hit in the face with the damn ball."
Gabriel frowned. "Catherine—"
I nudged him with my elbow, whispering, "Don’t."
Julian didn’t look convinced. His cold eyes turned to his brother. "Is she telling the truth?"
Gabriel’s jaw flexed like he wanted to argue, but I shot him a warning look. After a few seconds of silent communication, he sighed and muttered, "Yeah. I wasn’t there but that’s what she said."
I could feel Julian’s stare drilling into , like he could see through the lie if he looked long enough. My toes curled, but I kept my expression steady.
"I’m fine," I said, my tone clipped. "You can go back to making out with your girl or whatever."
His brows lifted. "Excuse ?"
"You heard ," I said, crossing my arms even though it hurt to do it. "You looked pretty occupied before we ca in. Don’t let ruin your fun."
His lips twitched, not in a smile, more like the beginning of one. "Occupied," he repeated under his breath, clearly amused. "Right."
I hated the way my stomach knotted when he looked at like he could read every unspoken thought.
The redhead, who’d been silently observing, suddenly jumped in, stepping closer with a dazzling smile. "Julian," she called, getting closer to him. Are they your siblings?"
Julian ran a hand through his hair, a small, deliberate smirk forming. "Yeah. My brother Gabriel," he said casually, then added, "and my stepsister, Catherine." He dragged out the word like he wanted it carved in stone.
I clenched my jaw so tight I thought I might crack a tooth.
The girl extended her hand toward after greeting Gabriel, her nails gleaming in the light. "Nice to et you, Catherine. I’m Lucy," she said sweetly.
I forced a smile that probably looked like pain. "Cute na," I replied, not taking her hand. "Like the female version of Lucifer."
Her smile faltered for half a second before she laughed it off. "Funny."
"That wasn’t the plan," I muttered.
Gabriel tried to diffuse the tension, smiling politely. "Don’t mind her, Lucy. She gets really icy at tis. By the way, I like your hair. Reminds of that character from that superhero movie—uh, Jean Grey?"
Her face lit up. "Oh my god, yes! I love her too."
Of course she did.
I rolled my eyes, biting back a groan as they kept talking. Gabriel and Lucy were suddenly having a full conversation about movies while Julian stood there, half smirking, half glaring at .
Sothing twisted in my chest. It wasn’t jealousy. It couldn’t be. I didn’t even like him but watching that girl laugh with both my stepbrothers made sothing unpleasant churn inside .
"Gabriel," I said sharply, cutting them off mid-sentence. "Are you planning to leave to walk by myself to my room? Very kind and pleasant of you."
I sarcastically dropped and his brows furrowed, but he nodded quickly, turning his body to . Lucy opened her mouth to say sothing, but I didn’t give her the chance.
"It was nice eting you," I said flatly before turning away.
Julian’s eyes followed us as Gabriel helped toward the stairs. I could feel his stare all the way up my spine, like heat pressing against my skin.
When we reached my room, Gabriel shut the door behind us and folded his arms. "You wanna tell why you lied and why you acted hostile towards Lucy?"
I sank onto the edge of my bed, letting out a long, tired sigh. "Because Julian is... Julian," I said finally. "He’s violent. If he found out what really happened, he’d go storming into the school, probably start sothing, and that would just make things worse."
Gabriel frowned. "Worse how?"
"Sasha already hates ," I said, my voice breaking slightly. "And not because I did anything to her—but because of him. You think she’d let it slide if she thought I made him mad at her? She’d co for harder."
He didn’t respond right away. He just sat beside , silently, his expression softening. "You shouldn’t have to cover for people who hurt you, Catherine."
I looked down at my hands, bruised knuckles and all. "I’m not covering for them. I’m protecting myself. That’s different."
He sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. "Still feels wrong."
"Welco to my life," I said quietly. "About Lucy, I didn’t think I was being hostile."
He shook his head in a way to say "alright" and for a while, neither of us spoke.
When he finally stood to leave, I looked up at him. "Hey, Gabriel?"
"Yeah?"
"Thanks... for helping ."
He smiled.
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