My Stepbrother, My Enemy {BL}-Chapter 47: Family Matters

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I had just crawled under my blanket, and the cozy warmth of my bed didn’t do much to ease my racing thoughts, when I suddenly heard a knock at the door. And before I could respond, Mom’s voice came through, gentle but firm.

"Noah, sweetheart, we need to have a family meeting."

I groaned into my pillow. "Can it wait until morning?"

"No, it can’t," she replied, her tone sharpening. I could practically feel the mom glare coming from behind the door.

With a sigh, I pushed myself up. "Mom, we’re hardly a family, so what’s the point of a family meeting?"

That did it. The door swung open, and there she was, hands on her hips, eyes narrowed in that way that always made me regret what I said. "You get up this minute, young man. Things can’t stay like this. Now move."

I mumbled under my breath, but I swung my legs off the bed anyway, dragging myself out to the hallway. Mom didn’t say anything else as she led me downstairs, her heels clicking sharply against the marble floor.

When we reached the living room, Keith was slumped on one of the leather sofas, looking like a storm cloud, while Adrien was on the other couch, arms crossed, clearly wishing he was anywhere but there. He glanced at me for a second, then scoffed and turned away.

"Great," I muttered, plopping down as far from him as I could. "A family meeting with my favorite person."

Adrien shot me a sideways glare. "Trust me, the feeling’s fucking mutual." 𝐟𝕣𝗲𝕖𝕨𝗲𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝗲𝚕.𝗰𝚘𝐦

Keith cleared his throat loud enough to cut through the tension. "Enough. You two have been at each other’s throats for months, and this—" he gestured between us, frustration clear on his face—"this isn’t how a family should be."

Mom nodded, folding her hands in her lap. "We thought letting things cool off would work, but it’s evident that’s not happening."

Keith leaned forward, his expression steely. "So, I’ve made a decision. You both need to pack your bags. We’re going on a family trip."

I blinked, wondering if I had misheard him.

"Wait—what?!" Adrien and I exclaimed in unison.

Adrien straightened up, frowning. "You’ve got to be kidding. I’ve got practice, and Jace is throwing a party this weekend. I’m not ditching that to go... bond or some shit."

"Yeah," I jumped in quickly, grasping for any excuse, so I could stay and get the chance to see Ethan. "And I have school. I can’t just disappear for—"

"Two weeks," Keith interrupted firmly, looking at both of us. "We’re leaving for two weeks. No school, no basketball, no parties. Just family."

Adrien’s mouth dropped open. "Two weeks? Are you out of your mind?"

"I second that!" I added, throwing my hands up in disbelief. "This is...r–ridiculous. You can’t force us to bond—it’s not like we’re magically going to become best friends over campfires and board games!"

Mom’s voice was calm but firm. "You don’t have a choice, Noah. Neither of you do. This house is miserable with all this tension, and we’re going to fix it. Now go pack."

"But—"

"No buts," Keith snapped, clearly done with the conversation. "Pack enough for two weeks. We leave first thing in the morning."

Adrien and I just stared at them, speechless, then exchanged horrified looks.

He groaned, dragging a hand down his face. "You’ve got to be kidding."

"I...hate my life" I muttered dryly to myself, standing up, "Why do this things always happen to me?"

As I trudged upstairs to my room, Adrien followed close behind, muttering under his breath. There’s no way this was happening right now, this was not the time to be going on a family bonding trip...I had to save my relationship first!

When you’re a kid or even a teenager—you don’t have much control over your life. Your world revolves around your parents’ choices, their arguments, their whims. They say it’s for your own good, but often, you feel like a background character in a movie they’re directing. You just go along with it, because what other choice do you really have?

That’s how I felt right now—sitting in the back of one of Keith Fell’s ridiculously fancy limousines, being chauffeured to what he called "a family getaway."

We’d been on the road for about two hours, and every passing minute felt like an eternity. Adrien was slouched next to me, black headphones on, his hood low over his face, clearly pretending I wasn’t there. Not that I was in the mood to chat either. The silence between us was thick with tension—our usual silent war.

Across from us, Mom and Keith were sitting way too close, sharing a bottle of wine like they were college kids on spring break.

"I still can’t believe we pulled this off," Mom giggled, cheeks flushed as Keith filled her glass again.

Keith smiled that overly proud, business-executive way of his. "Anything for my wife. You deserve to relax, Helen. We all do."

I fought the urge to groan out loud. I was half tempted to roll down the window and jump out, just to escape the secondhand embarrassment.

Mom reached over, stroking Keith’s arm. "You’re too good to me."

"Only because you’re worth it," he replied, leaning in for a kiss.

I grimaced and turned to look out the window. "Oh my God," I muttered under my breath as if praying, "Please end my life."

The chauffeur, Carlby, kept his eyes on the road, thankfully pretending none of this was happening.

Mom glanced at us over the rim of her wineglass, smiling dreamily. "Isn’t this nice? All of us together, like a real family."

I forced a smile that felt more like a grimace. "Yeah... super nice."

Adrien didn’t even look up. "Sure," he muttered, dripping with sarcasm.

Keith clapped his hands once, making us jump. "That’s the spirit! A weekend in Clearwater will do wonders for us all."

I leaned my head against the cold window, watching the passing trees and the open road. Just two weeks, I reminded myself. Two weeks of pretending everything’s fine.