The Enemy - Kelsey Clayton Page 0,15

here, until her small yet strong voice sounds again.

“You know, I don't want you here just as much as you don't want to be here.”

I snort. “Somehow, I doubt that.”

She rolls her eyes, and that attitude I got a taste of last night comes back out in full force. “You think that just because you're the one that had to move means that only your life has changed? You're wrong. Mine's been flipped upside down, too.”

At, the sound of her words, a brilliant idea comes to mind. One that could give us all what we want. My sister. My dad. Me. It could work.

“Oh yeah?” I ask, leaning against my dresser. “Prove it. Help me split them up.”

Her brows furrow. “Split them up?”

I nod slowly. “It's a win-win for us both. I can put my family back together, and you'll have your precious daddy and big fancy house all to yourself again.”

For a moment, it looks like she's actually considering it. My hopes start to build at the possibility of getting my old life back, until she sends it all plummeting back down with a shake of her head.

“I can't.”

I don't even attempt to mask my disappointment. “It's not that you can't, it's that you won't.”

She stands firm. “Either way, I'm not doing it. Their relationship is none of our business.”

That almost pulls a laugh out of me.

“Well, I'm doing it with or without you.” I take a step forward, and she takes one back. Like a pattern, I keep it going until she's backed herself into the hallway. “And if I were you, I'd stay far as fuck away from me. I'll do whatever it takes to repair my broken family, and I'll have no sympathy if you're caught in the crossfire.”

With that, I swing the door closed right in her shell-shocked face.

5

LENNON

I walk through the hallway, navigating around all the students hanging out before class. Tessa stays by my side as we dodge the obnoxious amount of make-out sessions. I don't understand why they need to do this shit where everyone can see them. Hasn't anyone taught them to have some class?

“Okay, I have to meet this guy,” Tess quips.

I run my fingers through my hair. “You already have. He's the one you saw me standing with on the beach the other night.”

Her jaw drops. “The one you wanted to backhand because he mentioned your mom?”

“That's him.”

“Damn. Small world.”

I sigh. “You're telling me. And for the record, he isn't any less of an asshole during the day either.”

She chuckles. “Well, what did you expect? You kind of broke his surfboard.”

“It was an accident!” My back rests against the locker next to Tessa's and my head lolls to the side. “And if you really want to pull that, technically he almost killed me.”

“Sure, babes. We'll go with that.”

The whole incident from last night plays in my mind. That boy has more mood swings than anything I've ever seen in my life. I went into his room to apologize, but that wasn't enough for him. When I refused to help him, his eyes looked like they had actual fire in them. He became a scary version of himself—even worse than on the beach.

His last name may be Knight, but he’s far from dressed in shining armor and he’s definitely not here to save me.

I explain everything to Tessa, including his little plan of trying to break up our parents. When I'm finished, her brows furrow.

“But wait—why not agree to help him? I thought you didn't want this.”

I let out a long exhale. “I don't, but for the first time in a while, my dad looks really happy. I don't want to be the one to take that away from him.”

She gives me a sympathetic smile. “You're a good daughter, but enjoy your new step-bro. He sounds like a real prize.”

“Ugh, don't remind me. I've never met someone that has made me want to hit them as quickly and as often as he has.”

“Who are you hitting?” Kellan asks, coming up next to me and dropping his head down to give me a kiss.

I shake my head. “It's no one.”

Tessa snorts. “Sure, if you call a guy who lives in your house no one.”

Kellan's brows dip, and I know I need to explain before his mind starts to wander.

“My dad's girlfriend and her two kids moved in. Her son is around our age.”

A hint of jealousy sparkles in his eyes. “Oh really?”

I can't help but laugh as I grab the front