Life hasn't always been easy for Ellie Sanders. Abused constantly by her mother since she could remember, she faced the challenges of survival in the humbling streets of Coney Island, New York. Ellie, accustomed to fending for herself, struggles to adapt to her father’s new life, which includes his new wife, a move to the luxurious side of Manhattan, and worst of all, the addition of her step-brother Aiden, but after being forced by their parents to get along, Ellie and Aiden soon discover their feelings for each other transcend that of step siblings. In her quest to suppress her growing affection for Aiden, Ellie explores relationships with other guys, only to discover that Aiden’s got some tricks up his sleeve to scare them away. Together, they confront the difficulties of concealing their love and as hearts entangle, the fears of family and society finding out loom large, and Ellie’s past waits to pounce on her, her life becomes an overwhelming roller coaster. Can their love withstand the pressures that surround them, or will the outside pressures rip them apart?
View MoreELLIE“What's going on between you and your brother?”“I don't understand…” I couldn't help but wonder where that question was coming from. Was it from the pain of what Aiden had done to him? Or had he simply assumed that Aiden and I were up to something because of he was overly protective?“Of course, you understand what exactly I'm talking about…” he said with a conviction that just couldn't be explained. “Quit playing dumb with me, Ellie.”He had me frightened as I was trying to figure out where he could have gotten that idea from as it was almost impossible for anyone to come that close to unraveling the mystery behind Aiden and I.“I don't understand you, Kai. You ghosted me for a while and now you are here with some ridiculously unbelievable assumptions and accusations.” I got aggressive with my defensiveness, to give no room for any doubts. “What the heck have you been imagining for the past couple of days?”He was quiet for a while as he nodded with an angry look on his face a
ELLIE“Hey… Ellie. How are you doing?” I turned around, bracing myself for another fake smile as I wasn't ready for any conversations at the moment, as my cover could get blown before I knew it. There was no way I could risk getting known as a teenage alcoholic.And I had to admit that I was a bit lightheaded at the moment. It was hard getting myself to talk intelligibly for long. “I'm alright, Jasmine.” The only reason I was stopping to converse was because it was Jasmine. Ignoring one of Aiden's friends would raise eyebrows and ruffle feathers.“You don't look alright, Ellie.” She scrutinized my face with a concerned look on her face. “You seem to be quite stressed out like you haven't slept in days. Are you getting any rest at all?”I began feeling quite uncomfortable as she was beginning to notice the absurdities in my composure. There were just too many things that could go wrong at that point, and that made me keep my distance as moderately as I could. Shifting away would be
KAI’S POV“There's much more to those siblings than we could tell…”Gina sounded like those annoying threads that would want viewers to read till the very end. I wished she would get to the point immediately, and set me free from the inexplicable suspense which was eating me whole.“What exactly did you see…? I don't have all day to sit and listen to you make your dramatic narration of events.” I picked up the ball again as I wasn't in the mood for any sort of gossip. “You are impatient and that could be what could stop you from getting what you want.” Gina was beginning to get on my nerves even more as she was beginning to sound like she was some sort of therapist and I was one of her helpless patients.I let out a sigh as all I could do was wait for her to say what her juicy secret was. “I'm listening, so take your time with it already.” “Good…” she said, smiling uncontrollably as she was in control of the whole thing. I couldn't help but wonder how Aiden could have been able to d
AIDEN“What's up with your hand Aiden?” I wasn't in the mood to answer any of those questions, but I had to say something at least to clear the air of suspicion around me. Times like that made me dislike being popular in school.“I just wanted to vent out some frustration on my wall and it happened that way… I guess…” I told the halfhearted lie which Jasmine happened to believe somehow. It was impossible to tell anyone that I had my hand caught in the door while trying to stop my stepsister from shutting me out. I was repelled by the thought of having anyone know of my ordeal with Ellie.There still wasn't any sign of her anywhere in school and that had me wondering where she could have been. I regretted not stalking her until she got to her destination. My mind was still unsettled over the suspicious liquid that fell out of her bag when I tried pulling her back. It had to be vodka. How could she think of getting wasted some hours before school? I hated myself even more as I reali
ELLIEI took one last gulp of the drink from my bottle of vodka. I had gotten wasted and I had vowed to myself that I wouldn't be taking any more in a while, but then I wasn't liking the fact that I was back at it again.But what could I do? There was nothing else there to make me feel better about all of that moment. There was no friend or close companion that could get me to feel better in those horrible moments when I was facing the music all alone. “You are alright…” I said to myself as I stared in the mirror. “You don't need Aiden…” but the more I called his name, I felt even weaker. How could I have given up such a precious moment to such a jerk?But the deed had been done anyway. I exhaled heavily as I looked at the watch that clung to my shaky wrist. The alcohol was making me a bit dizzy at that point but I was trying my very best to get back on the track of sobriety.“You're good…” I said again, as I took my bag, loaded with books for the day and some food that I had taken o
GINAI was feeling like some sort of detective as I walked into the front door of my home. “Surprise…!” My two friends greeted me as I walked in. My parents were away and it was a perfect night for a sleepover, and I didn't fail to take that opportunity to invite them over.“Hey, Gee…” Dora called out to me as she walked up to me, dressed in her pajamas, having a slight smile on her face. “I heard someone went sneaking to Aiden's home to run a quick check-up on him.”“I also heard he was running a fever which could only be pacified by the sight of his lovely darling, Gina…” Jane, my second friend, was now joining the conversation. “So, were you able to give him the healing which only you could offer him?” Dora asked with expectant eyes. They were both listening to hear what things had gone down while I had been at Aiden's place.I hated the fact that I would be disappointing them at that point as nothing I had expected had happened between me and the stubborn, strong-willed Aiden wh
AIDEN“Ellie… it's not what you think…” I sounded awkward when I was horny and I hated the fact that she met me in that state. “You should have knocked…”The second statement I had made was a mistake, as I was giving her the impression that I had something to hide. I had somehow gotten a grip of myself just in time and that made Ellie walk in on the weird moment where Gina was getting back in her underwear. “Yeah… right…” Ellie said as the shocked expression on her face suddenly turned to anger. “I should have knocked…” She didn't wait a moment for me to get a word out for a minute. “Ellie please wait…” Besides being scared of the fact that she was never going to trust me ever again, I was also scared of the fact that she was going to rat on me to my mother who would probably tell her father the awful person I was.I had to contain the secret somehow. It was hard for me to understand why all of that felt like some sort of setup somehow somewhere. I suspected my mother had let her in
ELLIEI breathed a sigh of relief as I followed Aiden’s mother to wherever she was taking me. There was no telling why she was suddenly all over me at that point. I hadn’t told her anything that sounded like an interest in arts, but there she was, dragging me along like I had been bugging her ever since about arts.“You’re surely going to love all of this…” she said enthusiastically as she was taking me to a part of the house I had never been to before. It almost felt like she was pulling me away to give Aiden all the room he needed with Gina.Or was she?I was short of what to believe at that point, even though that suspicion was the one that blared loudest in my head at that point. It just had to be it. She probably knew who Gina was and her history with her son. Having an encounter with Gina was the last thing I wanted at that point, as I was still reeling from the ridiculous conditions she had handed me the last time we had met. But then, why had she come as far as coming over to
AIDENWhat the heck was Gina doing over there at my home? But less importantly, why on earth was my mother taking too long in her conversation with Ellie? Had Ellie forgotten about the fact that I was still under the bed? She could have as well killed me.“I'll let you know when I see him…” Ellie said with a tone that finally sounded like she had remembered I was on the verge of passing out right there. “I need to get dressed and—”“Maybe you could come to see my newest artwork… I'm sure you would like this painting…” My mother was insistent on getting her to see her new work of art and that was something she rarely did to me. Even though I had zero interest in art she could have tried coaxing me into seeing one or two of her works. But she never did, now she was doing it with Ellie. It all seemed like some sort of conspiracy to see me die underneath there.I waited impatiently until Ellie was completely dressed before she followed my mother out of the room. I would be damned if she
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