My Stepbrother's Dirty Little Secret novel Chapter 22

"Girls, please," Mom groaned, but she was smiling.

"She started it!" we both said at the same time, pointing fingers at each other.

I swung the pillow across Mom’s lap. The pillow caught Jules right in the face with a soft whump. She gasped like I had just committed a terrible crime against humanity.

"Mom!" she squealed, clutching her face, "Did you see that? The gargoyle attacked me!"

"Oh please," I snorted, already grabbing another pillow. "If I actually attacked you, you'd be on the floor crying."

Jules lunged across Mom and yanked the pillow out of my hands before I could react. She smacked it straight into my face, and feathers puffed from the corner seam like a tiny cloud.

"You little gremlin!" I barked, grabbing another pillow and swinging it back, "I'm going to return you to the zoo."

Mom groaned between us while we leaned over her like two wild animals fighting over the same territory, "Girls, please—"

THWACK.

Jules smacked me again before Mom could finish the sentence. I shoved her shoulder while she burst into laughter, nearly falling sideways onto Mom.

"Stop hitting me!"

"You started it!"

"You insulted my face!"

"You insulted my name!"

Mom tried to sit up between us, reaching out to catch Jules' wrist before the next swing landed. But her hand missed slightly, her fingers closing around empty air before she tried again.

The pillow dropped onto Mom’s lap.

Jules and I both froze for a second when Mom rubbed her hand against the blanket. Her fingers were shaking just a little, like the muscles were tired.

"Mom?" Jules asked softly.

Mom gave a small laugh, like she had just noticed it herself. She flexed her fingers slowly, watching them for a moment.

"Well," I said, nudging Jules with my foot. "You see what happens when you attack Mom with pillows. You break her nerves."

"I didn't break anything!" Jules protested.

"You probably did. Your giant head has dangerous physics."

"My head is normal!"

"Your ego is not."

Mom laughed softly and pulled both of us closer again, wrapping an arm around our shoulders. Jules curled into her side instantly, resting her head against Mom’s chest.

I leaned into her other shoulder, "I'm still perfectly capable of handling you two monsters," Mom said, kissing the top of Jules' head, "Shaky hand or not."

The room settled into a quiet warmth again as we laid there together in the middle of the massive bed. Mom's arms stayed wrapped around us like she was holding something fragile.

And for the first time that night, the room didn't feel quite so big.