"Mum, just a minute!" Shelby yelled back as she stepped out of her room and ran down the stairs, bumping into her stepfather, James.
"It’s okay, Shelby," James replied sweetly, holding her to stabilize her so that she would not fall. His hand lingered a little too long on her shoulders. As he lowered it, his hand brushed on her breast. Shelby flinched and stepped back from him.
"Thank you for the help," she ran all the way down the stairs without stopping.
"We are going to be late; let’s go!"
Her mother shouted and pulled Shelby along. She did not see the funny look on her daughter’s face. Not that she would have cared anyway. Clara was very self-centred and seemed to care little about what happened outside her very self.
"We’ve got a lot to do today, and you already delayed us by half an hour!"
Clara reprimanded. However, Shelby was mentally beating herself up because she had spent an extra half hour in her room, waiting for an opportunity not to bump into her stepfather. It was getting increasingly weird that she always somehow bumped into James every single day. James appeared to now always intentionally touch or brush against her.
Ava told her it was intentional when Shelby brought up the subject casually. Of course, Shelby had dismissed it as speculation on Ava’s part, but then she couldn’t help it when that shadow of doubt had been sown.
’Is this going to be one of the ’men issues’ with me again? What is it with this face and body that makes men and women alike go crazy!’
She now spent a lot of time just staring at herself, trying to find out exactly what the attraction point was. She was naturally smallish and looked like her mother, but she did not see many people swarm around her mother like they did her.
This had started happening even before she was a teen. It was just like before this, there were excessive praises about her supposed beauty. Simply put, Shelby grew up hearing leering and exaggerated acknowledgements of her supposed beauty. She started getting sexual advances when she was a teenager. So, she was very adept in trying to defend herself in that, just that, it was too tiring.
If James really had those thoughts about her, she would be very disappointed. She saw in him the father figure she had missed since her dad had passed, unfortunately. James was a breath of fresh air and the lifeline for her and Clara, and she wanted that line to stay.
Clara was totally dependent on him, and Shelby hated to be the cause of anything that would bring her mother unhappiness. She had seen how miserable her mother was when her father had passed. Those days had been nightmarish for young Shelby, and she wished never to return to a time like that.
James liked her and shunned her at the same time. But for Shelby, she had learnt a very long time ago that Clara’s happiness meant peace, and that was all she looked for.
"Should we check out that new park today, Shelby?"
"That would be a lovely idea, mum, but didn’t you want to go shopping?"
"Mum, don’t worry about me. I know you do not like open places park too much. I can go there another time. So, for today, let’s just concentrate on you!"
"Aren’t you sweet, my baby girl!"
Shelby smiled, and they hailed a taxi that took them to the central mall of T-Vino Island.
"What of Rocky and James?" Shelby asked with her heart in her throat,
"This is a girl’s day out; let’s leave them. If you’d like, we could have dinner afterwards."
"No, mum, I was just asking." She hurriedly said, wishing her mum not to revisit that topic. Shelby loved her brother to bits and also somewhat her stepfather, but she couldn’t help but be wary, especially of James nowadays. Not counting the subtle treatment at home, which she did not mind, she just felt it was better to stay away from him.
"Maybe they could have a boy’s day out as well..."
"Hahahahah..... That’s funny, Shelby. Do you see James doing that? He will have a field day if I tell him about this after the day ends."
"Mum, can you not tell him, please?"
"Is anything the matter Shelby?"
"None, mum; I just don’t want to worry James about something so trivial ."
Clara looked hard at her daughter, but then soon enough, she had forgotten the conversation and hurried from one store to the other, shopping her credit card to its limit.
At the end of the day, Shelby could not even lift her legs. She was dead tired, and her arms hurt from all the shopping bags. Clara glanced at her,
"My daughter is very strong! Heheheheheee!"
The problem came when they were ready to go home. The taxi they called was filled with all the bags because Clara refused to put them in the car’s boot.
"...but mum, where will I sit if we put all the bags here?"
"Good question," Clara said, biting her lips. The wheels in her brain turned for several minutes, and then she came to what she felt was a favourable conclusion.
"I know! James is in the area, and I will let him pick you up so that I go home in this taxi..."
"Mum, there is no need I c-"
Before Shelby completed her statement, Clara had dialled James’ number,
"Hello, darling...." Shelby looked on in astonishment as Clara finished her phone call.
"Don’t worry, honey; James will arrive in five minutes. He even told me that he would take you to the park. Isn’t that nice? See you at home, baby!"
Shelby’s mouth hung open as her mother boarded the taxi, leaving her behind.
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