Read Make Believe: A Novella for Free Online

“Huh?”
                  “The door, didn’t you hear it?” she asked impatiently.
                  “No, I didn’t, but I’ll get it.”
                  As I opened the door the biggest smile took over my face.
                  “Hey, Lisa,” I whispered as I watched Dylan sleeping in her arms.
                  “Hey, sweetie,” she said, kissing me on the cheek.
                  “Do you want to put him down in my room?” I asked, smiling at my dad’s wife. They had been married for four years now, and she was lovely.
                  “Yeah, that’ll be great,” she said as she gently handed my two-year-old brother to me.
                  “He looks so peaceful,” I said, smiling down at him.
                  “And as long as he doesn’t wake up, it will stay that way,” she said and we both laughed quietly.
                  “Where’s Dad?” I asked.
                  “He went back to the car to grab something,” she said, closing the door behind us.
                  “OK, here’s the key, let him in when he knocks,” I said.
                  “OK.”
                  I just couldn’t stop smiling at Dylan’s cute little face, but that changed as I passed Aiden and Anthony talking loudly in the hallway.
                  “Shhh!” I said as softly as I could.
                  “Sorry,” Anthony whispered as he smiled at me.
                  I gently placed Dylan down on the bed while I pulled out the folding crib we used to use when Tammy was younger. I quietly set it up and tucked him safely in.
                  As I walked back into the living room, I noticed everyone looked a little shocked, so I must have missed something. I looked around and realized that Aiden, Anthony, Murphy, Crystal, and Jess were all missing. I quickly headed for the kitchen.
                  “So, when were you planning on telling me?” Aiden questioned a very nervous looking Murphy.
                  “Look, Aiden, you really need to chill out. We’re not kids you know,” Crystal said, clearly irritated.
                  “What’s going on?” I asked wondering what was happening.
                  “You don’t want to know,” Anthony said.
                  “When?” Aiden repeated as he locked eyes with Murphy.
                  “Look, it wasn’t as if it was planned or anything.”
                  “Oh my gosh, why are you making such a big deal out of it?” Crystal glared at Aiden.
                  “Because you lied to me,” Aiden said, simply.
                  “Isn’t this the same thing you did with April?” she asked, folding her arms in defiance across her chest.
                  “Yes, and you said we should have told you, but you didn’t tell us.”
                  “No, I said April should have told me not you.” She was getting angrier.
                  “Aiden, why don’t we just discuss this in the morning when everybody has gone?” I said, calmly as I touched his shoulder.
                  “No, I want to discuss it now! I want to know how long this has been going on for?” he demanded.
                  “Aiden, it is none of your business. We are not kids!” Crystal shouted in frustration.
                  “When things happen under my roof, it becomes my business.”
                  “Oh, come on dude. You just saw us making out, that’s it,” Murphy said in disbelief.
                  “Just making out! Just making out!” Aiden was furious as he took a step closer to Murphy.
                  “And cut,” Anthony suddenly said. Everybody burst out laughing