“We have to get dressed.” Keiba said.  

Min frowned, touching her face. He’d been so involved that he hadn’t heard her stepmother’s entrance. “Why?” He asked.

“She’s here.”

“Who? Darcie?”

“No. My stepmother.”

“Oh.” Min, reluctant but understanding of the predicament, allowed Keiba to get out from under him. He watched her put her shirt on before putting on his own. He wanted to savor the memory of her skin, so brown and warm, until he could get a more revealing view later. He might've seen something black on her shoulder, but she tossed her shirt at him before he could get a good look.

She thought about taming her mane of curls into a less-wild frizz, but she doubted her father would notice. She turned to him. “Are you ready?” She asked.

“As I’ll ever be, I guess.”

“No, you're not.” She smiled a small, secret smile and reached for the top of his head. “Your hair’s all over the place.” She explained as she fixed it.

He smirked. “Don’t want anyone to know what we’ve been doing.”

She got up on her tiptoes and pecked him sweetly on the lips. “Exactement, mon amour.” She took his hand and led him down the steps, grabbing the box as she passed it.

Once they reached the last step, Min realized something was off. The house had once had a relatively warm and inviting feel to it even despite Gerald’s cold shoulder. Now it had grown cold and unhappy. It was as though the house had been invaded by something it didn’t like. Something foreign and vile.

He looked to Keiba and found that, though she’d noticed the change, it hadn’t fazed her. She was grimmer, but she didn’t seem surprised. She shook her head when he opened his mouth to ask about it and led him into the living room.

Keiba could hear her stepmother’s voice in the next room. The sound of it made her uneasy. She was okay speaking to her on the phone, but having her so close—close enough to punch—scared her. She had no idea how the next few minutes were going to turn out, and the fact that she was so clueless made her feel young, but in a stupid, inadequate way. She squeezed Min’s hand a little harder. He was the only thing keeping her from bolting out the front door while she had the chance. He probably knew that too, because he squeezed her hand just as hard.  

Her stepmother emerged from the other room with Gerald walking in behind her. Beautiful as ever, Regina had a very young face in spite of her forty-two years of age. She had the same slender shape as her daughter and kept it toned by going to the gym four times a week. Her angelic looks made her seem like someone you could confide in, like a guidance counselor or an aunt or even an older sister. But her aura said what her face did not. It wasn’t easy being around Regina, unless you were Darcie, because standing next to her for too long felt like she was draining you of your soul little by little.

Gerald seemed to be feeling the soul- quality of hers, because he was wearing the familiar, indifferent scowl Keiba had grown accustomed to since her mother died—actually, that wasn't an accurate description of it. “Scowl” is too expressive a word for what was on his face right then. This new Gerald confused Min even more. He’d left Keiba’s father in a relatively good mood. What’d happened?

“Gerald said you’d be here, Keiba,” her stepmother began. “What a surprise. But you’re still not combing that rat’s nest I see.”

Keiba said nothing. She was used to those kinds of comments.

There was a short silence following Regina’s statement, but the woman shrugged as though the lack of response didn’t bother her. She looked at Min-Kyung with the curiosity of a lioness scoping out her next prey.

“Who’re you?” She asked.

“Min-Kyung.” He replied. “I’m Keiba’s boyfriend.”

“Oh!” The amount of surprise in her voice was insulting. “Keiba’s boyfriend? Who would’ve thought? Good for you, Keiba, even if he’s not… of our kind.”

What the hell is that supposed to mean? People aren’t brands you silly . Keiba thought. But instead of saying that, she told her, “Min-Kyung and I were just leaving. We just wanted to say goodbye before we did.”

“Stay for dinner,” Gerald said, stepping further into the room.

“No, really, we have to go.” Keiba started for the door.

“You can’t stay for a little while?” Regina demanded, following after.

“No. We have something to do later.”

“Are you sure?” Regina grabbed Keiba’s wrist. Keiba snatched away the instant she felt contact. With the movement, Regina’s long, red nails drew shallow cuts into her flesh. Keiba paused, looking at them, watching as blood welled to the surface, coloring in the crooked scratches with red. There were so many emotions running through Keiba at that moment that the expression on her face was indiscernible.

“Now look what you did.” Regina frowned inspecting her nails.

Min-Kyung glanced at her in angry disbelief, but refocused his attention on Keiba. “Are you okay?” He and Gerald asked, eerily speaking at the same time.

 “I’m fine.” She murmured, her lips barely moving.

“Let me see.” Min gently took her arm to inspect and Gerald walked over to do the same. "They’re not too bad.” He concluded. “But they look like they sting.”

She looked up at him. “I’ll be okay. They’re just scratches.”

Min nodded. He knew that Keiba had had worse.

Gerald looked at his daughter, noting the focused way with which she addressed Min’s words. He recognized it. Angela used to look at him the same way whenever they talked. His daughter really had fallen in love with this boy, and she’d changed, for the better, because of it. Gerald couldn’t help but wonder where the time had gone. When had his little girl become such a beautiful young woman?

Regina came to join them. She, too, had noticed the change in Keiba, but she didn’t like it for a different reason. “I’m sorry, Keiba.” She said. “If you’d like, I could fix it up for you—?”

“No.” Keiba’s voice was cold as glacier winds.

“Keiba, that’s your stepmother.” Gerald chastised.

“Yeah. Unfortunately.”

“Keiba.” He growled.

“It’s fine, Gerald.” Regina said, though it obviously wasn't. “Listen, why don’t you and Keiba go upstairs and take care of her wound while I get to know Min-Kyung? After all, he is my daughter’s boyfriend.”

“Stepdaughter.” Keiba corrected.

“Regardless.” Regina insisted.

“Come on, Keiba.” Gerald said gently taking the elbow of her uninjured arm. “We have some catching up to do anyway.”

Keiba resisted, looking at Min. Will you be okay? The question was in her gaze.

He smiled encouragingly, though it was a little frustrating that they were being separated for the second time. “I’ll take the box, Keiba.” He said.

She nodded and gave it to him. She followed her father back up the steps to find the first aid kit.

Min looked at Regina. She smiled at him. He repressed a sigh. He was even less thrilled about meeting her than he was about Keiba’s dad.

“So what’s in the box?” She asked.

“Some of Keiba’s stuff.” He replied.

“Good. I was just going to throw those things out anyway.” She gestured to the dining room table. “Come, boy. Sit with me a while. Let’s get to know each other.”

Min trudged after her into the dining room. The effects of the scotch hadn’t worn off yet. He just hoped he was sober enough to be able to deal with Keiba’s stepmother; fter all, she had the same, cunning look as her daughter. He set Keiba’s box on the table and took a seat across from Regina.

“Did you want anything?” She asked.

“No thanks.”

“It’s good to know you’re so polite where that stepdaughter of mine falls short. But are you sure? Why don’t you have a cookie?” There was a plate full of chocolate chip ones in the middle of the table.

He glanced at them, and though they looked really good, he didn’t take any.

Regina nodded in satisfaction. “Good. Maybe you can get Keiba to cut down on the sweets too.” She said, picking up one of the cookies and taking a bite.

Min looked at her levelly. “Keiba’s fine the way she is.” He told her. “I love the way she looks.”

“Oh? I suppose that’s what every man says when he thinks he’s found love. They look at their women through rose-colored glasses, so to speak.”

He raised an eyebrow. “I don’t wear any glasses.”

“Well. Maybe you should start; you’ll see the truth in the end.”

“I see the truth whenever I look at Keiba. I see the truth now, too.”

They locked stares. The wind chimes rang out on the back porch. Regina was the first to look away. She chuckled and set another cookie down on a white napkin.

“Tell me, Min-Kyung, have you met my daughter?”

“You mean Darcie?” Min resisted the urge to scowl. “I’ve had the pleasure.”

“So even after seeing my beautiful Darcie, you’re still with my stepdaughter? That’s quite impressive, Min-Kyung. You must really care for her. Keiba, I mean.”

“I do.”

Regina pulled a pen out from her purse and got another napkin. “Well, if you ever change your mind—”

“I won’t.”

“Even so,” she insisted. “Here’s her number. You never know when you’ll need it.”

He wouldn’t be swayed. He pushed away from the table and stood. “No. Please. Keep it. I insist.”

Regina clicked her tongue in annoyance and put the pen back in her purse. “As you like.”

As that conversation was going on, Keiba and her father had found the first-aid kit. They were sitting in his and Regina’s bedroom so that he could bandage her up. Gerald moistened a cotton swab with alcohol.

“This’ll sting.” He warned.

“I know.” She replied. She winced minimally as he dabbed at her cuts. It only took him a minute to apply a large band aid over them, but when Keiba stood, eager to get back to Min and leave, he stopped her.

“Sit down a minute, Keiba. I want to talk to you.”

She groaned inwardly, but obliged him with a sigh.

He took a moment to collect his thoughts. “Keiba… what happened to us?” Gerald asked. “We used to be so close before."

"You mean when mom was still alive."

He nodded.

“You started working more.” She said, unrepentant. “You stopped listening to me. You married that woman and brought her and her daughter into my life. You stopped caring.”

“Keiba, I never stopped caring about you.”

She smiled bitterly and shook her head. “Could’ve fooled me.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“You weren’t there for me, dad. Even when you were home, you treated me like I wasn’t worth your time. You didn’t believe me when I told you about those kids. You didn’t believe me when I told you how I got this.” She lifted her sleeve and showed her scar. “I was scared and you never comforted me.”

Gerald looked at it and then his eyes slid away. “I’m sorry if I made you feel like I didn’t love you, Keiba. I was wrong for that and I apologize. But you can’t blame all of your problems on Darcie and Regina. You can’t live your life resenting them because you think I’m trying to replace Angela.”

Keiba stared at him. She stared at him for a good, long while, looking so much like Angela that he actually shifted uncomfortably. Was it guilt that made him feel so uneasy? And if so, why guilt of all things?

“You still don’t get it.” She said. “I don’t know why I held out some hope that by now you might finally understand.” She sighed and shook her head. “I miss you too, dad.” She admitted, standing. “I miss what we had and I miss mom, too. Maybe in the future we can get that back, but for right now; I’ll just have to wait for you to see things how I’ve always seen them.”

Gerald stood with her. “Keiba,” he paused.

She waited.

He sighed. “Okay. I guess I can accept that.”

She smiled at him. It was a tiny thing, but it was genuine, too. It was, perhaps, the first genuine smile he'd seen her wear since Angela died.

He smiled back and stood with her.

Keiba and Gerald came down the steps as Min-Kyung was getting up from the table. He looked toward her and smiled. He didn’t know how tense he was until his shoulders had relaxed. He went to her and grabbed her hand.

“Ready to go?” He asked.

“Yep.” She nodded and looked up at her father. “Bye, dad. I’ll… I’ll call. Later. Okay?”

Gerald’s eyes lit up and his grin widened. “Okay. Can I get a hug, baby girl?”

“Yeah.” She let go of Min’s hand so that she could properly hug him. He still wore the cologne she remembered her mother saying once that she loved so much. There were a lot of fond memories in this smell. And there was hope for him yet. Maybe she’d get her father back sooner than she’d thought.

After a long, good hug, Keiba pulled away happily. Min stepped forward and offered his hand to Gerald.

“It was nice to meet you, sir.”

Gerald pressed his palm to Min's. Another thing that he and Keiba shared: intimidating hand shakes. “You too, Min-Kyung. You seem to be a good guy, but watch yourself. I meant what I said about you hurting her.”

Min nodded. He could accept that. 

“Bye, Keiba.” Gerald said.

She waved and smiled. It seemed like everyone was completely ignoring Regina, much to her annoyance. She retreated into the kitchen to start makin dinner. Keiba and Min walked back to his car. The sun was high in the sky and shining brightly. She and he enjoyed a peaceful drive back to campus. When he opened the door for her, she hopped out and wrapped her arms around his neck.

He hugged her back as a reflex. “Keiba?” He asked, surprised.

“Thank you, Min. Thank you, thank you, thank you. You’re awesome. The best boyfriend ever.”

He smiled and relaxed. “It was all you, babe.”

She shook her head. “Mm-mm. If it weren't for you, I never would’ve gone back. I know that for a fact.”

He pushed the hair away from her face. “I love you.”  He said.

She smiled. “I love you too, babe.”

---

Yay, everyone got out relatively unscathed. So what'd you guys think of this one? It's the first we see of Regina and it won't be the last. Gerald is still blind to the actual problem, but he isn't completely lost. Isn't that's a relief? =D 

Much love to subscribers new and old! And I know I promised I'd get this chapter out earlier than usual, but two things happened: 1) my computer is being slow. I might even have a virus, so I have to get it checked out, and 2) I got distracted with another story idea! I'll post the forward later on today. I think you guys will like it :3