To: griffincaleb@gmail.com
From: Skylarlodge@gmail.com
Subject: Therapy.
"This looks like stalker level kinda stuff,"I say, picking up my kindergarten graduation picture.
"Then that makes all parents stalkers," she walked to where I was picking a picture of her playing the piano.
"Yes it does. I don't even have half of these pictures of myself," I picked another one of me in one of my hockey games.
"Come let me show you your room," Aliysha says, pulling me down a hallway.
"My room?"
"Yeah. Dad hoped you would come around and choose to live with us so he had the room fixed up," she opens the last door in the hallway.
Words can't describe what I feel as I step into the room. It's an exact replica of my room back at my House. Oceanic wallpaper and a tree like shaped bed that I begged dad to get me- was he even the one who got it?
Pictures of me at school and hockey practices line the outer side of the mirror.
"Just a second, I will be right back," Alishya says holding up her ringing phone.
I nod as I walk further into the room towards the mirror. The pictures are just about the same as the ones in my mirror but these ones have my actual father in the background. I pluck out one that has me shaking his hand.
I scratch my brain for a while trying to determine if this ever happened or it's just some edited photo.
"Dad said you like to cook, I hate it. Come let's see what we can make," Aliysha skips back into the room distracting me.
******
"Danny? What are you doing here?" I was shocked to find him in my house.
He is my brother- well step brother. He is twin to Maggie and follows after Erik. He basically always ignores my existence. We are more like strangers then family.
"I need the house tonight, find a place to stay,"
Did he just order me out of my own house?
"Excuse me?"
"My friends and I are having a gaming night and I don't want you here for it," he drops some cash on the coffee table and makes to leave.
I stare at the money. They always do this. Use my house for their parties and never invite me to them. They literally kick me out of the house and never even bother to clean up.
If it was yesterday morning, and he asked- wait ordered me to leave I would have, because I would have done anything to have them accept and acknowledge me. But not today, not when I just found out that I am not their sister, not when I found out that their father has never paid for a goddamn thing for me. Not when they have known the truth and kept it hidden from me.
And definitely not when they have treated me like some sort of unwanted weed.
"No!"
"What?" He turns back the door handle still on his hand.
"No. I am not going anywhere and no, you are not having your gaming party in my house," I stare straight at him.
"When I ask dad and he said I can have it here," he almost whines.
"Last I checked, I pay rent for this house, and I make the decision on what happens here,"
We stare at each other before realization flashes into his eyes.
"Okay… see you around then," he waves awkwardly and opens the door.
"Danny?"
"Yes," he turns back to face me.
"Never come into my house without permission," I slam the door to his face.
I sag against the door, my smile getting bigger by the second. That felt so great. I have always wanted to tell them off. Have them respect me as they do the rest, and today, I did.
I am so excited that I pull out my phone ready to tell my father.
I pause on his contact. From everything I have heard he doesn't like me, but yet I have his number which on multiple occasions has shown that he cares and is interested in my life. Thou it is always behind a screen. In person he treats me with indifference.
I tap the contact and type as I move to the couch,
You are Martin, right?
Typing dots show up immediately after.
Yes.
I can't believe that I have been talking to my biological father for the past eight years thinking that it was Peter, Erik's Father.
~~~~~~~
"Well that went well," I say as we stroll around Riverside park.
"Better actually," Aliysha snorted, her voice dripping with sarcasm, just as mine did.
"Don't be Debbie downers, the dinner went better than it could have if the witch was there," Erik pulls out a cigarette and lights it.
"Don't call my mother a witch," Aliysha snatchs the cigar and takes a long drag.
"She is my mother too,"Erik says, taking it from Alishya.
"The fact that, that cancer stick you keep waving around might result in me being an only child makes me so very happy," I smile as I take a sit on the bench, watching the couple by swings.
They look so happy, I envy that I have never experienced something like that.
Aliysha puffs out the smoke onto my face before taking a sit, "would you look at that, we are all on the same boat,"
"She probably gonna die before us," Erik laughs.
I punched his stomach, making him cough out the smoke.
We sit in silence watching people around the park.
"I should go back. Dad's gonna be worried and we can't have him having another heart attack," Aliysha gets up ready to leave.
Though her words said with no intent to hurt me I can't help feeling the hurt blooming in my chest knowing I am responsible for his heart attack.
She hugs me goodbye, and a fistbump to Erik with a promise of seeing him tomorrow to help with his project.
"You know it's not your fault, right ?"Erik says, pulling me in for a hug as we watch Aliysha leave.
"I know," I reply as I snuggled deeper into his chest.
They keep saying that but that doesn't ease the guilt.
"How is school? Settling okay there?"
"The school is amazing. I love it there. And I can confidently say that I managed to make friends within three days of being there,"
"Am so happy to here that Nemo,"he sounds like a proud papa duck.
We stay there catching up on life before he has to drop me back at school.
"Sky, I know you are still hurting but don't shut us out. All families have disagreements and they can go as far as being manipulative and liars but that doesn't mean we should cut them out of our lives completely," Erik says as he slows to a stop by the school gates.
I stare at the gate. For the past week this place has felt more like home and filled with such peace. But am not here for long and I have to face the fact that most of my life has been a lie and leave with it.
"I have my first game this weekend, you guys can come of you want,"
"We will be loudest in the crowd," he promises with a kiss to my forehead before I step out of the car.
"Bye Nemo. Don't make me an uncle, I am too young," he shouts driving away, his maniacal laugh following after him.
"Your brother seems great," a voice says from the shadows as I enter the school grounds.
Startled, I hold my chest trying to make out the figure in the dark. He steps out.
"Why are you larking about in the dark?"
"Looking for a victim along this lonely road,"Caleb says, earning himself a look from the guards.
"Just came back, you?"
"Same here,"
"I won't be in school tomorrow, wanna grab a late supper as you tutor me?"
I was still full from the dinner, but I wouldn't pass up the opportunity to spend time with him, when he looks this good and knowing he won't he around to stare at this week.
"Sure,"
We head for Yaya's as the cafeteria is already closed.
"Can you order for me? I need to use the restroom," I tell Caleb once we enter the diner.
I Was already by the toilets when I realized I didn't tell him my order and went back to tell him.
"How much is the medium pizza and two mojitos?" I find Caleb asking the chasier.
"5.89$," she chews her gum loud.
Caleb peruses his wallet and comes up with a two dollar bill.
"I'll just have a burger and one smoothie," he puts his wallet back in his pocket.
I head back to the restroom before he can see me.
Going back to the table he is occupying, I don't comment on the fact that the food is on my side and just dive into economics.
We spend the next hour and a half going through microeconomics and macroeconomics, and he takes me back to FSCH.
"I guess I will see you during your game," he says awkwardly, standing in front of the door.
"Aren't you going to be on the road the whole week?"
"Yeah, but I don't want to miss your first game, so if I can't make it I will have Mark record it for me,"
"Okay," I say, having nothing else to say to that, as the cheesiest smile lights my face.
"Bye,"
He goes for a hug, I go for a hand shake and end up having the most awkward hug.
I nervously chuckle as I enter the house, still smiling like an eight year old who just got a cheek kiss from her crush.
I head up to my room, so I can watch him walk away.
"Holy fucking Christ," I cry out at the sight in front of me.
Clothes are thrown about the room and a180 pound man is on top of Amelia naked.
"Thought you were supposed to be at home," I turn my back from them.
"Changed my mind," Amelia pants.
" I should leave -"
"No, no. I will. Let me just grab my stuff," I hurriedly say, not wanting to see his hanging junk as he goes to pick up his trouser that's on my bed.
Quickly taking my laptop, I race out of there not even sure where I would go. Mark is busy tonight and I have no other place to go. And I can't go home since I have an exam early tomorrow morning.
I find Caleb seated on the porch having some sort of disagreement. When he notices me he hangs up.
"Who are you going to call in at this time of night?" He jokes.
"I wish," I laugh at that.," Amelia has … company over," I let out a shudder.
Not because of the cold, but having walked in on her on two separate occasions, but Caleb thinks it's because of the cold and takes off his jacket and places it on top of my denim shirt.
"You can stay at my room, am not going to here for a while anyways,"