(c) Love... Or is It? [PG]

by NightmareB4Christmas Tue 17 Mar 2009, 3:59 am

Chapter One

Stupid boxes. Stupid packing. Stupid stepmoms.

You're probably wondering what I'm ranting about. My genius of a dad decided to marry some chick he met online (that he met in the flesh LAST WEEK), so we're moving all the way across the country from Arkansas to California so they can get married and live their fantasy lives. I guess that was Dad's way of getting over Mom's death; rushing into a relationship and getting hitched without a second thought. Just like my dad; rash and rushed.

"Nickita!! Hurry up!" Dad called up the stairs. I groaned loudly in reply and sealed my last box. I hated my real name. Nickita. How girly is that? So people call me Nicky, or suffer the consequences. All in all, I had about seven boxes. Pretty heavy ones, at that. I stacked one on top of the one I just sealed up and carried them down the stairs.

"Here, Dad. Here's two of them," I grumbled, setting them on the floor with a thump.

Dad frowned and said, "In the truck." I groaned loudly as Mom came down the stairs, followed by Spock, our Great Dane (Dad named him; a self-proclaimed Star Trek fanatic). I went out of the wide-open front door and down the gravelly path leading from my house, then put my boxes down in the U-Haul truck. Two down, five to go...

When the rest of the boxes were in the car, everyone was sweaty, grumpy, and exhausted. Dad was laying down in the small empty space in the moving truck, Spock was sunning himself on the lawn, and I was leaning on the truck, my blonde-streaked brunette hair blowing in the strong breeze. I sighed, leaning my head back and willing my eyes to stay open. 'Ah, I can take a little break...' I told myself, and shut my eyes. But just as they closed, Dad yelled, "Nicky! Let's go! We need to get outta here!"

"What the heck, Dad?! I was trying to sleep!" I shot back angrily, glaring at Dad. Dad just ignored me and got into the front of the truck, Spock jumping in after him. I shuffled over to the front of the truck and got in the passenger side. It was a wonder how my giant of a dog, my big-built dad, and I got in there. It was far from comfortable. This was just the beginning of a hellish move to a hellish place. I sighed as Dad started up the truck and Spock jumped into my lap. Not a great fit. I looked back as I saw my childhood home disappear into the horizon as we pulled away from the house.

"Come on, Nick... time to wake up, sweetie!" was what I woke up to. I opened my eyes reluctantly, and winced. I had the worst cramp in my legs; the source was Spock. He was fast asleep, laying across Dad and me. I yawned and looked out the window; it had been nine in the morning when we left, and now it was dark out. "Are we there?" I asked sleepily. I turned to look at Dad.

Dad nodded, grinning ear to ear. "Yep!" he laughed, and Spock's great white head raised with his ears perked up. He looked at Dad lazily and laid his head back on my lap. I turned my head back out the window. The house was, needless to say, decrepit; It didn't look like a family of seven would fit in there. Oh, that reminds me; I forgot to mention Leili's (Dad's new fiance) children. There were four of them. I only knew their names; Zack, Caden, Lance, and Kelly. Four guys in the house... yay. Dad opened the door on his side and Spock jumped out, then Dad got out. I followed suit.

"Jay!!" came an over-ecstatic voice from within the house. I rolled my eyes; it was probably Leili. A young Hawaiian-looking woman came running out of the house. She looked at least ten years younger than Dad. Wonderful. She ran up to Dad and threw her tiny body at him dramatically, and kissed him with determination. "I missed you, Pookie!!"

Dad laughed and kissed Leili back. "I missed you too, Dumplin'." The Siamese twins turned to me, their hands intertwined. "Nickita, this is my Leili. Your new mom, soon!" Leili smiled and waved cutely at me. I waved back in the same manner, but a bit mockingly. She didn't seem to notice.

"You should meet my kids!!" Leili turned to the house. "Lance! Zack! Caden! Kelly!!" she practically screamed, and I flinched. For such a tiny woman, she had a voice like a foghorn. Out came a tall teenage boy carrying two toddlers, a boy and a girl, and a preteen boy. All of them had the Hawaiian look about them, and they all looked worn out. Spock started toward them, but Dad grabbed his collar to stop him.

The preteen stopped abruptly and stared at Dad and I. "Who are you?" he asked bluntly.

Leili grinned. "This is your new daddy and your new sister, Nickita!"

I scowled. "It's Nicky."

Leili waved my statement off. "Isn't this exciting?!" She talked to them like they were little kids, even though the oldest of them had to be at least my age, 15. She looked to me. "Oh, I guess I'd better introduce you guys! This," she started, pointing at the oldest one, "is Caden." Caden waved and yawned. I scoffed, and Leili continued. "This one," She pointed at the preteen, "is Zack, and the twins are Lance and Kelly." I blinked, trying to remember all of the names. "Got that?" I nodded drearily.

"Can I go to sleep now?" Zack complained, scuffing the ground with his Power Rangers slippers.

Leili smiled at the kids. "You can all go back to bed now." As Caden turned to go into the house, Leili grabbed his shoulder. "Not you. You can show Nickita where to sleep, okay?"

Caden sighed. "Do I have to?"

I rolled my eyes and spoke up. "No, it's okay. Just tell me." I didn't need some whinging guy telling me where to go and what to do.

Dad took the now sleeping twins from Caden. "I'll put them up," he offered, and went into the house. I laughed within myself. He was trying so hard to look like a caring guy, but he had no idea where he was going.

Caden scoffed. "I'll show him where to go." He followed Dad into the house, leaving Spock, Leili, and I outside. Leili smiled at me, and Spock wandered to my side, then plopping his butt onto the dusty ground. "I'm so happy to have you, Nickita. It's wonderful to have a daughter that I can go shopping with."

I put on an earnest smile. "Thanks, Leili. It's nice to have a Mom to talk to now." As much as I tried to mean it... I just couldn't. No one would ever replace my real mom, and if she didn't know that, I'd just have to beat it into her. "I'm sorry if this sounds rude, but I really want to get some sleep. Could you show me where my room is?"

"Of course! I know how tiring riding in a car for hours can be." Leili offered her arm to me, and I took it. She led me into the house.

I had to bite my tongue to keep myself from saying anything about the house. The floors were a nondescript shade of gray wood, and the walls were covered sloppily with yellowing white wallpaper. The couch was actually really nice; it was a beige color, but there was a coffee stain that someone had thrown a pillow over haphazardly. Toward the back of the house was the kitchen, which thankfully was really clean. It smelled clean enough; it just wasn't... pretty.

"I'm so sorry about the state of the house!!" Leili gushed, fanning her face with her small hands. "We're trying to replace everything... gosh, I'm so embarassed!" She took my hand again and led me down a long, dark hallway off the living room. "This is your room," she announced, flourishing her hands toward the door. "And to the left is the twins', and to the right is Caden's. To the left of the twins' is Zack's, then across the hall is mine and your father's room." I raised my eyebrows in a daze; she was shoving so much information down my throat, it would be a wonder if I remembered it tomorrow.

I simply nodded and put my hand on the doorknob. "Thanks for everything, Leili," I thanked her genuinely, turning the cold knob and opening the door.

"You're welcome!" Leili replied happily, and went into her room, where I figured Dad was too.

I shuffled into my room, the sleep starting to take over my body. The room was almost as bad as the living room; the floors were covered with a gaudy purple carpet, and the wall was the same yellowing white color. There was a single bed against the wall in the left corner of the room, decorated with a bright pink douvet adorned with flowers. I was too tired to prejudice against the hideous bed, so I flopped down onto it and snuggled up to the pillow. Despite its flimsy appearance, it was more comfortable than it looked.

So far, I didn't like my new family. Caden seemed like an arrogant asshole, Zack was a whiny little boy, and the toddlers were... toddlers. Enough said. And then, just as I closed my eyes, I heard a sharp rap on my door. "Who is it?" I moaned.

"Me," came a deep, masculine voice. Caden, I figured. "Lemme in."

I sighed, rolling over onto my back. "Come in..." I replied grudgingly.

Caden wasted no time in opening the door and sitting on the end of my bed. "Mom told me to tell you that you're going to school tomorrow."

I blanched. I just got here! That mad woman's expecting me to go to school already?! "But I don't have my stuff!"

Caden shrugged indifferently. "Not my problem."

I rolled my eyes. "Why didn't Leili tell me herself? She would've been nicer," I added, mumbling.

"She's too lazy. Her and your dad are probably sexin' it up in their bedroom," he replied bluntly, smirking.

I crossed my arms across my chest. "Don't talk about my Dad like that. You can just go."

Caden glared at me, then turned to leave. "Oh yeah." He turned back to me. "You're in my grade, by the way, so I'd watch your back." I rolled my eyes at his 'warning,' and he left.

I sighed, happy to get some sleep. I shut my eyes and in a matter of minutes, I drifted off to dreamland.

Smile