A/N:
Some years ago . . .
~♡~
"Good for you."
Were the first words Mark heard after stepping into the house on his 18th birthday. It was his eldest stepsister Irene who greeted him. Merriam, the youngest of the two was standing beside her at the top of the stairs looking down on Mark.
Mark had to crane his neck to just look at who is speaking and had to bow down right away the moment he realized who it was.
"Good morning, P'Irene, P'Merriam."
Mark is thankful he was given a picture of the two before coming here. He immediately recognized them.
"You being here takes away the good in the morning." The eldest added. Her brows were furrowed, her tone unfriendly. And Mark doesn't need to be a rocket scientist to know that she hates him. He can feel it strongly.
The two descended from the short flight of stairs and stood in front of Mark.
"Don't take it to heart, eldest sister easily snaps at every member of the male population, father included." Merriam whispered to Mark as she inches a bit closer to him.
Mark simply looked at Merriam and hesitantly nodded.
"That's her bias." Merriam added.
"I can hear you."
"Must you scare him on his first day here, P', moreover his birthday?"
"That's enough to scare him? Such a softie."
Irene said as she passed by Mark and walked towards the long dining table. A simple feast was prepared for Mark to celebrate his birthday and to welcome him into the family.
"Let's sit down first N'Mark and get comfortable. Father is still on a zoom meeting with a client in his office and might take a while to finish."
Mark nodded and followed Merriam. He sat beside her while Irene sat from across them.
After an hour or so, their father finally went down and joined them in the table. Everyone must've been starving for the dinner went by without any conversation.
Once everyone seemed to have their fill, the dishes were removed and a cake was brought in.
"Happy 18th birthday nong Mark." Merriam greeted their youngest. She was the only one among the four people in the table who had a smile on her face and Mark returned it with a thin embarrassed smile of his own.
It's his first time celebrating his birthday and Mark didn't know what to feel.
"Welcome to the family, son." Mark's father said.
Meanwhile,
"Don't blow at the candles too strong." Was the only thing the eldest has to say.
After Mark made a wish and blew the candles 'not too strongly' and everyone had eaten their slice of the cake, the three siblings headed upstairs to their own rooms while Mark's father left as he has some business matters to attend to.
Merriam's room is the closest to the stairs, Mark's room is next and their eldest's room is the one at the end of the hallway.
When Merriam reached and went inside her room, Mark was left with his P'Irene in the hallway. A few more steps and Mark reached the door to his room. He turned on the knob and was about to enter but he closed it again and called out to his stepsister.
"P', I'm sorry." Mark apologized making his eldest sister halt her steps.
"For what? The smoke of the candles didn't get into my eyes." Irene turned to face Mark.
"For being here." Mark explained. "I-I'll leave as soon as I finish college. I won't even stay a day longer. But for now, I'm sorry, you will have to bear with me." Mark continued.
"I hate men in general you know that, right?"
"I heard."
"Only heard?"
"I've felt it too."
"So why are you apologizing? It's not like you can turn yourself into a woman."
"But . . . I am . . ."
"Stop thinking about useless things. And I don't particularly hate you but it doesn't mean I will like you. Stand as far away from me as possible and don't get involved in my business and we'll be good."
His sister's words were sharp and her tone not the least bit friendly but Mark felt relieved with her words.
"Thank you, P'."
"Oh and never, I'll say that again, never, ever make me clean up your mess. Merriam is already a handful. Misbehave and I'll tie you up and feed you to the sharks, the piranhas, the killer whales, the dewgongs, you name it. Understand?"
"Yes P'! I'll behave and won't cause you to worry."
Mark immediately replied after being warned. Something tells him those words weren't empty threats.
"Good. Now get to your room and rest. You'll need to go to uni first thing in the morning."
With that, his P'Irene went ahead to her room and left Mark standing outside his own. His eldest stepsister wasn't the warmest person he had known but Mark felt he can actually live with her.
And with that thought, Mark went inside his room and gently shut his door.
~♡~
A/N:
A bit of an introduction to Mark's family. ^-^
Minor edits done.
