Reflections

Chapter 2

Here is chapter two, I hope you like it.
I clung to the straps of my backpack as we passed through security. I dragged my suitcase as we walked to the main area. Lillian was reading something on her phone, probably instructions for us.
" Julia!" A voice called. I spun around to see him, my Dad. Dad was on the taller side, he had dirty blonde hair, icy blue eyes, and tan skin.
" Dad! " I shrieked. I ran toward him and tackled him in a hug.
" It's nice to see you, Tremors." He said. When I was little I used to say I was the Terrible Tremors. A superhero with earthquake power. The nickname stuck. I couldn't get rid of it.
" Skye! You've grown a mile." He said as he hugged her. Once Dad signed papers and was cleared we got in the car and drove off.
" Oh, I have so much to tell you, " he said. I smiled.
" We do too," I said.
" So how have you been?" He asked.
" Good. Mom is good, she works as a nurse now. Jamie is good too."
" Okay, what about  you, Skye."
" Eh, the last year's could have definitely been better. Hunter went to college and Mom died."
" I know. I heard. I'm so sorry Skye."
" It's okay. She would have wanted us to be happy. That doesn't mean it doesn't hurt."
" Your right, Josie would have wanted that. It will hurt but that's okay." Skye wiped her eyes as Dad hugged her. After another hour we turned onto a tree-lined drive. The path curved farther than I could see. When we finally reached the house I gasped. It was a big pale, yellow house with many windows. It wasn't castle big but it was big.
" Wow! You live here!" I exclaimed.
" Yep." He helped us get our luggage out of the car and we went to the front door. The front door was two, massive French doors. He pushed open the door and we walked in. Two staircases spiraled up to the second floor. A huge painting hung in the middle, below it was a table with a vase of flowers.
" Eda! I'm home!" Dad yelled.
" Okay. I'm in the kitchen." A female voice called back. I frowned. She was probably his maid or something like that. Dad led us through the dining room and into the kitchen. The kitchen was very spacious with modern appliances. An island counter with marble was in the middle of the kitchen. It had a brass sink and several cabinets in the bottom. There were some plates, and jars on the counter. The cabinets around the kitchen were white with black handles. There was a table with several wooden, brown chairs, and a bench on the other side. The side with the bench had a large window that overlooked a beautiful forest. Standing next to the table was a woman, and she was holding a baby. The woman had hair that fell to her shoulders. It was brown mixed with bits of blonde. It looked messy but in a stylish way. She had brown eyes with flecks of gold, so her eyes sparkled in this inhuman way. I had never seen eyes like that in my life. Her cheeks were rosy and her smile lit up her face as she came over. The baby had brown hair that was starting to grow in. She had a lot of hair. She had blue eyes like Dad, but her eyes also had this weird shine. The baby giggled and I couldn't help but smile. She was adorable. The woman walked over to Dad.
" Girls this is Edaline," Dad said. " Edaline this my daughter Julia and her best friend Skye." Edaline smiled.
" It's so nice to finally meet you." Suddenly a phone somewhere in the house rang.
" It's probably Jason," Edaline said. Dad sighed.
" Okay, go take the call." Edaline handed him the baby and left the room.
" Your house is so nice!" Skye exclaimed.
" Thanks," Dad said. " Do you guys want anything to eat?" We nodded.
" Okay, I'll make some Mac'n'cheese." I sat on the bench with Skye.
" What's her name?" I asked, gesturing to the baby who was now in a highchair.
" Her name's Cassie," Dad said.
" Is it short for Cassandra?" Skye asked. Dad shook his head.
" It's short for Cassiopeia." I smiled
" Like the constellation," I said. He nodded.
" It's pretty." Edaline came into the room hands on her head.
" What's wrong?" Dad asked.
" Well, there's been an accident in the labs and I have to go in."
" Now?" Dad said.
" Yeah, I'm sorry." She sighed. She grabbed a bag that was sitting on the chair, gave Cassie a kiss on the head, then left. Cassie watched as she left.
" Mama." She cried.
" I know, don't worry, she'll be back soon," Dad said. Cassie reached for him and he picked her up.
" It is time for you to take a nap." He said. Once he served us Mac'n'cheese he took Cassie upstairs. I dug into my warm, Mac'n'cheese.
" This is cool, I'm glad I got to come," Skye said.
" Yeah, I'm glad you got to come." We finished eating our food and we put the plates in the sink. Dad came downstairs, without Cassie.
" Do you guys want a tour?" He asked. We nodded and he led us upstairs.
"This room is Cassie's, she's sleeping so don't disturb her." He said pointing the first door.
" She lives here?" I asked.
" Yes," Dad said slowly. " Where else would she live?"
" With her mom." Dad sighed and started to say something. Edaline was probably a live-in maid, a house this big wouldn't clean itself.
" Never mind."
" This is my room." He gestured to the room next to Cassie's. I nodded. Across from his room was the bathroom, and then the guest room. We reached a point with two doors.
" This is your room." He said as he pushed the doors open. There were two beds with a pink canopy. A large dresser was on one wall and two vanities were on the other. Two identical nightstands were in between the beds. A crystal chandelier hung down from the ceiling. There was a large bay window that overlooked a sparkling pool. One door led to a pristine bathroom and the other led to a walk in closet.
" Wow!" I said. The room looked like something out of a fairytale.
" It's pretty," Skye said. There were two more doors at the end of the hall.
" What's in there?" I asked.
" That part of the house is restricted," Dad said. "You can't go there." I frowned.
" Why?"
" Because it's private and there are some dangerous things. A busted pipe, rust, and stuff you shouldn't be exposed to."
" Okay," I said. But his story didn't check out. Skye put our luggage near the dresser.
" You guys should unpack," Dad said, and then he left. Skye flopped on the bed.
" This is paradise." I opened my suitcase and began sorting clothes. In no time my drawers were full and my suitcase was tucked away in the closet.
" Cassie is so cute," Skye said.
" I know, but don't you think her eyes are weird?"
" Yeah, they kind of look like Edaline's eyes."
" Well, Edaline is her mother."
" Why do you think Cassie lives here?" Skye asked. I shrugged.
" My guess is Edaline is like the maid or something and she lives here." Two hours later we had put all our stuff away and we were laying on the bed. I heard the doors open downstairs and I sat up.
" C'mon lets spy," I said. We crept out of the room and silently walked down the hall. We peeked around the corner of the wall and we had a full view of the foyer. Edaline put her keys and purse on the table. Dad walked into the room holding Cassie.
" What happened?" He asked. She sighed.
" One of the dendrotoxin cubes fell and shattered. So there was toxin all over the floor and on top of that a snake got loose."
" Did you find the snake?" He asked.
" Yeah, but a lot of stuff got messed up. I have to go in again." Dad put his free arm around her. Skye and I looked at each other.
" It's okay. I'll go in with you and I'm sure the girls wouldn't mind going to the office." Edaline looked at him and gave a small smile.
" Okay." Then Dad did the last thing I expected. He leaned down and kissed her, and she kissed him back! Skye and I looked at each other, eyes wide.
" Girls come downstairs for dinner!" Dad yelled. We walked downstairs.
" Wow, you guys got here fast." He said. We nodded. We walked into the kitchen and sat at the table. Dad put Cassie in her highchair.
" What do you guys want to eat?" Edaline asked.
" Can we have chicken tacos?" Skye asked. Dad nodded and got stuff out of the fridge. Edaline helped him cook as we played with Cassie. She liked this blue, bouncy ball we found and started to cry when I bounced it to Skye, so we had to give it back. Soon the food was ready and we were eating.
" So what do work as?" I asked Edaline.
" Oh, I work in a chemical research facility." She replied.
" That's cool."  I said, " What about you, Dad, do you still work for the military?"
" Sort of, I also work in the research facility." He said. " Edaline is the boss."
" Cool."
" How long have you known each other?" Edaline asked me and Skye. I finished off one taco as Skye answered.
" Since second grade."
" Wow, that's pretty cool that you kept your friendship strong. How'd you guys meet?" I looked at Dad and he chuckled.
" They have quite an interesting story." He said.
" We met in the principal's office," Skye said. Edaline laughed.
" What did you do?"
" We got caught stealing."
" An interesting story indeed." Suddenly Cassie screeched and flung her spoon across the room.
" Cassie! Don't do that." Dad ordered. She pouted.
" No!"
" Cassie!" Edaline warned.
" How old is she?" I asked.
" Eleven months," Dad responded. He got up and went to get a paper towel.
" Dada!" She cried.
" Did she just call you Dad?" I asked. Dad picked up the spoon and wiped the floor.
" Yes." I sucked in a breath.
" You're her Dad!"
" Yes. I'm her father and Edaline is my wife."
" WHAT! HOW? You're MARRIED to mom! Does she know?"
" Julia, no she doesn't know. We just sort of drifted apart. Plus she has also been seeing someone. That Daniel guy."
" Daniel? She said Daniel is just a friend from work."
" Nope, apparently they've been dating for three months."
" What? Why has no one told me these things?"
" I don't know. We didn't know when or how." I looked at Cassie and the anger slowly left me. I took deep breaths." How long have you guys been together?" I asked." Well we met in my second year here so four years." He said.
"You met her how?"
" Work, we were lab partners. The year we were married she got promoted." I nodded.
" Okay." I looked at Edaline.

" You know stepmoms are supposed to be evil, but you're going to be hard to hate." She laughed.
" I hope I'm not evil." I smiled. We finished dinner on a good note and then retired to the bedroom. I fell asleep as soon as I hit the pillow. The next morning I awoke to the delicious smell of pancakes. I brushed my teeth then went downstairs. Edaline was seated on a stool, drinking coffee. Dad was flipping pancakes and Skye was eating.
" Look we finally woke up." Dad teased. I rubbed my eyes.
" What time is it?" I asked.
" Twelve forty-five."
" Wow, when did Skye wake up?" About an hour earlier. I got some milk from the fridge and sat down. The pancakes were fluffy and cooked to perfection. I spread Nutella on my second one. Skye did the same.
" Wow, you guys must love Nutella," Dad commented. We nodded in response.
" So, Edaline and I have to go into the labs today, so are you guys willing to come with us?" He asked.
" Yeah." A trip to their office sounded fun. We could see what they did for a living. We finished breakfast and went upstairs to get ready. Today we wore dark blue jeans, with a red lumberjack shirt. I put my hair in a ponytail. Downstairs Dad and Edaline were waiting for us. Edaline held Cassie in her arms.
" Cassie's coming with us?" Skye said. Dad sighed.
" Unfortunately, we weren't supposed to need a babysitter, so our sitter is on vacation." He said. I nodded. We got in the car and left. The house was pretty far away from the city so an hour later we reached the city. I got out of the car. In front of us was a huge glass building with a large white sign that read: Genetech.