My new Stepbrothers

Prologue

      It was 7am when Rachel finally woke up, and the first thought that went through her head was that everything hurt. She strained to sit up, and it felt as if every muscle in her body was protesting. Muffled voices could be heard and Rachel took in her surroundings. She was in a hospital room, dressed in a light blue polka dot hospital gown with an I.V. sticking out of her right arm.

       She heard the door open and stared in shock as a nurse, followed by two middle aged men walked into the room. The nurse busied herself checking her blood pressure and asking her questions as the two men sat down on the seats by her bed. The first one was dressed in a crisp black suit and held a briefcase. He was her father’s lawyer and she had seen him on several occasions in the past couple months on account of her two almost arrests. The second man wore a white button down shirt with the sleeves rolled up and a loosened tie. His suit jacket was draped over the back of his chair, and his eyes, the exact same shade of blue as her own, looked tired and were creased with concern. Rachel hadn’t seen her dad in a couple months, they had grown apart since her mom's funeral when Rachel was twelve.

“Her BP is normal and she seems to be stable but it will take a couple days for the headache from the concussion to stop.” Said the nurse to Rachel’s dad.

“Ok, thank you.” Replied her dad and the nurse walked out of the room, quietly closing the door behind her.

“How are you feeling kiddo?” asked Mr. Smith, the lawyer.

“Like a ton of bricks fell on me” she replied. Mr. Smith laughed and said “I have some more paperwork to fill out, so I have to go to the office. It’s good to know you’re ok Rachel, I’ll see you later to ask some questions.” After he left, the room was silent. Rachel looked down at her hands and pulled at a broken fingernail. After what seemed like an eternity she heard her dad say “I thought I was going to loose you too Ellie.” She looked up and saw him brushing away a tear. The only other time she had seen her dad cry was when the doctors told them her mom had a brain tumor. Rachel felt odd, she almost guilty for causing her dad grief, but no that would require him to care about her. She had once again ‘borrowed’ his prized Ferrari and entered a street race, only this time she crashed right after the finish line.

“I’m sorry about the car.” Rachel said. It was the beginning of August, and she hadn’t seen her dad since November, when she lived in Washington DC with him, so she was still in shock of his impromptu visit.

“I can always buy another car, I was worried about you.” He responded.

“I was driving fast, and the car wouldn’t slow down. I can’t remember anything else.”

“This has to stop Rachel, you are moving back to Washington DC with me and Melissa.”

“No! I don't want to move back there, you never cared about me getting in trouble before!” Rachel said angrily.

“I wasn’t expecting this, the arrests and now a hospital visit. They have to stop.” He replied.

“Please don't make me go back to that school.” Rachel pleaded, her blue eyes opening wide and worry creasing her forehead.

“Don’t argue, because I’m not going to be convinced. I just want you to be safe and besides I think you'll like Melissa, and I know you have always wanted a sibling, now you'll have three brothers. Besides this isn’t just up to me, Mr. Smith prevented you from being arrested again, but you will have a hearing in September. He thinks it will look good to the judge if you will live with your family. You’re not eighteen yet and shouldn’t have been living without an adult.” He explained and then walked to the door.

“Well who’s fault is that? Even in Washington, I’ve been practically living alone since….” Rachel shot back, but couldn’t finish the sentence because her dad turned around and in a stern voice said “Get some rest Ellie, your belongings are being packed as we speak. We’re flying out next week once your concussion is doing better.”

       Rachel was furious. She didn’t want to move back to DC, and worst of all she didn’t want some other woman pretending to be her mom. A couple months ago her dad announced his engagement to Melissa Reynolds, a corporate attorney from Washington to Rachel. Needless to say, Rachel wasn’t pleased. Her dad wasn’t present in her life since her mom died, and now he was getting married and suddenly playing dad to Melissa’s three sons.

      Last November Rachel had packed her bags and moved away from the modern, downtown apartment she lived in with her dad to their beach house in Orange county, California. Her dad wasn’t against her move, and sometimes she wondered if he even noticed she was gone. She never told anyone the reason she left behind her seemingly perfect boyfriend, Connor, a large group of friends and a school where she was popular. From the outside Rachel was living the teenage dream, until it all came crashing down one chilly November night. Laying back in the hospital bed she tried to think of a way to avoid moving back to the city and people she was trying so desperately to avoid.