The car pulled up outside an enormous, flashy white house, the porch alone bigger than her Mother's living room. If there was one thing her Dad had done well for himself, it was this; his D.I.Y home. It was like something from a dream. Maybe living here with him wouldn't be so bad after all. It wasn't like they had a broken relationship like her and Veronica did.
The front door swung open and her Father stepped out, a nervous smile etched on his lips. He scratched the back of his head, his brow furrowing with concern as Annie stepped out of the car and he saw the slight mark on her neck from where she'd tried to kill herself. It was going to be a touchy subject.
"Annie, sweetheart", he smiled, his arms outstretched as he enveloped her into one of the biggest hugs he could conjure. He felt as though she needed it right now. Whatever was going on with her must have been ugly for her to have to deal with alone.
"Hey Dad", she muttered sullenly, her embrace returned only half-heartedly. As they separated, Veronica began unloading the car, setting Annie's suitcases on the side walk. Noticing that John was watching her, she flipped her long black hair over her shoulder as though this was something from a movie scene.
"Hey Ronnie", John called politely, earning himself a dazzling, over-pretentious smile from her before Sienna stepped out and pulled Annie into a hug. That soon wiped the smile from Veronica's face and earned them both a grunt. Not that they particularly minded. They both knew how stuck up she was.
"We're so excited that you're staying with us, bumble bee", Sienna smiled brightly, winning Annie over and managing to make her smile a little. Whatever Veronica lacked in maternal instinct, Sienna definitely made up for it. Annie squeezed her stepmother back with genuine affection before she grabbed a few of her bags from her Mom, allowing her Dad to grab her cases.
"If you need anything honey, don't hesitate to call", Veronica said, kissing Annie's forehead before she swooped off down the driveway and climbed back into her car. Sienna rolled her eyes while Annabelle shook her head, scoffing to herself. Yeah right Mom, don't pretend you care about me now, she thought to herself before she looked at her new home and family; for once in her life, she honestly felt like she belonged somewhere. Like maybe her life could be great after all.