Everything changed the day my mother left.
Before she left, things were good, or so my brother use to tell me. I myself was too young to even remember her. Though I remember her voice. It was soft and caring, and she had a beautiful singing voice. I don't actually know if I remember her voice or I just watched too many of our old family videos. We use to live in a small red brick home, and my mother use to make a garden out back. The first two years of my life had to have been the best, and the worst thing is I can't remember any of them.
Then one day, she was gone. My brother says she left because she met someone new, but I couldn't believe that. In our videos she seemed like the most amazing person ever, why would she leave her kids? Her six year old son and two year old daughter, left to live without a mother.
From there it went downhill. Dad tried his best I think, until he lost his job and we had to move. Looking back on it, I feel bad for the guy. In a matter of months, he lost everything. His wife, his job, and his house. And for some reason, he couldn't find another job.
I think the gambling started when I was around six. I remember my father would put me to bed, and then just as I would fall asleep, I would hear the front door open. I would peak out the door to see a bunch of disgusting men in our kitchen, playing a game that I didn't know what it was. I would just go back to my bed, and hope to fall asleep before they left.
But soon my father would come addicted. He managed to get a job at a grocery store which paid for our expenses, and his trips. He would often go on 'vacations' as he called them, which I soon realized, meant he was going to casinos to gamble. If he won, he would treat us nicely; maybe even get us ice cream. But if he lost, he would beat us.
I quickly learned to take care of myself. I could cook most things by the age of twelve, and would eat before he came home from work, and then stayed in my room for the rest of the night, doing homework and then drawing until I fell asleep. Because I knew about an hour after work his friends were coming over. My brother soon learned the basics of poker and would play along with them. This was a little while after he started smoking.
By the time I was fifteen, I had a job, hoping to save up to go to college, or to go anywhere away from my family. I focused all my spare time on studying, because I realised I would need a scholarship in order to get anywhere in life.
Now, at 17, I was taken from my family. My father was sent to jail because he tried selling a stolen car in order to pay for his addiction. My brother took over the house, and will probably continue to use drugs until he gets caught, and me? I was taken by social services, one year before freedom.
I was driven halfway across the country to live with my aunt. My mother's sister. I don't even know how they found her. My mother has been gone for fifteen years of my life, and I am being sent to live with the person closest to I will ever get to my actual mother.
The car pulled up to the house and I got out of the car. The house was in a subdivision, with identical brown and red brick homes. My social worker led me to the front door and rang the doorbell. I stood there fidgeting with my suitcases on either side of me. She looked at me and smiled.
"This will be better" she told me, smiling. I didn't understand how she could smile at me. Did she even consider what i was dealing with? Or how I felt?
I could hear footsteps running to the door, and then the door unlocked and swung open. A woman stood there, with black curly hair stepped out. She had a similar resemblance to me. Our face shape, hair colour, eyes. She could pass for my mother.
"Chloe?" she said smiling "oh my goodness! Look at you!"
I stood their awkwardly smiling. This woman obviously recognised me as her sister's daughter, but I didn't recognise her as my mother's sister. She pulled me in and gave me a tight hug, though I didn't hug her back. It had been years since someone hugged me. No one had shown affection to me since I was little.
"My poor niece" she said looking at me "well you better come in! You have to meet the family!" I went to grab my bags but she got to them first, bringing them into the house. "Annette" my aunt said, turning to the social worker. "Why don't you come in?" Annette smiled at my aunt "you know, I would if I didn't have another child to get to. Another time. I'll be back in a few weeks anyways."
My aunt smiled at her and nodded. I said goodbye to Annette and my aunt shut the door behind her.
"Kids!" my aunt called out "come down and introduce yourselves! Chloe's here!"
She grabbed my hand and walked me into the living room. I could hear footsteps running down the stairs. A little girl popped her head into the room. She didn't look at all like my aunt. She had golden blond hair and sparkling blue eyes and pale skin. She stood in the door frame and smiled at me.
"Shay" she said "where are your brothers?"
"Colton's in his room and Keeg's downstairs." She answered. He voice was a little high pitched. Typical for your girly eight year old.
"Can you call them?" she asked, and her daughter ran away. Then my aunt turned to me. "You must be hungry. I'll go fix something up for us."
"That's okay" I told her "I'm not hungry"
"Nonsense!" she smiled "you're practically skin and bones! I'll go make something." She looked at the stairs. "Those boys are never going to come down. I'm telling you, there addicted to the internet. You can go downstairs and see Keegan. He's the exact same age as you. Me and Lori gave birth two weeks-"she stopped talking. "Sorry. I shouldn't have brought her up"
"Its okay" I told her "she left a long time ago."
My aunt nodded "it's a shame" she said sadly "she was truly an amazing person."
I smiled at my aunt. She was the first family member to actually care for me. The only one who didn't seem to have anything wrong with her. She was a perfect mother to my cousins.
I heard little footsteps running down to see my younger cousin again. "Colton's not coming" she told her mother.
"He'll be down" my aunt said, chopping up vegetables "that boy is always hungry. Shay honey why don't you show Chloe to her room"
"Okay!" she piped and took my hand and led me up the stairs. "I'm Shaylene!" she told me. I smiled at her "Chloe" I told her. She continued running up the stairs. "I know" she yelled back. She skipped down the hallway and led me to the last room and opened the door. The room was a periwinkle colour, with white and purple sheets. There was a white desk and dresser and a carpet lay across the light brown wood floors.
"This use to be Keegs room." She explained to me "but when we found out you were moving in, mom moved Keeg to the basement and gave you his room. It even has a bathroom look!" she ran to the door and pulled it open, revealing a blue bathroom with matching blue accessories. "I picked the colour" she announced.I smiled at her. "It's a very pretty colour."
"The only problem is you share it with Colton" she said pointing to the door "but no need to worry. He's neater than Keegan that's for sure"
I smiled at my cousin who was smiling and talking up a storm like we've known each other forever.
"Come" she told me "I'm going to show you the entire house!"
She pulled me out of my room and back into the hallway, opening the door next to mine. "This is Colton's room!"
Colton had long thick brown hair that covered his eyes. He was sitting in front of the computer, staring at the screen. "Get out of my room Shay" he said calmly, and Shay obeyed, shutting his door.
"He's not a very nice person" Shay told me, and skipped down the hallway, showing me all the bedrooms in the house. Shay was adorable, like the perfect little sister, Annoying, but you couldn't help but be mesmerized by her. She was a sweetheart.
"Come get lunch!" my aunt called and Shay skipped down the stairs. I followed her and I heard Colton leave his room and follow us. My aunt was right; Colton did come down only for food. I walked into the kitchen. The kitchen was large, with white cupboards and black countertops. There was a circular glass table with six chairs sitting around it. My aunt had placed all the food on the table.
"Were vegetarians" Shay stated. I nodded. I did like meat, but I guess if I was going to be living with this family I was going to have to follow their eating habits.
"No" my aunt said "we don't eat red meat"
"Its torture" Colton told me as he sat down.
"I've told you a thousand times" my aunt said sitting down with us. "You don't have to be a vegetarian if you don't want to. But I am not buying red meat."
Colton groaned and grabbed a celery stick. My aunt had made a stir-fry, with peppers, black beans, mushrooms and chicken. There was also a tray of raw celery and carrots. I scooped some of the rice into my plate. The basement door opened and another boy came out. He had blond hair like Shay, though he was a foot and a half taller than her.
"That's Keegan" shay pointed out. He waved at me. I waved back.
"You must be the cousin Chloe my mother has been raving about for the past week and a half"
I nodded and continued eating my stir-fry. It had been so long since someone else made me something to eat. It felt good, though I still felt as if I didn't belong. The boys didn't seem excited at all to meet me, Shay treated me as if I was a new puppy, and I think my aunt just felt sorry for me. But how could I blame her?
"So tonight" my aunt started "were going out to dinner to celebrate your coming to live with us. What kind of food would you like? We can go for Italian, or Japanese, or Chinese-"
"Sushi!" Colton shouted. Shay pitched in and they both chanted together "sushi! Sushi! Sushi!"
My aunt sighed. "Do you like sushi?" she asked me.
"I've never tried it" I admitted. Shay and Colton's mouths both dropped open.
"Is that legal?" Colton asked me. I felt awkward. I never ate out, let alone tried sushi. I basically lived off of whatever I could easily cook. Eggs, pasta, sandwiches. I never ate anything complicated.
"I guess I can try it" I told them. And they cheered. I smiled at their innocence. Shay was only eight, and Colton was twelve. They were both really cute kids, though none of my cousins looked like my aunt.
After lunch, I helped my aunt clear the table and wash the dishes. It was something I did out of habit now. I was so use to taking care of myself, I forgot that other kids didn't have to worry about making sure their house was spotless and they were out of the way before their parents got home.
"Susan?" I asked. My aunt turned to look at me. "I was wondering if there were any places I could apply for a job around here."
"A job?" she looked shocked "honey, you don't need a job. We're going to take care of you for as long as you need."
"I know" I smiled "but I really liked having a job before. Do you know any places close by?"
She looked up, thinking. "There's always Sophie's, the cafe down the street. I know their always looking for people to hire."
"Awesome" I said "how far of a walk is it?"
"Oh honeys you don't have to walk" she told me "just go downstairs and ask Keegan to drive you. He never leaves that basement"
I walked out of kitchen and headed downstairs. I guess it would be wise to get to know Keegan. He was the closest in age to me out of all my cousins; in fact he was only a two weeks older than me. I paused at the bottom of the stairs and turned left to find Keegan sitting on a couch playing Xbox.
"Keegan?" I called softly. He didn't hear me. I spoke up a little louder. "Keegan?"
He paused the game and turned around to look at me. "oh." He said "hey Chloe"
"Your mom said you would give me a ride to Sophie's." I told him "I want to see if I can get a job there."
"Okay" he told me "I've been needing some coffee anyways." He turned off the TV and followed me up the stairs. I slipped on my sandals and he put his converse on
"Mom!" he called "we're leaving!" he opened the door and I followed him out the front door and into the car, which I'm guessing was his mothers. He pulled out of the driveway and drove down the street.
Sophie's was literally a minute away. It was a cute little cafe, looking like it belonged in Paris or something. Large windows surrounded the black building and Sophie's was written in swirly white letters across the top. Keegan pulled into the parking lot and I jumped out of the car.
"Hey Reeves!" someone called. Keegan and I turned around to see a boy in a football jacket, who obviously goes to Keegan's school.
"Brady" Keegan said calmly. Brady looked at him.
"So" he said "got yourself a girlfriend? I'm surprised. She's actually quite pretty. How much are you paying for her? Because I would love to get my hands all over her."
"Shut up Brady" Keegan said. He defiantly had something against this guy.
"Ooh?" Brady said "you don't like it Reeves? Am I bothering you?"
Keegan didn't say anything. I knew if I didn't say anything something he would continue.
"You know what?" I told him "why don't you find someone who has the same IQ level as you? Oh wait. That's going to be hard considering how stupid you seem."
Brady didn't say anything. I grabbed Keegan, whose mouth was wide open and dragged him into Sophie's. He was speechless.
"You" he told me "have no idea how long it's been since I've wanted to say something like that to him."
"So why didn't you?" I asked him. He shook his head. "That guy could turn me into a pancake with just his fists."
I laughed. It had been so long since I last laughed at something silly. We walked up to the counter where a barista was working.
"Hey Keegan!" she said smiling at him. Keegan smiled back. "Hey Emily." He croaked.
"What can I get for you?" she asked him. This is why Keegan was so willing to go to Sophie's. He had a crush on Emily.
"Actually" I said "I was wondering if I could apply for a job here" I told her. She raised an eyebrow.
"And you are...?"
"Chloe" I told her "his cousin."
"Oh!" she said cheerfully "Keegan mentioned that you were coming to live with him. You're in luck actually. We just fired the other barista two days ago and I am desperate for some help. How good are you with dealing with cafes?"
"Pretty good" I told her "I use to work at one before I moved here."
"Really! That's awesome. You can start tomorrow if you want"
"Seriously?" I was shocked. I expected an application to fill out and an interview process.
"Yeah" she said "I can train you tomorrow but you'll be on watch for a little while, just until you get the hang of things. I trust you though. If you're related to Keegan, you have to be awesome." Keegan blushed when she said that. I smiled. "So what do you recommend I try?" I asked Emily.
"The smoothies!" she said "they are absolutely amazing. I'm hooked on the Mango-strawberry right now."
"I'll try it" I told her. She smiled. "And a chocolate milkshake for Keegs."
She quickly made the drinks and we paid for them. I thanked Emily for the job and Keegan and I walked back to the car.
"You totally like her" I told him once we were in the car. He looked at me.
"Emily?" he said. I rolled my eyes "yes Emily! You totally have a crush on her!"
"And you totally are ridiculous" he mocked me. I smiled. "Deny it all you want, but I know you do. It's pretty obvious"
"Whatever Chloe" he said and drove home.
I heard a nock on my door at around five thirty. "Come in" I called. Shay walked into my room and smiled at me.
"Mom says were leaving in five minutes" she told me. I nodded. She shut the door behind me, leaving me staring at myself in the mirror. I was wearing a dress Susan had bought for me before I came to live with them. It was cream with a sweetheart top and buttons down the chest and stomach areas. It was perfect. I hadn't worn a dress in as long as I could remember. And I'd never worn anything expensive. It was beautiful and for the first time in my life I felt beautiful and wanted.
I walked down the stairs and into the kitchen, where Shay and Susan were waiting for the rest of the family. Shay was wearing a pink dress that made her look like a princess, and Susan was wearing a dark blue dress that matched her skin tone perfectly.
"Alright" she said "I think we're all ready. Garrett's going to meet us at the restaurant. He was held up at work again."
She sighed and we walked to the front door to put our shoes on.
"BOYS!" Susan yelled "come on! Were leaving!"
I could hear Colton running down the stairs. He whipped by me and put his shoes on. Obviously he was hungry, and really like sushi.
"Keegan!" Susan called again "come on! We have to meet dad in ten minutes! I don't want to be late!"
"Am right here mom!" he said as he opened the basement door. He walked and put on his shoes next to Colton. My aunt grabbed her keys off the hall table, and we followed her to the car. I sat next to Shay, who had brought her Doll which she named Julie, which looked like a mini version of her.
We got to the restaurant to see a man waiting at the front door. He had blond hair and sunglasses on, which covered his eyes. As soon as we were parked Shay jumped out of the car and ran towards the man.
"DAD!" she said smiling and he scooped her up into his arms and kissed her multiple times across her cheeks. She gave him a big hug and smiled. "I missed you today"
"And I missed you" she told her, tapping his finger on her nose. She giggled. I hadn't seen my father for a week and I didn't miss him one bit. Seeing Shay interact with her father made me realize what I had missed out on all these years that I was neglected by my father. He was always around me, but he hadn't hugged me or kissed me in twelve years.
"And you must be Chloe!" he said hugging me. "I'm sure Shay and Susan have already welcomed you into the family."
"Yeah!" shay piped. "Chloe is awesome!"
Garrett and I laughed. Shay was a character. We all walked into the restaurant and a Hostess showed us to our table. Shay sat next to me, and I was forced by Susan to sit in the middle of the booth, as appose to beside the window like I wanted. I felt as if I didn't belong. This family wasn't mine. Sure, we were related, but it was weird going out with someone else's family. I still couldn't even grasp the concept of living with them for the next year.
We ordered our drinks and Colton pointed out his favourite things on the menu. I ended up just ordering some vegetarian California rolls, to be safe, but I promised Colton I would try one of his Salmon rolls.
"So" Garrett said as we were waiting for our food to arrive. "What do you like to do in your spare time?"
"I draw" I told him. He seemed interested. "Really?" he asked
"Yeah" I smiled.
"Susan use to do portraits before we settled down"
"Really!" I was surprised. My father told me that my mother couldn't draw at all and no one in our family could, so I should just give up on it. That just wanted me to prove him wrong.
"That was a long time ago" Susan told me. "Do you do people?"
"No" I admitted "but I would love to learn how to."
Susan smiled. "Maybe I can get out my old paints and see if I've still got it in me."
I was so happy. Happier than I've been in such a long time. I had people who actually cared about me and what I was interested in.
"Any care for accounting?" he asked me. I was scared to offend him. "Not really" I told him. He laughed. "Not many people do don't worry"
I smiled at him. He was so caring and sweet, unlike my father. I was amazed that these people could just welcome me into their family regardless of my past. They made me feel special and accepted me for who I was. It was perfect.
After dinner (which I might add was delicious, and I ended up swapping half of my rolls for some of Colton's) we drove back to the house. It was already 10pm and I was starting work at nine tomorrow, so I decided to go to bed early so I wasn't tired for work. Unlike at my other jobs, I was looking forward to working at Sophie's, probably because I didn't have to work to keep myself alive, but just for some extra cash.
I said goodnight to everyone and headed up to my room. After I got changed I went into the bathroom that was joined between mine and Colton's room, and brushed my teeth. I looked at myself in the mirror and smiled. This was my life now. I was living with the Reeves family. I never had to go back to my old ways.
I closed my light and crawled into the bed. It was so comfortable compared to my old bed which was as stiff as a board. I closed my eyes, smiled again, and fell asleep.
I hope you guys liked this story!! I have a really good plot set up for this story and i hope i can carry it out!! leave a comment telling me what you thought about it!!!! And dont forget to check out my other story Crazy In Love!