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After Calum had been home for about two days, Jade had a bright idea when we were sitting eating dinner. Since Calum had been home, they'd kept wanting us to eat dinner together 'as a family'.
It was pretty funny that they thought that we were a 'family'. Don't get me wrong, I really didn't mind Jade, she was nice stuff, but not my 'mother'. And Calum was... Well, he was complicated.
"I've just had the greatest idea." Jade smiled, dropping her fork dramatically. I rolled my eyes, but decided to listen to her.
"We all need to go to the beach. People come all over the world for Australian beaches, but we never seem to go. Its less than an hour away."
"We also never go to the outback in a jeep and study the kangaroos." I said, referring to the stereotype.
My father gave me the ; Stop talking Raven.Look that I knew so well. "I think that sounds like a great idea. How's Satuday?"
"Good for me." She smiled, leaning over and kissing my father's cheek.
I grimaced. "Not for me. I have... a lot of studying to do."
"Its alright, you study for hours every night." Jade said, waving her hand dismissively.
"I have a test." I growled.
"In what? How well you can tell your parents BS."
"I'm not telling my parent." I said, cutting into my lasanga and taking a bite.
"Raven." This time my father's voice was sharp. He sounded agitated, like he'd recently discussed this with Jade.
I rose my eyebrows. They were going to get mad at me for honestly saying the truth? She wasn't my mother and never would be. "You've got to be joking. Jade isn't my mother. I really do have a mother, you know."
Avoiding eye-contact, my father spoke quietly, which I knew was a warning sign, but I ignored it. "Jade is you're mother. She's been a mother too you since you were twelve."
I slammed my fork down and looked at him. "I'm sorry, but just because you invited your ten years younger fuck-buddy to move in with you doesn't mean she becomes my mother." I knew what I was saying was rude, but I was so fed up with the 'we're a family' shit.
Jade gasped, but Calum just laughed in awe, gasping, the first time he'd made a sound the whole conversation. He looked in fascination. I knew he was shocked that I'd swore, but I was to angry at my father and Jade to pay him any attention. '
" Watch your language. And apologize to your step-mother."
"No." I couldn't believe I was resisting it, but I did. "I won't apologize for speaking the truth."
His voice was so low and angry-sounding, I should've known to SHUT UP, but like I so often did, I had to vent. I spent so much of the time bottling things up, that when I got into fights and arguments, I just let everything loose. "I'd really recommend shutting-up right about now."
"No. Stop telling me that I need to be quiet when I say something you don't agree with. You may be able to do it with your employees, but you can't just shut me up whenever you feel like it. I'm sick and tired to shutting up about your relationship. You took two seconds to get over mom, and you just moved to the next hottest and richest woman you saw."
"That isn't true!" Jade interrupted. I ignored the hurt look on her face.
"You never cared that I might not like it. You never cared that I didn't want to let a woman and her son that I hardly knew move into our home. You just ignored everything that I had to say, just like you always do. You care more about your bank out and pants than you do about your own daughter."
"Are you done?" He said softly.
"No." I said, but ceased to continue to rant. I crossed my arms over my chest, and glared at the ceiling.
He waited a moment before responding. "Give me your phone, Raven."
I angrily grabbed my phone out my pocket and slammed it down on the table in front of him.
"Room." He said simply, picking up my phone and slipping into his pocket.
I shook my head and stood, striding out of the room. Before I was out of sight, I wheeled around and added one more thing to my rant. "And that's another thing. You think you can fix my 'attitude' by taking my things and locking me up." I stormed into my room, the door rattling as I slammed it shut.
I sat on my mattress looking up at the cracked and chipped painted ceiling. It was a sort-of-baby-blue, but had faded to a light grey. I sat up and looked around my room. I had a mattress in my corner, with two pillows and my ratty old comforter. I had a book shelf, a small one that I'd had since I was young. One quarter was the 'book stack' part. I had stacks of books by genre. I had my stack of fantasy books, my sci-fi, my dramas and mysteries, the romances, the horror, ect. I also had comic books and old magazines about faraway places, like Europe and America. I had cut-out pictures and postcards from the magazines and pasted them onto my walls, so it looked like I was a traveler. My dresser was mostly empty, since I rarely bought new clothes. I just had my shorts, and hoodies, and old tank tops. My shoe stack was by the door, with my vans, converse, combat boots, slippers, and nikes standing a collective pile.
I was still looking around my forlorn room, feeling sucky about life when my door creeped open. I didn't turn, but I assumed it was my dad. "I know. I insulted Jade. I'll apologize later."
"You don't need to apologize to my mom. You were kind of right, you know."
I turned, and suddenly saw Calum, leaning against the door frame. "Calum. I thought you were dad."
"I know. He's pretty upset."
"I know." I admitted. I hadn't exactly been the nicest daughter ever. "I honestly don't care anymore. He doesn't care that I'm upset."
Calum braced himself against the door frame, gripping on the wall, leaning forward slightly, which was admittedly pretty attractive."If it counts for anything... I never thought of you as a sister. You were always fun, but I never thought of us as 'family'. Same with your dad."
I smiled twitchily. "Yeah, I know. I just... I'm just... Never mind. I don't want to dump my problems all over you."
"Hey, thanks." He joked, slapping my back gently.
I scoffed jokingly, then turned to him. "But.. But don't you ever feel like we never had a chance to say how we felt about our parents... Just moving in together. I mean when you guys first moved, my dad woke me up that morning and said; 'Hey, I know you're sleeping, but you gotta get up. My girlfriend is moving in with us today. Oh and by the way, she has a son.' "
He was silent for a moment. "You know, after you travel the world and realize how hard other people have it... You don't really think about those kind of things anymore."
I knew what he was trying to say. That I had a pretty good life, that I was lucky. I'd heard it all before.
"But then again, I do kind of... I kind of wish my mom asked me how I felt about moving into her boyfriend's house.. Espescially since I'd only met him once... And I'd never met you."
I was silent for a few seconds. "You know.. You aren't so bad sometimes, Calum."
"I take great offense at that!" His voice was over dramatic. "I am a huge annoyance, and I demand to be recognized as that."
"You are a sweetheart who listens to problems."
He gasped like I'd just called him Edward Cullen. He seemed that offended. "I'm sorry, was that too far?" I asked, winking at him.
He turned his nose. "Don't even talk to me." He harrumphed. "I am an obnoxious, annoying nuisance."
"Sure you are." I laughed.
Suddenly, he stood. He ran over to my book stacks and grabbed Harry Potter off one of the stacks and dashed out of my room.
I gasped, and stood and ran out, following him. "YOU STINKIN FURRY, GIVE ME MY BOOK BACK!" I chased after him as he waved it above his head.
"Come and get it!" He jeered. We ran past the dining room, and I saw out of the corner of my eye Jade and dad talking.
"I'm going to burn your insides!" I yelled out, frustrated and wanting my book. He couldn't even be sweet for five seconds before he went and ruined it.