I was rudely awakened by my phone's alarm going off at eight the following morning. Yawning and stretching and mumbling obscenities under my breath I trotted out into my en suite. Without as much as glancing at myself I stripped down to my birthday suit and quickly got into the shower. I jumped and yelped when the cold water first hit me, but thankfully it warmed up fast and seconds later I was engulfed in a wonderful steam of hot vaporizing water.
The fact that my mother had called in the reinforcement this early in the morning when I'd usually still be asleep was just another reason for my gloominess. I hadn't exactly gotten the best of sleep last night, mainly because I'd been tossing and turning, much to Zeus' annoyance, but I couldn't help but keep thinking about Jace and Caleb and how everything was changing in my life.
"Chloe, you better be awake in there!" My mother shouted from outside my room, but since I knew she could hear the shower was on, I didn't bother to muster up the strength to shout back. It wasn't like I'd fall asleep right here in the shower stall. The water was just so nice and warm and hot and warm and... My eyes had drooped and I snapped my head upright.
"Okay! I think I need to get out before I slip and crack my skull open," I said to myself, making it loud and clear. I turned off the water and wrapped myself in the fluffy towel I had left when I'd been packing last night.
I quickly dried myself off and grabbed the pair of sweatpants and tank top I had laid out the night before. I was going for ultimate comfort today, having to run around moving boxes and such. If I had to be sweaty I would do so in my sweatpants.
"Honey, Patrick and Jace are here!"
Crap.
I quickly fixed my red hair into a ponytail and without a second look in the mirror I exited my room for one of the last times.
I took my time going downstairs, not wanting it to look like I was in any way eager to see Jace, because I wasn't. But I also knew that was a complete lie.
I found Jace leaning against the wall in the hallway; hands tugged away in his jeans pockets and with a face that looked like he was about to drop dead on the floor. I paused a few feet away, not wanting to get too close – you never quite knew what he might be up to.
"Hi, Jace," I greeted, watching how he struggled to produce a smile.
"Hey, Martin," he replied, his voice sounding heavy and strained. I frowned and looked at him properly this time; his eyes were bloodshot and his skin a little paler than usual, his hair looked more messy messy rather than stylish messy.
"Rough night?" I asked, knowing immediately that he was suffering from a hangover. And a brutal one by the looks of it.
"Yeah uhm, I got in a little late, but dad told me I had to come and help."
I couldn't say I felt bad for him, because I didn't. I wasn't exactly one of those party girls like some of the other girls from school, in fact, I couldn't think of a time when I had ever had a hangover. Wow, I must be really boring.
"I'll try and keep my voice down!" I said, purposely raising my voice louder than necessary, but it was worth it as Jace cringed and covered his ears with his hands.
"God woman, stop that shrieking," he growled.
"I do not shriek," I retorted with a huff and moved into the kitchen.
Mom and Patrick were in there, laughing as they sealed a box shut.
"Oh hey honey, you might as well start moving the boxes in your room outside and into the truck." Really? She could have told me that before I came downstairs.
"Hi Chloe," Patrick said with a smile. I returned one of my own and then spun on my heels, but my mom called out before I had a even left the kitchen.
"And get Jace to help you." I turned my head to look at her; she was just smiling and had already turned her attention back on her fiancé.
"You, with me, now," I ordered Jace when I returned to the hallway. He hadn't moved an inch, but now he sighed deeply and pushed himself away from the wall and followed me upstairs.
It didn't take longer than ten minutes for my room to be cleared, leaving only the bed and my old bookcase, which sadly, would not be coming with us. My room at the Jones' had already been furnished with the essentials of my choosing and the people who had bought our house had been more than happy to hear willing to keep our furniture, so we didn't have to throw much of it away.
About two hours later, everything we were taking with us had been loaded into the moving truck. I stood outside on the porch with my mom, her arm wrapped around my shoulders as we silently said goodbye to our house.
Patrick came up and hugged my mother from the other side, kissing her cheek affectionately.
"You girls ready to go?"
I looked over at the man who had captured my mother's heart, mending it after it had shattered into pieces; he looked so in love, the way he was staring at my mother was enough to give me goose bumps. In a good way.
"I'm ready," I said.
"Great. Chloe, honey, you're going to ride home with Jace in your mom's car, and then your mom and I will take the truck."
"Right." I looked over at Minnie, parked on our right with Jace leaning against the side, looking disdainfully at it. I could practically see the rust spots forming from where he was staring holes in it.
"Are you actually serious?" He said when I came around the car, opening the driver's side. He followed suit, looking like he might actually throw up on the carpet. He'd better not!
"Not all of us can afford sleek four wheeled luxury," I said and turned the ignition, smiling proudly when it started on the first try. That didn't always happen.
"Whatever, we're driving to school on Monday in my car," Jace muttered as he leaned back against he seat.
"Why am I riding with you?" I thought the plan was that I could have Minnie once we moved. Had my mom told me a lie?
"I heard your mom say she still needed this car for work." Jace shrugged, obviously not caring that my near future dreams of owning this beauty had been ruined.
"Great," I mumbled as I backed out of the driveway.
The ride was spent in relative silence, Jace had practically fallen asleep before we had left town. He was leaned up against the window and looked rather peaceful. It wasn't often I got to see him like that, but I guess now that'd we'd spend pretty much every day together, I'd get to see him in his more relaxed and less superficial way.
I followed our parents in the moving truck for the next twenty minutes. When we finally turned onto the long gravel road leading up to the house, I reached over and gently shook Jace's shoulder. He started and whipped his head around.
"Hmm, what?" He yawned, making me smile.
"We're home, sleepyhead," I said softly just as we pulled into the long circular driveway.
"Right, okay," Jace grumbled, getting out as soon as the car came to a stop.
I followed him outside and up to the truck where our parents had begun to unload.
"Lend us a hand kids," Patrick said.
***
Finally, after what felt like hours of running in and out of the house, up and down staircases, we were let off the hook. Patrick and my mom had gone to return the truck and bring home dinner.
I had been in my room when I realized I'd forgotten my backpack from the car. I went to retrieve it, but didn't immediately return to my room. I walked into the large open kitchen and sat down at one of the bar stools, placing my schoolbag next to me on the shiny marble counter.
Reaching into the bag I took out what was probably the most valued item I owned; the Fairy Princess. I smiled as I lifted the doll up to my face and kissed the top of the little head just as Jace waltzed into the kitchen, freezing in mid-movement as he saw me kissing a Barbie doll. My eyes widened and I quickly stuffed the doll back into my backpack. But it was too late.
"That was not what it looked like!" I stated, cheeks flaring red already.
"So you weren't just kissing a Barbie doll?" Jace asked as he took a few steps closer.
"Okay, so maybe it was exactly what it looked like," I caved and bit the inside of my cheek in embarrassment. A laugh erupted from Jace and I grimaced.
"You don't know all the facts Jones, so shut up," my voice growled and I got off the chair, took my schoolbag and left the kitchen, leaving a snickering Jace behind.
I ran up the stairs and into the bedroom that had been given to me, but before I could lock the door, Jace's foot was in the doorway and he looked almost apologetic.
"Chloe, I'm sorry I laughed at you, that was mean," Jace said with a sincere tone in his voice. I let my bag fall to the carpeted floor and looked over at him.
"Then why did you?"
"Chloe come on, if I had been, I don't know, making out with an action figure wouldn't you have laughed too?" He smiled at me and it worked; I grinned ever so slightly.
"Aha! A smile, I knew I wasn't completely hopeless," Jace grinned and pushed the door open a little further.
"Can I come in?" I shrugged and walked over to sit on my large four poster bed.
"I guess, it's your house."
"It's technically your house too, as much as I hate having to share my bathroom with a girl," Jace said as he entered my room.
Yeah, that was one of the downsides to moving here; having to share a bathroom with Mr. Jace Jones. Just the thought of walking in on him in the shower or getting dressed after one. My insides shuddered. Images flooded my mind; some more embarrassing than others which made the blood in my face boil.
"With that look on your face I'm sure you're imagining me naked huh, Martin?" Jace mocked and I stood up.
"Get your perverse thoughts out of my room thanks," I demanded and pointed a finger at the door. Jace held up his hands as a sign of surrender.
"I'm sorry, Chloe, that was over the line, given our situation," Jace apologized; his eyes projected it genuinely enough. I pursed my lips and shook my head at my future stepbrother.
"What girls see in you is beyond me," I muttered and Jace immediately cocked an eyebrow.
"I think that same thing sometimes," he said and came over to sit on the edge of the bed. I frowned at his answer and sat back down, making sure I put some distance between us. Talk about a one eighty shift in moods.
"What makes you say that? I thought it was what every guy dreamed of."
"Yeah it is, but you know, guys also want a girl they can talk to and you know, not just get physical with," his voice was serious and I couldn't believe my ears; Jace Jones was talking personal with me. I scratched my arm and stared at the floor, not wanting to look at him.
"It doesn't seem like it the way you act around girls," I said softly, not wanting to come off harsh. Jace turned and looked at me which sort of forced me to look back at him.
"It's kind of hard with the reputation I have at school you know," he let out a dry laugh and leaned back on my bed, putting his hands behind his head.
"It's always been like that and it can get really frustrating sometimes, Tay and Keith always wanting to know what girl I have shagged, it puts pressure on a guy."
I had to roll my eyes. I just had to.
"Yeah that sounds like third world problems right there, Jace. Are you actually hearing yourself? You don't have to be who they expect you to be. Be yourself!" Exasperated as I was with the whole thing, it felt oddly nice to have a decent conversation with this guy.
Jace sat back up and eyed me with those deep, ocean blue eyes.
"But what if I don't know how to?" His voice was low and I figured out then and there that this boy had never had a talk like this with anyone in his life, not even with his dad. As if he could read my mind he continued. "My father got really caught up with work after my mother passed away," he looked over and shook his head when I was about to say my condolences. "It was five years ago so I never really had a proper talk about how to treat a girl, how to treat anyone really." His voice haltered and I couldn't help my next move, which was to reach over and grasp his hand in mine, squeezing it with a smile. He stared down at our hands, and I wished I knew what he was thinking right now.
"I think our parents could be really happy together," I reassured him. "But no one will ever take your mother's place."
Jace eyed me intently, his face a mixture of different emotions raging through him at that very moment.
"You sound so grown up," he stated and I bit my lip to stifle a laugh; my mother had been telling me that for years now.
"Yeah well girls mature more quickly than boys," I said and recalled what had just happened in the kitchen. "Obviously," I added and that earned me a grin from Jace.
I retrieved my hand as he stood up to go, but he stopped by in the doorway and turned around.
"You know Martin, I think this whole brother and sister stuff could really work out," he said, but then cleared his throat. "Of course if you mention this to anyone at school I will make your life a living hell," he half-heartedly threatened with a sly smirk before disappearing out the door. I was left with a smile on my face and an elevated heartbeat. The smile was explanatory, but the heartbeat? I inhaled deeply and tried to focus.
Chloe Martin, you need to sort out your emotions, I thought to myself as I slowly got up and found a spot for where my Fairy Princess Barbie doll would sit, on top of the large bookshelf where she could look after me and keep me in check.
I sat back down when I heard the water running from the shower in the adjoined bathroom, which interlocked Jace and mine's rooms. Before I knew it I found myself standing by the closed bathroom door, hand extended towards the handle until I got a grip of myself.
"God, what are you doing Chloe," I muttered under my breath. No good could come of this, nothing, absolutely nothing.
I went back to my bed and flopped down on the soft mattress; the silky, cream white bedding softly tickled my exposed skin. The water sound disappeared and I tried my hardest, but the intruding images of Jace standing just wrapped in a towel with water trickling down his chest just wouldn't go away.
I pulled a pillow from the seemingly endless pile at the top of the bed and pressed it against my face, a frustrated noise sounded from my throat.
"Trying to suffocate yourself sis?" Jace's voice sounded cocky and I threw the pillow in the general direction of his voice.
"One would think it necessary with you as a stepbrother," I groaned, my eyes still firmly shut. I felt the pillow land on the bed, just besides my face.
"What did I do now?" He asked as I finally opened my eyes, staring up into the canopy of silk that had been woven in and around the top of the posters of the bed, turning it into a silky ceiling.
I wasn't particularly interested in sharing my latest inappropriate thoughts about him and his body with him, so I ignored the question and sat up, glancing his way, thanking him deeply for being fully clothed. He had changed into a black tee with some unfamiliar logo on it and kept the same jeans he had been wearing today.
"Why are you in my room?"
"Clearly you needed the company," Jace grinned and leaned casually against the door frame; "So I'm here to provide it."
"Who gave you that doll anyways?"
He must have spotted the Barbie on the shelf.
"My friend Carrie did, for my seventh birthday."
"So you've been kissing the same old doll for ten years?"
"Shut up, it has sentimental value."
"So what do you want to do today?" Jace asked, suddenly with a change in attitude and subject.
I raised an eyebrow at him.
"It's your first day here, so you have to do something," he said and put on a face of one deep in thought, then his eyes moved to my Fairy Princess and a smiled formed on his lips.
"Unless you'd rather sit alone and make out with your Barbie doll?" His grin turned wider and he let out a chuckle.
I tried my best, I really did, but seeing him laugh, it was infectious and reliving the moment I could see how ridiculous it would have looked to walk in on Jace kissing an action figure, no matter how much it meant to him. So I caved and let out the laugh that had been building up inside of me, and before I knew it, Jace Jones and I were laughing so hard our stomachs were in pain.