I felt my pulse increase as Adrian pulled into the driveway. After he parked the car and unlocked the doors, Cole got out and drove to his friend's house. When we entered the house, I tried to think of the best way to prolong Adrian staying here. I was scared of being left alone with Gavin.
"Sierra, I'm leaving now. Do you need anything before I leave?"
"I don't really need anything, but I just wanted to tell you that I got accepted into the Cheerleading team."
"That's great. Is class okay?
"Yeah, I'm working on a project for Mr. Johnson's class with other people."
"Good luck with that, then. I had Mr. Johnson last year and he didn't like me. There's some food in the fridge for dinner. I have to go now but Gavin and Sierra, please try to tolerate each other."
"Wait Adrian but –
It was too late. I saw Gavin sneer at me as Adrian shut the door behind him. Acting on impulse, I raced upstairs to my room and locked the door. I didn't care if I pissed Gavin off, seeing that I cared more about my safety.
"I don't care how long it takes, but I'm going to wait outside this door until you come out. And then you'll regret trying to hide from me."
I wasn't sure how to respond to his demand so I remained silent. Silence was good at something that I excelled in. I didn't care if I made him wait outside for a while because as of now, he didn't deserve my respect nor my obedience. To make the best use of time, I decided to text my friends that I was going to start the presentation.
The research wasn't as hard as I thought. I came across some images that I'd rather not recall but I managed to get my share of the slides done. Skylar, Diana, Layla, and I agreed that we'd each write two slides sometime in the week and make the title, transitions, and animations while in class. The presentation wasn't due until next week, which was good for us.
Unsure if Gavin was still outside, I proceeded to do the rest of my homework. Luckily, I already finished my math homework in school and the substitute in History didn't assign us anything. In English class, we were expected to read and annotate up to Chapter five but considering that the majority of students in the class, me included, had already done the work, we didn't have to finish anything for that class. For my elective, we had to do a worksheet which took around ten minutes to complete. After I finished it, I packed my schoolbag and made sure to add painkillers in one of the spare pockets.
Before going to the door and checking to see if Gavin kept his word and was still waiting, I made sure to take a painkiller. Unfortunately, my ribs still weren't healing and it made me wonder if medical attention was required. However, I learned that bruised ribs take at least six weeks to heal. As long as nothing happened to me until November, I would be fine.
On instinct, I felt that it would be alright to check if Gavin was outside. But to be safe, I found a broom that I could use as a last resort if he hit me. Surprisingly, he wasn't outside so I placed the broom back to where it came from. I probably should've gone back inside my room because he could return, however I was curious about exploring the rest of the house. This was only my third day here and I wanted to get familiar with my surroundings.
I knew that exploring each of my brothers' rooms wasn't allowed, so I ignored the third floor which their rooms were located on. There was a pool which was good for swimming in the summertime. There was also a tennis court that could be transformed into a basketball court. I knew that Cole was Captain of the Basketball team so he probably used it a lot.
After exploring for a while, I noticed that there was a basement. Although I was reluctant to enter it, I felt that it was now or never. Four out of the five brothers I had weren't home and there was a low chance that Gavin would be in there. Besides, on the weekend, I would have to go here anyway. I may as well get used to it now.
Looking around, I noticed that there was a treadmill, an area that seemed to resemble a boxing ring, a bunch of exercise equipment, a pull-up bar, and a stationary bicycle. Feeling comfortable, I decided to use the stationary bicycle – I needed to strengthen my legs and muscles now that I got accepted in the Cheerleading team. Earlier today, the Coach told us that we would cheer for the Basketball, Football, and Soccer team which was going to require a lot of work. Unfortunately, Cole was on the Basketball team, Gavin was on the Football team, and Adrian was on the Soccer team. The thought of Gavin watching me cheer would be a disaster; he probably would try to find flaws in every single aspect of my routine. Regardless of what occurred, this would not end well.
While attempting to pull that thought out of my head, I exercised on the Stationary Bicycle for half an hour until I decided to use the treadmill. For some strange reason, I enjoyed running and was quite good at it. If I didn't get accepted into the Cheerleading team, then I would've tried out for track. After I finished my exercise routine which lasted an hour and half, I cautiously went to my room, took a shower, and got changed. It was 5:45 now and I still found no sign of Gavin. Perhaps he left?
Before he left, Adrian had said that there was food in the fridge. I wasn't hungry, but I decided to see if there was anything that I could use to cook with. Just because I wasn't eating didn't mean that my brothers weren't. It was nice of them to accept me into their household instead of letting me go to foster care. Although Gavin was a jerk and some of their rules were rather interesting, I still wanted to show my gratitude.
Looking in the fridge, Gavin must've already eaten because there wasn't any food. Looking in the pantry, I decided to just cook spaghetti with sauce, nothing too complicated. By the time I finished, the door opened as Stefano, Jett, Adrian, and Cole walked in.
"Hi," I mumbled. "I made you some dinner."
"Thank you, Sierra. Did you eat yet?" Jett asked.
"I'm sure she did," Adrian remarked. "I told her and Gavin that there was some leftover food in the fridge. You did get a chance to eat it right?"
"Yes, I already ate."
"Wonderful, you may be excused for the rest of the night. Thank you for making dinner," Stefano said.
I walked to my room, when I felt something or someone pull my arm into a spare room. I looked up and saw Gavin. His face was a red as a tomato and his facial expressions clearly showed that he wasn't happy by any means.
"You really thought that you could avoid me?" he snapped. After getting to know him a little better, his remark didn't scare me as much as it did a few hours ago. I wasn't afraid to give a smart response, but I also wasn't stupid; triggering him to a certain point was going to result in a serious consequence.
"No," I spat. "I knew that I couldn't evade you. You were going to find me one way or another. I guess that I just preferred to delay the inevitable as much as I possibly could. I hope that isn't a problem. But to fulfill your unrealistic demand, we can always reschedule." I smirked in response, only for it to result in Gavin nearly slap me; he was about to until he pulled his hand back. If only I could shut up.
"Shut your mouth," Gavin threatened. "If you don't, I'm going to tell Stefano and Jett that you were buying drugs at school. And then we'll see who has the last laugh."
"But I wasn't buying drugs," I insisted. "Whoever told you that was lying."
"I trust Jace's judgement. Besides, if you have nothing to hide, I'm sure that you would be fine with me searching your bag."
"I suppose so."
As I entered my room, I made sure to remove the painkillers from my school bag. I showed it to Gavin and he wore a frown as he couldn't find any drugs in my bag.
"See, I told you that I didn't buy any drugs while at school. I get that Jace is your friend but believing everything that he says is like trusting that everything the media says is true. It's stupid."
"Shut up," he growled, making me shake. He didn't do anything physical, but that didn't mean that I wasn't frightened.
"Why are you acting like this towards me?" I asked. "I've never met you before and I've done nothing but respect you. I get that the witty responses weren't polite but other than that, I've done nothing for you to hate me."
"It's because you're here," he retorted. "Look, just stay away."
"Understood," I gulped as he left the spare room, leaving me alone. The irrational part of me wanted to cry and seek comfort, but the more logical part of me knew that I had to make sure that my ribs were tended to. Although Gavin didn't do anything physical, during our brief conversation, the painkillers wore off.
While in my room, I looked at my reflection in the mirror. Unfortunately, my ribs were hurting and there seemed to be more color this time. This wasn't going to be good. Although it was only 8:30, I decided to go to sleep for the sake of avoiding everyone else.
* * *
I gasped as I abruptly woke up. I sighed as I rubbed my face to ease my nerves. Last night, I encountered another nightmare. Rather than it be about Mother or one of her boyfriends, it was about Gavin. In my dream, I was running away from my old house after receiving an A- on a test; while I was running, I ran into Gavin. I shuddered as I recalled that in my dream, he laughed at me and dragged me back to the house. It ended when I closed my eyes, succumbing to the darkness that surrounded me.
There was no way in hell that I was going to go back to sleep, despite the fact that it was 4:25 in the morning. Because I wasn't intending to relieve the nightmare that I had, I decided to take a shower. My forehead was sweating after I woke up and it gave me an unpleasant feeling that I just wanted to get rid of.
After I finished my shower, I washed my face, brushed my hair, applied antiperspirant, brushed my teeth, tied my hair into a ponytail, and got dressed into a pair of black leggings and a t-shirt. I made sure that the shirt I was wearing was big enough to cover my stomach. My ribs hadn't healed yet and I didn't need people to notice the bandages around my stomach during gym class or Cheer practice.
Looking at the time, it was 5:15. I applied concealer to my face and consumed a painkiller while putting a bottle of them and the first-aid kit in my schoolbag. Unsure of what to do, I decided to read for a while until I finished reading the chapter about business laws. The time was now 6:00. I closed my book after bookmarking it, put it in the drawer, and slowly walked downstairs, not eager to unintentionally wake anyone up.
Even though I didn't have dinner last night, I wasn't hungry. The idea of eating something for breakfast made me want to throw up, so to compromise on a breakfast meal, I decided to have a vitamin tablet from a bottle that I brought with me. When I was living with Mother, food was scarce and that was during a time that I worried for my health. Food was expensive, but medicine wasn't.
It was a good thing that I was able to walk back to my room, retrieve a vitamin tablet, and go back to the kitchen without being noticed by anyone. After it dissolved in the glass of water that I filled, I drank it. I put the glass in the sink, washed it, and placed it on the drying rack. For the rest of my morning, I proceeded to make breakfast again, toasting bagels, cooking bacon, and frying eggs. By the time I was finished, Stefano walked into the room wearing a three-piece suit.
"Here's your breakfast," I mumbled. "I hope that it's to your standards. If it isn't, I'd be perfectly fine with cooking something else."
"It's fine Sierra. Thank you for making breakfast," Stefano indifferently said. "I'd also like to thank you for dinner yesterday. You cooked it very well. Jett, Adrian, and I all enjoyed it. Is there anything that you need?"
"No, everything's fine. But thanks for asking."
He continued to eat as Gavin walked in the room. Noticing me, he frowned, but masked it when noticing that Stefano was in the same room as us. He took a bagel, spread cream cheese on the top, and took a bite out of it.
"Sierra, did you get a chance to eat anything?"
"Yes, I ate after I finished cooking everything."
He nodded at me as Adrian, Jett, and Cole entered the room. Each of them ate in silence when Jett spoke up.
"Thank you, Sierra for making breakfast. Stefano and I will be on our way now."
When everyone was done with their food, I collected the dishes, washed them, and placed them on the drying rack. Just as I finished, Adrian called me to get inside the car. Getting in, I tried my best to avoid looking at Gavin. I closed the door as Adrian turned on the car.
"How was your first day Sierra? I didn't get a chance to ask you since I had to leave yesterday, but did you make friends?"
"Yeah, I befriended three girls. They're in the majority of my classes."
"What a surprise. Tell me, did you befriend them on your own, or tell them your last name? I just wanted you to know that if they're only nice to you based on the family name, you may as well get a new set of friends. Right Adrian?"
"Well, I suppose so," Adrian agreed.
"That's fine. They didn't know that I was related to any of you and still welcomed me into their group. I think that I'll be just fine."
"That's good, Sierra. I'm glad that you're making friends. Cole and Gavin, did you introduce Sierra to your group of friends? I think that they should know that both of you have a sister."
"For fuck's sake Adrian," Gavin yelled. "For the last time, she's our half-sister. Get that shit in your head. Cole, don't you agree with me?"
"Shut up, I'm busy texting this girl," Cole said.
The rest of the drive was silent as we pulled into the parking lot. Adrian gave a tight smile at me as Cole ignored me and Gavin scoffed at me. I went to my locker, got my math textbook, and walked into the class. I placed my homework in the Teacher's bin and sat down in my seat. Skylar was there already and she smiled at me.
"Hey Sierra, how are you doing?"
"I'm doing fine. Did you by any chance work on the Science presentation that we were assigned yesterday?"
"Yeah, I finished my part of the project. I'm not sure about Diana or Layla, though."
"Class, please be quiet. I'm glad to see that everyone has handed in their homework. For the month of September, I expect you to hand in your homework. After September, you're going to have online assignments that I expect you to submit via Google Classroom. But for now, we're just going to do math drills. Whatever you don't finish will become homework."
The class groaned as each of us set to work. By the time that I finished, the bell rang. Skylar and I got up, pushed in our chairs, and walked together to Science Class. Diana and Layla were already sitting down and waved at us. We sat down and Mr. Johnson allowed the class to talk and use the laptops that were provided.
"Did you both finish your part of the project?" Skylar asked.
"Yeah, I finished my part around seven o'clock," Diana responded.
"Same, we did a good job," Layla added. "I added animations and transitions since my part of the project was the easiest. I think that we're done, but we can always check later today to make sure that there aren't any grammar or factual mistakes."
We ended up using the laptops to look at the PowerPoint presentation. After correcting a few grammatical mistakes, editing a few animations, changing the title page, and checking every fact that was posted on the slides, we were done. We showed our presentation to Mr. Johnson and he approved it. For the rest of the class period, we were given a packet to do. If we did it well enough, Mr. Johnson would use it as extra credit for our lowest assignment grade.
When science class ended, Layla and I went to Social Studies class. The regular teacher had returned and greeted me as I arrived. Long story short, for this semester, we were learning about different wars. For now, we were learning about World War I. For homework, we had to take notes and answer questions on a document from Google Classroom. It was getting graded for effort instead of completion, which the class wasn't happy about. Nevertheless, the teacher didn't capitulate to the class's demand. The complaints ended as the bell rang and the students left in a defeated manner. I said goodbye to Layla and entered the English room.
I sat down in my seat as Diana entered. Unfortunately, while she entered the room, so did Gavin and Jace. Neither of them noticed me glancing at them, which was a relief. The teacher, Ms. Monroe, instructed us to read the assigned chapters for the rest of class. I was one of the first people to finish reading, so she told me to answer the homework questions on paper, transfer the answers to a Google document, and submit them. While finishing the last question, I needed to use the bathroom. Ms. Monroe allowed me to leave the classroom.
After I was done using the bathroom, I washed my hands and left. While walking back to the classroom, Jace came up next to me. I wasn't sure what was happening, but Gavin warned me to stay away from his friends. Jace seemed to be friends with him and I'd rather be safe than sorry when it came to following Gavin's demands.
"We need to talk," he urged. "Are you available at lunchtime?"
Unsure of what to do, I just nodded. I wasn't willing for Ms. Monroe to get suspicious of what I was doing.
"That's great then, I'll see you at lunchtime. Meet me at this hallway after everyone in class leaves. Give your friend Diana a reasonable excuse."
As I walked back to class, two thoughts remained in my head. Why did Jace want to talk to me and what the hell just happened?
Author's Note:
Hey guys, I hope all of you are doing well. I just wanted to thank all of you for 1,000+ reads and 50+ votes! That is seriously crazy! Thank you to everyone who gave this story a chance (even though it's not that good), voted on the chapters, added this to their reading lists, and commented. Chapter Seven is also up!