Thicker Than Water

Chapter 1

So I hope this clears what's going on a bit more. The first chapter only got a tiny taste of the situation but this is a bit more writing and a whole lot more plot to go off off. There will still be a few things missing and, to be honest, this whole thing is a chapter by chapter story and no chapter has a full out detailedbackground of what's going on. Instead, each chapter lays out a little more groundwork because that is the basis of the plot. Did that make sense? Trust me, you'll get it in the end haha. Hope you like it! :)

-Tori 

I sat in the back, two perfectly glossy haired heads sitting in front of me. The picturesque setting of them holding hands, wedding bands gleaming, while the man artfully swerved in and out of traffic gave a sickening feeling in my stomach.

Perfection wasn’t something I have ever been accustomed to and the more normal this situation becomes the more I want to dive head first out of this shiny Porsche right in the middle of the busy highway. Once again I waited for someone to say something, we remained mute but when I looked up I would often find two sets of eyes trained on me from the rear view mirror. I refrained from scowling at their expressions, instead keeping a casually blank face and then pointedly starting out at the blending landscape from my window.

The radio volume was abruptly lowered until the words became indecisive and it turned into a blurred background to the gruff voice talking. “We have enrolled you into a local private school called Gardner Lake, both Madeline and Carter attend classes there so we thought it would be best for you to be able to see some familiar faces.” I couldn’t help but notice how less welcoming the man’s voice was compared to the woman’s, like he wasn’t used to casual conversations.

Carter and Madeline. They were the names of my new siblings, the children of the couple. The only time I have seen them was at the court hearing about a month ago. They sat in the back and refused to make eye contact with me, hardly familiar faces. 

“What about Cynthia?” I heard myself asking. She was the youngest of their children, about eleven years old. She was the only one out of the three kids who offered me a smile when she saw me instead of ignoring my existence. Her innocence radiated off of her in a way that everyone in the vicinity seemed to succumb to her sweetness. Unlike everyone else in the family, she didn’t seem to be afraid of me.

“She’s not old enough to attend Gardner, yet” the man answered. “She still goes to the public elementary school. We have arranged for you to start school on Monday seeing as it being Thursday we thought we would give you a couple days to adjust to the new environment.”

“It’s a lovely school” the lady’s sweet voice interjected. “All types of activities and classes. They have plenty of AP courses that we were told you were planning on starting next year. They also have a fantastic soccer program; we know you used to play at your old school. We scheduled an appointment with the Guidance department to get your courses and enlistments started since we had no clue what you wanted to take. I can assure you that Gardner has everything your old school had and more.” She made it sound like she was talking about the school but I could tell there was an underlying message. It was almost as if she was trying to hypnotize me. You’re better off with us than you ever were with those other people.

Gardner Lakes might be rated one of the best schools in the country but they don’t have my teachers, they don’t have my friends there. Worst of all, when I go home I won’t be stepping onto the coffee stained mat, be able to wipe off my muddy shoes (but never enough to escape Mom’s wrath). I can’t ever again walk through to the kitchen and steal a bite of dinner before falling heavily on the couch, carelessly throwing my bag in the corner and accidently fall asleep while watching “Dance Moms” only to be awoken by my dad’s loud entrance home from work a half hour later. That’s what made school bearable to me, knowing I could go home after it all and just relax with my family. What will I be coming home to from Gardner Lakes?