The secrets we keep

Chapter 1

A/N: This is the first book I've ever written and I started it when I was about 13 so the writing is downright embarrassing at some points, just preparing you

I looked out of the car window, watching the houses and trees go by as we drove through Los Angeles.
I felt lost, more than usual.
And while my heart was still aching for my friends and my home in Detroit, I also felt this numbness taking over my heart.
But at the same time, I couldn't help the excitement that was building up inside me.

For a 16-year-old I had experienced quite a lot; I've been rich, I've been poor. I've had a big family and I've been alone.
Happy and Sad. Good and bad.
Right now, I wasn't anything.
I was in between my old and my new life.
Not for the first time in my life, everything was changing. But this time, I was
completely and utterly alone.
My mother passed away from a car accident a few months prior and I hadn't had any contact with the rest of my family for years.
It had been only my mum and me since she left my father six years prior. And now I would live with the four strangers I call family; My father Cyrus and my older brothers Jackson, Liam and Tyler.
I did remember them, but it had been six years after all and I felt scared of how they had turned out. I rested my chin on my hand and stared out the window.
It felt surreal, being back in Los Angeles after all those years. I never really had the urge to go back. Because even when life was hard, it was still good. I had my mom, a few very close friends, my neighbors... Everything I needed was there.
I felt betrayed, by the judge that decided I would live with my father from now on. Even when I told her that I didn't want to go, she insisted. But it shouldn't surprise me; I was pretty sure my father had bribed her or forced the decision. After all, he was a very powerful man. And he always got what he wanted.
Cyrus Blake wasn't a very loving father. He wasn't kind nor understanding. He wasn't patient. He was strict. And conservative.
That's about all I knew about him.
After my mother died they had made me talk to him on the phone but I made sure it didn't last long. He told me that he would make sure that I would be on the next flight to Los Angeles but I managed to convince him to let me stay for some time to get better first.

My father had always been strict, especially with me. My mother was the complete opposite; She was such a free spirit and always good for an adventure.
She didn't fit into this world with fancy brunches, expensive dresses, and exclusive Partys. Looking back, I wondered what had drawn her to him. But as they say:
Opposites attract.

My thoughts were interrupted when the driver opened the door and for the first time in years, I laid eyes on the house that I grew up in.
I remembered the night we left. Hugging my brothers goodbye in the dead of night and crying in the backseat of the car on the way to the airport because I wanted them to come with us.
And now i was back here and stared at the little boys that had turned into
young men.
"Welcome home," My father stated, his voice firm and cold as if he was welcoming a business partner.
"Hello," I answered shyly as he pulled me into an obligatory hug.
"God, I can't believe it's really you."
Jackson smiled at me.
"It's really me." I smirked and looked up at his tall frame as he hugged me. Liam and Tyler, of course, welcomed me too, with a big hug.
"C'mon let's get you inside, "
My father smiled. It looked forced and rather awkward.