Our Time In High School- KotLC AU

House Guest

Keefe POV:

"So, this is my place," Sophie said, pocketing her keys.

It was a nice, cozy house and had chandeliers and wide staircases and plush rugs. Everything mine didn't have if you really want to picture it. Family photos lined the walls and stood proudly on top of the mantel. "It's nice," I offered, half-heartedly.

She directed a tight smile my way and hooked her raincoat on a polished hook nailed into the wall. Abigail jumped up and down excitedly, letting water droplets fall onto their carpeted floor. "It's wike my pwincess house, Keefey! So pwettyyyyy."

Sophie laughed a little. "Thanks, Abigail."

Abby looked up, with a huge grin on her face. "Onwy people I don wike caw me Abigay. Caw me Abby!"

"Alright then, Abby," Sophie replied. "I like you too."

I sighed, impatient. My sister was not supposed to like my literal arch-nemesis. Mme Perfect. Perfect house, perfect family, perfect personality, perfect face... I shook the thoughts away with an internal snarl. "I should put Abby to bed."

Sophie looked at me, surprised. "It's only six!"

"Ya, Keefey! Pleaaaase more time?" Abigail asked, with wide eyes. She had huge turquoise eyes, that no one could resist. Especially not me. She was gonna be a heart-breaker, that one.

"Fine," I relented. I looked around, feeling ashamed of thinking my next question. "You... don't by any chance have any dinner for her, do you?"

"Oh! Yeah sure." Sophie motioned for us to follow her and headed down the hall into a huge kitchen shinning with white marble tiles and colourful chairs.

She headed to the steel fridge that was covered in laminated certificates, family pictures and clusters of decorative magnets. Opening it, she sighed and pulled out a small plastic container of greek salad. "Sorry, Abby, but this is all we have... my family's all about eating healthy lately. It's their newest 'resolution'." She said this last part in air quotes and rolled her eyes, giving me the impression that this was not the first time her family had done this.

Abby only grabbed the box greedily. "I wike salad!"

In truth, Abby would eat just about anything. When you grew up eating half-frozen pizza-pops almost every day, you started to crave just about anything else.

Sophie shrugged, handing her the salad. "Keefe? Do you want some salad too? We have caesar..."

"No, I'm good."

Staying overnight at her house already felt like I was stepping way over the line. No way in hell I was taking her food too.

"Sure?" She asked again.

Ugh, enough with her overly polite demeanor! "No, I'm good!" I said again, a little too forcefully.

She blinked, taken aback and closed the fridge. "Okay then!"

I turned my back to her, mumbling something about having to go to the bathroom.  In reality, I just needed space. My head hurt from the whirlwind of emotions I had gone through today. But mostly, I was frustrated that Sophie had to come in and save the day, with her enormous house and fancy car. My mother had let us down again- not that I was surprised. I felt like it was my duty to take care of my sister though, not Sophie Foster's. No, Sophie Foster should just stay in her small, pristine little bubble and leave me and my chaotic family- if you could call it that- alone.

☆ ☆ ☆

My mother once told me that nothing good ever happened after midnight. Maybe it was because she met John Feery- my father- at exactly 12:30 at night, and everyone knows how that turned out. Maybe it's because both me and my sister were born shortly after that time and kids were the last thing my mother wanted. Either way, she was right, because nothing good happened after midnight that night.