My New Stepbrother

20

Angel

The smell of bacon and pancakes hit my nose, bringing me out of my deep sleep. Was Vanessa here and actually cooking? Did hell finally manage to freeze over? I jumped out of bed, then quickly went and brushed my teeth—removing any plaque and germs that lingered.

After that, I raced downstairs like it was Christmas morning and I was a five year old waiting to receive a bike. I quickly made my way to the kitchen, and sure enough there she was, fanning a pan frantically, meanwhile there was smoke that was settled into the room.

"Oh my goodness, is it burning?" I asked, jumping to help her.

"Hey, good-morning! She said. "And no, not yet." She clumsily flipped a pancake—reminding me of the days when I made my own pancakes.

I used to look a lot like her.

"Why don't you just...turn down the heat? I mean that pancake is looking a little burnt to me."

"The heat..." she grabbed the knob on the stove that controlled the heat, then turned it down. "Right."

I decided to help her, I drained the fat from the bacon that was cooking in another pan, then flipped those as well. "So...how are things with Peter?"

"Things are really good. Too good. I mean I think I'm falling in love with him all over again. You know, we met in high school. That's when we first fell in love, but after that, we had Blake and...I don't know we just became disconnected."

I nodded my head, remembering the whole story that Blake told me.

"So...how are you guys going to tell him what's going on?"

"Oh, I don't know. I think we'll probably just wait..." she replied.

"Wait...until when?"

"Until he moves out...after his senior year. That way Peter and I can just have a fresh start."

"What? That's a whole year away..."

"I know, but Peter says that Blake is doing much better...and if that's the case then I don't want him seeing me to upset him, or disrupt any progress he's made."

"I understand that, but do you really want to put your happiness on hold for a whole year? I mean what if feelings change between you and Peter?"

"They won't Angel."

The sharp tone of her voice told me that she wanted to end the conversation, so I finished preparing the bacon and killed the conversation. We made our plates in silence, and then she went upstairs with her food.

Vanessa and I had a very clear understanding of each other. She was by no means a mother to me, and I wasn't a daughter to her. We opened up to each other sometimes, and hell even had a good friendship, somewhat.

However, we had very clear boundaries and when we weren't ready to talk about something—we made it very obvious to each other. Normally it was me not being ready to open up and talk, but she had her occasional moments, like just now. With that being said, she was still a very good woman, and a nurturing woman at that.

She took me in when no one else would, made sure I was well adjusted in school, and even sometimes tried to scrape me up some food. If that wasn't a good person—then I didn't know what was.

I decided to eat my food at the dining room table. I was midway to a bite whenever the doorbell rang, interrupting my "breakfast feast."

I flung open the door, and there was Yasmine, looking as fabulous as always, except it took me a moment to realize...she was here with: