Perfect Strangers

Chapter 1

Cheyenne

I woke up sometime around midnight, in a cold sweat. I sat up in my bed breathing hard and crying. I had the dream again. The same dream that had haunted me since the night my parents were killed. I got up and put on my house shoes and walked downstairs to get a drink of water. When I got to the kitchen I went to the refrigerator and pulled out a bottle of water. That's when the front door slammed open and I heard a "Shhhhhhhh" and giggles. I turned and looked to find my Aunt Mona sneaking upstairs with some guy she had obviously just met because I had been living with her for about eight months and had never seen him before. They are kissing while making their way to the stairs and I hide against the wall by the stairs when my aunt's shirt falls on my head. Disgusting. Freaking disgusting. My brother and sister are upstairs! How can she be so irresponsible?

I made my way back up to my room carefully dodging the items of clothing that were trailed to my aunt's room (aka my parents old room). It's nights like this when I really miss my parent's. Before I even realized it a tear was streaming down my face. I climbed into bed and tried to go back to sleep but I had no such luck. I laid there and couldn't help but think back to the night that my parents died.

That was the night that everything changed for the worst. We had a very close family and my parents were great people. I remember that day with such clarity that it scares me sometimes. Will I ever be able to forget and move on? Probably not…

I woke to my alarm at 6:30 in the morning. I get up and take a shower. Then I walk over to my aunt's room and notice that her "man-friend" is still here but she isn't. Great, she left me and my toddler brother and sister here by ourselves with a stranger. Some role model huh? I go over to my brother and sisters room and look in. They are both still asleep. Chloe and Connor are twins. They are two and a half and they do everything together. They were kind of a surprise considering I was fourteen almost fifteen when my mom got pregnant with them. I go in and gently wake them up. I take them downstairs and fix them breakfast.

"CeCe, where is Aunt Mona?" Chloe looked up with syrup and butter dripping off of her face, from her pancakes.

"I'm not sure Chloe. Eat your breakfast and I will take you and Connor to daycare."

They finished their breakfast in peace, then I took them upstairs and dressed them. I put them in their car-seats and strapped them in. They sang and played until we got to their daycare and I dropped them off with their teachers. I told them goodbye and headed to school.

I called my Aunt Mona on the way there. "Hello?" She answered the phone in her polite work voice.

"I left your one night stand at the house. I locked the door to mine and the twins room. You might want to go at lunch and make sure he didn't steal anything." I snapped at her.

"Good morning to you too, Cheyenne." She said sarcastically. "Alright, I'll go check on my lunch break."

"How about next time you don't bring them home where all of us sleep."

"What fun would that be?"

"Grow up, Mona. You're a parent now." With that I hung up. I wasn't in the mood to listen to her crap today. Who was I kidding? I am the parent around the house, she is just the adult that pays the bills.

I pulled into the school parking lot. I parked my car and started to walk to class. When I got to my locker Bryson was standing there waiting for me. Bryson is my boyfriend of a year and a few months. Bryson loved me and he was there for me when my parents died, even though I never told him what truly happed that night. He smiled wide at me and grabbed my hand.

"Good morning, beautiful." He said. I felt bad because I felt like I couldn't give Bryson what he deserved. He was so sweet but I always felt distant from him because of his temper. He had never been abusive with me or anything but we have been in some very serious screaming matches in the past couple of months and I saw a side of him that I never wanted to see. We normally fight about the same thing over and over again. Sex. He wants it and I don't. Let's just say that he doesn't understand that No Means No. He wants me to "put out" as he says, which is a turn off in itself; but I am just not ready. Especially, with everything that has been going on around my house; me ending up pregnant would be the worst thing that could possibly happen right now.

"Good morning." I said with a smile. He leaned down to kiss me but I act like I don't notice and go back to getting my books out of my locker. I know it's horrible that I don't feel the same way about him as he does for me but I can't be alone right now. I just can't let him go. I care about him but I don't love him. Well, not in that way anyways. I got my books and walked to my first period class, Bryson holding my hand the whole way there. When I got to the door to my class, he spun me around and smiled at me.

"Hey, so I was thinking that maybe we could hangout after school?"

"Well, I have to pick Chloe and Connor up on my way home, so we could go to my house. I have to take care of the twins though."

"Sounds perfect." He quickly kissed me but I pulled away almost instantly. I was never a big fan of PDA. I didn't need everyone to see me make-out with my boyfriend. Yet another thing that me and Bryson disagreed on. He gave me a look that was covered in disappointment before turning away and going towards his classroom. I started walking to my seat but about halfway down the aisle Madison McDuff turned to me and sneered.

"You know, if I had a boyfriend as hot as Bryson I would kiss him in public all of the time."

"Well, I guess that is the difference between me and you. I don't have to flaunt him around like eye-candy. I am perfectly content with having him all to myself." She just rolls her eyes at me. I know that Bryson is one of the hottest guys in school. He has shaggy blonde hair, a tanned muscular body, he is about six feet tall, with these deep green eyes that would make any normal teenage girl melt. Too bad, I am not your normal teenage girl. I used to be.

I remember when just the thought of Bryson made my heart skip a beat and butterflies would fill my stomach, but like I said, when my parents died it all changed for the worst. I know that he feels bad for me and that's why he puts up with the cold shoulder that I have been giving him. He deserves a girl like Madison, who will show him off and be proud of what she has. I will never be that girl for him.