Here you go, hope it isn't too rambley :)
Disclaimer: I don't anything that other people own...
Chapter Twelve
Things got worse over the next few days; by the time new years eve came around Derek seemed to have forgotten my real name. Not once did he call me 'Casey' or 'Case' that day, it was all 'keener', 'klutzilla', 'space-case' or 'spacey'. Occasionally 'princess' was thrown in. It astounded me how many nicknames he had for me; when they were all used in one day they really added up.
As well as calling me names, he developed a childish habit of 'wanting' whatever I had. He even went as far as drinking soya milk from the carton (even Lizzie and I wouldn't do that, plain soya milk isn't the nicest drink) so I couldn't use it in my cereal.
Thus far I had managed to hold my tongue, but only by picturing being back at school and going about my business Derek free. 'Not long now' became my mantra, I blared it out like music in my head every time he did something to irritate me. Needless to say, I did it so much I started doing it in my sleep; aparrently so loudly that Derek heard through his wall and started teasing me about that too.
"Sweetie, are you sure you're okay with this?" Mom asked me for the fith time that day. We were cleaning up for Aunt Fiona, Harry and Icky Vicky and she was feeling guilty for making me put up with Vicky and Derek at the same time.
"Mom, I'm fine. Besides, they're already on their way. We couldn't cancel now if we wanted to." I reasoned. I actually figured this could work to my advantage; with Vicky here Derek might focus more on her than on tormenting me. And she wouldn't even bother with me while Derek was around. The slut had even hit on him in the car back home after she'd kissed Truman, though luckily he was too pissed off to notice.
"I guess." She still looked guilty.
"Look, it's fine. I'm fine. I'm over it, really." Even if seeing her still brought back flashbacks; I would survive. Mom shouldn't feel guilty over seeing her own sister just because her neice was a little... I breathed, halting my inner monalogue. "Besides, they're family. It's not like you invited Truman over."
She sighed and nodded. "You're right." She hugged me. "I am so proud of you. You're so grown up. I could count on one hand the people, even the adults that I know who would deal with this in such a mature way."
I hugged her back while desperately looking for an escape. I can do emotions, heck I'm the queen of emotional wreckage, but breast feeding hormones were a nightmare. I felt the deepest sympathy for George these days; the poor guy had thought the mood swings would end with the pregnancy (Abby had bottle fed so it was only a couple of weeks after for her) and now he had survived that to find he had months of this still ahead.
Luckily the cause of the hormones came to my rescue. Simon started screaming. I was a little amused at the sound as it wasn't his usual sad or hungry cry; more like an angry yell.
"I better go get him." Mom pulled away with a hard worn expression. "I don't know why he hates tummy time so much; you girls loved it. Crinkling the noisy toys and looking in the mirror on the playmat..."
"That the Princess liked looking at herself a lot doesn't surprise me; but maybe Simon just doesn't like being put down. Marti constantly wanted entertaining until she was... Actually she still does." Derek interjected helpfully as he and George came in, having just returned from the store. That he was making sense surprised me too much for me to get annoyed over the 'princess' remark.
"Derek's right, both he and Marti were very restless babies and they hated to be alone." George confirmed.
I bit back a comment about Derek being needy and smiled. "You guys get everything?" To my horror I had discovered the night before that no shopping had been done for the evenings celebrations and had sent them out as soon as they would go (which wasn't early, as Derek wouldn't even get out of bed until noon).
"Yep." George smiled back out of me and held out his bags for inspection.
I took them and started mentally checking off items as I dug through quickly. I frowned. "Where are the party poppers?"
Derek rolled his eyes. "Calm down your Highness, they're right here." He passed me the bag he was holding.
Mom looked at them worriedly as I pulled them from the bag. "Make sure Marti doesn't get a hold of those, I don't like the idea of her and explosives. Even if they are just novelty."
"She won't, I'll put them on top of the refrigerator until she's gone to bed." I reassured her, then breathed out in relief as I noticed everything was there. Although there was a bit more than everything. "Derek, what is this?" I held up a bottle in each hand.
"That's champagne, and that's vodka." He pointed at each in turn.
"I know that, I meant what are they doing here? I said no alcohol."
"New years without booze? Are you nuts?" He smirked, "Actually, don't answer that."
I opened my mouth, the first half of his name already on my lips.
"It's fine Casey; we'll just make sure we don't open them until the kids are in bed." Mom quickly placated me.
"I think Ed and Liz were going to stay up for the countdown." George said, a little nervously.
Mom held up her hands in an I'm-not-dealing-with-this gesture and went to soothe her still screaming son.
I took a deep breath. "It's fine, I'll just watch them and make sure they don't have any." I answered George but was mostly talking to myself.
"I told you we shouldn't have got it!" I heard George complain to Derek as I took the bags into the kitchen.
I shook my head despairingly. George sounded more like Derek's impressionable friend than his father. Sometimes I wondered how he could be the same guy that grounded Derek and took away his priviledges when we lived at home.
I was in the process of helping Marti 'find' her shoes when they arrived.
"Marti, come back here!" I yelled as I chased her down the stairs. "Marti, this isn't funny anymore, you have to wear your shoes!"
"Can't, Daphne hid them again. She doesn't like shoes." She chirruped happily as Fiona, Harry and Vicki sat down in the living room. I had no idea whether she even still believed in Daphne or she was just a handy excuse, but having experienced her angry sulks first hand I wasn't about to question her.
"Would she tell us where she hid them if we gave her some candy?" I resorted to bribery. I wasn't going to keep running around the house looking while we had guests, and I sure as heck wasn't going to ask Derek for help.
"Nope." She grinned mischievously and plopped herself down on the floor.
Vicki grinned back at her and I felt my stomach turn. She was my step-sister, not Vicki's. Or was she going to one up me there too?
"Hey Smarti, no shoes?" Derek just had to enter at the precise moment Marti was proudly wiggling her shoeless feet.
I sighed in defeat, "She says Daphne hid them."
He just laughed and walked through to the kitchen.
I looked around at my relatives. "I'll go find Mom and George." I rushed from the room, but not before seeing Derek come back in with Marti's shoes in hand.
I found them in their room resting with Simon. They looked so worn out it seemed a shame to wake them... But hey, better that than me face the relatives without back up.
"Mom, George." I shook their shoulders gently, then a bit more roughly when they didn't wake up. "They're here."
Mom stirred and rubbed her face, leaving her arm there to shield her eyes from the light.
"Mom, Aunt Fiona is here, you have to get up." I insisted.
She looked at my pleading face and sighed. "Okay, Sweetie. We'll be right up."
I gave a half smile and made my way back up.
I spent most of the day avoiding Vicki, doing menial chores and texting my friends about it all. I had briefly outlined my history with Vicki on the phone to Cher the day before, to which she replied that Vicki was a bitch but had the same taste in men as me. I had rolled my eyes at that. Three guys... I mean two guys I liked and my step-brother hardly classed her as having the same taste as me.
Her last message had suggested I offer to set Vicki up with one of my 'cast offs'.
When I'd finally done all of the chores I could do without raising suspicion I sat down quietly and continued texting surreptitiously. Until Vicki finally couldn't resist the urge to torment me any longer.
"I heard you finally ended things with Truman?"
I clenched my jaw and swallowed before forcing a smile onto my face. She just had to go straight for the kill didn't she? "Yes, we broke up only a few days after graduation." I picked up my drink and searched desperately for a topic of conversation before she could continue.
"So, what happened?"
I cursed inwardly at my slowness. "Things just weren't working out." I tried.
"I hope it wasn't anything to do with me?" She pulled a concerned face but the smugness in her eye gleamed through it. "Because you know it was nothing and we both regretted it as soon as we knew how much we'd hurt you." Her hand rested above her heart to try to prove her sincerity.
I blushed and opened my mouth to answer.
"Oh, don't worry; we could all tell he regretted it." Derek leaned on the arm of the chair next to Vicki. "Hey Vicki... Toria..." I smiled at his 'mistake'. She'd been Victoria since he'd known her, he wasn't going to call her Vicki by accident.
"Hey Derek." She smiled in what I'm sure she thought was a seductive way. She didn't seem to have noticed the insult.
I lost interest and involvement while they flirted. Or at least Vicki flirted, Derek might have just been being Derek, it was hard to tell.
Shortly after that, I brought my planned activities list out. Everyone agreed to join in apart from Derek who sat watching with a smirk while we played charades and messed around on the Kinect Mom and George had bought for Christmas.
Of course it wasn't long until Vicki decided she was tired and sat out with Derek, though he was apparently too entertained to pay her much attention.
We had to take it in turns on the games on the Kinect, so several times I was sat down on the sofa within easy listening distance. Not that I was necessarily listening; but some things one can't help but overhear... Such as Vicki shamelessly coming on to Derek and him ignoring her in favour of laughing at Mom and George wobbling around trying to play virtual volleyball. Her frustration at her failure was priceless and it was all I could do not to grin outright for the duration.
Mom and George sent Marti up to bed at nine o'clock, though it took Derek and a bedtime story to get her there, and we brought out the champagne ready for later. And Derek brought out the vodka with some choice mixing drinks and some beer I didn't even know we had.
Edwin's eyes lit up, but Mom and I were quick to tell him and Lizzie they weren't to have any. Which was completely undermined when Derek stage whispered to them that he'd sneak them some later.
It looked like we would enter the new year surprisingly well (though I think Edwin had succeeded in getting his hands on alcohol and Marti woke up and came downstairs for the countdown and refused to go back upstairs), we were all laughing and joking. Or should I say laughing at Edwin and Georges attempts at joking; it's amazing what a party atmosphere and a little alcohol can do; and the countdown was about to start.
We all grabbed a party popper (Mom confiscated Marti's but she just grabbed another when no one was looking) and a glass of either champagne or lemonade ready for midnight and George raised his watch to count.
"Ten..."
"Nine..."
"Eight..."
Vicki stumbled, having started drinking as soon as the bottles were out and we all paused to laugh before continuing.
"Five..."
"Four..."
"Three..."
We all somehow balanced our glasses while gripping the cords on our party poppers; miraculously not spilling a drop between us.
"Two..."
"One..."
"Happy New Year!"
We all pulled the cords, splashing drinks everywhere (apart from me, I may have looked silly the way I did it but I was dry) and streamers filled the air.
Derek spun me around and unceremoniously stuck his tongue in my mouth. I stumbled and fell back, luckily onto the sofa, and prepared to... hit... him, but he'd already moved on to Lizzie and Marti, pressing kisses to their cheeks.
I was bright red and furious. Why oh why had I told him before that I thought french kissing was gross? Why had I revealed my germaphobic tendencies to him of all people? I was surprised he'd gone that far, but he hadn't got a rise out of me in days, so maybe he was desperate.
I stormed from the room the second Auld Lang Syne finished to call Emily and Cher on conference. And to brush my teeth, though I forgot about that until I'd finished my phone call. I just needed the loving support of my friends more than I needed to de-germ my mouth. Didn't mean I didn't want to brush my teeth.
The loving support of my friends wasn't very forthcoming. They both laughed. Laughed! I'd just been assaulted by my step-brother and they were laughing!
"Calm down, Case! It was just a kiss!" Emily fought through her laughter to say.
"Just a kiss? One it was Derek! Two he stuck his tongue in my mouth!" I squealed back indignantly.
"Start the year as you mean to continue I always say!" Cher giggled. She was obviously drunk. Very drunk.
"Cher!"
Emily broke in again through Cher's rendition of 'Kiss Me'. "Are you sure you're not more mad about the fact he just walked off to kiss other people than the fact he kissed you?"
"Derek. Tongue. Do I need to explain this to you?! It was disgusting!"
"Now I happen to know, Derek's tongue is far from disgusting!" She told me.
Shortly after that I hung up. I was not going to listen to that nonsense any longer! The idea that I... That I liked... That I enjoyed... Urgh!
I was in bed that night before Marti. And my dreams hated me as well...
Merry Christmas everyone :) Hope you liked it.
