Disclaimer: I don' own the characters, blah blah blah.
AN: Aaahhh! Is it time to update already? Time passes so fast *sighs*
We arrived at home just as Clarria was walking around with a tape measurer and a stranger following her every step. "Look at this horrible shade of beige. Just horrible. Maybe we can get some sort of pale blue. What do you think?," she pouted at the unknown man.
Arden and I tried to go up to our rooms before she noticed us but we had no such luck. "Oh, hello you two lovebirds. This is Jacque. He's going to be our new interior designer."
The male was below average height and his fat seemed to be accumulating around his waist. He tried to hide it with a somewhat baggy dress shirt but you couldn't help but detect it. Though Jacque's face was narrow and he had no double chin, his body appeared overweight.
"Nice to meet you," Jacque's cultured voice spoke while he nodded his head in acknowledgment.
I imagined this man to be a spoiled king if we had been in a different era. Half-wanting to curtsy, I waited for Arden to finish his greetings before we got far, far away from Clarria.
As we strolled away without hesitation, I heard Jacque pointing out to my new stepmother, "That must have been your daughter." I expect to hear that expression a lot anytime I was near her.
"I wonder if you father approved of this."
I was startled at Arden's sudden words. "Pardon?"
My husband looked distracted while he glanced off in space. "It's just money problems. You don't need to worry about it."
"Tell me."
"It's just that we're over the budget as it is right now. With the wedding and now this new designer, I don't know if we can afford it." He didn't need much prompting. Maybe it was a bigger dilemma than he put on.
"Even with my secretary salary?," I inquired.
Amused, Arden let out a smirk. "You expect to earn a lot of money from that? What is it? Minimum wage?"
I was hurt that he was mocking my new job. He didn't need to act like he was better than me. The main reason Arden had the occupation he had now was because of my papa and his influences. "Every bit makes a difference," I argued, furious.
"Yep, every tiny bit." Why couldn't he just let it go? I chose to ignore him but I let the distance between us grow.
A wistful tone echoed through the halls to my burning ears. "Au-ddrrriii- na?"
I gave Arden a rueful expression. "Now if you'll excuse me, I'm off to see my sister," I told him formally. I had a fierce protection over my first job. Any bad comment directed at it was aimed at me also.
We walked off in opposite directions; me to Sylvia's room and my husband to ours.
Maria was sitting cross legged across from her. She peered at me from above her specs. "Hello Mrs. Lowe. She's been really good today. I'm teaching her to say the alphabet."
"That's wonderful."
There was a pause and we listened to Sylvia's musings of random letters. "O, p, g, i, l, s, e lalala."
"Maria, if you don't mind, I'd like to spend some time with my sister."
She got up and brushed her pants. "Okay, just call me when you need me," Maria murmured before she left.
I kneeled in front of my innocent, rejected sibling. "Have you met Clarria?"
Her face contorted into a face of disgruntled emotion. "Sss-she no li-li-li- like Sylvia."
"Shhhhh, calm down. I'll always be here for you," I comforted.
Spending the next couple of hours was like turning back time again. I no longer had to worry about fathers marrying new wives that looked liked their daughters, jealous husbands, or mysterious men. The most horrendous problem was getting a pen mark on the wall. So simple, so lucky, so Sylvia.
"It's time for dinner," Arden announced stiffly and then quickly left the doorway. How like him to be the barer of bad news.
"Come on Sylvia. You heard your brother-in-law. Eating time."
"Jeeeelllo?"
It was her favourite dessert and she could spend hours of watching the fascinating substance moving back and forth. "Maybe."
We walked down together to the dining room. There was a delicious combination aroma of crispy chicken and fresh baked bread. It rolled to my nose and stayed, teasing my taste buds. Nothing like a home-cooked meal.
Our family had assigned chairs. Papa usually sat on one end and I on the other. Today, after only one day of meeting my papa, Clarria was happily chatting in my spot, an obvious sign that things were about to change.
"Hello darling," the new mistress-to-be greeted, trying to avoid glancing at Sylvia's awkward walk.
Ushering Sylvia to sit next to me, we started dinner. The hired help was obviously busy, having to not only cook the food but serve it also.
I got up. I knew how he felt. Not long ago, I was the one assigned to that job. "Let me help you Henri."
"Audrina. Sit down. They're paid to do that," she commanded with her nose uplifted.
Of course, I was now more determined to aid Henri with his many tasks. "And are you paid to be such an intolerable bitch too? What kind of lady would marry a man after only going on one date with them. And what's more is continuing this engagement when you found out that his daughter is practically your identical twin. Not just that but you have to take MY chair at the dinner table too. We have arranged seats you know!" I just couldn't stop the flow of words once they left my tongue. I had tried to keep them inside but I couldn't. I just couldn't.
I left the gloomy room and ran outside. I ran from my future stepmother's crying, papa's embarrassment, Arden's shock, Henri's wonderment of what he should now, and Sylvia's cries for me. The forest was better than that evil house. Too many deaths and tears had occurred in there for it to be good. Even the forest was purer than it.
I jogged madly throughout the open grass and then into the unknown forests. I needed time to myself. There was just too much going on. Throwing myself at the nearest tree, I huddled, covering my ears with my hands and burying my face into my lap.
I used to think that the house was my haven. Listening to my parents' tricks and truths, I had stayed away from the forest. But oh, parents had a way of thinking that they were always right when it came to their children. They were wrong. Deadly wrong. The house contained the soul of the other Audrina, the rocking chair, the horrible stairs that led to your death, and all those people that promised you an unhappy life. Even the forest was better than that. It had created me. At least it had given birth to the present Audrina.
AN: There you go. To anwer the reviewer's question: Nope, no one accused me of that but I couldn't very say "I'm not V.C. Andrews" cause well... she's dead =( Anywayz, thnx for the tip about the police. I'll keep that in mind later on in life. BTW, thnx for your review. The nice words made my day hehe. Also, A BIG WHOOPING thanks to anyone else who reviewed. I'll try to post the next chapter tomorrow. Maybe. ^.^ Depends on the review(s). lol.
AN: Aaahhh! Is it time to update already? Time passes so fast *sighs*
We arrived at home just as Clarria was walking around with a tape measurer and a stranger following her every step. "Look at this horrible shade of beige. Just horrible. Maybe we can get some sort of pale blue. What do you think?," she pouted at the unknown man.
Arden and I tried to go up to our rooms before she noticed us but we had no such luck. "Oh, hello you two lovebirds. This is Jacque. He's going to be our new interior designer."
The male was below average height and his fat seemed to be accumulating around his waist. He tried to hide it with a somewhat baggy dress shirt but you couldn't help but detect it. Though Jacque's face was narrow and he had no double chin, his body appeared overweight.
"Nice to meet you," Jacque's cultured voice spoke while he nodded his head in acknowledgment.
I imagined this man to be a spoiled king if we had been in a different era. Half-wanting to curtsy, I waited for Arden to finish his greetings before we got far, far away from Clarria.
As we strolled away without hesitation, I heard Jacque pointing out to my new stepmother, "That must have been your daughter." I expect to hear that expression a lot anytime I was near her.
"I wonder if you father approved of this."
I was startled at Arden's sudden words. "Pardon?"
My husband looked distracted while he glanced off in space. "It's just money problems. You don't need to worry about it."
"Tell me."
"It's just that we're over the budget as it is right now. With the wedding and now this new designer, I don't know if we can afford it." He didn't need much prompting. Maybe it was a bigger dilemma than he put on.
"Even with my secretary salary?," I inquired.
Amused, Arden let out a smirk. "You expect to earn a lot of money from that? What is it? Minimum wage?"
I was hurt that he was mocking my new job. He didn't need to act like he was better than me. The main reason Arden had the occupation he had now was because of my papa and his influences. "Every bit makes a difference," I argued, furious.
"Yep, every tiny bit." Why couldn't he just let it go? I chose to ignore him but I let the distance between us grow.
A wistful tone echoed through the halls to my burning ears. "Au-ddrrriii- na?"
I gave Arden a rueful expression. "Now if you'll excuse me, I'm off to see my sister," I told him formally. I had a fierce protection over my first job. Any bad comment directed at it was aimed at me also.
We walked off in opposite directions; me to Sylvia's room and my husband to ours.
Maria was sitting cross legged across from her. She peered at me from above her specs. "Hello Mrs. Lowe. She's been really good today. I'm teaching her to say the alphabet."
"That's wonderful."
There was a pause and we listened to Sylvia's musings of random letters. "O, p, g, i, l, s, e lalala."
"Maria, if you don't mind, I'd like to spend some time with my sister."
She got up and brushed her pants. "Okay, just call me when you need me," Maria murmured before she left.
I kneeled in front of my innocent, rejected sibling. "Have you met Clarria?"
Her face contorted into a face of disgruntled emotion. "Sss-she no li-li-li- like Sylvia."
"Shhhhh, calm down. I'll always be here for you," I comforted.
Spending the next couple of hours was like turning back time again. I no longer had to worry about fathers marrying new wives that looked liked their daughters, jealous husbands, or mysterious men. The most horrendous problem was getting a pen mark on the wall. So simple, so lucky, so Sylvia.
"It's time for dinner," Arden announced stiffly and then quickly left the doorway. How like him to be the barer of bad news.
"Come on Sylvia. You heard your brother-in-law. Eating time."
"Jeeeelllo?"
It was her favourite dessert and she could spend hours of watching the fascinating substance moving back and forth. "Maybe."
We walked down together to the dining room. There was a delicious combination aroma of crispy chicken and fresh baked bread. It rolled to my nose and stayed, teasing my taste buds. Nothing like a home-cooked meal.
Our family had assigned chairs. Papa usually sat on one end and I on the other. Today, after only one day of meeting my papa, Clarria was happily chatting in my spot, an obvious sign that things were about to change.
"Hello darling," the new mistress-to-be greeted, trying to avoid glancing at Sylvia's awkward walk.
Ushering Sylvia to sit next to me, we started dinner. The hired help was obviously busy, having to not only cook the food but serve it also.
I got up. I knew how he felt. Not long ago, I was the one assigned to that job. "Let me help you Henri."
"Audrina. Sit down. They're paid to do that," she commanded with her nose uplifted.
Of course, I was now more determined to aid Henri with his many tasks. "And are you paid to be such an intolerable bitch too? What kind of lady would marry a man after only going on one date with them. And what's more is continuing this engagement when you found out that his daughter is practically your identical twin. Not just that but you have to take MY chair at the dinner table too. We have arranged seats you know!" I just couldn't stop the flow of words once they left my tongue. I had tried to keep them inside but I couldn't. I just couldn't.
I left the gloomy room and ran outside. I ran from my future stepmother's crying, papa's embarrassment, Arden's shock, Henri's wonderment of what he should now, and Sylvia's cries for me. The forest was better than that evil house. Too many deaths and tears had occurred in there for it to be good. Even the forest was purer than it.
I jogged madly throughout the open grass and then into the unknown forests. I needed time to myself. There was just too much going on. Throwing myself at the nearest tree, I huddled, covering my ears with my hands and burying my face into my lap.
I used to think that the house was my haven. Listening to my parents' tricks and truths, I had stayed away from the forest. But oh, parents had a way of thinking that they were always right when it came to their children. They were wrong. Deadly wrong. The house contained the soul of the other Audrina, the rocking chair, the horrible stairs that led to your death, and all those people that promised you an unhappy life. Even the forest was better than that. It had created me. At least it had given birth to the present Audrina.
AN: There you go. To anwer the reviewer's question: Nope, no one accused me of that but I couldn't very say "I'm not V.C. Andrews" cause well... she's dead =( Anywayz, thnx for the tip about the police. I'll keep that in mind later on in life. BTW, thnx for your review. The nice words made my day hehe. Also, A BIG WHOOPING thanks to anyone else who reviewed. I'll try to post the next chapter tomorrow. Maybe. ^.^ Depends on the review(s). lol.