1When Life Gives You Lemons

Chapter One

The waiting room of Juban Hospital was quiet. They all waited. Waited for good news. Waited for bad news. No one knew. A young woman sat in the corner with her head in her hands. A single tear fell down her cheek as she prayed, "Please God. Please let him be ok. I can't live without him." The blonde haired man sitting beside her grabbed her hand and gave it a squeeze. She looked at him, and leaned against him. He put his arm around her, "It'll be alright, Sere. It'll be alright."

A doctor walked through the double doors with a solemn look upon his face. Slowly, he walked to the Tsukino family. "Mrs. Tsukino," he said. A woman in the lobby looked up. Strangely, she seemed rather calm. "Yes, doctor. How is he?"

"I'm so sorry, Mrs. Tsukino. We did everything we could, but we lost him in the end. He suffered severe trauma to the head, and there was just too much damage. We couldn't save him. I'm really very sorry."

A tear fell down Mrs. Tsukino's face, "Thank you, Doctor."

Serena looked up, "Oh Daddy!" she whispered. Andrew, the man beside her, enveloped her in a hug. She sobbed into his shoulders. "I can't believe he's gone!"

"I know, sweetie.. I know." He held her as she continued to cry. Mrs. Tsukino and the two other girls in the room, Kerry and Emily, sat quietly. Mrs. Tsukino was Serena's step-mother, and the other girls, her step-sisters. The girls seemed unphased by this sudden tragedy, and Mrs. Tsukino didn't know what to make of it. She walked to Serena and placed her hand on her shoulder, "Come, Serena. It's time to go home."

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A few weeks had gone by since his death. No will had been found, and everything in her father's estate had been handed over to her step-mother. Serena was having a hard time with her father's death. Her father meant everything to her. Her mother had died during childbirth, and Serena had never had the chance of knowing her. Now she was stuck here with no one, except for her bratty step-sisters and her bitchy step-mom. She had never really cared for them. She only tolerated them because she wanted her father to be happy. She loved him, and would have done anything for him. Now that he was gone, she didn't know what to do. Sarah, her step-mother, was finally showing her hatred towards Serena. After all, now that Ken was dead, she didn't have to pretend anymore. She had his money, and if Serena wanted a comfortable life, then she would just have to do what she said.

Serena was laying in bed. She had been awake for hours, but she didn't feel like facing the day. "I miss you so much, Daddy," she whispered. You see, Mr. Tsukino had been killed in a car accident. On his way to work that morning, a car ran the red light and slammed right into his driver's side. Serena began to cry softly. From downstairs she heard yelling, "Serena, come cook breakfast!" Serena rolled her eyes and got out of bed. She quickly changed into a pair of jeans and a white tank top and threw her hair into a pony tail. She ran downstairs, and began cooking breakfast.

"God, Serena. What took you so long?" asked Emily and Kerry.

Sarah eyed her cautiously, "Yes, Serena. You should no better than to stay in bed all day. There are things to be done around here. The laundry isn't going to do itself, you know?" Serena held her breath. She didn't want to say anything that she would regret. She sighed, and went back to cooking breakfast.

"Serena!" yelled Sarah. "Don't you have anything to say for yourself?"

Serena looked to the ground, "I'm sorry." Kerry and Emily smirked at her. Serena placed the plates down, and went to do the rest of the housework.

Later that afternoon, Serena went to ask Sarah if there was anything else that needed to be done. As she approached the door, she heard her step-mother on the phone. "Yes, Katrina. Everything is wonderful! Now that Ken is gone I have complete control over his money. And his little bitch of a daughter is now at my every beck and call! Quite frankly, I'm glad he's gone. I was never interested in him to begin with. It was his money that I loved!" Not wanting to hear anymore, Serena ran to her room! When she got there she found Emily and Kerry going through her things. "What are you doing?" asked Serena angrily. Kerry and Emily looked up. Emily smiled, "Oh, we were just looking for a dress for the school dance. You have such pretty dresses and we didn't think you'd mine if we borrowed them. After all, you're not going are you? Who would want to take someone as ugly as you?" The girls laughed. Tears fell down Serena's face. "I can't take this anymore!" Serena screamed. She ran down the stairs and out the door, never looking back.

She ran as fast as her body would take her. She didn't want to think anymore. She ended up at Andrew's door and she knocked. Andrew opened the door and saw her upset. He hugged her and brought her into his apartment.

The two sat on the couch while she cried. After she had regained composure, Andrew asked, "What happened Sere?" "They all hate me, Andrew. Sarah never loved my dad, and the girls are just using me. I couldn't take it anymore. I can't ever go back, Andy. Please don't make me go back," she begged.

"Of course I won't make you go back, Sere. We're best friends. I would love it if you stayed with me."

"Really?" she asked.

"Really," he said smiling. "I'm sure my roommate wouldn't mind one more person. We do have a spare bedroom. Besides, I hardly ever see him."

Serena sniffed, "Thanks, Andy. You're the best!"

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Okay, I know this is really short, but this is just the beginning. The chapters will get a lot longer, I promise. I have to warn you though, this isn't going to be a story where Serena is struggling with her grief like the last one. I just had to make a few dramatic moments happen to get her into Andrew's apartment. Gee, I wonder who the roommate is going to be? the author winks Anyways, please review and tell me whether or not I should continue.