My, My. The Things Children Think About Nowadays…
The steam poured out from the top of the bathroom cover, as Chase slowly geared the handle so that the hot water nearly burned her back. She clawed her body with her nails, but she couldn't get rid of the horrible feeling of imaginary chunks of vegetables pouring down her back. She turned the handle in reverse and turned off the spray of water. Even though she was now living in Beverly Hills, a place where people could afford to go around buying summer vacation houses as a hobby, she still felt the need to conserve water. Sixteen years of barely having enough of it had taught her that she needed to use only the amount she needed, and not to be overly luxurious. She could hardly afford bubble baths every day after school, even if she'd had food dumped all over her.
Chase opened the shower door, hearing the glass rattle slightly as it moved aside. As she stepped out, wrapping a fuzzy towel around her and tucking the edge, she saw that the bathroom mirrors were clouded with steam, making it hard for her to see anything.
Reaching up, Chase used her palm and wiped some of the steam off. She stared into the face of the girl in front of her and sighed. This girl in front of her oozed uncertainty: she was forgettable and weak, easy to push around.
Well, she was just going to have to change that, Chase decided. Tomorrow, if she got more food poured down her back, she'd make sure to throw a cup of chocolate milk back into the face of whoever did it. If anyone wanted to pants her in the hallways, she'd make sure to pull the girl's skirt down with her. She didn't have to be mean, but that didn't mean that she had to let everyone step all over her, either. From now on, Chase van Buren was going to take charge of her own life!
Whoever told her that it doesn't hurt to try was lying.
Chase pulled on the freshly laundered pile of clothes that were sitting on top of her new, silk sheets. It gave a tiny rustling sound whenever Chase touched it, and she had to resist jumping in between her covers and pulling the creamy pillows over the top of her head. Chase took the sheets into her hands and rubbed it with her fingers, then buried her head into the pillow.
Chase jerked her head back again and frowned at the pillow. There was something weird about it. Gently, she laid her face back down and rubbed it again. Hearing the crinkling sound of paper, she thrust her hands through the opening, and pulled out the culprit.
It was a wad of paper that made a crackling sound every time Chase squeezed it. She smoothed it out and counted it. There were a total of ten sheets of paper. The first nine ones, it turned out, was blank. On the last one, there was something written in red.
"Beware," it read on the front. Chase frowned. Who would ever send this kind of creepy message to her? It almost made Chase scared to get into her bed tonight now. Then, seeing that there was something written on the back, she turned it over. On it, someone had scribbled, "Nothing is ever what it seems."
There was no name, no indication of the gender, nothing. Quickly crinkling up the papers again, Chase stashed it underneath her bed so that it wouldn't bother her.
Out of sight, out of mind, right?
Still, Chase looked around the room wearily, like the author of the note could be hiding below her bookshelf. Most likely the person was long gone by now. In fact, the note had probably been left for her while she was in the shower. It was certainly something to think about. The thought that someone had been in the room all along with her without her knowing was starting to get on her nerves.
Luckily, someone decided to have mercy on Chase—really, first public humiliation and then a stalker note, what next?—and provide a distraction. "Dinner's ready, Miss." a short girl with her brown hair pulled back into a bun stuck her head inside the room and announced, her eyes curiously prying on every detail of Chase's room and face. Around here, word traveled fast, apparently.
"Uh, cool. Thanks." Chase said, turning her face so that the girl would stop staring at her. The pointed look was starting to get on her nerves now. "I'll just go, I guess." Chase said awkwardly, starting for the door and banging her hip on the frame as she turned to leave.
Feeling somewhat embarrassed by her tiny blunder, Chase quickly ducked out as soon as possible, nearly running down the stairs as fast as she could. Really, if the staircase hadn't been located just to the right of her room, she would've never been able to find her way. Who knew where she'd end up before they found her wandering around the house, still trying to get to the dinner table.
Fortunately, everything was easier from there. At the bottom, all she had to do was follow the sound of her mother and Mark's voice and then, the dining room appeared.
Thank goodness, Chase thought as she entered.
"Hey," Chase said, sitting down in the chair closest to her. She smiled embarrassedly, knowing very well that her hair was still damp and dripping. But, since only her mom, Mark, and Connor were here, she figured that she could get away with secretly wringing out the water into her hands and then wiping it on her jeans.
"Well, I wonder where they are," Mark commented in an offhand manner, as he glanced up at the clock like he was timing the speed.
"Blake should be here," her mom pushed a strand of her red hair behind her ears, "right about—"
Right on time, Blake threw open the dining room glass doors and stood in the doorway, an almost heroic air surrounding him as he stood in between the frames.
"Now," her mom finished, glancing at Blake with an expression of both anger and relief that her son wasn't the last one.
"Well, well. It seems like I'm early," he said, taking his place beside Chase. "Despite my best efforts," he muttered to himself, looking at the two empty seats directly in front of them. The table was situated for eight, and the last chair at the end was empty as well. Ornate wooden carvings were etched into it, so that there were flourishes up on top of the chair. Above their heads, a tiny chandelier hung, where its dimness could be adjusted, depending on how romantic you wanted to be. To complete the homely look, velvet curtains hung over the bay windows and an extensive bouquet of flowers sat right in the middle of the table. The room was, of course, decorated with the requisite priceless paintings and smelled of fresh pines.
The glass doors were pushed open again, and Chase saw Mark raise his head in annoyance and his eyes flash with a small, temporary flicker of anger. Then, it was gone, and he's mood was seemingly restored.
"Everyone," he said, gesturing at the door. "My daughters, Jade and Arielle Lewallen."
Chase swiveled her head around and her jaw almost dropped. Standing in the doorway was the beautiful blonde from Spanish class. And standing beside her was another equally striking girl.
The blonde, buttery curls and bright blue eyes, was wearing a gorgeous black dress that flattered her figure eight shape. She smiled at everyone, lifting a perfectly manicured nail, "I'm Arielle." she said, biting her lip slightly as she smiled.
The brunette stepped forward too as her sister said that, and into the light. Now that she did, Chase saw that she was not nearly as beautiful as her sister, but Jade oozed a sort of confidence and superiority that Arielle lacked. Her dark locks were lively under her grey eyes, and the way she walked, it was like she already knew she was born to be in the spotlight. Strolling to the front of the table with her red V-neck, she slowly lifted her eyelids and smiled too, "Jade."
Together, Jade and Arielle were as different as two completely different beings. If Arielle was the sun, then Jade was the moon. If Arielle was fire, Jade was the icy, cold water. But the two of them seemed to complete each other. Jade's sharper qualities melted with Arielle's softness and balanced each other out. Neither could survive without the other. Chase had never seen anything as terrible or as perfect as this before.
Diagonally across, Chase heard her mother give a sharp intake of breath as she saw Jade in clear light. Jade swiveled her head to look at Hannah, and gave a little puzzled expression, furrowing her freshly waxed eyebrow like she was trying to remember where she'd seen Hannah before. Her mom looked over at Mark, and he quickly gave a little shake of his head, and she didn't say anything more.
Hannah wasn't the only one hyperventilating either. Blake was practically salivating at the mouth at the moment. The only difference was that he was excited for completely different reasons.
Guys will be guys, after all.
Holy shit, Blake smirked. This was Blondie's house. The two of them were practically roommates. If only he'd known about this sooner, he wouldn't have been this eager to leave so soon. Not that this bombshell in front of him could compensate for having to uproot his whole entire life. But still, it made him feel a little better.
Maybe He was finally feeling bad up there, for giving Blake no breaks in this lonely existence. And if He wanted to keep these little surprises in life coming, who was Blake to argue?
He watched as Jade and Arielle both sat down in front of him and Chase.
Or rather, he watched Arielle. Jade had seemed so fake from the moment he saw her today. People who smiled the way she did could be complimenting you on the outside and thinking about the many ways they could stab you on the inside. It was way too complicated for him to even try to figure out what her true intentions were, so he simply didn't bother.
"So, how was school today?" his mom smiled down at the plate as she cut the lamb chops the cook had brought out. The knife made a delicate, clinking noise against the plate.
"Good," Chase replied, shooting Blake a sidelong glance, begging him not to tell her about what happened in the cafeteria. Blake rolled his eyes. His sister was so anal about being mommy's little perfect child, she could have her head dumped down the toilet and still come home and smile about it.
"I got a detention," Blake said, still chewing on his mouthful of lamb. "School's still school. Sucked ass as usual." He finished bluntly, swallowing the food in his mouth. He, for one, didn't give a shit about what Mark would think of him, or his own mom for that matter.
After all, if his mom even cared about him, she would've at least asked his opinion on their move. As it is, all she'd done was talk about how fabulous Mark was and how much better their lives were going to be. Not once had she even paused to hear about Blake's own opinions. So, he figured he was justified in not having to lie through his teeth and in putting his mom on the spot for her horrible parenting skills.
"What'd you do this time?" Hannah put her knife down and looked over at Blake sternly. You had better not make me look too bad, her eyes read angrily as they looked into his. Not that it helped the situation at all.
She should've known by now that it wasn't like Blake followed the rules or anything. If he did, they wouldn't even be having this conversation. As it was, he couldn't resist himself.
"Oh, believe me, it wasn't as bad as the time I flushed the keys to the finals cabinet down the toilet, or that other time when I Xeroxed pages of porno to put into the teacher's desk." Blake smiled angelically. "I only tried to knife a kid for being disrespectful. Teaching him some manners and all that great stuff they were supposed to teach him way back in kindergarten." He gave a little conspiratorial wink to his mom, like they were both finding this hilarious, when she was obviously horrified on the inside. He patted her hand, comfortingly. "Don't worry. They haven't even threatened to send me to Juvie yet. Now, that has to be a record for me."
He looked over at Mark, who looked like he was having second thoughts about letting this obnoxious kid into his family. Good. As long as Blake had to stay here, he was going to wreak a lot more havoc. Besides, judging from the way Arielle's mouth was silently laughing, these pristine little millionaires needed a little entertainment from their stiff, daily routines.
"Well, maybe, you'll serve detention with Duke. He got into trouble this morning by crashing Holder's car on the way to school." Jade piped up from her spot, twirling some noodles around her fork.
"It sounds like we should get along fabulously then." Blake said, looking Jade dead in the eyes.
"I hope so. It would kill me if I had to pick between my boyfriend and my brother," Jade smiled with her lips, but her eyes remained unmoving and cold. It was obvious that she knew that Blake didn't trust her.
"I'll certainly try, just for you, sis." Blake said sarcastically, purposely matching her tone.
"I appreciate the extreme effort and patience you would have to go through to restrain yourself from knifing my boyfriend," Jade hissed in a lower voice, as their parents resumed to talking about stuff only people who were in love had the patience to talk about. Chase and Arielle made small talk on the other side of them.
"It's no problem. You can owe me one," Blake's lips curled derisively. He almost liked Jade better when she wasn't pretending to be all happy about the upcoming marriage Anybody could see that neither of them would have liked anything more than to put both their parents on opposite ends of the United States.
"Of course. That is, only if you're good and haven't been sent away to Juvenile Hall yet." Jade twisted her knife, grinding it into the lamb chops viciously like she was stabbing a pig.
Torturing dead things is what they teach her in those therapy sessions?
"I'll keep that in mind when I'm around that body of yours." Blake laughed out loud, half pulling up the front of his shirt as he stretched and yawned.
"Because if my dear old step-daddy doesn't mind me saying, Jade, you've got a body that I would dearly love to fuck someday." Blake said louder this time, cutting off all conversation.
Then, seeing his mother's face, he added, "Oops. I forgot. I can't say the fuck word."
"Blake," his mom stood up, slamming her palm on the smooth wooden table. "Go. Now." Her voice lowered sinisterly.
"Very well," Blake sighed in mock shame, even though he was thrilled to be able to get away from the dinner table. "Some other day then, Jade. Or night, if you prefer." He smiled knowingly, scraping back his chair so that it screeched sickeningly against the marble floor.
"Blake, just go." Hannah's face was contorted with shame. For a moment, Blake felt bad for what he'd just done. Then, he remembered that she had gotten herself into this mess in the first place. If she hadn't made them all move, he could've still been happy back home. Knowing that made all the regret go away.
At least, enough for him to say before he left, "I'll be in my bedroom. If anyone needs me for anything." He added significantly, before ducking out of the dining room.
Chase watched her brother go with a mixture of respect and pity. Respect because he had the guts to do all that, and pity because she was pretty sure that he was going to get in major trouble for everything he'd just said back there.
She was pretty sure that telling your future step-father that you would like to sleep with his daughter (who also happened to be your future step-sister) was not the best plan towards a warm and loving father-son relationship.
"Well," Hannah tried to laugh it off in a casual way. "Blake's always been a handful."
Understatement of the year for someone who prints up porno and carries around a knife in his jacket.
Mark cleared his throat quietly and attempted his own laugh. "Yeah. He's got quite a personality, doesn't he?" From the way his eyes didn't smile, it was obvious just exactly what Mark thought about that personality.
Suddenly, Chase felt the need to stand up and tell the two of them to shut up about Blake. Sure he wasn't exactly the most well-behaved kid, but he was her brother.
Chase remembered back when she was nine. Back then, all the guys in Blake's grade had been into poking Jim the Turtle and seeing who could make Jim crawl the fastest by poking him the hardest. In the world of guys, it was probably a show of strength and power. Blake had always joined in to poke the turtle the hardest in front of all his guy friends. But something gave Chase the feeling that he never wanted to. Then, one day, the turtle went missing, kidnapped. Coincidentally, Chase later found a turtle in Blake's room, with Scooby-doo band-aids all over its shell. She'd never confronted her brother about it, but she got the feeling that this was ten-year-old Blake's way of saying sorry to the turtle.
It reminded her of him now. Everyone had been so quick to judge him, but no one ever thought that maybe this was just another macho veneer. Maybe Blake just didn't want—or had forgotten how—to show that vulnerability. It didn't mean that it wasn't there, though. He just knew how to hide it better.
Feeling very angry all of a sudden, Chase spoke up, "Well, maybe he's such a handful because you were never around to make sure he wasn't."
Her mom looked up and narrowed her eyes on Chase. "Chase Rebecca van Buren, that's quite enough."
And Chase, the coward that she was, didn't say anything more. The thing was, she did want to defend Blake, but she also knew that her mom hadn't been around because she had been busy working three jobs to support their family. And a part of Chase just couldn't blame Hannah for that, especially when her mother was the only reason they were still here and not on the streets, dying of starvation and the cold.
Jade cleared her throat quietly, to get everyone's attention. "Well, as much as I enjoyed this lovely family dinner, I'm afraid I have to leave now. Plans with Duke, you know. May I please be excused?"
Mark Lewallen looked at his daughter. "Wait there for just a second. I've just had a brilliant idea."
"Oh?" Jade asked politely, even though she kept glancing at the ornate, golden clock that hung on the wall in a way that made it seem like she was in a great hurry for something very important.
"There's no reason why you shouldn't just take Chase here and introduce her to Winter and your little group of friends." Mark boomed from his seat, folding his arms. The way he looked at Jade made it clear that this brilliant idea was not a choice, but a demand.
Chase panicked slightly on the inside. While she did want to make friends here, she had never been a social climber. The whole popularity issue was not interesting to her; it was even a bit intimidating. So, she tried to stay away from it. The popular girls at her old school had seemed so superficial and identical, that Chase wasn't sure that she could fit in, even if she wanted to. Rather, Chase had enjoyed the company of a couple of close friends and her drama activities.
Jade glanced at Chase briefly and then looked at her father. "That's a wonderful idea, Dad. I would love to." Jade smiled at Chase warmly.
"Great. It's settled, then." Mark said, leaving no room for Chase to even attempt to fake a busy night of homework.
"Okay, Dad." Jade said, standing up and addressed Chase. "I'll meet you in the car in five minutes, okay?" she called behind her shoulder, not bothering to hear what Chase had to say.
Chase considered her options: a) say no to Mark Lewallen and risk pissing him off even more than her brother already had and getting kicked out of Beverly Hills or b) face a group of materialistic, high-maintenance Barbies who would all probably talk about their sexual conquests for two hours.
Of the two, Option B was a little more favorable. After all, hearing a group of teenage girls squeal about guys was not going to hurt her.
No, but what a certain not-so-nice person has in mind just might.
AN: Thank you so much to everyone who reviewed last time! It's a great motivation. I swear I'll try to get around to responding to everyone who reviewed. I know I'm not very good at being consistent with uploading. After I take my SAT Math Subject Test, I should get better, hopefully. But, for now, here's chapter 8. I hope you guys enjoy it. I certainly had fun writing it. Also, this time, I would love to hear what some of you want to happen in the next chapter, or even eventually. It could even be totally random, if you want. Again, thanks for reading my story, and please review it if you get the time. Thanks!!!