Chapter 15: Happy Thanksgiving

I toss myself onto my back on the bed, frustrated. It was 3 in the morning and the snores of my Dad can be heard even from across the hallway. These walls were way too thin. Everyone seems to be able to sleep soundly. Except for me.

No, I'm completely restless. I did sleep for a few hours earlier but since then, no shut-eye for me. Brandon has been out ever since we've gotten here. My poor Snookums must have been dog tired. Not that he's talking to me right now anyways. This is probably why I can't go back to sleep. My mind keeps racing when I think about all that happened yesterday. I was hoping to talk to Brandon after his nap, but that didn't happen so I feel bad that this issue is going unresolved. Maybe he just can't stand to talk to me right now…

I hear a door creak open from down the hallway. If I remember correctly, the only creaking bedroom door in this house is the guest room door, which means that Brandon is awake and moving around. I wait until I hear whoever it is walk down the stairs, and then open my door slightly to check which door opened. Yep, I was right. Hmm, he's probably starving from missing dinner.

I walk quietly down to the first floor and peak around the wall to see Brandon rifling through one of his bags that were left downstairs. He swore quietly, apparently not finding what he was looking for. I decided to make my presence known.

Clearing my throat, I said, "Whatcha looking for?"

Brandon jumped slightly in surprise and looked over at me. "Oh, I was just looking for that pack of extra cookies. I guess I didn't bring it like I thought."

"The chocolate ones?"

"Yeah."

"Oh," I say sheepishly. "I kind of ate those in the car. Sorry!" Brandon stared at me for a moment before chuckling and shaking his head.

"It's fine. I was just looking for something to tide my stomach over until breakfast."

"I can make you something," I piped.

"No, you don't have to. I'll be fine." I was shaking my head and already pushing him towards the kitchen before he could even finish.

"Now sit," I commanded him and he reluctantly plopped down in a nearby chair. I waltzed on over to the cupboard above the stove.

"Does PB&J sound good?" I asked.

"I'll take anything," he replies with a sideways grin. When our eyes locked, he cleared his throat and turned away. "You really don't have to though."

I ignored him and shut the cupboard back after taking out the bread and peanut butter. After placing them on the table, I turned and grabbed the jelly in silence. The whole process took maybe ten seconds but the entire time I felt Brandon staring at me. When I finally looked him straight in the eye, he turned his face away again.

I sighed. "Come on, Brandon. I know I made you angry but-"

"I'm not mad, Stella," Brandon began but that was a bold face lie. The fact alone that he was still calling me Stella instead of his nickname for me let me know that he was still angry. I stopped him by stomping my foot. Yes, I stomped my foot like a three year old. Not one of my finer moments.

"Yes you are! You won't even look at me."

Brandon's eyebrows pulled together. "I am looking at you."

"Not in my eyes! There a huge difference between my face and my eyes." I walked to the counter and hop onto it, swinging my legs lazily.

Brandon was silent for a few moments before quietly responding. "Okay, I'm a little mad at what happened. But," he says as I try to open my mouth for an apology, "I was thinking about things when I woke up and it's more about the reason you did it than what you did it."

"Because I was too scared to tell my Dad?" He must think I'm a huge coward now.

"Because of Steven," He grits out, surprising me.

"Steven?"

Brandon looked up to the ceiling. "Stella," I rolled my eyes at his use of my real name, "do you know how many freaking times your ex-boyfriend has gotten in the middle of our relationship without even physically being here? Gosh, I haven't even met the guy before and I still want to punch him in the face.

"At first you didn't want to even kiss me because you were afraid I would like he did. Then you didn't want to be in a relationship me because he was bad to you. You get constantly jealous of women who are around me because something in you is scared that I'll do the same thing that he did."

I gasped. "That is not true! I know you wouldn't cheat." That was true; I trusted him whole-heartedly.

"That's not the point, Stella! The point is that you're not… you're still… a part of you is still hung up on Steven," he proclaimed. I jumped down from the counter.

"Are you crazy!?" I whisper-shouted, trying to keep in mind that my 'family' was sleeping upstairs. "I care nothing for that man anymore."

Brandon shook his head. "Just forget it." He stood up as well and took over my earlier job at creating the peanut butter and jelly sandwich. I walked over to him and put my hand on his arm, stopping his movement. His arm tensed up but he remained still.

"Brandon, he is nothing to me compared to how I feel about you. Can't you see that?"

He clenched his jaw. "Don't make me sound like I'm just jealous, because I'm not."

"Yes, you are."

"No, I'm not."

I rolled my eyes. "Yes, you-"

"Stella! Do you seriously not get what I'm saying?"

"Yes, but what you're saying is idiotic! I don't have feelings for him." Why was it so hard for him to understand that? The only thing I could feel towards my ex-boyfriend is anger. A lot of it. But that feeling is directed at him not for him. (If that makes any sense.)

Brandon just stared at me for a few seconds then he hesitantly nodded. "Okay."

I can tell he still didn't believe me. As if I could ever not care for this man more than anything else. I guess I'm going to have to prove this fact a little more. I tugged on his arm until he was fully turned towards me. I placed my hands on both sides of his face. He's not pulling away so I guess that's progress.

"What do I have to do to prove it to you?" I asked earnestly.

He shrugged slightly, causing me to smile at his vulnerability. Brandon isn't usually like this. It's rare for me to see a vulnerable side of him since he always tries being strong and official.

"Well, I can assure you," I move my hands from his face and wrap my arms around his neck, "that you are the only man for me. Trust me, you aren't getting rid of Stella Solaria anytime soon, Snookums." He fails to hide his grin this time as he pulled me into a tight hug. I sigh in satisfaction and hug him tighter.

"Sooo… does this mean you're not mad anymore?" I ask, my voice muffled by his shoulder.

"Help me finish making these sandwiches and I'll be the happiest guy on Earth, Gorgeous," he replied letting me go. He was surprised, though, when I jumped forward and crushed our lips together. His surprise drained quickly and he smiled against my lips.

Pulling back, I said, "I never thought I would miss you calling me gorgeous. Never call me Stella again, 'kay?"

Brandon raised an eyebrow. "Conceited much?"

"Oh, shut up and help with these sandwiches."

"Yes ma'am."

I brush my hair back into a ponytail. It seemed like the only way my hair was going to cooperate with me tonight. I turned to face Brandon, who was sitting on the bed. "Does this look good?"

"Yes, Stells. Just like all the other hair styles you had on before that. Come on, it's not like we're going out to a restaurant or anything," Brandon replied, looking at the old pictures on my nightstand.

I turned back to the full length mirror. "I know, I know. I just want to look good. What's wrong with that?"

"You look great all the time, Gorgeous. No need for the extra stuff. Now," he stood and walked up behind me, wrapping his arms around my waist, "can we please go eat? I'm gettin' kind of hungry here."

I leaned back into Brandon's arms and sighed. The Thanksgiving dinner was almost ready and with every ticking minute closer to when the dinner arrived, I was getting more and more nervous. I wasn't looking forward to this awkward conversation with my estranged family. Things are bound to get messy but maybe my Step- family has changed while I was gone.

Probably not, though.

A knock at the door jolted me from my thoughts. Without me saying anything, Chimera opened the door and walked in like she owned the place. Gosh, she looks even sluttier than she was when I left. And that's an understatement.

She's seventeen years old now, if I'm not mistaken, but the way she dresses makes her look older. And not in a good way. Her clothes are still so tight that they look like they could be worn as a second skin and her makeup was horrendous. Okay, I may be sounding harsh but that girl terrorized me all the time we were kids. And she always got away with it! So, I don't really care if I'm being harsh. She deserves it.

"I don't remember saying you could come in," I snap at her as Brandon releases me.

She rolls her eyes, but places a hand on the doorknob. "Dinner is ready when you can tear your eyes away from the mirror." She glanced over at Brandon and put on a knowing smile. "Hello, Brandon."

I want to practically laugh at her attempt to reel Brandon into her charm. She's done it before (with two of my boyfriends before) but it just looks pathetic to me. Brandon tenses at her greeting and nods tensely without saying a word. What's the about? Maybe he senses her evil nature like I do.

"We're coming," I say. She nods in reply and steps out of the room. Not without giving Brandon another smile though. I shiver in disgust. "Ugh, I can't stand her. You say how she was practically undressing you with her eyes? I can't believe her…"

I drifted off once I noticed Brandon staring at the ground, scrunching his eyebrows together as if in deep thought. I nudge him. "What's wrong?"

He shakes his head and gives me a smile that doesn't quite reach his eyes. "Nothing… it's nothing. Let's go eat."

After blessing the food we all began passing the bowls of food to each other. Not before getting a helping of the food we pass, of course. Once we all had the food selections we wanted, there was silence as we ate. The beautiful silence didn't last for long and everything started to go downhill with the first question of the night.

"So, Brandon. What is it that you do exactly?" My father asked as Brandon was about to start digging into his mashed potatoes. He stops and addresses my Dad.

"I'm the CEO and partial owner of Alfea Corporations, the computer software and hardware companies around the United States. I've been in the business sin-"

"Whoa, hold up," Chimera interjected, "You own more than one of the biggest computer service companies in the world? How rich are you?"

Cassandra frowned. "Chimera, don't be rude." Oh, so know she calls her out. Where was she when we were kids? Oh right, she was being rude to me.

Chimera raised her eyebrows innocently. "What? I was just asking. I'm surprised Stella could actually snag a rich guy for once. Maybe he'll help her pay the bills," she says, laughing at herself.

I clenched my fork in my hand. "Are you insinuating that I'm a gold digger?"

"Don't be silly, Stella," Dad said, waving his and around. "You've been living in North Carolina for at least five years now. You had to have had some job to keep you stable. Matter of fact, what do you do now?"

"I'm… uh… I'm a server." The table was silent as they processed this new bit of information.

Mitzi spoke up with amusement already in her voice. "You mean like a waitress?" I nodded and she burst out laughing.

Don't let her get to you, Stella. Don't let her get to you, I thought to myself, but the small prick of tears in my left eye didn't want to listen to my thoughts. Brandon reached under the table squeezed my hand in his. I didn't want him to see the tear in my eye so I kept my head turned the opposite direction from him, but I still squeezed his hand back.

"I don't see the problem with being a waitress, Chimera," Brandon says coming to my defense. I smiled to myself. He's always trying to be my knight in shining armor.

"Seriously? You see no problem with that?" She shook her head in shame. "How do you live off a minimum wage job in this day and age? She must be shacking up with you, huh."

"Chimera," Dad scolded but I already knew it wouldn't do much good. The damage is already done.

"Fine, fine. But you know what I'm curious about is what happened to Steven?"

I narrowed my eyes at her. "None of your damn business."

"Watch your language, Stella Bear," Cassandra scolded lightly. "It seems like even though you broke up with Steven, you still picked up his bad habit of using bad words."

Brandon was drinking his water but I could see that he was tense again and that's just seemed to piss me off even more. "I didn't pick up anything from that jerk and I would appreciate if we didn't mention him again."

Chimera ignored my request and asked, "Was it because he was a bad kisser? I would believe that, since I've kissed him before. But maybe he's gotten better over the years, yeah? I know your new man candy here deserves an A+ in that department."

Brandon spit out a little water he was drinking and started coughing erratically. I ignored it and glared at Chimera. "What are you talking about?"

"Your boy-toy decided he wanted to see what I had to offer. I couldn't complain much, I mean, look at him."

Brandon got his breathing back under control. "She's lying! I didn't kiss her, she kissed me. I pushed her off-"

Chimera sighed. "Oh, Brandon. Say what you whatever you want to make yourself feel less guilty about what happened yesterday, but it isn't going to work."

Brandon ignored her and turned to my shocked face. "Stella, you know I wouldn't do that to you. She's twisting what happened-"

"So…you kissed?" I whispered. Please say no. Please say no. Not again. Not again.

"She threw herself on me! Gorgeous," he took my hands in his before I could snatch them away, "you know I wouldn't do that to you. Tell me you don't believe her." I couldn't deny the truth in his eyes and the feeling in my heart. They were both telling me that he wasn't lying. My head, however, had different ideas but before I could act on those thoughts, Cassandra spoke.

"Stella, I do not understand why you're so upset. It's not like you're not used to men using you," she said as she cut into her pork chop. "Your infatuation with that Steven boy should've been your first clue that you're not a great picker when it comes to men."

"Would you just stop," Brandon says, exasperatedly. "Leave her alone."

"Watch your tone with my wife, young man," Dad replies. I snap my head up to him.

"So you'll defend her but you'll just let her talk crap about me?"

He scrunched his eyebrows in confusion. "Stella-"

I stood up. "Don't 'Stella' me! You've always done this and I'm so sick of it. You act like her lap dog! I see things haven't changed since I was last here."

"Watch your-"

"No! I won't watch anything!" I turned my sights on Chimera. "First of all, the only thing you'll ever succeed in life is doing your hair. Any and everything else has been handed to you, Brat. Bragging about making out with a hot guy doesn't make you cool it just proves further that you're really the slut I knew you were in the first place."

Her mouth hung open as I spewed my speech. But I wasn't done. I was on a roll. I glared at Cassandra. "And you. Always thinking you're high class and sooo important. News flash, YOU'RE NOT! You never were and never will be. The fact that you have to put down everyone so you can feel better about yourself doesn't make you superior, it makes you a bully. So how about you go fall in a ditch somewhere because I don't want to ever see you again."

Dad slammed his hand on the table. "Stella, that is-"

"That's alright, Thomas," Cassandra interrupted calmly. I was fuming right now and the fact that she was calm made me even angrier. I don't remember ever feeling this mad. She continued, "Maybe Stella should be reminded of the time she thought she was better than all of us. You know, when she decided to run off with Steven."

I gripped the table so hard that fingertips started to turn red. Brandon put his hand on my arm and tugged it. "Come on, Stells. Let's just go."

I shook him off. "Steven has nothing to do with what we're talking about."

Cassandra tilted her head to the side. "Or does he? Remember when you were so excited after he first kissed you? Then he broke your little heart when you caught him kissing another girl that same day."

"Shut up," I growled.

"But you forgave him, like an idiot. Then came the day he got you that ruby necklace, remember? You thought it was so unique and special. Just for you. Then you found out it was from the dollar store and that he gave the same one to the girl next door."

"What does that have to do wit-"

Cassandra sighed. "Then, once again, you still forgave him. When you turned eighteen and he got a new job in North Carolina, he begged you to go with him and start a new life, a family even. We told you not to go, that he would only break your heart again, but did you listen? No. And look what he did to you. I'm pretty sure he just threw you away after he got bored, right? That's what he usually did."

I stood up so fast that my chair flew back. "Shut up!" I shouted.

"Stella," Cassandra sighed, "when will you realize that you're just about as washed up as any girl in the world? Men use you and you let them. Your reason for calling Chimera a slut isn't the only way to be declared one. If I shall say so myself, you're more of a used up one than anything else."

I didn't have to say shut up this time because Brandon did it for me. He was angry. But I don't think I was. Not anymore. I think I'm just…tired. No, I've still got a little anger left in me.

How dare she? How could she say that? Does she really want to hurt me that bad? I looked at my Dad but he was just staring at his food. Coward. Always has been and probably always will be when it comes to her.

I turn to glance at Chimera but I can't see her because of the tears in my eyes making my vision blurry. I stare at Cassandra's form once more. With all the venom that I could muster, I say, "I hate you."

Then I walk away.

A/N: So… that was pretty heavy. Thanks to all the support you guys! Your reviews gave me the extra boost I needed to get this chapter up.

So sorry for the long delay but I hope the long chapter makes up for it. Did you guys like it? I don't think you should, I mean, Stella went through pretty hard time here, but at least now you know more about the history of her and Steven. Don't you just love him?

Tell me your thoughts. I know the direction I'm taking this story but your suggestions will definitely help me along the way. Next Chapter we should be back in North Carolina. How do you think things are going back there. Don't worry; I haven't forgotten Flora, Riven and Helia!

Are you drama lovers satisfied? Overly-satisfied? Sorry if it was too much but I liked it so hopefully you will too. But the only way I'll now if you liked it is if you review and let me know.

So…Review!