Hello there! I got so many nice reviews. Well, 5 (?). That's still good though, right? It made me smile. Also, some of my favorite fanfiction writers reviewed with such nice comments I've been in a smily mood since I've seen them. Also, I know Derek is OOC. He seemed really nice at the end of The Reckoning. This story takes place a few weeks after that so I'm guessing that Derek's happiness level would have again increased? I mean, if I were Kelley, I would for deffs make Derek the most attractive character to ever live in the land of books. I'm thinking of tweaking his personality juuust a bit. He's still going to be Derek, moody and all, but nicer. Is that okay? Or... bad idea? Basically, he'd only be sweet-Derek with Chloe.
~Tori's POV~
Sitting with Simon in his and Derek's room was awkward. All he seemed to be capable of doing was fidget. Compared to me with my creepy stillness, it was weird. Honestly, how was I even related to him? We barely looked alike. Shouldn't we bare the tiniest of resemblances? All of my friends siblings looked alike. It was weird to have to actually call him my brother. Yeah, he was attractive, but in a completely different way than I was. He looked Asian, whereas I did not. At all. It was like our looks were switched, him getting the blond hair and the Korean features, me getting the dark hair and the Caucasian features. Well, it sort of made sense, seeing as how we were both half-Asian. We each got half of the qualities.
I hate that Kit never told me. I hate it even more that he never told Simon. Simon loves his dad, it was all he could talk about at Lyle House. He'd whisper words like, "We'll find him," to Derek. I've known Simon for a while, half of it being spent by me obsessing over getting him to like me. Yeah, it's embarrassing to find out we share the same blood, but I feel really bad about the trust Simon must have lost with the guy.
"I hate this, Simon," I said. He sighed and looked up at me. Finally.
"You think I want you being my sister? I can't stand you. I think you must understand what that's like," he answered. He began to tap his fingers on his thigh. "Yeah, I've wanted a sister since I was a kid. You, though? Not exactly my dreams coming true."
Ouch. I covered it up with a pathetic question. "Did Kit ever hint at it? That he had a daughter?" I asked.
"No. I probably wouldn't be so pissed right now if I knew. It's like... Before he disappeared he was great. Nice to me and Derek. He was an amazing dad. But now? He hid this from me and you. It's not something you can hide from your kids. How could he? He can't even use the excuse of not knowing it was you. He couldn't just wake up thinking, 'Hmm. Tori. That sounds familiar... Oh, shit!' and realize the girl hanging with us was his daughter." Simon imitated him perfectly. Except for the language. Kit probably wouldn't use those words.
"You sure? Maybe he has hidden things from you. With something like this, I wouldn't be so sure on calling him Father Of The Year."
"Look, he is a good guy. He just messed up. I don't understand why he'd do this though. He's always been so caring, always making sure I was healthy or happy. He's always been patient, especially when we brought Derek home. He needed the patience or Derek would probably be a freak today." I started to object to the fact that he was a freak but he cut me off with a glare. Then he sighed. "I know you don't like him. Derek's your brother too, I guess. You should try getting along with him. He really has changed since Lyle House. Chloe made him... nice. He's been a lot happier since they've met. I don't know how she does it, she just seems to radiate kindness. It's contagious or something. Even you seem nicer."
I nodded, just barely paying attention. How was I supposed to get along with Derek? Just thinking about it made my head pound. I really couldn't stand him. He thought I was this Princess-Bitch or whatever. It was a good thing I wasn't really related to him. With Simon, I could probably try getting along. We were doing good so far. With Derek? If I said one wrong thing, he'd be shouting and coming at me. Not exactly something I wanted to risk. I wasn't cocky enough to intimidate Derek.
"I was talking to, er, Dad before. We don't have the same mom, only dad. I'd be your... step-brother?" Simon asked.
I laughed at the stupid mix-up. "No, you twit. Half-brother. 'Step' would be if my mom had married your dad. We wouldn't be related, but close."
"Oh yeah. I always mix those up," he said, smiling like a little kid."
I guess it won't be so hard. If anything, this is what I always wanted with Simon. I wanted to be able to talk to him without him criticising everything I said, or calling me names.
~Chloe's POV~
I woke up lying in my bed, Derek no where in sight. Typical for him, he always disappeared when I'd wake up. I looked around for the cause of my awakening and spotted it right away.
"Hey, Aunt Lauren," I said. I sat up and yawned.
"Sleeping all day again? You won't sleep until late tonight," she said, sounding like a mom. She made a tsk-ing noise and leaned against the door.
"Did you get whatever you and Kit always do when you're out done?" I asked.
"No. And Chloe, we don't do anything. I've told you countless times. We're just looking around to see if there's any trouble nearby with Cabals or some supernaturals that could cause problems. That's it."
"So you're going to go back out? You know, it isn't safe to leave four teenagers without supervision at a hotel. We could cause trouble, too, you know."
She shook her head, smiling. "Order what you want for supper when you get hungry. Where's Derek? Me and Kit just came back to check to make sure everyone was all right. He's not in his room."
I shrugged. "He's probably just out running or something. I don't know, he wanders a lot."
"I'll get going then," she sighed. "You going to be okay until we get back?"
I nodded.
"See you in a little bit. Call if there's anything?"
Again, I nodded. She left. I guess it was look-for-Derek time.
