Chapter 6

The group of small children playing baseball in the street scattered to make way for the silver limousine. They had finally arrived in front of the Hadison Residence; it didn't take long but it felt longer for Andy. The driver of the limousine, Arthur exited the vehicle then opened the left passenger door lending a hand to Mrs. Hadison. She took it and climbed out, she offered her hand to Andy which he took as well. They walked up to the front porch of the house, but Andy thought it looked more like a mansion. It was huge! It had a rock driveway with a small fountain atop the grass of the island situated at the bottom of the hill leading to the swing set and hot tub on the deck.

Then there was a short stretch of driveway leading up to the garage. There were tons of flowers out front and a beautiful willow tree by the side of the house. It was definitely the house of a very wealthy family. Andy stared up at the house with wide eyes to each window wondering, which one is mine?

"Come on honey, I'll introduce you to everyone," she smiled, taking Andy's hand.

Arthur walked past them holding Andy's suitcase and unlocked the front door.

Andy was taken inside the mansion to see that it had a huge interior. The first room appeared to be a sitting room that they walked into with many cushioned couches and chairs with a nice fireplace and mantel and a picture of a girl who Andy assumed was a younger Mrs. Hadison above the mantel. The few tables in the room had vases of fresh flowers that were probably changed weekly. It almost felt like he was walking into an expensive hotel. Mrs. Hadison took him all around the house, introducing him to a few of the maids and the cook and the puppy—a Samoyed named Sapphire, probably because of her pretty blue eyes. She was a large Samoyed with beautiful puffy white fur and was very friendly.

On the second floor, after the master bedroom, he was shown his room, one of the several guest rooms in the house. His room was just spectacular. There were toys all around and a huge bed in the center with lots of pillows and everything. There were posters all around of a sports team, The Connecticut Coyotes. A couple of dressers. Not to mention there was a big mirror hanging low to the ground on the wall opposite of where the bed stood.

"Do you like it?" Mrs. Hadison asked.

Andy turned around, "yes ma'am, it's great." The woman smiled and walked him to another door with loud rock music playing from inside.

"And this is Tyler's room," she finished, opening the door.

Right when she opened the door Andy saw the messy room with a drum set and a few leather jackets cluttering the floor. The bed was made, probably because of the maid, and there were posters of rock bands all around the room, as well as sports. There was a TV in this room and a Sega Genesis with what appeared to be some game about a car chase. The boy turned, having heard someone enter and stared at her with harsh blue eyes. It was amazing how much his eyes looked like Mrs. Hadison. If he hadn't known that Tyler was adopted he would've guessed it was her real son, even though he didn't have her hair color.

"Ya'know there's a thing called knocking." Tyler said.

Mrs. Hadison just stared at him neutrally. "I see you haven't bothered to clean up your room like I asked."

"I thought that was the maid's job," Tyler retorted.

"Yes, well I don't want her slaving away over you if you're not even going to make an effort. Anyway, you need to stop playing for a minute so I can introduce you to your new foster brother Andy."

Tyler's eyes finally rested on Andy, not having seen him because the door wasn't opened all the way. Mrs. Hadison walked inside, pulling Andy along with her.

"Andy, this is Tyler."

"Hi," Andy said quietly.

"Sup," Tyler 'greeted.'

"Tyler, that's not the tone of voice that is acceptable," Mrs. Hadison said firmly, crossing her arms. "Andy is to feel welcome and if you can't welcome him then you can stay in your room for the rest of the day. No pool, no watching sports and no dessert."

"What! That's not fair!" Tyler exclaimed, standing up.

Mrs. Hadison just shrugged. "Then get a better attitude. Until then you can stay in your room. Come Andy, I'll show you the backyard," she said, gently pushing on Andy's back to get him to walk out the door.

Andy glanced back over his shoulder to see Tyler glaring angrily and then he just plopped back down in front of the screen and resumed his loud music again. Mrs. Hadison shut the door and led him back down the stairs and out the back door. Andy immediately caught sight of the pool, seeing that there was also a Jacuzzi nearby it. The backyard had a beautiful garden behind the pool as well and several lounging chairs.

"Sorry about Tyler, he's not the most pleasant boy around," Mrs. Hadison smiled. "He has his good days though. I suppose it's a good thing this house is so big. If he starts acting nasty to you just ignore him and go elsewhere."

Andy nodded, not feeling the need to say anything more. He had really been hoping that Tyler was nice so that he could at least make a friend. That's what he missed most about being a kid was hanging out with friends. He hadn't had a friend in so long—a true friend that he could be a kid with. The only friend he had had in years was Kyle. Thinking about her made Andy chuckle. I bet Kyle could kick Tyler's butt.

"Um, excuse me Mrs. Hadison?" Andy asked tentatively.

She turned and flashed him a grin. "Just call me Molly, hun. I know Mom is a very uncomfortable word for you at this time, but Mrs. Hadison just seems too formal."

Andy nodded. "Um, Molly, I was wondering, am I going to go to a public school?"

"No, you'll be going to a private school, the same private school that Tyler goes to. It's a wonderful school so I'm sure you'll like it—one of the best curriculums around. Just so you know it's a private Catholic school so you will have to wear a uniform and go to church with us, that's not an option, alright?" she asked with a smile.

Andy nodded and she gently rubbed his cheek. "Good. Now, you're free to go wherever you want to on the property and if you get hungry for lunch you can just go into the kitchen and Claudia or someone there will fix you something. The only meal that you must attend is dinner at six o'clock. Every night we have dinner at that time, except sometimes on weekends my husband and I may be gone, or the dinner plans might change, but I'll usually have Claudia give you a note. I've got some errands to run, but I'll see you at dinner so we can all get to know each other better."

She turned around and walked back inside. Once she was gone, Andy sat down in one of the lounge chairs and sighed. It seemed that both Mr. And Mrs. Hadison were fairly busy people. Why did they want to adopt kids? Mrs. Hadison was a very sweet lady but even though there would always be someone around she didn't quite get that Andy wanted a mother and a father—someone like his mom who was there for him all the time. Although, he had to admit the house was beautiful and at least no one at the private school would know his history. He just hoped that he didn't bump into Tyler in any of the hallways. The boy definitely didn't seem very friendly. At least he had the weekend before his first day at school.

Andy stared out at the pool watching as the wind made ripples in the water. Well, he couldn't swim since he didn't have a bathing suit. Even though it was a huge house with plenty of places to explore he wasn't sure what to do. Being outside was relaxing so he decided that he'd look around the gardens. That way at least he wouldn't be inside where he could accidentally bump into Tyler.

There was a beautiful batch of flowers at the side of the house near the willow tree. Smelling the fresh warm air and feeling the wind blow over him made him almost feel at ease. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad there. After all, they even had a dog—a cute, friendly dog that he could play with if he ever got bored. Dogs were always great friends even if they couldn't talk back. Andy decided to explore the front of the house since he really didn't get a good look at it before. He walked past the willow tree and turned around the corner of the side of the house.

"Oof!" Andy toppled backward as he bumped into something solid.

"Ow shit!"

Andy blinked and stood up quickly looking to see that he had bumped into Tyler, the one thing he had hoped he wouldn't do.

"Sorry," Andy said quickly, making his way to pass by him.

"Your good, Andy right?" He asked.

Andy stopped and slowly turned around to face him. Tyler had his arms at his sides with a welcoming smile on his face.

"Yes," Andy said, confused. This boy had seemed so mean earlier, why is he being nice now?

"You like it here so far?" Tyler asked.

"Yeah, it's really nice."

"Good, good" Tyler approached Andy and slowly got face to face with him. It was more like face to neck due to Tyler being taller. The older boy's smile evaporated before Andy could say anything more. And when Tyler spoke it was in a different voice loud and cutting. "Who said you could look at me!?" This was a game and Andy made the wrong move. Andy opened his mouth to respond, his lip quivering in fear. Tyler took another step, his face close to Andy's. "Do you know who I am!?"

"Tyler," Andy said. This guy has seen too many war movies, he thought.

Tyler walked around him. Like a hyena circling its prey, "That's good. Know my name and know this. When Molly is away I'm in charge. You do what I say and we won't have a problem."

"Yes, I understand." Andy quickly choked out. He must live for moments like these.

"Welcome to hell kid." Tyler said, "there's nothing to look forward to."

"But Mrs…I mean Molly said that Mr. Hadison takes you out to sports games," Andy insisted.

Tyler laughed. "Sure, once in a blue moon. He hasn't had time the past couple years. I've gone only twice since last year. Boy, you must be really stupid to believe that."

Tyler walked past him and began walking away.

"You shouldn't say that. They're nice."

He hadn't talked that much to anyone in a long time. It actually felt good to talk. Tyler just smirked at him and came closer.

"Fine, defend your beloved foster parents if you want to, but just stay out of my way," he said, shoving past Andy.

Andy stumbled a bit but didn't fall. He wasn't one to start fights, or get into them very easily but Tyler's selfish and snobbish attitude really got under his skin.

Deciding he'd just go inside and check out his new room some more, Andy walked back in the house, or mansion, and climbed the stairs to his room, thankful that he hadn't run into Tyler again. He shut his room door, took off his shoes and climbed atop of the bed. It was so comfortable, so comfortable that Andy could've fallen asleep right then and there. He took out his journal from his suitcase and grabbed a pencil from the nightstand. Andy began writing.

September 23rd 1996

I'm finally at a new home and I really like it here. Mrs. Hadison is very nice though she wants me to call her Molly. I just feel weird calling an adult by their first name. This house is beautiful and I love my room, I don't like Tyler though, he's really mean. I hope Mr. Hadison is nice. I'm wondering what my new school will be like, I'm glad it's a private school. My life is getting better and I can't wait to see what comes next.