Chapter One

 Beep! Beep!

The alarm clock went off for what seemed to be the hundredth time this passing hour. I rolled over hissing a string of expletives at the thing for ruining my slumber yet again. The bedroom was brightly lit with the sun glares escaping through the spots and gaps in the curtains. It had to be about midday with all the light that was flooding the room. I rolled over in bed moaning and pulling the sheets up to my cheek keeping me warm and comfortable. I inhaled deeply and cracked a smile enjoying the soothing relaxation.

Beep! beep!

The stupid thing went off again. I groaned frustratingly reaching my hand out knocking the alarm clock to the floor. The beeping stopped and I sank back into bed. Peace. Quiet. Heavenliness. That's more like it. My eyes flutter shut as I drifted off to sleep. I was surrounded by nothingness and darkness accompanied by soothing silence, except for the distant muffled sounds coming from outside my bedroom door. There was a bit of bustling and groans that oddly sounded like Adam and Brett, every time I slipped in and out of consciousness. Were those two morons wrestling again?
Those childish half-wits!

BAM!

I shot up into a sitting position, my heart racing at a billion miles per hour causing my chest to rise and fall speedily. The pounding in my chest made it hard to breathe and the ringing in my ear only made it worse. Eyes wide and gaping, I stared in shock at my idiotic stepbrother and his best friend.

They broke down my door!

The door was lying on the ground separated from the hinges that once held it firmly to the door frame. My mouth hung open in shock, and eyes flickered from the door to both boys on the ground next to it, casually staring at the door lying on the floor. Just lying there. Broken!

"YOU IDIOTS LOOK WHAT YOU DID!"

Neither of them moved or said anything. Adam just stared just as shocked as I was while Brett scratched his head. I went from dumbfounded to a raging bull, my breathing drastic, and my chest heaving in and out as if I had been lifting dumbbells or running a marathon. The only word to describe how I felt was livid.

Adam burst out laughing getting up from the floor.

"YOU DAMN IDIOTS!"

I hopped out of bed and stomped towards the both of them furious.

"Oh, shit..." he says through his grins.

I hissed at him and marched out into the hallway. They both followed behind laughing their heads off, out of breath and gasping for air.

"You won't be laughing soon you idiot," I hissed under my breath, my body trembling with rage.

His room was down the hall two doors from mine. I was standing in the hallway livid as they continued laughing their guts out. Adam being bent over holding his abdomen laughing himself to death only caused my rage to get deeper.

"You -- imbecile..."

I backed up all the way to the end of the hallway ignoring them; then made a dash towards his bedroom at maximum velocity and threw myself against his bedroom door.

BAM!

One hinge broke loose and I collided full force with the ground. On queue, they both stopped laughing. The shoulder that crashed into the door throbbed and pulsed horribly. I honestly didn't think this one through.

"ARE YOU INSANE?!" Adam screamed gaping at his door that was only hanging on by only one hinge.

"Welcome to the club bitch!"

As much as I wanted to laugh and rub it in his stupid face, I couldn't as my shoulder continued to throb and I winced in pain, gripping the arm.

"I think I dislocated my shoulder," I moaned through the pain.

"The both of you are going to be in so much trouble, it's not even funny," Brett says staring from Adam to me.

Good. He deserves it.

The sound of a car pulling into the driveway before the engine died startled me. I strained to hear, as the car door slammed shut. Adam seemed to have heard it too because he cocked his head to the side. A bunch of keys rattled and the door downstairs opened.

"Helen is home," I manage to choke out which only came out as a whisper.

The clicking of her heels on the floor indicated she had entered the house, and just how quickly she was walking. I pulled myself from the floor with my unaffected arm and dashed towards my bedroom as Adam and Brett ran the opposite direction. With my door resting on my bedroom floor the only place safe to hide was in the bathroom. I sprinted across the room and into the bathroom bolting the door behind me, as the sound of high heels became louder and got closer climbing up the staircase. I slipped down into a sitting position on the floor my back up against the door and one arm still gripping my aching arm suppressing the pain. The sound of heels on the floor seemed to have grown softer as if she was no longer near. Either that or mom had stopped walking. I had no way to tell if she was standing outside my room or not. It was impossible to see further than a few inches when I tried peeking underneath the door. I heard a couple more steps, then it stopped.

A couple of seconds passed and there was still no sound on her part. Nothing but complete silence throughout the house. Convinced she was gone, I slowly got to my feet, reaching out my unaffected arm to turn the doorknob.

"SECRET! ADAM! I'M GOING TO MURDER YOU!"

Her voice sliced through the silence at a horrifyingly deadly pitch. I burst out into giggles at her screams and at how dead we both were when she finds us.

"Where the hell are the both of you?!"

I backed away from the door, hoping she wouldn't check the bathroom in my bedroom where I was hiding.

"I know you can hear me!" She continued shouting like a woman gone mad.

"The both of you better be down those stairs in ten minutes or I swear to God I'm going to go terminator on your asses!"

Her shoes clicked angrily all the way down the stairs until the sound disappeared. I opened the door peering out first. When I was certain it was safe to do so I hurried into the bedroom stepping on the door still lying on the ground. I grabbed some clothes from the closet and hurried back to the bathroom to take a quick shower and brushed my teeth and hair. Barricading myself in the bathroom I pulled on an old pair of flannel jeans and a sweater.

The deafening silence in the house made it pretty clear of the dangers that were ahead. Adam and Brett weren't in the sitting room and there was no sign of Helen either. I sauntered over to the only place I knew to look to find her. The kitchen.

"Sit!" She commands before I even entered.

I walked quietly to the table and sat opposite of Adam and Brett. Helen stared down at us her arms folded across her chest and steam coming through her ears, literally.

"Should I start by asking what happened? Or should I start by handing out your punishments?" Her voice pierced like a dagger across the room, though she tried to contain her anger.

"Ask what happened," I reply scowling at Adam with disgust.

"What happened...?" She commands sternly giving us a deadly glare.

"The brainless goon broke my door first!"

"And you decided to break his door as payback?!"

"Well... Yeah."

"That's it!" Helen barks slamming her hand down on the table, before pointing her index finger at us threateningly.

"I don't want to hear another word from either of you. You two are the devil reincarnated!" she fumes stomping away.

She stopped, at the door before she could disappear, "Just so we are clear, those doors are coming out of your allowances until you are a hundred! Or dead!"

"But...!"

"Mom!"

Adam and I shouted almost at once.

"Out of your allowances!" she hisses and stormed out of the room.

I glared across the table at Adam.

"Happy now?" I spat getting up from the chair.

Great. Now I'll never get another allowance thanks to this nineteen-year-old imbecile and his dumb friend.

I clomped over to the refrigerator, threw the door open and grabbed the apple juice from the shelf. This would have to do since I really was not up to making anything to eat. Adam and Brett left the kitchen bickering quietly and I rolled my eyes at him so hard they could have popped out of their sockets and rolled to hell and back.

He is going to repay me for all the trouble he has been causing ever since the day I met him. Helen had married Adam's father Victor almost five years ago, and it sucked. I missed the days when it was only us and I didn't have some jackass stepbrother pissing me off every second of every day. I gulped down the glass of juice and headed back upstairs to my bedroom that no longer had a door.

Helen had left to return to work at the flower shop after her scowls. I no longer felt like joining her today. Not after how upset she had been. Grimly, I pulled my hair into a pony, staring at my reflection in the mirror at how sloppily done it was, and then eyed my faded jeans and blush pink sweater paired with Chuck Taylors.

There was no way I was planning on sleeping in here with a broken door. Not when I'd never had any privacy of my own. I left the room pissed, heading down the stairs quickly and out the front door. The bright UV rays blinded me for a second but I soon adjusted, regaining my vision. I needed a walk to calm down or I'd end up punching someone, and that someone was Adam.

I walked down the driveway and along the sidewalk slowly kicking at the pebbles and getting a bit of dust on my shoes but I didn't care.
It's all his stupid fault...

Enraged I kicked at a garbage can, overturning it. A girl with fiery red hair yelled but I just sneered and kept walking hands dug deep into my pockets.

I detested walking, but I was in no mood to drive around and work up a road rage with people who would only further piss me off. Stomping pass a house not far from where I lived, I watched as a bunch of bikini-clad teenage girls ran around the lawn half-naked and carrying Nerf guns.

The park was only a couple hundred yards from the house. The wind felt soothing and great against my skin.
Such a tolerable day, what could go wrong?
Adam the idiot couldn't ruin this day any more than he already did.

The park was already overcrowded with teenagers. I entered using the side entrance and found a vacant spot where I could be alone and far from everyone else. Plumped down on the soft cushiony grass overlooking the entire park, I ignored the couple stares I was getting. Only a couple was close enough lying on picnic blankets making out. I folded my legs and closed my eyes inhaling deeply the fresh air and feeling the sun rays beating down on my skin.

I lost count of how long it had been since I had an entirely accident free day. Sighing, I wished everyone would just shut up so I could enjoy the warmth of the sunshine in peace. I couldn't quite block out all the sounds and I peeked for a quick second, glimpsing a few girls flirting and giggling away with a bunch of guys across the park. A messy-haired boy tossed a football and his friend dove at it catching it before it could hit the ground. A chorus of applause escalated from everyone watching them.

I scoffed at a couple of girls gawked over another much taller boy with darker hair, feeling his biceps and running their hands over his abdominal muscles. He seemed all too content with all the attention he was gathering from the park full of girls. His blonde hair friend tossed the ball at him and he made a very impressive catch which was returned to loud applause. It was all a show for him. Nothing but an attention-loving asshole. He held the ball in position to the side of his head ready to toss it back to his friend, who was already running wide to make the catch. I rolled my eyes, closing them again.

"LOOK OUT!" A male voice hollers not even a minute later.

My eyes shot open.

Seriously these assho...

BAM!

The football slapped me flat in the face, knocking me backwards to the ground. Hands flung out on either side, the world around me spun wildly and my eyes fluttered open and closed repeatedly. I had tried to sit up way too quickly and that was my error. It made me dizzy, for all I know my nose could possibly be broken- who knows, it was the sting of the impact that made my head swirl.

I tried laying back on the grass to reverse the spinning in my head that was followed by a queasy feeling. A bunch of contorted faces, completely deformed in appearance were staring down at me lying on the humid grass.

They seem to be shouting something because their mouths were moving. I couldn't make out what they were saying above the ringing in my ear and the headache that was coming on, my eyelids fluttered a bit and the world spun and I felt dizzier.

Before I let my eyes close to stop the world from spinning a face appeared perfectly normal. I couldn't quite tell who the person was or why I was focusing on him. I squinted a bit, not sure who I was looking at but I was a hundred per cent certain it was a boy, and that boy, had dark hair and bright green eyes.