The Step Brother
Chapter 1
The rising sun was the first thing I woke up to, causing me to squint at the light passing my bedroom curtains.
Today would be the perfect day to catch up on some things with my friends who I haven't seen in the longest time. But I instantly remembered what was on the agenda for today.
"Clairece Rose Smith, you get down here this instant! We're going to be late!"
Ah; how I love to hear the lovely screams from my father on a Saturday morning.
Groaning, I stretched my arm over to my nightstand to grab my phone. 6:13. Well that's just dandy, isn't it? Lazily, I drag myself out of bed and basically sleep walk over to my closet to find something suitable to wear for the "very, very big day" as my dad calls it.
Today was the day that my stupid dad is driving me three hours away from our home to meet his girlfriend and her kids at their house in a ghetto/country town.
Apparently, her no good husband left her alone five years ago with their three kids to take care of in a small home in Cheshire. Then, she met my dad around three years ago and they started dating. My strong relationship with my dad was never the same again.
Every time he has free time from work, he drives all the way over there to spend time with her instead of me, his only daughter.
Dad's girlfriend worked four jobs a week to keep her family running until she met my dad. He's since decided to pay all her bills for her. It irks me that the woman actually lets him pay for everything. As you can tell, my dad and I aren't anywhere near poor since we're paying two mortgage bills a month.
My dad owns a successful shrimp catching company. Strange but true.
My dad had pleaded me all night to look presentable in front of her and her children which I hastily agreed to do to get him to quit bugging me about it.
I pulled out my black and white striped tank top along with a pair of electric blue colored shorts and removed my pajamas to put the outfit on. With just a touch of mascara and lip balm, I had to say, I didn't look half bad.
Once I reach the bottom of the stairs, I'm immediately in the presence of my father. "Good morning," he greets me. He always seems to be half asleep throughout the most of the morning like I am.
"Morning," I reply, "Were you waiting for me at the bottom of the stairs?" I ask while heading to the kitchen to pour a bowl of cereal.
"Yes," He admitted, "I wanted to make sure I didn't have to drag you by your ankles to the car." I brought the spoonful of Cheerios to my mouth and took the time to chew before answering him.
"I'm not seven anymore dad," I barked at him, "I won't fight you like that." Leaning down, I placed my elbows on the counter.
"You might," He said to me, "Anne lives out in the country and I know for a fact that you're a city girl."
I groaned, "Dad! You know that I haven't been out there since..." I trailed off for a moment until I realized there was no reason to hide anything from my dad, "Since you know what," I said in a whisper.
He sighed, "That was a long time ago Clairece. I'm over that so I think it's proper if you do as well."
Once I finished my cereal, I picked it up and slammed it down into the sink.
"I don't care what you're going to do with your life," I raised my voice, something I do often with my father, "Your girlfriend will never be my mom."
We both stood there for a couple of seconds before he finally spoke up, breaking the awkward silence with a cracked voice, "Just, be polite. Okay?" He asked before going into the living room.
"Are you ready to go?" He asked me and I nodded. "Sure, whatever," I replied. My dad opened up the front door as I walked out towards the car. I slammed the passenger seat door as my dad locked the front door and climbed into the car with me.
The ride was silent, but I'm quite familiar with not having a conversation with my dad. Whenever I do, we end up screaming at one another. Today was the first time we had had an actual conversation with one another in a week.
Anne has three kids, a daughter that's older then me and in college, a son that's around my age, and a four year old daughter. I believe that I remember hearing my father say that the son was a year and a couple months older, but I'm not so sure.
I slept for the majority of the ride. The ride took a while. I've met people who have been in a car longer than three hours but I haven't traveled for a while.
The bumpy road woke me up. Looking outside, I saw pieces of black gravel beneath us and I realized it wasn't a road. It was a driveway.
Jesus, couldn't this lady afford a decent paved driveway?
"We're here," I heard my dad say.
I huffed, "I see that," I replied sarcastically which my dad took note of.
A couple seconds passed until I laid eyes on a house. It wasn't very wide but it was pretty tall. In all, it was decent. The siding could've done some work though as the white boards were slightly tanning.
The crackle of the gravel beneath the car rose a loud chant of barking dogs coming from the back yard. I couldn't stand dogs. How many dogs did they have? It sounded like a unrehearsed choir.
Once the vehicle came to a stop, I unwillingly unhatched the door and stood up, walking at an even slower pace towards the door.
I'll certainly remember this visit.
