• !WARNING!

    This book contains strong language and sexual themes.

    Viewer discretion advised

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    Calling for a babysitter to take care of your younger sister while you're grounded is the s**t. Especially if your friends are waiting for you a block away so you can sneak out to that one party. You know, the one where all the interesting crap happens, people losing their virginit, breaking up, fist fights and vomit laying all around the floor. All you need to do is say that your sister is sound asleep upstairs and not to be woken up or else she won't fall asleep again.

    Did I mention I don't have a younger sister?

    Why I did this, I don't know. But it was funny. When I got home from the party with Ettie and Teddy and went to check on my sleeping sister, I noticed that her bed was empty. Faking panic, I demanded to know where my sister was, but the nanny ran away. Way to go, really.

    What, I was grounded! I didn't have anything better to do, so when I thought of sneaking out to that party, I couldn't help but pull a prank like that. Before I called the nanny I filled the empty guest room with my old plushies and other girly toys and ruffled the bed to make it look like someone was sleeping in it.

    Of course, my parents found out eventually, which elongated my punishment, but it was definitely worth it.

    That aside, my life was full of pranks and laughter and rebellion. I could just break into a lifestory right now, but I have something more interesting to tell. This happened two days after the whole nanny incident.

    The day seemed like any other. I went to school, hang out with my friends, did my work, then it was time to return home.

    I took my time, the longer I stayed away from that place the better. I couldn't stand the fake homely atmosphere my parents tried to create. They even put a 'Home sweet home' sign on the front door that I took off every time I left for school. It was always hanging back on it's place.

    I mean, I'm not complaining. They're trying, I can see that. Except they are trying a bit too hard. Ever since they adopted me they tried to make me feel more than welcome. That's right, you heard me. I was adopted about eight years ago. The Watsons are my second foster family, and after a pretty unpleasant story with the first family, I became distant to all sort of responsibility and worry that adults threw onto me. You see, my first family was the exact opposite of the Watsons - they were carefree and indifferent about what happens to me. I was fed up with them - they never went to any meetings at school, never bothered to check what was going on at school, nothing. I wondered why they even wanted me in the first place.

    I begun rebelling, talking back to them, yelling and questioning my presence in their life. Why did they take me? Why did they adopt me?

    My riots had unnecessary consequences. They began punishing me, at first my locking me in my room for the rest of the day, then by not giving me food, then by hitting me...

    As soon as those started though I called the police and they took me away. Moving on to another family was hard on me. What if they were exactly the same as the others?

    Turns out that the Watsons are the exact opposite. But I'm still cautious.

    I never knew my real parents. I don't know if they're dead or if they just left me, but I chose to forget about them. I had a good life now. I didn't need to know who they were or if they were alive. I was happy with my present parents, no matter how hard they tried to keep me that way.

    But we're getting off track here. On my way home from school, I was walking with Teddy. We were assigned to work on a Chemistry project together and decided to work over at my house, since he has two younger sisters over at his and it would be quite uncomfortable.

    Teddy is an auburn haired football player at our school and a very close friend of mine. He had almost every girl at school drooling over him, but what they didn't know was the fact that he was gay. I know, crazy. That's why I felt safe with him at my house.

    The funny thing was, whenever we were alone, his gay switch suddenly turned on and he started acting like a stereotypical homosexual teenager.

    "Girl, I tell you, his a** was smockin'." He said in a perfect ghetto accent. I chocked back a laugh and covered my mouth with my hand.

    "Oh, I'm sure." I said, rolling my eyes. Our shoes clicked on the cement as we walked down the street getting closer to my house.

    "Hey, are you still grounded?" He asked me, his voice the usual posh British accent. I smiled at him and nodded. He sighed and tucked his hands into his pockets, looking straight ahead. "Man, you and your free time."

    We walked in silence for a little while, listening to our footsteps and the cars that passed by, when suddenly he glanced at me. "Listen, Mikayla, you have to stop with all these pranks! Before you know it you're going to be doing your SAT's and then going to college."

    "I'm not going to be doing SAT's at all, I'm going to study in England." I said, trying to change the subject. I didn't look at him, just stared straight ahead. I heard this lecture before and didn't enjoy hearing it again.

    "Yeah, whatever. Don't change the subject. What I'm trying to say is, you're not a child anymore. You have to grow up." he said gently, carefully trying not to hurt me.

    I stopped and stared at him. "Why do I have to grow up so soon? Why would I want to shorten my life? I don't want to be an adult just yet, because I know that later I'll miss those crazy days of my youth. So please, for the hundredth time, leave me be and let me live my life the way I want to live it." I said and stared at him, observing his face for a reaction. He grimaced and looked down at the floor, admitting defeat.

    "Fine." He finally said. I smiled and grabbed his hand, pulling him forward.

    "Come on, we have chemistry to do."



    As we approached my house, I noticed two unknown to me vehicles parked on the street. I stopped behind one and watched it, digging through my memories if I've ever seen a car like that before. On the street, sure I have, but nobody I knew had a car like that.

    It was shiny, black and obviously expensive. I wasn't good with cars so I didn't know what the mark was, but I knew that whoever was the owner of it, must have payed a good amount of money for it.

    "It's a Lamborghini." Teddy said, noticing my awkward expression as I bent my head to the side in wonder.

    "Sounds familiar." I muttered, but he seemed to be too overwhelmed with the car.

    "Who in the right mind with a car like that would visit you?" He asked himself, referring to me. I crossed my arms under my chest and gave him a meaningful look. "What?" He seemed confused with my reaction. I rolled my eyes and walked over to the next car. That one I recognised.

    "Porche." I said, proud of my limited car knowledge. The car was matte silver, reflecting the light. It was low on the ground, looking like a race car.

    Teddy sighed behind me, obviously cursing his Toyota. I smiled at him and patted him on the shoulder. We then walked up to the front door and I opened the door with that stupid 'home sweet home' sign.



    We were hit by a wave of warm air and the smell of freshly made coffee as we entered the house. I let Teddy in, suspiciously eyeing the designer coats that hung on the wall and the Valentino shoes that were placed neatly underneath them. I glanced at my blue Converse and grinned at myself - no famous designer could ever beat Chuck Taylor.

    I heard my mother's laughter as I closed the door behind us. I glanced at Teddy who, with wide eyes, was feeling the jackets as if they were made out of the softest material on the planet. And they probably were.

    I tugged on his jacket, waking him up from his hypnosis and he jerked his head at me, as if he just realized I was standing next to him.

    "Dude, who are those people." he asked me.

    "I know as much as you do on this one." I said, my gut clenching in warning. Something wasn't right.

    I bit my lower lip and carefully started walking toward the living room, Teddy a step behind me.

    The gathering finally came into view and I stopped suddenly, causing Teddy to bump into me.

    "Ah, bullocks, what the hell, Mik--" He stopped his rant as soon as he saw what I saw.

    My mother was conversing with possibly the two most beautiful women I have ever seen in my entire life. One of them had long, brown hair that seemed to be light as silk. It cascaded around her tall but thin frame, however she was well rounded and in a very good shape. She had an oval face, stainless pale skin and light eyes that I couldn't tell the color of from distance. She was dressed in a tight black dress that revealed her shoulders, but yet didn't seem to baring.

    The other woman, sitting next to the first one, seemed to be the total opposite. Her beauty wasn't as gentle as the first one's, she was breath taking. She has a heart shaped face and fierce dark eyes. Her forehead was covered by neatly cut bangs and the rest of her hair was thick and pitch black. She wore a snow white dress that reached her knees. Her posture seemed relaxed, but yet radiating some sort of power and arrogance, while the other woman seemed more modest.

    Both of the women averted their eyes on me as soon as I came into sight.

    Since both me and Teddy were too stunned to speak, my mother decided to do it for us.

    "Oh, and this is Mikayla." She said, getting up from her seat and making her way over to me. She wore her high heels, which made her be only a slight bit taller than my five feet and eight inches. She rested her hand on my shoulder and smiled sincerely in my direction, giving me courage.

    "H-hello." I stuttered. The women watched me with unreadable faces, which caused me to look away fast. I gazed at Teddy, who still seemed shocked and for a second I thought that he might have changed his sexuality.

    "Oh, and this is Teddy. He's Mikayla's friend, and I'm not sure why he is here." Mom said, obviously to me.

    "O-oh... We have a Science project together." I muttered, my voice slightly shaking. I begged for them not to notice how nervous I suddenly became.

    "Mikayla this is Mrs. Roxanne Rosannah. And this is Mrs. Sheila Cavanaugh." My mother continued as she pointed at the two ladies with all of her fingers. A sudden jolt of frustration built within me. Why did my mom have to introduce them? Couldn't they be bothered to move their rich booties and do it themselves?

    The first one to react was the brown haired one, Roxanne. She smiled a beautiful, gentle smile causing a few adorable dimples to appear on her cheeks. She stood up and I realized she was really tall. If not of her high heels, she could probably be as tall as me.

    She walked over to me and bent down to hug me. Dumbfounded, I stood there like a stick, not moving an inch to hug her back, but she obviously didn't care. When she moved back she studied me.

    "Look at you. You're beautiful." she said. I felt myself blushing. A gorgeous woman like her was calling me beautiful? Something wrong here? And why did she talk to me as if we met before?

    Finally getting a grip, I managed to choke out a 'thank you', but looked away from her anyway, at my mother. I frowned instantly though, all my self consciousness flying out of the window when I saw her expression. It was one of sorrow, but her joy.

    I gave her a confused look, but she looked away. "I'll serve some more tea." she said in a robotic voice and waddled away to the kitchen.

    I looked at Teddy who was also looking at me, begging me with his eyes to leave this place instantly.

    "W-well, me and Teddy have some homework to work on so..."

    "Oh, yes of course! Go ahead!" Roxanne said and squeezed my shoulder, giving me another amazing smile.

    I bit my lower lip and nodded once. I looked at Teddy, then turned to leave.



    "I have no idea what in the world that was about, but man, they were hot. And I'm gay." he said, falling on my bed. I barely even listened to him though, just looked through my books on the desk.

    "Lets get this over with." I muttered and turned to him, holding two, heavy chemistry books.

    Thirty minutes later, my father returned home. For a while I listened to him speak with the guests, but then heard him walk up the stairs, probably heading to his room to refresh himself.

    However, to my surprise, he knocked on my door.

    "Come in. " I said, planting my eyes on the text book that lay open on my bed on the same page for the last five minutes. The doors clicked and swung open. My dad stood in them, int he same clothes that he wore to work.

    "Hey, honey. Could you come downstairs for a moment? Hey, Teddy." He said.

    "Afternoon, Mr.Watson." Teddy replied, chewing on a jelly bear. My dad stared at me, waiting for a reaction. I stared back at him, giving him the hint that I most certainly didn't want to go and see those models again.

    "Mikayla." He didn't give in. I sighed and rolled off my bed. With a thud I fell on all fours and got up quickly with the chuckling Teddy behind me. I glared at him and walked out of the room.



    When I walked into the living room, there seemed to be more people than before. Not only because my father was here, but also another man and a boy. A boy that was so beautiful, he took my heart away. He looked as if he was pulled right out of a Calvin Klein Jeans poster. He had choppy, black hair and sharp eyes. He was definitely Sheila's son, the resemblance was unmistakable.

    He took my breath away.

    My dad cleared his throat and I realized that I was staring at him. He wasn't staring at me, though. He was staring at his mother, giving her an odd look and a smirk.

    "Mikayla, we have something to tell you." my father begun, catching my attention instantly. He watched me carefully, his eyes big and shiny, as if he was about to break into tears. Suddenly I heard a sniff and someone caught my hand. It was my mom. I looked at her, confused, but she didn't look up to meet my gaze.

    "Mikayla... you see..." My father continued. "You know you're adopted."

    I nodded, the odd feeling in my gut returning. My mom squeezed my hand tight, almost hurting me.

    "You see... we were supposed to adopt you at the very beginning. But, after some complications, you ended up in the wrong family. A very wrong family."

    Now if was my turn to squeeze mom's hand as the memories rushed back. I felt a sharp pain in my back, as if all the bruises returned.

    "However, that's not the point of this. You see... we adopted you because your real parents couldn't take care of you. You were in too much danger."

    My eyebrows pulled together and I repeated, "Danger?"

    "The point is," Dad cut me off, not bothering to refrence the past subject. "Now, your parents are back."

    I dropped my mom's hand. I don't remember what exactly happened next. I know that I realized that the brown haired woman was my real mother, but I don't remember how I reacted to it. Maybe I screamed, maybe I started crying, maybe I just turned around and walked out, but all I know is that I ended up in my room, crying my eyes out.

    "Mikayla!" I heard suddenly and I stopped sobbing. I realized Teddy was standing over me, yelling my name. I also realized I was on the floor, my back against the door, my arms around my knees and my head bent down, hidden from the world.

    When I heard my name, I looked up and gave myself a secret pat on the back for not putting too much make up on today.

    "What's wrong?" Teddy asked, shaking me. Calming down, I gently pulled his hands away and got up.

    We sat on the bed and I told him everything, staring at my knees. I couldn't meet his eyes.

    Then I remember the boy that was also in the living room. I was so selfishly cought up in my own emotions that I forgot about him. Why was he there?

    I mentioned him to Teddy. "He was breath taking. Probably The black haired one's son. But, seriously, he was the hottest guy I've ever seen." I finally looked up to meet Teddy's eyes and to my surprise, he was smiling. "What?"

    "I'm just happy you're not crying anymore." he said. I looked down on my knees again.

    "Why would they come back now? Why did they leave me?" I wondered aloud.

    Now, I know what oyu might be thinking. 'Why the hell is she crying? It's no big deal. She should be happy she found her parents!'. I was crying because they're the reason I was abused for three years of my childhood. I was crying because they were never there for me. I was crying because if not of them leaving me, I'd be living a happy life from the beginning to the end. I didn't want to meet them. I couldn't help but blame them for everything bad that happened, although I knew that it wasn't really their fault.

    "But that guy." Teddy pulled me out of my thoughts. "How hot is he again?"

    He must have noticed my mood change back. I tried smiling at him, but it turned out to be merely a grimace.

    "Very." I answered. He smiled widely, grabbed my hand and squeezed it.

    "Now that you're calm, I think we should go down there and try over again, huh?" he said gently, his thick british accent penetrating his whisper. My expression must have been one of pure fear, because he quickly added, "I'll be with you."

    I looked back down on my knees, debating the idea in my head. I then kicked my legs off the bed, walked over to the mirror and fixed myself.

    "Lets go." I said a minute later and we walked out of my room.



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