by Sienna Skye
We were already seated at the restaurant when Victoria and Jules arrived. Victoria was tall and thin. She had blonde hair in one of those bob cuts. She also looked like she had a permanent stick stuck up her ass. Jules trailed in behind her. Her long chestnut hair was pulled back into a pony tail and her deep blue eyes took the three of us in. The poor thing looked miserable.
My father stood and gestured for us to do the same. Victoria smiled as she approached him and kissed him on the cheek. I snuck a glance at Jules who looked like she was about to throw up right there on the table. I would have paid anything to see that.
“Ahhh, you must be Julia. Your mother has told me so much about you.”
Jules looked shocked at that comment. “I can’t imagine she knows enough about me to share anything with anyone.” And right at that moment, I knew I was going to like that girl.
“Julia!” Victoria’s smile was tight as she looked over at her daughter.
My father ignored the exchange. He had a talent for ignoring things. Feelings. Ethics. His kids. Lots of stuff.
“Victoria and Julia Angelini, I would like you to meet my sons. Hunter and Morgan.” He motioned to each of us.
Hunter smiled and then spoke to Jules. “Here Julia, come sit between us. Morgan, move over a seat.”
I could tell that Hunter was thinking the same thing I was. That girl looked like she would rather be anywhere else but sitting through that shit show. The three of us were all in the same boat, so it just made sense to band together.
My father and Victoria were babbling on about wedding plans. I knew my father well enough to know that he really didn’t care one way or another. He would have just as soon have a simple ceremony to get it done and over with. He was putting on a good show though. Victoria was exactly what he would want in a wife. She was attractive, well spoken, and would easily adapt to my father’s lifestyle. She was probably a hell cat in bed or else he would have lost interest. Unless he was planning on keeping his mistress. Hunter and I were pretty sure he was fucking his secretary. That seemed to be going on for a while, whether he was involved with someone or not. We tried not to delve into that too much, because we really did not want to think about whether he was bending his secretary over his desk while our Mother was still alive.
My Mother had kept our lives in balance. My father wanted us to attend a private boarding school, but she insisted on public school. She wanted us grounded. Still, to appease our father, she made sure we had tutors that helped us to have a bit more of broader education. We were good at being chameleons. At my father’s business functions, we used big words, were able to discuss topics most kids our age couldn’t, and our manners were impeccable. At school and with our friends, we liked to have a good time. Hunter and I both excelled in sports and academics. And it may sound cocky, but we knew we lucked out in the looks department. Both of our parents were very attractive and passed those genetics down to us. We each had our share of girlfriends and always seemed to have a few waiting in the wings. Yeah, I sound like a dick, but it was the truth.
At the time we met Jules, Hunter had already been getting down and dirty in the sheets with his girlfriend. I had not had sex yet, but not for the lack of trying. The extent of my sexual experience was getting a blow job from Mary Beth Preston and the relationship I was having with my hand in the shower. It was a bit later before I realized that Mary Beth didn’t know what she was doing and neither did I.
Anyway, while it was obvious this wedding had been sprung on all three of us, Jules seemed to be much more upset than me and my brother. So, while Frick and Frack were doing their thing, Hunter and I tried to get to know our soon to be stepsister. When we found out that her father had been dead for less than a year, it explained why she was having as much difficult with the engagement as she was. The poor girl was still mourning the loss of her father. We talked about school, classes that we liked, activities, sports. She did not play any sports other than basketball and she had only played that in the back yard with her Dad. The conversation flowed, but there still seemed to be something that was held back. Like she was afraid to open up to us too much.
At one-point Hunter looked across the table and asked us in a conspiratorial voice, “Do you think they even know we are still here?”
“Maybe. I would guess my Mother is still afraid I will create a ruckus.”
“What ruckus?” Hunter asked with an arched brow.
“Could you describe the ruckus?” I asked.
“The Breakfast Club!” Jules was genuinely pleased with the exchange.
“Hey, that’s good,” Hunter praised her. “Not everyone knows that.”
“I do! My Dad loved those old 80’s teen movies. I used to watch them with him all the time. Some of them he only let me watch the edited TV version.” She laughed at that.
“Our Mom loved them too! We never really watched them with her, but Hunter and I started to watch them after she died in a way to keep a connection to her. Don’t tell anyone, but we are kind of hooked.”
That was all it took. A couple of lines from an 80’s Brat Pack movie and all the walls came down.
Eventually, our parents remembered we were sitting there and they started discussing moving arrangements with us.
“Victoria and Julia will be moving in next month. I want you two to set Julia up in one of the empty rooms in the same hall as your bedrooms.”
Jules was radiating with anxiety and anger. It was palpable.
“Move? Next month? We’re moving?” The pieces were falling together for her. Of course, it’s a little hard to process things when two hours ago you didn’t even know there was going to be wedding.
“Julia. You certainly didn’t think that we would be living in two separate houses, did you?” Her mother’s tone made me feel embarrassed for the kid. I noticed that Hunter had shifted uneasily in his chair.
“No. I mean I don’t know. I guess I really haven’t had time to think this all out. When were you planning on having the wedding?”
“In four months, but I want us to be settled before then.”
“What about Daddy’s things? And what will we do with our house?” Her voice was cracking now.
“I have already spoken to a realtor. The house will be up on the market within the next few days. I have already been getting rid of a lot of your father’s things, so there won’t be much to worry about.”
I could tell Jules tried hard to hold it back, but the sob that tore from her throat was heart wrenching. Her hands were in her lap and she was wringing them. I reached under the table and placed my hand over hers and gave it a squeeze. She squeezed it back. I noticed Hunter lean over and gently rub her back. Right then and there, a bond was formed that I would have never imagined could have been broken.
“Julia, why don’t we make plans for you to come over to our house? Morgan and I will show you around. You can pick out a room. We will even help you set it up and everything.”
“What do you think, Jules? It can be our first official act as big brothers.”
She squinted her eyes and looked at me. “Jules?”
“Yep, I think it fits you and I am sticking to it.”
Later that night, Hunter came to my room. I was sprawled out on my bed and he sat down on my floor.
“You know, as fucked up as it was that Dad sprung this wedding thing on us, I still feel like Julia got it worse. We at least had a clue that he was dating someone. From what Julia said tonight, she had no clue what was going on.” Hunter sat there shaking his head.
“No kidding. At least it’s been awhile since Mom died. Her Dad hasn’t been gone that long and I get the feeling that they were pretty close.”
“There is still a lot of Mom here in the house, you know? I don’t know. It makes me feel better sometimes to kind of feel her here.” Hunter shrugged, uncomfortable with his own admission.
“I get it. That’s why when Dad really pisses me off one of the places I go to calm down is in the library. She lo
ved that room. It’s all her and none of him.”
Together we hatched a plan to go see Jules while Victoria wasn’t home. We wanted her to go through what was left of her Dad’s things, pack up what she wanted to keep, and bring it back with us to store for her. Since we had already mentioned at dinner that we were going to have her come pick out a room, we knew we wouldn’t have any trouble getting our father to have one of his staff bring us there.
Two days later, we did just that. Jules came to our house, armed with a box of her father’s things. I stored the box in my closet until she got settled. We gave her a tour of the house and she picked out a bedroom. It was across the hall, but very close to my room and Hunter’s. I kind of figured she did that on purpose. I could tell she felt comfortable with us. Our house was ridiculously large, and I think that she was afraid to be too far away and alone.
Next came a tour of the grounds. My father had set up the area so that it would be impressive during events he held. We just loved having the pool and space. Though, Hunter did have sex for the first time in the pool house. Okay, we had both brought girls there to spend some time alone with them. We left that little tidbit out when we gave Jules the tour.
Beyond the yard was a small stream. A footbridge crossed it over into a wooded area. The three of us were walking through the woods, when she looked up and her eyes lit up.
“A treehouse?”
“Yeah, we haven’t been up there in years, but when Morgan and I were younger, we spent a lot of time in it.”
Hunter may not have been up there, but I might have brought a girl or three up there to practice a bit of kissing. I didn’t mention that to her either.
“Do you want to go up? I was actually up there a few weeks ago just checking the place out and it’s still in good shape.”
“Can we?”
“You’ll have to climb the tree ladder, but yeah.”
She bit her bottom lip and stared at the tree for a second. “Let’s do it!”
I climbed up first and Hunter stayed behind her. It really wasn’t that high up, but she seemed nervous. We sat in there for quite a while, talking about all sorts of things, and getting to know each other. It reminded me of when our Mom had just died. Hunter and I would spend hours hiding away from the rest of the world.
The two of us were athletic. We both played football and basketball. Hunter would go down the shore in the summer and surf. He was a phenomenal swimmer, too. I was into martial arts. I really didn’t know what to do with a little sister, so I figured I would teach her some of our world. If she was going to be tagging along with us anyway, it made sense.
“Hey Jules, do you want to glide across on the rope?” I pointed to the rope set up that was hanging on the branch outside. It was kind of a zip lining thing we had concocted.
“Oh, I don’t know. I’d probably end up falling and break my leg or something.”
“Nah…Hunter and I have done it a hundred times. Never once got a scratch. Try it!”
We hooked her up in our little contraption and I pushed her out to get the momentum going. Not five minutes later, Hunter was carrying her back to the house and then I was getting her a bag of ice and wrapping her ankle. You know that old question asking if a tree falls in the woods and nobody is around does it still make a sound? Well, I don’t know about that, but a teenage girl falling to the ground from a rope suspended between two trees sure as hell makes a sickening thud. And it makes her curse like an old drunk sailor.
Chapter Seven
Morgan
A month later, Jules and her mother had moved in as expected. Victoria and my father were making plans for their May wedding. Jules had to switch schools in the middle of the school year and she was trying hard to adjust. She was extremely smart, and the work came easy for her. But, let’s face it, it’s hard when you are a kid to leave your friends behind. She wouldn’t be a freshman until the following fall, so she wasn’t in school with me and Hunter. The next year would be easier. We would all be going to the same school. Hunter would be starting his senior year and I would be starting my junior. We would introduce her to other kids and nobody was going to mess with her once they found out she was our sister.
The wedding day came and the three of us behaved like the dutiful offspring we were supposed to be. My father and Victoria planned a two-week honeymoon and left the three of us home with the staff to watch over us. Mrs. O’Brien was a sweet Grandma type of woman who was our live-in housekeeper. She also was a great cook. She was the one who was primarily in charge of us while they were away on their trip.
The morning after the wedding, after eating some freaking phenomenal French toast for breakfast, Hunter and I went to the back yard to kick around the soccer ball. We were messing around for about a half hour when Jules wandered outside.
“Well look who’s up. I thought you were going to sleep in until lunch.” I was bouncing the ball on my knee while I taunted her.
“Morning, Idgit. Did you get some French toast?”
“I did. I think that was the best French toast I have ever had in my life!”
“Hey, you answered him, but you ignored me.”
“Yep. He’s not an ass.”
I kicked the ball at Hunter as he laughed at her comment. He deftly blocked the ball and then kicked it back to me.
“Can I play?”
“So now you are talking to me?”
“For the moment.”
“Ok wise ass. You can play.”
I swear on my life that I kicked that ball gently. But a few minutes later, after Hunter had picked her up off the ground and helped her into the house, I was Googling symptoms of a concussion.
✽✽✽
A week after the wedding, Jules was in a funk. She kept asking Mrs. O’Brien if Victoria had called. We hadn’t heard from our parents all week and let’s face it, with the two of them, it was no surprise. But, Jules was relentless and every time she was told Victoria hadn’t called, her mood significantly worsened.
“Do you think she’s sick?” I asked Hunter.
“She’d tell us if she was sick.”
“What if it’s one of those girl things?”
“You’re a moron. Besides, I can’t imagine her going to Victoria with anything like that.” He was right, I could sooner see her asking the gardener before she would ask Victoria. “She could talk to Mrs. O’Brien or maybe her aunt.”
“But what if it is? What do we do then? I think we boil water.”
“That’s babies.”
“Who the hell is putting babies in boiling water?”
“It’s for the delivery, jackass. And don’t ask me why. I don’t know.”
“I’m going to ask her.”
“You can’t just walk in there and ask her that. We’ll go and tell her we’re here if she wants to talk or if she needs something.”
“I hope it’s not tampons.”
We knocked on her bedroom door and when she told us to come in, we found her lying on her side on her bed. Her room was quiet, and she was just staring into space.
“Hey, Jules. Do you feel sick? Are you coming down with something?”
She didn’t look at me. “I’m not sick.”
“Okay, not sick. Is it….cramps?” I heard Hunter groan beside me.
She shot up into a sitting position and glared at me. “Is it CRAMPS?”
Oh shit, that sounded scary. I took a step back. “Please don’t hurt me.”
“No, it’s not cramps. I just want to be alone.”
Hunter grabbed my arm and started to pull me backwards. “Julia, if you want to talk later, just let me know.”
“Thanks, I will.”
“Why are you nice to him? Why is she nice to you?”
Hunter slapped me in the back of my head as he pulled me out of the room.
About an hour later, a package arrived for Jules. She ran down the stairs, grabbed the package, and then ran back up without saying a word. I felt like it was a piece to some bizar
re jigsaw puzzle. I told Hunter he needed to find a way to get her out of her room. He looked at me like I had a death wish, but he managed to distract her for a few minutes. I snuck into her room and saw the package on her desk. In it was an e-reader and an envelope. Quickly, I opened it and read the note from her aunt. I slipped the card back and made my escape before I was caught.
Once she was back in her room, I found Hunter. “It’s her birthday. That’s why she has been asking if Victoria called. That package was a present from her aunt.”
“Damn. How much does that suck that her Mom forgot her birthday?”
“Sucks big time. It’s her first birthday without her Dad, too. We gotta do something for her.”
So, we scattered. Hunter went to buy her a present and get us dinner from her favorite pizza place. I asked Mrs. O’Brien to bake her a cake, worked on some decorations and set up the TV room for the night’s entertainment.
✽✽✽
Julia
I know it shouldn’t have surprised me that my mother didn’t call me for my birthday. She wasn’t exactly the warm and fuzzy type. Still, I was missing my father and feeling pretty crappy. She couldn’t even be bothered to send a text. Somewhere deep down I knew she wouldn’t have called on the house phone, but I couldn’t help but ask. I never had a birthday before where nobody remembered. When the present from my Aunt Claudia arrived, it helped me feel a little better. I was downloading some books when I heard a knock on my door. Morgan popped his head in and told me it was time for dinner. He ran away so fast I wondered if I really had scared him before.
When I got downstairs, I couldn’t believe what I saw. Hunter and Morgan stood in the dining room and had giant grins on their faces. They had bought a pizza and chicken wings from my favorite place. There were bowls of chips and pretzels and bottles of soda. I could smell something yummy and suspected someone had made me a birthday cake. The decorations were not your standard streamers and balloons. There were computer created signs and candid shots of the three of us taken at various events. That no doubt came from Morgan.
