Chapter 2

Jenna fell on her bed backward, sighing as she landed. “Ugh,” She thought. She heard yelling outside her bedroom door; Evelyn and Mark were still at it. “I’m getting the house, you buffoon! You can sleep in your office,” screamed Evelyn. Jenna could hear her stomping past the bedroom door. 

“Maybe I will!” replied Mark, and Jenna rolled her eyes; this had been going on since Mark had found out about the affair. Jenna had known for months that something was up with Evelyn. She had a pep in her step; she was happy and laughing. Evelyn's attitude had improved to the point where she acted like she had when Jenna had first moved in.

When Jenna first moved in, Evelyn was confident and happy. But, as time passed, Evelyn lost her confidence and shine; she was depressed. She was lonely in her marriage to Mark and only held on because of her children. Jenna could see the change in her attitude when the affair started; she had gotten all her lost confidence back, and she was no longer depressed and lonely... she was happy.

Jenna sighed and put in some earbuds. This is not how she wanted to spend her birthday. She hit shuffle on her playlist and tried to relax. Tomorrow was exciting for Jenna; she had visitation with her mother. She had asked for it on her birthday, but the Morgs denied that wish because of church. They needed her there to keep up the façade of a picture-perfect family.

Daylight slowly became night, and there was a knock on her door; it was Melanie. “Come in,” said Jenna. Melanie opened the door and peered inside. "My mom just left, and dad ordered pizza. He asked that you come down”. 

Jenna nodded, "I'll be right there. Thank you, Melanie. “Melanie smiled and closed the door. The twins sure could be annoying, but they could be sweet too. If she had allowed herself to get close to them, maybe they would feel like an actual brother and sister, but she had learned her lesson and vowed to herself never again.

She hopped off her bed and stretched as she put her phone in her back pocket. Then walked to her bedroom door and walked out to get some pizza. She headed down the stairs and walked into the dining room. There was a single cupcake and a card on the counter. Jenna looked up at Melanie and Max; they both had the biggest grins. “Happy birthday!” They said together. Jenna smiled; she was happy someone remembered her Birthday. Mark walked into the kitchen and handed them all a plate of pizza. “Happy birthday, Jenna," he said.

Jenna smiled, "Thank you." The four of them sat at the table together, discussing church and the pastor's words. Jenna could tell Mark was devastated, but he didn’t let that bleed to the twins. Jenna knew they had probably heard the yelling, but Mark and Evelyn were trying to keep this from their children.

After dinner, Jenna cleaned up the plates and ran the dishwasher. The twins and their dad sat in the living room watching a movie. The movie was about a human finding a vampire castle and falling in love with Dracula’s daughter. Jenna laughed as she walked back up to her room. How silly, she thought. Vampires and other supernatural creatures weren’t real; there were no zombies or werewolves. She opened her bedroom door and went to get her pajamas out of her drawer. She slipped them on and then went into the bathroom to brush her teeth to get ready for bed. 

Afterward, she lay in her bed and opened her book, a novel about living in the 1500s. A palace made of stone, a prince, and a banned relationship was involved. She licked her lips as she read the part about the prince; he was tall, dark, handsome, and of course, charming.

There was a knock on her door, and Mark peaked his head in. “Don’t forget, Jenna. Tomorrow, you told the twins you would take them to the history museum.” Jenna nodded, it was summer vacation, and The Morgs viewed her as a babysitter. Since she liked the Twins, she didn’t mind as much. Most of her friends were on vacation with their families anyway. “Goodnight,” Mark said. 

“Night,” Replied Jenna. She continued reading into the night and fell asleep with the book on her chest. 

Her alarm started going off at 8 am. She got up and walked to Melanie’s bedroom, knocking before opening the door slowly. Melanie was still sleeping, “wakey, wakey, sleepy head.” Melanie groaned and rolled over. “We’re going to the museum today, remember?” asked Jenna. 

Melanie sat up quickly in bed. “YAY. I'm so excited!” she exclaimed, and Jenna laughed, ”Good. Come down for breakfast so we can all get ready.” Melanie nodded.

Jenna went to Max’s room next. She could hear him inside playing video games, so she knocked louder so he would hear her. She peaked her head into his room slowly, “Come on and get ready for breakfast. We’re going to the museum today,” she told him. 

"Okay,” said Max. “I'll be down in a minute.” Jenna nodded and closed his door. She walked down the stairs to the kitchen and got out the pancake ingredients. She had all the plates ready when the twins came down. Mark walked into the kitchen, "Looks good, Jenna. I got to run. I'll see you guys tonight." They all said their goodbyes. Jenna looked around; Evelyn must not have come home. 

Jenna sighed, "All right, guys, I'm going to take a quick shower, then we can go.” The twins nodded as she ran upstairs. She took a shower and put on her favorite pair of jeans with her favorite black shirt, French braiding her hair and putting on a little makeup. She was back downstairs in 30 minutes with everyone ready to go. She grabbed the keys to the Honda Civic as they all walked to the car and climbed in. "You guys ready for an adventure?” The twins nodded with excitement. “Good," she said, starting the vehicle.

Today would start an adventure she would never forget.