chapter 1 new beginnings

Sigh..

That's all I could do as I looked at the dreamboat known as Logan Fowler, my ex-boyfriend. His perfect locks looked like they were glowing from the sunlight. His looked adorable as he tried to pay attention to Mrs. Williams, something I should probably be doing, but obviously, he's a better sight than the sixty ancient year old woman in question. Why hasn't she retired again?

The school bell sounded, and everyone packed away their belongings with some enthusiastic speed while I took my mery time. It's not like I wasn't excited about leaving the class for lunch. I haven't been excited about anything the past year. It's only the second week of my senior year.

With my things packed, I headed for the library, but of course, fate wouldn't let me get there in peace. If anything, it looked set out to get me there in pieces as I went flying in the student filled hallway. Those around me started laughing as though this was the funniest thing they'd ever witnessed. "aaaw, is little Elle upset?" My former best friend Alison cooed, her cronies snickering behind her.

She had tripped me because, you know, it's the classy thing to do. I simply chose to ignore her and instead moved to pick my stuff up. I was stopped by the excruciating pain that shot through my left hand. I stared down at it, watching the blood ooze out of my hand. I can't even compare the pain to anything.

"Dammit! I got blood on my shoe!" Alison huffed, checking her stiletto. The very stiletto that just pierced the back of my hand."It wouldn't have happened if this freak wasn't a part of our school!" Karen Alison's sidekick chirped. Alison smirked. "You know what? You're right! Elle should just do the world a favor and disappear!"

I clutched my bleeding hand, tears stinging behind my eyes. I wouldn't let them see me cry as I bit my lip to prevent myself from doing so. People were dispersing, and the gods must have heard my pleas because Alison and her friends left as well. Logan followed his evil girlfriend without even sparing me a glance.

Yes, Logan is Alison's boyfriend, as clichès end as would have it. No one helped me up or helped me gather my things. I had to do with one hand before finally managing to get myself to the nurse's office. I had become quite acquainted with this place, but never with an injury like this one. Nurse Jackie's eyes widened when I walked in.

"What happened?" She asked, rushing over to me. Unfortunately, that's when the dizziness kicked in. I could feel my swaying, and the room was spinning a little. I think I must have gotten a few words out, but I couldn't be sure. The last thing that met me was darkness.

"Rochelle," I heard someone call. I opened my eyes, blinking a few times from the brightness. When my eyesight had adjusted, my aunt was looking at me worried. Standing next to her was a man I assumed was my doctor. I tried to sit up and accidentally used my injured hand to push me up, resulting in me screaming out from the pain.

"I'm so sorry, Miss Solano. Are you okay?"

the doctor asked. That's a trick question, right? Despite the stupid question, I managed to mumble, "I'm fine." Rochelle, what happened?" my aunt asked. "It's nothing," I quickly replied.

She didn't look like she bought it. She turned to the doctor. "Doctor Charles, may I please have a second with my niece?" "Sure thing, Mrs Miller," the doctor said before leaving the room."Rochelle, I have some news for you. As to whether or not they're good or bad is entirely up to you," she said with an unsure look on her face. I scowled. "What is it?"

"Adam and I can't take care of you

anymore, so your father has agreed to

take you in. You leave in two days," she

replied. I was numb. She was right about how I would take the news since moving away to live with my dad obviously had its 4 pros and cons.

Pros: I could move away from this place, I could start afresh, I could attempt to

salvage a somewhat distant relationship

with my father and I'd be wealthier than

I am at this very moment since my dad is

pretty loaded.

Cons: My dad lives with his new wife and step son, we barely talk, he's barely home because of his job, I'd be left alone with people I don't know, starting over at a new school will be tedious and there's of course the chance that my life there may very well be the same as it is here. But then again, life is about facing challenges head-on, right?

I could do this. With a timid nod, I accepted my fate, bringing relief to my aunt. I don't blame her. She and Uncle Adam had to adjust their lives greatly to accommodate me. None of us were ready to lose my mother, and we most definitely felt her absence.

Luckily for me, I didn't even need to see that horrid institution again. My aunt let me stay home for two days so that I could pack. I wouldn't miss a single thing about this place. If anything, moving away

was sounding more and more exciting by the day.

By the time my father's SUV pulled up to at my aunt's house, dread filled my stomach. I hadn't spoken to the man since my mother's funeral except for the few phone calls every once in a while, so my anxiety was understandable, at least in my book. I waited to hear him know before heading over to get the door. My aunt and uncle were in the kitchen talking. I opened the door and was met by my intimidating father.

I know that deep down, he's a teddy bear, but his appearance suggests otherwise. He's a big built man whose height gene I unfortunately didn't inherit. The only thing I actually got from him is my eye color. Everything else I got from my mother.

"Hey, dad," I said lowly, as he continued to stare at me in disbelief. "I might have to get you homeschooled," he mumbled. "Dad!" I giggled."What? It's not my fault I left you looking like my little girl and I come back to a young woman. When did you kick into,well, all of this?" He asked. Seriously, might I add.

I rolled my eyes. "Can you just hug me, you dramatic man?" He chuckled before opening his arms. "Come here, pumpkin! I stepped into the hug and was immediately engulfed by his caffeinated scent. While he sprays on a Hugo Boss cologne, he drinks so much coffee that the two scents always seem to fuse into one, making his own personal scent.

"Are you ready to go?" He asked."Uh, yeah! My stuff is all there," I replied, pointing to the boxes and bags. "Alright! Let me greet your aunt and uncle, and then we can head out," he said. "Ok," I nodded. I didn't expect him to hug me again. "I'm glad you're coming to live with me, pumpkin. It's about time," he murmured into my hair.

Tears came to my eyes as I took in his words. I hadn't been able to live with him because of my mother and aunt. My mother had taken him to court when I was eleven for sole custody of me, and she got it. When she died a year ago, my aunt was reluctant to let me go to him because my mother had her convinced that he was some terrible man.

I guess it took being a financial burden for me to finally be allowed to go to my dad. "I'm glad I get to live with you too," I whispered. After a kiss to the forehead, he headed towards the kitchen to greet my aunt and uncle. The greeting was very brief as I knew that none of them wanted to be in each other's presence, so the quicker the greeting, the better for everyone.

My dad came back and helped me get my stuff into the car. I hugged my aunt and uncle goodbye before leaving with my dad. We were both avoiding having to talk. I think we both weren't ready for that, so we settled for listening to a UB40 album. Red, red, wine is our father daughter bonding song.

It took four hours to get there, two of which I was awake for. My dad nudged me awake when we arrived. We were parked outside a huge light gray house. The anxiety returned since I hadn't met his wife and stepson. "Relax pumpkin, they're both very excited to finally meet you. Noah hasn't shut up about it for a week now," my dad informed me.

"A week?" I asked in surprise."Yep! Let's head in before he comes to drag you out himself," he chuckled. I did as advised and stepped out of the car. I looked back to see the gate just a few feet away. The garden out front looked perfectly maintained, with the mini fountain springing water out of what I assume are angel's mouths.

"Vi, Noah, we're home," my dad announced as we walked into the house. Two excited people practically ran into the foyer, and they both came up to hug me. The woman stepped away, and I instantly fell in love with her. I know that's weird, but she was just so welcoming without having even said a word. I am making no sense, am I?

"Oh my God, hi! I'm Violet, and this is my son Noah. We've been so excited to finally meet you as I'm sure you can tell," she rambled. Noah was still holding onto me. "Uh, Noah? I giggled. I'm much shorter than him, so my head was resting comfortably on his chest.

"Hmm?" He replied. "You can let go now," I said. He pulled away, ears tinged. "Right! Hi, I'm Noah."Rochelle," I m

Smiles at both of them. " Are you hungry?" Vivian asked me suddenly. "Yeah," I nodded. "Ok! Let me get something going while Noah helps you settle in. Is that ok?" She asked.

"That sounds great, thanks," I replied. She beamed before hugging me again." I'm truly so happy that you're here. It's nice to finally have another girl in the house," she giggled before heading for what I assumed was the kitchen. "Well, I'll leave you two to it. I need to check on some cases," my dad said before kissing my forehead and walking out of the room.

"It's so nice to have a little sister," Noah commented as we got my stuff out of the suv. He's older than me by a year, but I got to skip a grade, so we're seniors together. " Most older brothers wouldn't agree with you. I hear being an older brother can be tedious," I responded. "If you're not prepared, it can be," he corrected.

I raised an eyebrow."Oh? And you are? I thought you're an only child."That may be true, but with my physique, most boys would think twice about even coming towards you," he argued. I stood and looked at him over then. He's right in that his physique is intimidating. By the looks of things, he's about 6'2.

He's got broad shoulders, a defined jawline, and dark hair. His chocolate brown eyes are deceitfully beautiful since they also look intimidating at the same time. How does that even work? "So, do you believe me?" He asked, snapping me out of my analysis. "I believe I am one protected little sister," I laughed, knowing my statement would please him. I was right since he beamed.

He helped me carry my stuff upstairs. I learnt that this house has seven bedrooms with four of them being en-suite, six bathrooms, two kitchens, a dining room, a lounge, an entertainment room( Noah's favorite room), a laundry room and two studies. According to Noah. One is my dad's and Violet's, while the other one is ours.

What do we need to study for, you ask? Well, it turns out my new brother is as much of an A+ student as I am, but he cannot study in his room, so he does his schoolwork in the study, and then it's freedom outside of the room. It's actually genius.

We reached the room that was designated to me,and I was surprised by it. I didn't expect to already be decorated, especially the way it is. It is painted with different shades of pink and lavender, and the ceiling was decorated with butterflies. The bathroom keeps to the same theme, while the closet is as big as my room back at my aunt's house.

"As you probably know, dad sucks at such things, so mum and I decorated it for you. Do you like it?" Noah asked me. I was taken aback to find that I didn't have a problem with him saying "dad." I love it, but how did you guys know?" I asked him. "Dad mentioned that you like the colors pink and purple, and that your favorite animal is a butterfly, though there was an argument as to whether or not a butterfly counts as an animal since it's an insect but yeah," he replied, breathless after the last word.

"Noah, slow down. I'm not going anywhere, you know? You don't have to squeeze everything you want to say to me in one breath," I teased. Again, his cheeks tinged. "I know. I just can't believe you're here. I'm pretty sure you know how much it sucks to grow up as an only child, so this is exciting for me." I couldn't help but hug him. " I know exactly what you mean Noah, but I'm not going anywhere."

"Promise?" He looked down at me. "Promise," I nodded. "Fantastic! Well, mum's going to take a while, so let's get you settled in, and then I can catch you up on everything about school," he smiled. I beamed, " Were you going to the same school?" He sent me a dry look. " I just got you. Did you really think I would let you go to another school?" It was my turn to blush. "Right, I knew that."Sure you did," he chuckled.

"Shut up," I mumbled, only making him laugh harder. When he finally calmed down, we started getting my room right. "Ok, so I'm not going to dictate to you about who you can be friends with, but I will warn you against the cheerleaders. They're your clichè mean girls, and you don't look like the kind of person who hangs with that crowd. Everyone else is pretty much ok," he started off. I was packing my clothes while he was putting up my photos and such.

"What about the bad group?" I asked from the closet. "Well, the most popular guy in school and his group, but all I've ever heard is rumors about them. I've never actually seen them do anything they've been accused of doing, except the occasional smoking and drinking," he replied. "Ok, got it. What are academics like?" I asked. "You have all your classes with me," he said excitedly.

Someone is going to blow up like a piñata pretty soon, I learned more from Noah about everything. Apparently, he's a jock since he plays football, which didn't surprise me. He hangs with some of the jocks, and he said he'd introduce me at a party I was being dragged to the following day.

By the time Violet called us down for dinner, we had been well acquainted, but I had killed Noah's mood. I hadn't meant to, I just trusted him enough to tell him everything about my past, and it's safe to say that my older brother is pissed off at the kind of life I lived before coming here.

"Noah honey, are you ok?" Violet asked her son. "I'll be fine," he mumbled. Both Violet and my dad looked at me in question. "I, uh, told him some upsetting things about my past before coming here," I said nervously. Understanding and worry flashed in both their eyes. "You're safe here, pumpkin. I hope you know that," my dad held my hand. "I know dad," I smiled at him, tears in my eyes.

"I'm here whenever you need anything, Rochelle. I'll never push you into anything, but I'm here any time of the day for you, okay?" Violet said passionately; "Thank you," I whispered. The rest of dinner went by with me learning more about Violet since I already knew so much about Noah. I also got to learn more about my dad and his new life. By the time dinner was over, Noah and I said we would do the dishes. Violet and my dad headed up to bed after saying goodnight.

"Noah, you need to calm down," I sighed as he was borderline smashing the plates. "It's not fair, ellie. Why did you have to live that kind of life? I should have lived that kind of life. At least I would've been able to defend myself," he argued.

"I , but it's over and done with now.im here, and that's all that matters," I pointed out. He shopped and turned to look at me. "You're right. I pointed to take full care of you, okay?" He said, sounding so sad. For the third time since I met him, I hugged him. "And I know you'll do a fine job at it," I said. "Damn straight!" He replied, making me laugh. After a kiss on the forehead(those are happening a lot),we got the dishes done. We were packing them in the machine since my hand wasn't exactly functioning as yet.

The doctor said it would take a month to heal and that it would leave a scar. I'm lucky that the heel only fractured two of the bones it passed between. It was mostly torn muscles that were affected. When we were done, he let me head up to my room. I was exhausted.

He told me that we were going shopping the next day because my wardrobe was "atrocious and outdated." Some brother he is! I woke up hours later, fully rested. My new bed is definitely one of my many favorite things about this room. It was mid-morning, and something told me that being stubborn would get me nowhere with Noah, so I just decided to get ready for the mall.

I showered and got dressed in a simple pair of jeans. A plain t-shirt and a pair of pumps. I tied my hair up in a ponytail before heading downstairs. I could smell bacon all the way from upstairs, and my stomach was pleased to find it sizzling on a plate.

"Good morning, guys!" I said it happily, skipping over to the bacon. They all replied. "I see you're still addicted to bacon," my dad said amusingly. "Bacon is life!" I defend myself dramatically. "I'm just glad that you got ready without me having to drag you out of bed. We seriously need to fix this situation," Noah commented before looking at his phone. "Noah!" Violet scolded. "What? Look at her mom! This is wasted potential. She's too beautiful for what she's wearing. She deserves to be adorably beautiful," he argued.

Whatever on earth that means! To be honest, I've always wanted to have a girly wardrobe, but I could never afford one. When. I could, but my money would end up being taken away from me for one thing or another. I just gave up and settled into the whole frumpy,"atrocious" look. "It's ok, Violet. He's got a bit of a point. My wardrobe could do with a little boost," I smiled. “And you’re letting him take you shopping?” she asked in disbelief

“Uh, you can come along?” I said it unsurely. “No!” “Fantastic!” Noah and Violet replied at the same time, with Noah saying the former. My dad chuckled as Violet went upstairs to get ready. “You’ve started something bad.”

“What? I didn’t know!” I defended myself. “Why? Why would you do that?” Noah groaned. “She's probably not that bad, guys,” I commented. Never have I been so wrong about anything in my life!

Seriously! Seven hours later, my entire closet was filled with every kind of clothing I'd ever dreamed of owning, and I couldn't feel my feet. I had bought more shoes in one day than I had owned in my entire life. I had handbags, jewelry, and perfume stocked in their rightful places, and Noah was still dragging me to a party. "Come on, Noey! I'm tired!" I whined.

"I warned you, Ellie, but you let the monster come with us. Now you have to just put on your big girl panties on and get a move on it!" He replied,crossing his arms. I pouted, "Why do you hate me so much?" I don't know what you're talking about. We're leaving in an hour," he said before walking out of my room. Once more, I figured that there was no arguing with him, so I just talked myself into getting up and getting ready.

"But you're so.." I trailed off."Not gay? There's no such thing, sis. Not all gay guys go around flashing their femininity in people's faces as most would believe, and not all gay guys are skinny, small guys who can't defend themselves from bullies. Stereotypes are a terrible thing," he chuckled.

I was dumbstruck."Are you out of the closet?" I blurted."If you're asking if everyone knows, then yes, they do. Most people done have a problem with it," he said with a shrug."I don't either, despite my reaction. I just didn't expect it," I quickly defended." Calm down, Ellie! I know," he winked. "Good! Because you're my brother, and I love you whichever way you swing," I smiled.

He mock sniffed before bringing out the baby voice, "You wove me?" Of course I do,you big teddy bear!" I teased. "I thought dad was the big teddy bear!" He huffed. "You thought wrong! You're both big teddy bears, " Violet said for the door. "Exactly!" I giggled, earning myself a glare from Noah.

"You look beautiful, darling," Violet said to me. She'd asked me if I was ok with her calling ne that, and I am. "Thank you," I blushed. "Well, let's go before mum decides to hog you all to herself," Noah teased. "I brought you into this world, and I couldn't easily take you out. Noah, Violet glared at him. " Your husband is a cop. I'd like to see you try," he smirked.

"He would never lock up his loving wife up. If anything, he'd agree that it was good riddance," Violet countered with a shrug Noah grasped while I burst out laughing. "You are no mother of mine!" He declared. "That's fine with me. I have a daughter now, so you can disown me all you want," Violet replied.

Noah turned to me. "This is the time you pick sides. Just know that if you don't pick my side you're walking to the party." And if you pick mine, you get to stay and rest,"Violet added with a devious smirk. Smart lady! "Hmm, decisions,decisions," I teased, tapping my chin. "You're taking too long," Noah whined. "You're just afraid she'll pick my side," Violet laughed.

"She's smarter than that mum. Why do you think we're on our way now?" Noah asked. "What are you talking ab-" I was in the process of asking, when my lovely brother decided that I'm a sack of potatoes as he picked me up and threw me over his shoulder. Violet could only laugh as I was manhandled all the way downstairs."Noah, why are you carrying your sister in that way?" My dad asked, stopping to look up at us from his laptop.

"She was about to make a grave mistake. I'm being a good brother by saving her from that. Well be back later," Noah replied. "Be safe, and enjoy yourselves," my dad chuckled. "Really? You're not going to demand that he put me down?" I asked incredulously. My dad shrugged, "What can I say? He's being a good brother."

Kill me now!