Dear All Star Player
Ireland Forever
Forever Ruined (A Ruined series spin off)
Mr. Billionaire
Mr. Silver
Spring Breakers
Spring Break Secret Baby
May Flowers
His Cherry Blossom
Wedding Season
Something Borrowed
The Fireworks Series
Her Smoking Firefighter
Sneak Peek
Falling for the Forbidden
Falling down on my bed, I blow out a long breath and tell myself that everything will be okay.
I had plans for this summer—a few weeks of fun before uni starts. The girls and I had been looking at last-minute holiday deals, and we had tickets for a music festival…but then my dad swooped in, in that way that he does, and ruined everything.
I knew it was coming.
I just wasn’t expecting it quite yet.
I’d hoped agreeing to study what he wanted me to and working for him was enough—apparently not.
I decided a few years ago that I wasn’t going to move away to study. I mostly love my life in London, and I loved living with Mum. I’m not ashamed to admit that she’s one of my best friends. It was only as I started looking at universities that my dad piped up and told me that I would be studying accountancy and finance at The London School of Economics. He’d done his research and decided it was the best place for me to learn my trade so I could enter the family business.
I just about managed to contain my laughter when he emphasised the word family.
I’ve no idea how long I lie on my bed trying to convince myself that moving into his house with his new wife and her son isn’t the worst thing to ever happen to me, but eventually my stomach rumbling has me moving. I sit on the edge of the bed and take in all my half-unpacked boxes. A large sigh falls from my lips. If I don’t find everything a home, maybe I won’t have to stay. I know it’s wishful thinking. This is it for me now.
Disappointment floods me as I make my way through the silent house. It’s not that I was expecting a welcome party or anything, but someone being here would have been nice. Someone to help me carry everything up to my room would have been even nicer. Since Dad moved in with Jenny a few years ago, I’ve been told to treat this place like my home.
It will never be.
It's just a house, a show home, a shell in which I'm scared to touch anything for fear of making a mess. Home is a place with character, with mess from day-to-day living, with people who love and care for you.
My dad isn’t a bad man, per se, but he’s not exactly what you’d describe as a doting father. Everything he does is for his own gain—if it happens to help others in the process, that’s just a bonus.
My step mum, Jenny, is lovely. She really is, but I can’t help feeling like she’s just a little bit…broken. She makes all the right comments and does all the right things. She’s a great mum. But there’s such sadness in her eyes.
The fridge is full, as usual. It’s strange, because I’ve never witnessed anyone eating more than a slice of toast or an apple in this kitchen.
I fix myself a salad with the unopened packets of fruit and vegetables, but it doesn’t really have the effect I needed it to have. Being here makes me feel kind of empty, and no amount of lettuce leaves is going to fill the void after moving out of the flat Mum and I shared for the past few years.
Rummaging through the cupboards, I can’t help smiling when I find a stash of naughty stuff hiding at the back.
Pulling my hair back into a messy bun, I put my thoughts to the side and set about making something that will make me feel just a little bit better.
The sun’s just about to set, casting an orange glow throughout the kitchen. It almost makes it feel warm and inviting—almost. My mouth waters as I pour melted chocolate over the crushed biscuits and marshmallows I’ve managed not to eat already. Standing in only a vest and a small pair of hot pants, I decide to make myself a hot chocolate, grab a blanket, and enjoy my bowl of goodness out on the deck with a magazine. Chocolate makes everything that little bit better. If I eat enough, it might make me forget what this summer’s actually going to be like for me.
I’m just waiting for the kettle to boil when a shiver runs down my spine. I’m sure it’s just the size of the house that freaks me out. I’ve seen enough horror films to know there are plenty of hiding places in a place this big.
I’m still for a second, but when I don’t hear anything, I continue with what I was doing. That is, until a deep rumbling voice has every nerve in my body on alert.
“Wow, step daddy sure is attracting the young ones these days.” His voice is slurred, his anger palpable. It makes goosebumps prick my skin and a giant lump form in my throat. “You look too pure. Too innocent to be with that prick,” he spits.
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