Chapter 004
1322 Words
Jed’s POV
I’ve never been good with change, especially not the kind Dad had been throwing at me.
Ever since his divorce with Mom, things had been quiet, a certain understanding between us… just what I liked.
But now he was talking about getting remarried, and I didn’t know what to think of that.
He’s had relationships before, which always ended badly as I always thought it would, but never serious enough to the point of getting married.
This seemed serious though, since the lady and her daughter had already moved into the mansion.
Cliché, Dad.
Yesterday, I’d managed to skip meeting my soon to be stepmom and her daughter, claiming I had too much schoolwork.
Dad hadn’t pushed it, but today was different.
He made sure I was at breakfast this morning to meet them properly, saying it’s time for me to accept this whole new chapter of his.
As if I asked for any part of it.
I knew I couldn’t dodge it forever though, so I figure I’ll just get it over with. Better to face the awkwardness now than drag it on.
I braced myself, hoping this won’t be as bad as I was expecting it to be. I sat at the breakfast table, pushing my food around my plate.
It seemed Dad had somehow found love again, or so he said. I couldn’t help but feel skeptical.
After all, he had been duped by many women looking to take advantage of his money in the past.
Part of me hoped this was different, that he had actually found true love. But the other part of me wasn’t so sure I wanted to meet a new family.
I was lost in my thoughts when I heard footsteps coming down the stairs. Here we go, I thought.
I glanced up and seeing the girl, who I assumed was my soon to be stepsister, I immediately felt hate towards her.
It had nothing to do with her outward appearance, she seemed beautiful enough. A little petite, but pretty nonetheless.
But seeing her now, the whole idea of Dad remarrying and I having a stepsister gutted me, and I focused all my emotions into detesting her at first sight.
Annoyed at everything that moment, I looked down on my plate, having lost my appetite, I didn’t know what to do with this new reality.
As she reached the bottom of the stairs and sat down at the table, she kept glancing at me, her eyes wide and questioning.
It was as if she was trying to signal something to me, and it was annoying. I felt a knot tighten in my stomach.
I decided then and there to ignore her. Maybe if I was cold and distant, she would get the message and stop grappling for my attention.
I forced myself to keep my eyes on my plate, not bothering or even willing to meet her gaze.
“Jed, this is Anastasia, she’s going to be your step sister.” Dad said, introducing her as if I hadn’t already figured it out.
“Morning,” she mumbled, but I could care less who she was.
I remained silent, barely glancing up again. I could feel her eyes on me, but I didn’t look back.
An awkward silence then hung over the table, but eventually everyone settled down to eat.
Anastasia kept trying to catch my eye, but I kept ignoring her.
I could tell Dad was increasingly getting annoyed by my coldness towards meeting my new family, but I didn’t care.
This was all too weird, I thought.
After finishing my food and was about to get up, “Jed, why don’t you drop Anastasia off at school today?” Dad suggested suddenly, catching me off guard.
I clenched my jaw. The last thing I wanted was to spend more time with her, but I couldn’t refuse outright without raising questions.
“Sure,” I muttered, trying to keep the irritation out of my voice.
After she finished her breakfast, Anastasia went upstairs to grab something, and I seized the opportunity.
I slipped out of the house and headed straight for my car. I needed to get out of here, away from this impossible situation.
As I drove off, leaving Anastasia behind, a part of me felt guilty. But the bigger part of me was so relieved to get away from that awkward scene.
I couldn’t deal with this right now. She’d have to find another way to school, not with me, no thanks.
I needed space to think, to figure out what the hell I was going to do with the fact that I would be living with strangers now in the same house.
I knew I was being a jerk, but I didn’t see any other way around it. Being mean and distant was the only way to keep them distant from me.
I was not sure why I wasn’t in on it with whole thing, especially Anastasia, but I felt I didn’t need wherever Dad was going with this.
Stepping on the gas, I tried to push thoughts of the whole frustrating situation out of my mind, but it seemed impossible.
As soon as I got to school, I felt I needed a distraction, something to take my mind off the mess at the breakfast table.
I headed to the usual spot where my girlfriend, Maisie, and our friends hung out before classes.
I found Maisie there as expected and told her everything about that morning.
I couldn’t stop ranting about how I immediately hated Anastasia.
“She kept making eye contact with me the whole time,” I said, shaking my head in frustration. “It was creepy. Like, what does she think, that I’ll through her a fuckin’ parade?”
Maisie rolled her eyes. “Ugh, sounds like she’s already a loser.”
“Yeah, well, she’s not getting anywhere with me, that much I made clear.” I muttered.
Just as we were cursing at Anastasia under our breaths, I saw her walk into the school.
Quickly, I nudged Maisie. “That’s her.”
Maisie’s eyes widened. “Her? No way! That’s the girl who slapped me yesterday!”
I froze. “Wait, seriously?”
“Yeah! Out of nowhere, too.” Maisie said, her face hardening.”
That was all I needed to hear. I was already pissed at Anastasia, and now I had even more reason to be.
Without thinking, I grabbed Maisie’s hand, and we stormed over to where Anastasia was.
She looked up just in time, and when she saw us heading her way, her face formed a shocked expression.
Maisie didn’t waste a second. She walked right up to her, sneered, and knocked the books out of Anastasia’s hands.
They flew into the air and hit the ground with a loud thud, papers scattering everywhere.
“Oops,” Maisie said mockingly, crossing her arms. “Guess that’s payback for yesterday., bitch.”
Anastasia just stood there, frozen, too scared to speak.
I stepped forward, glaring at her. “Hey, best stay out of my way, understand? Coz you’re not going to get some kinda warm welcome from me just because you’re my dad’s new family.”
Maisie wasn’t done yet. She leaned in closer to Anastasia, her voice dripping with hatred. “And if that wretched hand of yours ever touch me again, I’ll make sure you regret it for the rest of your miserable life!”
Anastasia still didn’t say anything. She just stood there, looking completely shaken, and honestly, that felt good.
I wanted her scared. I wanted her to know she couldn’t mess with us. “Got it?” I said, narrowing my eyes at her.
She nodded nervously.
Satisfied, I turned to Maisie. “Let’s go, love.”
We walked off, leaving Anastasia standing there with her books scattered on the ground, feeling better with ourselves.
- Writer
