Addiction

Chapter 1-1

Chapter 1

August 2004...

The day dawned with no hint to the life changing event about to happen. As a matter of fact, it was a glorious sun-shining day, full of streamers of light and birds chirping outside her bedroom window. To look around, you wouldn't think it was such a momentous occasion. You'd never guess that today was the day her life would change forever. Sophie found herself disappointed by the very normality of the weather. Shouldn't it be storming out there? Flashes of lightening and great big booms of thunder would at least set the tone for the events of the day as she imagined them.

Sophie stretched, the lethargy of sleep still clinging to her limbs, and snuggled deeper into the soft cotton of her sheets. “Today,” she told Mr. Stuffington, gazing into his black, button eyes with a soft smile. “I get a new brother.”

Being an only child had its benefits. She had first dibs on the TV, naturally, and had never wanted for anything, whether it was a new pair of shoes or a school trip. But then again, for every pro there was a con – and Sophie figured the con of not having any siblings was that she was a bit socially awkward.

Being sweet sixteen and never having been kissed sucked. What was even lamer was the fact that it was looking ever more likely with each passing day that she'd soon be sweet seventeen and still never been kissed. Children with siblings had a distinct advantage over those without – they learned to socialize early in life, and thus avoided the awkwardness of being a teen nobody. She had one friend – Serena – who was just as awkward as she, and together they were the perfect pair of misfits.

Mr. Stuffington seemed to smile back at her, the threads of his stitched mouth frayed with age. He'd been a gift from Uncle Troy – who was himself only five years old at the time and wanted to spoil the new baby with the gift of his own favorite teddy bear – when she was knee-high, and he'd weathered the years as well as could be expected. She tucked him into the gap between her pillows and star-fished in the wide bed, wondering what it was going to be like. A brother.

Her mom had met Harry a little over twelve months ago, and with Logan still living with his mother, and too far away for regular visits, she had yet to meet him. He was two years older than her at eighteen, and he'd recently decided to go to college here to be nearer his father for a while. Of course, it didn't hurt that Harry had offered to fund his college education.

Their relationship had been a bit strained over the past couple of years – if she'd overheard correctly – and Harry had offered to pay Logan's tuition fees for the chance to get reacquainted with his one and only son. She could remember the phone call her mother made to her friend Marla.

“He's just angry,” she'd said. “He'll come around. Eventually.”

How intriguing. Her new brother sounded like a bit of a s**t, if she'd gotten the gist right, and had a chip on his shoulder the size of Texas. She wondered if he'd changed much from his picture – the one Harry kept in his wallet showing a gangly fifteen year old with short dark hair and a wide smile as white as snow. In the slightly worn photograph, Logan sat in profile gazing out over the waters outside Harry's beach house, and his pose reminded her of Rodin's famous sculpture of The Thinker – except, with a smile that he no doubt used to beguile girls everywhere.

A whoop from downstairs announced the arrival of Marla – sans champagne, Sophie hoped. The last thing her mother needed on her wedding day was a bubbly tummy from too much champagne. Although, come to think of it, she'd enjoyed a sip of it this past Christmas and decided that she'd quite liked it, so she rethought her opinion. Champagne for breakfast. How luxurious.

Her alarm clock went off with a shriek, making her sit up in fright. Reaching out a hand, she thumped the button in annoyance. It was ten a.m. Three hours until go time. Yawning widely and plucking her pajama bottoms from her butt, she stood, enjoying another stretch before making her way down the curving staircase.

“I swear to you, Marie. No lie. It was this big!” Marla stood in the hallway, her hands a foot apart in front of her face, with a wicked smile and a bottle tucked under each arm. “Good morning, sunshine!” she trilled, spying Sophie skipping down the steps. “All set for today?”

“Yup! I just need to grab a quick breakfast and then I'm gonna shower and get ready.” Her mother had bought her a beautiful gown in a deep red that set off her dirty blond hair perfectly and brought out the green flecks in her hazel eyes. The shoes, she wasn't sure of, but at least their height would serve to make her appear older than sixteen.

“There are eggs on the stove, sweetie,” her mother informed her with a soft smile, tightening the belt of her terry robe. Her eyes were already shining with good humor, and her hands shook only slightly as she retrieved a bottle where it had started to slip from underneath Marla's arm. “And bacon wrapped in foil by the microwave. Help yourself.”

“Aren't you having any?” She hoped her mom wouldn't skip breakfast, as she had been lately. Diets were one thing, starvation quite another.

“I had some,” Marie dismissed the question with a wave of her free hand, the diamond ring adorning her ring finger sparkling in the morning light. “Go ahead, sweetie. Eat up. There's a long day ahead of us.” She dragged Marie into the living room, where she showed off her wedding gown with a smile.

Marla shrieked again, letting them all know exactly what she thought of the off-white, empire line gown with a sweetheart neckline. It was adorned with a delicate lace pattern around the hem, and beads of pearl were sewn into the bodice. It was a beautiful dress, fit for a queen. Or the world’s best mom, Sophie decided.

The kitchen was a disaster area –curling tongs lay on top of a pile of diamond studded pins and an assortment of brushes and boxes of cosmetics were lined up by the sink. There were dirty dishes on the counter-top. After taking a few minutes to clean up, Sophie settled down to a plate loaded with eggs and bacon, and a tall glass of orange juice.

“Here, my lovely,” Marla winked, topping up her glass with bubbly champagne. “Now that's a breakfast drink!”

“Marla!” her mom admonished, swatting at Marla's reaching fingers which were headed towards Sophie's last remaining strip of bacon. “Don't give that to the child.”

“Child? Marie, you need to reassess that idea. Look at her!” Grasping hands pulled Sophie from her chair and twirled her around in presentation. “Girl, you're all grown up and fine as hell.”

Sophie blushed to the roots of her hair. “Um, thanks?”

“You're welcome. Now scoot! I need to do your momma's hair.”

Marla ran her own salon – which was lucky for them as she was fond of telling her mom. Who else would arrive at ten a.m. on a Sunday morning to do hair and make-up, with two bottles of bubbly, to boot?

Sophie shook her head in amusement as Marla plonked her mother down on a chair and attacked the pile of pins, brandishing the tongs like a weapon. “This will be my finest masterpiece,” she told them with a grin. She set the tongs to heat and brushed Marie's hair while dumping the pins in a small pile on the table. “Fetch me a glass of that, will you sweetie?”

Sophie half-filled a flute of champagne and handed it to Marla, who downed it in one swallow. “Let's get to work.”

“No more bubbly for you,” her mom admonished, wagging a finger at Sophie as she drained her own glass of spiked juice. “I don't want you feeling sick at the ceremony.”

“Leave the girl be, Marie. It's a day for celebrating!”

With a relenting sigh, her mom gave Sophie 'the look'. The one that said, 'you better heed me, child'. Sophie grinned and drifted out of the kitchen to take a shower. By the time anyone noticed one more glass worth's of champagne missing from the bottle, she'd locked herself into her small en-suite with a laugh.

“Sophie Ellis!” her mother shouted after her. “That's it until after the ceremony, do you hear?”

With another laugh, Sophie sipped from her glass and turned the shower on full force, removing her pajamas as she waited for the water to heat. When steam billowed from the stall, she climbed in, closing the glass door behind her.

Today was going to be epic.

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