The Unexpected [Completed]

Chapter 2

I fell asleep by the time we got to Florida. Mom and I had lived in Alabama. It wasn't that long of a drive.

Dad tapped my shoulder, "Wake up, sweetie. We are home."

Home? I wiped my mouth. I was drooling. I hope nobody saw that.

Dad and his new little family live in a little town called Crestview. It is literally in the middle of nowhere....in Florida. I look out the car window and examine my new home. They literally have no neighbors. Woods surrounded the big two story brick house. This was much different from where I grew up that's for sure. I grew up in the city. McDonald's was like 5 minutes away. I'm pretty sure there is not any fast food nearby here.

I open the car door and step out. I look up at the sky and think about my mom. I wish she was here to give me advice on how to handle all of this. "I love and miss you mom." I whisper to the sky.

Dad coughs to get my attention. I guess he is nervous because of how things went down in the car on our way here.

"I will get your bags later. I want to bring you inside and introduce you to everybody." He gives me a big grin, but I can see the nerves popping around inside his eyes behind his happy demeanor.

I take a deep breath. "Okay. That's fine."

We make our way to up to the glamorous front porch. It has a huge wooden swing with flowers surrounding it. I touch the flowers as dad opens the door.

"Come on, honey." He says.

I follow him inside. The inside of the house is even more glamorous than the outside.

Dad leads me into a gigantic kitchen. In the kitchen, there is a red headed woman frying fish on the stove.

Gabriella. The flashy flight attendant that my dad left mom for. She is 32 years old. My dad is 42. A whole ten years older than her. When she was eating glue. He was almost in junior high.

She turns around and gives me one of her flashy smiles. I haven't seen her since the day dad came home to get all of his stuff after the divorce was final. She sat in the car while dad came in the house and got all of his stuff.

"Hello, Peyton. Welcome to our home!" She gives me a big smile and turns back around to face the stove.

I look over at the table in the kitchen and see a guy sitting at the table wearing a cowboy hat with ear buds in listening to his IPOD.
Dad looks over to where I am looking.
"That's Lucas. He is one of my best employee's. He helps me with the ranch."
Ranch? What ranch?
"What are you talking about?" I ask. I am totally confused.
"I'm the founder of Grimes Bull Riding Association. I started it after me and Gabriella got married, sweetie. I thought your mother had told you. I raise and breed bulls just a couple of miles from the house. It's still on our property. We, also, have cows, chickens, horses and plenty of other animals. "
I glance over at this Lucas guy who seems to still be preoccupied with his IPOD. Does he even know we are here? He seems totally consumed in his music.
"No, Mom never told me. I guess it never crossed her mind." I say, sarcastically.
He created this whole other life with Gabriella. A better life than he had with us....
Dad walks to the side of the table that Lucas is on and places his hand on his shoulder. Reluctantly, he takes his earbuds out and stares up at my father.

"Need me to help out with something, Mr. Grimes?"
His hair looks like it's mostly brown with blonde streaks in it from what I can see under his cowboy hat.
"I would like you to meet my daughter." My dad gestures his hand toward me. I'm still standing on the opposite side of the table.
The guy looks at me quickly and then looks back to my dad.
"I can see where she gets her looks, sir. She is obviously your daughter." They both laugh.
WHAT. A. JERK.

Later on that night, I lay in my new bed which had sheets with white horses on them, and stare at the ceiling which also had white horses painted on it....
I already put up all my clothes and most of my stuff. Right after Lucas was a total jerk to me my dad brought me to my room and I haven't left it since. I need time to take all this in. I didn't even go eat dinner with them. I wasn't hungry. I look over at the Disney Princess digital clock on the night stand. It's past midnight. My dad totally decorated this room as if I was still five years old. When in actual reality, I am 17 years old. I pull the covers up over me and think about how I will be attending my last year of high school in this stupid town of Crestview, but first I have to spend the whole summer before senior year with my cheater father, his very rude cowboy hat wearing employee, and his home-wrecker wife.
MOM. HOW AM I GOING TO DO THIS?!