Jealousy, Jealousy (Part 1)

1- Amelia

I woke up and screamed.

"Amelia! Calm down!" my father exclaimed.

"Dad!"

It was 5:30pm on a Sunday evening.

"Rachel and Lauren are back home. Come down for dinner," he replied, then walked out of my room.

Home. Rachel's my father's new wife, which makes her my step-mother. And Lauren. Step-sister. They've just moved in one week ago and I did not enjoy sharing my space with them. For more than ten years it had only been Father and I.

I walked down slowly and walked into the dining room. Rachel was helping with the food and Lauren was sitting at the table, smiling.

She waved when she saw me. "Hey Amelia! Mom and I brought home takeout! It's your favourite!"

I glanced over and saw Rachel (yes, that's what I call her) bringing over a plate of sushi.

"Okay. Thanks," I simply said and sat down across from Lauren.

"So," Father said when we were all seated. "Tomorrow's Lauren's first day at your school, Amelia. Please make her feel welcome."

I nodded and swallowed down a piece of sushi. I could feel Lauren's eyes on me.

"Yes, thank you, Father," Lauren grinned.

I choked and started coughing. Father?

"Oh my! Amelia, are you okay?" Rachel asked, worried. She handed me a napkin.

I waved my hands. "I'm fine. I'm fine. It's also my first day of eleventh grade too, Father. Did you already forget about me?" I eyed Lauren who was staring at her plate.

"I'm sure Lauren will fit right in. Don't worry," I continued, while putting another piece of sushi into my mouth. "Right, Lauren?"

Lauren nodded slowly, "Right."

After dinner, we all headed to separate places in the house. At around 9pm I knocked on Lauren's bedroom door.

"Yes?" she asked as she opened the door.

I sighed. "I'm going to say this once. Nobody at school can know we're step-sisters."

"Don't people already know your father remarried?"

I blinked. Was she really this clueless?

"I mean... it was on the news. Our town's not that big. Everyone knows, I bet."

"Lauren. Everyone knows my father married your mother. But nobody knows you exist. So at school, you're Lauren Shea. Understood?" I stated.

She took a second to think and nodded. "Understood. I didn't want to associate myself with you anyway."

I scoffed, "Good. You break your promise and you're done."