𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙗𝙞𝙩𝙘𝙝 𝙜𝙖𝙮-

xxxiv. ground-rules

"people weird as fuck," you cussed, blocking the person who dm'd you.

a knock was heard at your door suddenly. you sighed, sitting up and fixing your hair. "come in!"

instead of the man-you-wish-you-didn't-have-to-see or the possibly-gay-carrot-shark, it was charlotte; your almost step mother.

"hey y/n," she greeted. her hair was tied back into a loose ponytail, a pearl barrette clipped on the side of her head. the black dress went down to her knees and was accompanied by an off-white cardigan, black flats and pearl jewelry to top it all off.

definitely a church woman.

"hey," you greeted back, eyes glancing at her figure in the doorway.

her face held some sort of coldness (contrary to her forest eyes), yet held confidence with every move she made. she reminded you of a business woman or a model, pride and empowerment over those surrounding her.

it was intimidating to say the least.

"may i come in?" she asked timidly.

her voice didn't match how her face looked.

you shrugged. "sure."

she stepped in your f/c room, her eyes wandering to the furniture and decorations scattered within it. her eyes landed on you at last as she stopped at the foot of your bed. you noticed her take a deep breath, probably trying to calm whatever she was feeling.

"we need to talk," she stated.

you cocked an eyebrow. "talk about what?"

she sighed, sitting down on your bed. "come here," she said, patting the spot next to her.

"i'm good right here."

she nodded, her lips thinning. you smirked internally as you thought she was loosing patience.

she shifted her body so that she was facing you. "we need to talk about us."

you were taken aback by that statement. "this better not turn into some step-mom step-child type shit," you commented, crossing your arms.

instead of her getting angry at your "vulgar language", she just chuckled. she was laughing.

it annoyed you.

"i'm not attracted to you like that, i promise." she said, a soft smile appearing on her features. "but we do need to talk about this whole family dynamic."

you stared at her, waiting her to continue.

she sighed. "when we met, your father never once told me that he had a child. when he went to get you from the airport, all he said was that he was picking up a surprise. i was expecting something like a pet or an announcement, not a teenager."

you scoffed. "of course he didn't talk about me."

she shrugged, continuing. "i was obviously shocked. i apologize if we started off on the wrong foot. maybe we can build a relationship as mom and child?"

scoffing again, you gave her a look. "and what makes you think i want to be nice and friendly with you?" you spat.

she was taken aback by your statement, her eyes widening for a second before returning to their normal size. then her face twisted into confusion. "can you give me a reason why we can't get along?"
she pleaded.

you glared at her. "you have a bad aura about you."

charlotte's eyes squinted at you. "then what can i do to make me have a better aura?"

"don't go to church."

she was physically taken aback by your response. her eyes told everything; shock, anger, confusion.

"what's wrong with me going to church?" she asked.

your eyes glanced up and down her figure, meeting her eyes at the end. "you're forcing people to attend with you."

her eyebrows furrowed at your statement. "what do you mean? i haven't forced anyone to do anything," she stated, placing her hands on her lap.

"oh don't give me that bullshit. you changed my father into this weird church guy who now lives by the code of 'gOd' and 'jEsUs'." you explained angrily.

charlotte sighed, shaking her head. she reached out and touched your hand, which you immediately took back from her. her face morphed into hurt, but nodded afterwards.

"i never forced anyone into going to church with me, your father willingly joined me every sunday to church. if you're worried about my son, he is also attending with us on his own behalf. i'm not forcing them, they're willingly attending. i told them both that if they don't feel like going, they don't have to. they're joining me on their own," she explained, a smile approaching her lips. "also, i apologize for touching you without your approval."

you stared at her eyes, trying to find some sort of sign that she was lying.

she wasn't lying.

but you weren't going to apologize- you had to find something to make her look like the bad guy.

someone else has to be the bad guy.

you can't be the bad guy.

"why should i believe you? for all i know you could be manipulating me into thinking that you're not forcing them into this when in reality you are," you stated, crossing your arms.

her soft smile didn't reach her saddened eyes.

"if that's what you truly think, then that's what you think. i can't convince you to like me or to like who i am and what i enjoy doing. i can't make you do anything," she shrugged, standing up.

why was she so unaffected by you?

"but," she started.

you raised an eyebrow at her.

"under this house, you'll follow the rules. they're simple really- one, you can cuss but to an extent and it can't be around sadie. two, you have to keep your room tidy which shouldn't be too bad a problem considering you're only here for about two weeks. and three, you have to clean dishes once a week. easy enough?"

her intimidating aura was back.

you mumbled incoherent words before sighing. "yea sure."

she smiled once again. "thank you for cooperating."

she closed the door on her way out.

you laid back down, groaning into your pillow.

'i hate it here.'