The Perfect Us

I

Chapter 1

Do you ever have a fight with your family? Divides the whole family, everyone having their own side? Has there ever been that one person that is on both sides? Have you ever been that person?

My family has it all, we love and care for each other, we never have to worry about money, we all get along, and we are always described as perfect. That's what I always thought we were. I was usually the one member of the family to be stuck on both sides, the never-ending tug of war. Thank god our fights usually ended quickly. Another thing I loved about my family.

This time though, it was a never-ending war. Both sides stuck on their arguments. But this time, I wasn't caught in the middle. Oh no, I was on my own side. My parents had done the one thing I could never forgive them for. Lying.

They were lying, keeping secrets from the rest of us. All their lies started with adoption, they adopted a kid without telling us anything, and it only got worse from there.

No, I wasn't mad at them for adopting a kid, it's one of the most selfless and kind things people can do. And I liked the kid and everything, we actually used to hang out a lot when we were younger. Which now makes sense. Oliver.

Adoption is a very tricky thing. It takes time, money, and it's an emotional thing for everyone involved. The thing with adopting Oliver however, was it took a lot more time, a lot more money, and was a secret. A big secret. I'm getting ahead of myself again. Let me explain the day we found.

It was a usual Saturday evening. I was in my room, reading. The twins in theirs playing. Scar with Mom cooking, and Dad working in his office. He always was in his office. Our house was pretty large and it gave us all our own space, I liked it. But calling for dinner is pretty hard, so my mom found a new way to get us all down there at the same time. She sends Scarlett to come and get us. She's young, full of energy, and doesn't mind running up and down the stairs. She always goes up to my room first since it's the attic, and she works her way down. Once she gets the twins she comes back and walks down with me. That night though she didn't. She ran right on ahead; she never does that. I didn't really think much of it then, but looking back now it seemed like she knew something she couldn't tell me. She can never keep something away from me unless she stays away from me.

We all sat in our normal seats for dinner, when my mom asked me something she hasn't in a long time.

"Olivia, do you remember Oliver?" I almost chocked on my chicken. It wasn't something we talked about in a while. I told her I did, and she continued to talk about something else. I couldn't get the question out of my head, so before everyone finished, I asked her why she wanted to know. She looked to my dad, and my dad decided to answer.

"Guy's, we have an announcement." We all stopped and stared at our dad, but I couldn't help the sinking feeling in my gut. Something that said 'Hey idiot, guess who you are going to be seeing soon, and you don't get a choice.' My gut was right, when my dad opened his mouth and spit out those words that would haunt me for the rest of my life. "We adopted someone." My mom was the one to finish the thought.

"Well, we've been adopting someone. It was just finalized and he gets to move in tomorrow!" I couldn't breathe with every word she said. But somehow, I managed to ask who. "Oliver! Isn't it great, your old friend is going to be your new brother?!" I stood up with a rage in me I haven't felt in years. I screamed.

"How could you do this without asking how we felt? How I felt?!" Before they could even answer I stormed off, the dinner I had just eaten threatening to come back out. Fortunately for me I was able to make it to the bathroom in time. I couldn't be more pissed that night. I was at a loss for me feelings, Oliver was never really kind to me when we were younger, at first, he was. One day however, he just changed. He didn't want anything to do with me.