Fragments of Home

Chapter 1

Soft rain pattered down as I stood in front of the large gate of the mansion along with my social worker, with my dog close in tow. The blanket over my knees did little to protect me from the cold and I suddenly wished I'd worn a thicker hoodie. I brought my hands closer to each other as I rubbed them hoping to achieve some warmth. 

Just then the door opened, revealing a tall man wearing a well fitted suit. I looked up at him noticing his dark grey eyes which were trained at my social worker.

'Hi Mr. Rivera, I'm Mrs. Wilson, Amity's social worker. You must her her father,' she said holding out her hand for Mr. Rivera. He looked to be in his late forties and I remembered Mrs. Wilson telling me my eldest brother was 26, so my father must've been at least 21 when he and my mom had him. That's pretty young. 

I snapped out of my thoughts when I heard Mrs. Wilson say my name. 'This is Amity, your daughter', she said moving a little out of the way so he could see me. I met his dark grey eyes which were now glassy as he looked down at me. He was at least 6 feet and even standing up I wouldn't be able to look into his eyes without having to crane my neck but now in my wheelchair it was even harder. He held a powerful aura, and I felt the sudden urge to avoid making eye contact with him.

'Hello Amity, my name is Lorenzo, I'm your father', he said softly as he looked at me, a small smile grazing his lips. I couldn't bring myself to do the same , so I just looked at him giving him a small nod. 'I'm Amity', I said my voice barely audible, but he seemed to have heard me as his smile grew a little.

'Let's go inside before it starts raining harder', my father said as he opened the door further. Mrs. Wilson went inside first, my hand reaching the buttons on the handle of my wheelchair to move it. 'Roxie, let's go', I called out to my dog behind me, ushering her inside.

'Roxie is Amity's service dog, I hope you or your family isn't allergic', Mrs. Wilson stated as we entered the mansion. Lorenzo, my father, looked over at the dog in front of me then back at Mrs. Wilson. 'No of course not', he said. When my eyes moved to the interior, it took everything in me not to gasp. 

The entrance was large and spacious and immediately once you entered, there were two sweeping staircases joining at the top creating a small balcony looking down at the entrance, on either side. My father started giving us a tour of the house as was required. The mansion had two floors and a basement. Thankfully all the rooms were on the first floor, so it wouldn't be hard for me to get to and from my room. Immediately when you turned left from the entrance there was the living room which had three huge sofas and a large TV. 

On the right side of the living room a door led to the kitchen which, unsurprisingly was just as luxurious as the rest of the house, with marble counters and high cabinets, with the doors to the fridge having the same design as the doors for the cabinets, 'hiding' the fridge. There were six bedrooms on the first floor all in one line and on the other side of the house were the home offices for my father and brother. The first floor also had the movie room and a gym with glass doors which opened up to the backyard where the pool was. 

As we moved through the house, Roxie following us, I tried to memorise all the ways and where everything was. The second floor also consisted of rooms for when my father's brothers and parents stayed over during the summer. I also didn't fail to notice how my father deliberately left the basement out of the tour. I stayed downstairs as my father showed Mrs. Wilson the second floor. When they returned, she turned to me smiling, 'Well everything seems to be fine, so I'll take my leave now. Remember Amity, you have my number so if anything goes wrong or you need something just give me a call.' She then turned around to my father who showed her to the door. 

I stayed there softly running my hands through Roxie's fur as she sat beside my wheelchair. When my father returned, he gave me a small smile. 'Let me show you to your room you must be exhausted. You can sleep a little and all your brothers will be here later and you can meet them', he said as he crouched down to my level. I was sleepy and I needed to change into a thicker hoodie. I nodded and he smiled at me as he got up and went behind me to maneuver the wheelchair. 'I can do it myself, it's okay, I'll just follow you', I said quickly, stopping him. He came back in front of me and I didn't miss the slightly disappointed look on his face, but he gave me a short nod and started walking slowly. 

I followed him, Roxie close by me. When we reached the room, he stopped in front of the door. 'The room isn't decorated, there's just the furniture in the room. We thought you could do whatever you wanted with it', he said in a gruff voice as he opened the door revealing the large bedroom. There was a large bed in the middle of the room with a side table on one side. On the right side of the room was a large glass window through which I could see the backyard. On the side of the window was a desk with a chair and on the other side of the room was a large bookshelf and a door which I assumed was for the closet. Another door a little to the side of where the desk was, lead to the bathroom. 

I looked around, my lips parting a little in surprise as I took in the room. 'I'll bring your bags in, the bathroom is right there, will you be okay?' My father's deep voice snapped me out of my thoughts. I looked over at him as I nodded. Of course I would be okay, I can do shit myself.

He nodded a little as he stepped out the room, to get my bags I assumed. i looked over at Roxie who was still sitting beside me, alert of her new surroundings. 'Go lay down Roxie', I said as I steered myself towards the bathroom. Unsurprisingly, the bathroom was just as spacious and luxurious as the rest of the house. 

I sighed as I closed the door. I felt completely out of place in this house. I didn't even know I had any family other than my mother until my devil of a step father decided to drop dead on a random Tuesday and now I had to adjust to a whole new life in which I clearly didn't belong. Fuck Marcus. Every bad thing that happened to me led back to that motherfucker. I guided my wheelchair closer to the toilet, which had a grab rail beside it. I grabbed it and carefully used the toilet and managed to get myself back into my wheelchair as I went over to the sink to wash my hands. Once I was finished I opened the door to the bathroom, going back into the room to find my bags settled in front of my bed. I stared at the bags for a second and decided to sleep instead of unpacking, the exhaustion overwhelming me. 

I guided my wheelchair over beside the bed. I stay as close to the bed as I can be as I carefully grab one of my legs hoisting it up and placing it on the bed, and then doing the same with my other until they're both stretched out on the ned in front of me. I stop a little, taking a deep breath as I felt even more tired. 

You can do this Amity, you're almost there.

I placed both my hands on either side of the wheelchair pushing myself up as I moved my upper body onto the bed. When I was finally done I reached down to pull the covers up, and the second my head hit the pillow, I was out like a light, drifting into a dreamless sleep.