When Lies Become Reality (On Hold)

Chapter 1

It's been two months since the “incident” as me and my now orphaned brother have come to think of it. We are now living in a foster home together... thankfully. We’ve grown a lot closer in the last few months. My sweet sixteen is next month but, I don't care. I can't have my party without my mother and father.

We're in the hospital and my brother, Nick is just waking up. He looked at me and said “He was drunk you know?” I nodded my head a few tears rolling down my cheek. He said “It'll be okay.” I nodded my head again not trusting my voice and not wanting to scare him by telling him it wasn’t going to be okay. Because that's all I could think. Nothing was ever going to be okay again!

“Steph, Nick hurry up you're gonna be late for your first day of school!” our foster mother, Jen yells. Her and her husband, John are nice. They like being foster parents because Jen can't have kids and her parents were killed in a car crash when she was eight and the foster homes she went to were horrible.

“Coming!” Nick and I yell at the same time as we race each other to the stairs. He beats me there by about two seconds.

“HA!” he shouts as he runs down the stairs and grabs his red baseball cap off the railing.

“Your room is closer to the stairs then mine!” I yell back not willing to loose without a fight.

“Whatever!” Nick says after putting his red hat on his head. I just roll my eyes and walk over to the stove to get my food.

Jen has a breakfast of bacon and eggs cooked for us. We eat fast and then race each other to the bathroom to brush our teeth.

“Ha!” I yell “I win!” I shut and lock the bathroom door taking my time to get ready and putting on some extra make up just to make him wait longer.

I’ve always been the popular girl of the school. Everyone knew me as the girl who had the perfect life. They just didn’t know about the arguing between my parents and my fathers drinking problem, or about my brother always getting beaten up. I hoped no one at this school knew about my dad killing my mom, and almost Nick and I.

To school today I'm wearing black skinny jeans that are so tight I think they cut off the blood circulation to my feet. I'm also wearing a low cut V neck pink t-shirt that is quite tight. I have my long blonde hair curled in a way that frames my face and I look amazing, if I do say so myself.

John and Jen had two cars, so Jen gave me a ride to school and John drove Nick. After the “incident” Nick said he was 'fine' he didn’t seem upset at all and he grew really close to John. I grew close to Jen too, but it isn’t like Nick and John. We are more like really good friends almost a sister, or Aunt, Niece relationship. They’re like father and son.

When I got out of the car and walked into the school I could hear whispers around me about me being the new girl. I walked into my first class of the day... science. Ugh I hate science it’s the worst.

“There’s a seat there in the back next to Amanda that you can take” said the science teacher, who’s name I already forget.

“Okay thanks!” I say as I take my seat next to the girl who gave a slight wave of her hand when the teacher said Amanda.

“Hey” says Amanda when I sit next to her. I give a small nod of my head. I’m not much of a talker so I didn’t really know what to say. She then asked if she could see my schedule so she could see if we had any other classes together. “Sure” I said as I handed her my schedule. Amanda reminded me a lot of my best friend from home. You know... before the 'incident'. She was stick thin and had shoulder length brown hair. She seemed talkative but not in an annoying way. I think she was a cheerleader because of the way she acted, she seemed... cheerful.

She broke me out of my thoughts when she said “We have most classes together. Just not math.” I nodded and she passed me back my schedule.

Then the guy who was behind me tapped her on the shoulder. She turned around.

“You gonna introduce me to Blondie or am I gonna have to introduce myself? ” he asks.

“Hey, I’m Steph” I said.

“Good to know. I’m Josh” he said.

I gave another slight nod of my head and he flashed me a sideways grin.

“Sorry, he’s kind of weird” Amanda said. I just laughed, not that laugh where everyone stares at you but the kind off laugh where you just blow more air out of your nose then usually.

“So, wanna eat lunch with my friends and me?” Amanda asked.

“Sure” I said with a nod of my head.

“You do that a lot” Amanda accused. “You’re not very talkative” I gave her a tiny smile and started taking notes.

Lunch came pretty quick and I met all of Amanda’s friends. “'We’re all going shopping Saturday,” said one of her friends who’s name I think is Jessica. “Are you coming, Steph?”

“Sure,” I said “I... um...I’ll have to ask my... um... my parents” I said struggling with saying those words aloud I’ve never referred to John and Jen as my parents but, I didn’t want these people to know about my crazy messed up life.

I seen Josh walk past our table. He flashed that sideways grin again and with a nod of his head he kept walking with his buddies. Amanda and Jessica were talking but I was starring at Josh who was starring back. Neither of us able to look away until Josh tilted his head sideways crossed his eyes stuck out his tongue and we both started laughing.

The looks I got from Amanda and Jess, she hates Jessica and says we have to call her Jess, reminded me of the phrase “If looks could kill.”

“So, whadda ya say?” Amanda asked.

“About what?” I asked now feeling really stupid.

“Cheer-leading tryouts ” she said with a tone that made me feel dumber.

“Sure” I said nodding my head.

“You have to stop doing that!” Amanda exclaimed.

“What?” I asked, now really confused.

“Answering with one word and then nodding your head!” She yelled. Which resolved in a stifled laugh from Josh who was walking past our table.

“Okay, sorry” I said. I wasn’t really good with talking to people anymore the only people I talked to that I didn’t know before the 'incident' were John and Jen and the occasional social worker who comes by to make sure Nick and I are still alive.

 *****

“So?” I asked Jen still waiting for an answer to my question.

“So, what?” Jen asked looking up from her book.

“Can I go to the mall with Amanda, Jessica, and possibly Josh this Saturday?”

I didn’t know Amanda and Josh were friends. He didn’t sit with us today at lunch. I wondered why he didn’t but then realized I shouldn’t care so I just shoved the thought aside.

“I guess so,” Jen said and I was about to text Amanda and Jess until Jen said “I want to meet them first.”

That’s when I realized Jen and John were about ten years to young to be my actual parents...