Florida Secrets (Step-Sibling Relationship) ***EDITING***

Prologue

FIVE YEARS AGO

"Cassie, are you packed and ready to go?"  mom yelled from the trunk of the car.

"As ready as I'll ever be." I mumbled to myself while fingering my ear buds between my thumb and index finger, not really paying attention to her.

"Hey, why the long face?" she asked. She grabbed my chin so that I was looking her in the eye. I rolled my eyes.

"Maybe because you got married on a whim to your high school boyfriend and I didn't know till after the wedding. And on top of that, now your making us move in with him." I pushed past her walked to the passenger side of the car. The back seat and trunk were loaded with everything we could carry, our mattresses were belted down on the roof. I wasn't sure how the car was going to be able to hold everything, including us without making the tires go flat.

Mom sighed before turning around hopping in the drivers seat.

"I know you're upset sweetheart, but it's not like I married him without thinking about it. I love him, and I think I always have. You'll understand when you're older." The car rumbled to life before mom put it in reverse and backed the car out of the drive way. Away from the house I grew up in, away from the only home I had ever known.

"Bull crap! You love his money which you only found out about after you went out on a date with him a few weeks ago." I barked at her. If love was about money, then mom was a few million deep in. The car was silent and I almost felt bad for snapping at her, for judging her. We had always agreed that our relationship was a safe zone where no judgement took place. Mom decided this once she realized that I was going to be a teenager soon and didn't want us to have the kind of relationship where we don't talk about things. As if I was gonna tell her when I finally chose to have sex or drink alcohol or do drugs.

"Well I'm sorry you feel that way Cassie, but we're moving in with him and his son and that's final. I need some happiness in my life too."

I put my earbuds in and turned my music all the way up. We passed the seasonal carnival that goes on every year around this time. I rolled the window down and could smell the popcorn and cotton candy. I could feel the nausea that creeps in after not waiting long enough to ride the Ferris Wheel of the roller coasters. And I could see dad giving me piggy back rides to each ride even though the walk from each ride to the next weren't but a few feet away from each other. He had only been dead a year. At first, it didn't affect me that much. Mom even made me see a few counselors because she didn't think I was "grieving" properly. She cried for weeks after the funeral and took one too many days off work. After a while, I was the one whose grades were dropping and whose room had to be re plastered painted from numerous holes in the wall and mom was back to work looking put together as always. She even started dating again eight months later, but she still wore her wedding band. I guess she hadn't let go of him completely yet, something I was happy to see.

My head fell from the window and I gasped. I wiped my eyes with the back of my hands as a yawn escaped my mouth. The car was pulling into a perfectly paved drive way that led to a 5 bedroom house with a balcony that wrapped all the way around the front. A man was sitting on the porch in cargo shorts, a blue button up shirt and flip flops. He was smiling ear to ear and waving at mom. He waited until she parked the car before walking over to the drivers side and opening the door for her. The man pulled her into a kiss before pulling away.

"Good afternoon, wife," he said.

Megan giggled before replying, "Good afternoon, husband."

Ugh. I rolled my eyes before stepping out of the car and walking around back to grab my suitcases. I wasn't wasting any time with introductions. I couldn't care less about this guy or his son, and I certainly wasn't letting anyone replace dad.