"LET GO!" I screamed. "LET GO! I CAN DO IT! DADDY!" I tried to wrestle the mascara from her grip. I saw my refelction in the mirror, hair a mess and macara smeared across one cheek. "DADDY!"
Erin held the little tube in a stone grip. "Just let me do it! You're messing it up!"
That's when I chose to scream bloody murder in her face like I'm three. She let go and stepped away from me with a frustrated groan. I smiled, victorious.
Daddy came into my room. "What in the hell in going on?"
Erin beat me to it. "She won't let me help her do her makeup and she's doing it all wrong!" she whined.
He sighed. "Erin, let her do it herself. She'll learn on her own."
I stuck my tongue out at her and she turned and stomped out of the room. My father went after her. I calmly start wiping away the smudges on my face. I know I don't act my age. I'm sixteen, but I'm determined to act like a small child to teach my dear family a lesson.
See, it's very complicated, but I'll try my best to explain. My mom died when I was very little and I don't really remember her. My dad and I lived on our own for a little while and we weren't doing so well, but he met this man at a bar one night who owned a big company and he liked my dad so much that he asked if he wanted to come work for him. People think that getting a nice job is all about going to school and building up a good resume. My family has taught me that it's all about who you know and what connections they have. After a couple years of working there, my dad could afford a big house and a nice car and a nanny to care for me because he wasn't around much. Now, I know I sound like a spoiled brat, but I was not born into a privileged home. It just so happened that I became privileged, or at least I saw it that way for awhile. I'm not sure that I feel that way anymore.
My father was very lonely. He dated quite a bit before he found Lorissa. When I was little, I wanted to be just like her. I thought she was the most beautiful lady I had ever seen. She had long red hair and she was tall and slender. After she and my father had been dating for sometime, she moved in and with her came her little brat of a daughter. Erin is five years older than me. We have never got along. When Erin was younger, she was gangly and awkward with braces. Around eighteen, she turned into a fox overnight. She got rid of the braces and grew into her height. She looked a lot like her mom and I have never been more jealous of anyone than I am of her.
My father and Lorissa were married. It lasted nearly five years before he supposedly caught her fucking one of his coworkers at his promotion party. I don't believe this, honestly. Lorissa was a good wife. She was always kind to me and she and Dad never fought. The day she left, I cried because she had been around longer than any other woman in my life (even my nannies because I kept driving them away). I loved her like she was my real mom. I didn't want her to leave.
When she was gone, she left something behind: Erin, a true spoiled brat. Once she had reached adulthood, she developed an unhealthy crush on my father. Her stepfather. She would whine and beg for things and he gave her everything she wanted. As soon as Lorissa was gone, she moved in on him like a vulture on roadkill. I never thought he responded to her advances, but I was wrong.
One night, a school night, I got up to pee and decided I was thirsty. I padded downstairs to the kitchen. I groggily stood there, staring into the fridge before I realized I had been listening to a soft, rhythmic thumping noise. I walked into the living room, following the sound, and down the hall. As I approached Dad's study, it got louder. Thud. Thud. Thud.
I opened the door. I have never screamed so loud in my life. There stood my father, red-faced and panting with his slacks and boxers around his ankles railing my stepsister, who was bent over his desk, her skirt pulled up around her stomach. "What the fuck?" I whispered. I turned a ran upstairs, slamming my door. I collapsed into my bed a sobbed my heart out. My father didn't try to talk to me. I didn't go to school the next day.
I didn't leave my room except to go to the bathroom. I cried more times than I can count. I couldn't get that disgusting image out of my head. What was he thinking? Now I knew why Lorissa had left and Erin stayed. I was sickened by my father. He didn't even have the guts to face me.
I stayed holed up in my room for a week, only sneaking downstairs for food when no one was home. After a week, he finally came to my door. He knocked softly. I held my breath. "Kitten?" He had reverted back to the name he called me when I was really small. I sniffled and buried my face in my pillow. "I'm coming in." I heard him open the door and my bed creaked as he sat down. He was silent for a moment. I think he thought I might say something, maybe have a fit. "I'm sorry."
I wasn't expecting that. I peered at him from under my arm. "Why? Why would you want to be with her?"
He shrugged. "I was upset Lorissa left and she comforted me."
"You can't be with her. It's gross!"
"How? She isn't my daughter."
"Yes, she is!"
"She isn't. She's never been my daughter." He was quiet again. "Kitten, Lorissa and I are divorced. Erin isn't my stepdaughter anymore. You're just going to have to get over how you feel about it."
My mouth hung open in horror. "Get over it? That's it? This isn't right!" I could feel my bottom lip quivering.
He stood up suddenly. "Stop acting like a child, Kristina!" he snapped. "You don't have a say in this. You don't understand, but you can't help who you fall in love with."
"In love? You're in love with her?" My voice rose to a pitch of ridiculous height.
He strode to the door, ripped it open and left, slamming it behind him. He didn't even answer me. That was it, the final word. He was in love with Erin. I couldn't just sit back and let this happen. My father is going to be punished for this. I will be the worst child he could imagine and it will be all his fault. I'm a terrible child because my lack of nurturing by a mother figure.
So, I currently sit at my vanity, preparing for my date. It's not just any date though. It's very special. My father will absolutely love my new boyfriend, I'm certain. But, this isn't even the beginning.
