(Un)Covering the Truth

One || A New Life

"We're here!" My mom beamed. Dad parked the car in the driveway of our new home.

It was a nice, old style house. Very beautiful. It was a bit large for just my dad, mom, and me. But it was also the only house available in this town.

I smiled.

"Okay, now your bedroom is upstairs to the left." Mom said.

I watched as the hired workers hauled belongings into the house. Mom and dad paid them to be here before us, bringing stuff in and decorating, so we could come home to a beautiful, complete house.

All I had to do was grab the stuff I packed. I simply had a suitcase full of things that I'd rather not be handled by workers. Mainly they were pictures of me and my brother, Scott. Along with a few of his other belongings I'd like to keep.

"Mom?" I ask.

"Yes, sweetie?" She turned to me.

"Can I use Scott's covers and sheets for my bed?" I didn't dare to look her in the eye. Scott was a touchy subject.

"Of course, I'll notify the workers." She said.

I nodded.

I got my suitcase and phone, and walked in the house. It was spacious. The foyer led right into the living room. On one side of the foyer, there was a large oak door, where dad's office will be. On the other was a twisted staircase.

I went upstairs. At the top, there was a large open space with a window nearly taking up the whole hall, facing the stairs. There were two doors on opposite ends of the room, just like the foyer. I stared at it for a moment, thinking about how i could personalize. Then decided I could do that later.

I went into the room on the left, my room. It was large, and the walls were white, giving it a more open feeling. Across from the door, there a big window. The room was a perfect rectangle, until the walls reached it, where they made a bay window.

The floor was made of beautiful dark wood. My bed sat against the wall in the center of the room, across from it was a shelf and a TV. Adjacent to that, was my closet and a full length mirror with my clothes already hung up, and on the opposite end, my desk and chair. And in the middle of the floor and black rug.

Two workers came in with folded sheets.

"Need to change the covers?" I asked.

They nodded.

"Okay, I'll leave." I say.

I walk out to explore the rest of the house. The other room upstairs was my bathroom. I walked in and was glad to see a tub, so I wouldn't have to go downstairs to take showers.

I went back downstairs and through the foyer to the living room. It was an open space that had a bathroom on one side and led to a hall on the other. Straight ahead was the kitchen and a door leading to the back yard.

I went through the hall the first room was my parents room. The room beside that was a bathroom that also connected to their room. Across the hall was the laundry room and at the end was a door on the side of the house.

It was a nice, cozy house. It looked large on the outside, but the rooms were just spacious.

I returned to the living room to find the workers who had changed my sheets. They told me they had finished and I ran back upstairs to my room.

Before my covers were changed, everything was black and white. Giving it a sleek and organized look. But now, since I requested Scott's covers, there was a splash of color.

The covers were a mix of dark and light blue, grey, and white. It actually looked pretty nice.

I smiled as I ran to my bed and jumped on it. I buried my face on the covers, taking in the scent of my brother.

My eyes started to tear up. I missed him.

"Scar!" I heard mom yell.

I got up and went downstairs. I found mom in the kitchen drinking a glass of wine.

"Yeah?" I ask.

"As you know, tomorrow is the first day of school." She said, setting down the glass of wine. "And since we just moved I am willing to give you a rare option of staying home."

"Thanks mom, but I think I'll go. Don't want to miss the first day." I say.

She smiled. "That's good, always thinking of appearances!"

I opened my mouth to say it wasn't about that, but she cut me off.

"This may be a new town, but you are still a Black. We have reputations to uphold and appearances to keep." She rambled on.

"But we don't have to be perfect..." I say.

"Scarlett. Addison. Black." She said. "Yes we do! Things like that matter, people look to us. We own and run a bank we're not just some family."

I didn't say anything.

"Now we're here, starting a new life, but that doesn't mean we can slack. We're gong to move forward." Mom said.

"What about Scott?" I asked.

"Scott's dead." She bluntly stated. "Move on."

I was shocked. It had only been two weeks since his death, since his funeral.

"He's your son, mom." I say.

"Yes and he's dead. Get over it, Scar, we can't have you crying in public over this. It's been weeks."

Again, I was silent.

"You got that?" She drilled.

I nodded, "Yeah."

"Good." She smiled. "Now, your father ordered takeout from the Chinese restaurant. Eat dinner, then clean yourself up and get some sleep. It's been a long day."

"Yes ma'am."

"Do you remember the rules? Same ones apply here." Mom looked me in the eye.

"Dad's office is off limits, meals are to be eaten with the family, be in bed by 10.30, be asleep by 12 on school nights, and be home by 12 on weekends and breaks, unless told otherwise." I say.

She nodded. "Good girl."

I left the kitchen and went back upstairs. When I got my room I took in a deep breath.

Something strange was going on. Mom has always been a bad liar and I can tell when she's hiding something. And she definitely is hiding something. I just needed to figure out what.

I sighed and went ahead and picked out an outfit for tomorrow and laid the folded clothes on my desk. There wasn't too much I could aside from that.

Soon the food arrived and I got my food and sat at the table to eat. Afterwards, I got in the shower and got ready for bed.