Misunderstood - A Katherine Cimorelli Love Story

Chapter One

Misunderstood is copyrighted by the author and shall not be used by anyone other than thee for any purpose other than to read unless permitted by the author.

Chapter One

"Emily! Get down here right now!" My dad, Joe, yelled.

I gulped, scared of what he wanted now, but nonetheless responded to his command. I knew the consequences would be much worse if I disobeyed...

"Yes?" I asked softly when I got downstairs.

He instantly grabbed me by the throat and shoved me against the wall, knocking the breath out of me.

"I suggest you start to show me some respect, is that understood young lady?" His voice was grave, deep and serious.

I just nodded, having trouble regaining my breath.

"The reason I called you down here is because I need you to attempt to make yourself look decently presentable. We are going to meet the neighbors in an hour. Now go!"

With a knee to the stomach, he threw me down and walked away, leaving me gasping for air.

After a few minutes, I managed to catch my breath and I pulled myself up, going upstairs to get ready.

I showered, nothing important, and got dressed in a pair of nice black jeans, a long-sleeve t-shirt, my black converse, and a L'orna Jane sweatshirt.

Straightening my hair, I remembered I needed to cover up my most recent bruises. I put on some concealer and foundation, adding a touch of eyeliner, before deciding that I was finally presentable enough to go out to meet our neighbors.

"Emily Lynn, get your ass down here right now! We're leaving!"

Taking a deep breath, I went downstairs and followed my dad outside. I noticed that the house we were walking towards across the street seemed very well kept.
It was a larger house, very gorgeous.

There were eleven kids out in the yard playing together, running around, tackling each other, looking like they were having a blast.

Well, most of them looked quite older, like teenagers, actually. There were six girls and five boys.

As we were walking up their driveway, a few of them stopped and looked at us but then went back to messing around.

The tallest girl, though, stood completely still while staring at us, her eyes following us until we reached the front door, when the second tallest girl snapped her out of it. It was almost as if she was looking only at me.

Ringing the doorbell, my dad gave me a look that said 'you better not make a fool of me or you're dead!'

I nodded quickly, and the door opened in front of me, showing a man and woman who I assume to be the parents of the children in the yard.

"Hi there! You must be the new family across the street! I'm Lynne Cimorelli and this is my husband Mike. Kids, come here and meet our new neighbors!"

Mrs. Cimorelli called her kids over, and they all ran and bunched up in a group, all of them pushing each other over.
She pointed at each of them as they introduced themselves.

"I'm Mike."

"I'm Christina."

"I'm Katherine."

"I'm Lisa."

"I'm Amy."

"I'm Alex."

"I'm Lauren."

"I'm Dani."

"I'm Christian."

"I'm Nick."

"And I'm Joey."

Katherine... She's the one who kept staring at us...

"Hello. I'm Joseph Michaels, and this is my daughter, Emily."

I gave them a small smile and wave, looking down at my feet.

"Say hello, Emily." My dad said semi-forcefully.

Looking up, I quietly stuttered out "h-hey."

When I looked up, my eyes met Katherine's, and I could feel the heat rise to my cheeks, so I looked back down.

"I apologize, she's a bit shy." My dad told them.

"Haha that's quite alright," Mrs. Cimorelli said. "Why don't you come inside?"

My father accepted her offer so we followed them inside. I was awestruck. The inside of their home was amazing!

They brought us into the living room and we all sat down.

I was sitting between Lisa and Katherine on one sofa, the three younger boys, Christian, Nick, and Joey, piled into the recliner with each other.

Typical boys, haha.

Christina and Lauren sat on the other side of Lisa, and Dani sat in front of Lauren on the floor. Alex and Mike sat on one side of my dad on the other sofa. On the other side of him were Mr. Cimorelli and then Mrs. Cimorelli on the end.

"So Joseph, what brings you and Emily to the neighborhood?" Mr. Cimorelli asked.

I looked down and gulped quietly, biting my lip, dreading what he was about to say.

"Joe, please, and I decided it would be good for Emily and myself to make a fresh start. Two years ago, my wife, Dawn, passed due to cancer. We decided it would be best if we relocated somewhere new, you know, new surroundings, new places. Emily was going through a pretty rough time, and I figured a new environment would help her with that."

When he said that, it was enough to cause me to tug my sleeves down even further, bite my lip harder, and do everything I could to hold back tears.

I hung my head down so no one would see the pain that was trying to make itself evident on my face.

Feeling a hand being placed on my knee, I looked up and once again mine and Katherine's eyes met. She had a concerned look on her face, a sad look in her eyes.

I gave her a small half nod and smile before looking back down.

"Oh my gosh, that's so sad. I'm so very sorry. If there is any way that we can be of help, please, please don't be afraid to ask." Mrs. Cimorelli told us.

"Um, ex-excuse me. May-may I use your restroom?" I asked softly.

"Oh, absolutely! It's right down there, first door on the right."

"Thank you," I said while getting up and making my way to their bathroom.

Shutting and locking the door, I leaned my back against the wall, sliding down to the floor and letting out a deep, painfilled breath.

My chest felt so tight with everything I was holding inside.

I knew what I needed to do to make it stop, but I also knew that I would regret it before I pulled out my wallet...

A/N: Picture is of Emily