Upside Down

Two

I turn around the corner and see Kara in the middle of our shared bedroom floor, crying into her hands. All of her concerned siblings huddle around the upset girl, trying their best to console her after what I did to her.

Seeing the little girl cry because of how I behaved breaks my heart. I am an adult and here I am making a little kid cry. That is just not how an adult is supposed to behave. "Do you guys mind if I have a moment alone with Kara, please?" I lean on the door frame as all of her siblings turn to look at me.

Summer and Tilly are quick to leave the room. Summer ushers her younger sister through the door, avoiding eye contact with me as she passes. Peter and Logan however, stick around. The pair glare at me as I slowly enter the room.

I look away from them, hoping that breaking eye contact will cause them to give up. Looking back up at them, I can see that this is not the case.

I can tell that they are being protective of their little sister. Peter, the younger of the two, eventually takes the hint and leaves. Now I am only left to face off against Logan.

"Kara?" I ask, sitting down beside her on the carpeted floor. "I came back in here to say that I am sorry for how I reacted to my new room." Kara tries her best to stop crying as she looks up at me. "I've never shared a room before and I'm afraid I'm not going to be any good at it. I think I'm nervous."

Logan groans and leaves the room.

"I can teach you." Kara perks up a little bit. "I've never had a big sister to talk to before."

"Well, now you do. And you can talk to me whenever you want. We can help each other. You can teach me how to share a room with someone and I can teach you older girl things like how to do your hair nice or how to pick out an outfit. Or maybe we can talk about boys?"

Kara giggles at my suggestions. "Boys are gross."

"I agree." The two of us share a laugh.

"Except my brothers. I like them." Kara is quick to defend her siblings.

"But you wanna know something?" I hush my voice so the others can not hear me.

"Yeah." Kara matches my quiet tone with her response.

"Now that I'm here, we totally outnumber the boys." I inform her.

"Yeah! Girls rule! Boys drool!" Kara chants as she jump off the floor and onto her bed. "Girls rule and boys drool!"

"Hey Kara?" I stand and move over to my bed. "Did you pick the color of the walls in here?"

Kara stops jumping and suddenly looses her smile. "Yeah. I asked my mom to change it but she said no."

"I'm glad she said no." I smile. "I like the color it is now."

"Really?" She asks, smiling from cheek to cheek.

"Really."

Evil Hillary enters the room with a soft smile on her face. "It sounds like you two are getting along in here. I'm glad." I glare at the woman as she avoids eye contact with me and instead focuses on her actual daughter.

Kara nods. "Mom, I love her!" I smile at her excitement. I'm glad she likes me. If I am going to live here, I should at least try to form some relationships with these people.

"That's great sweetie."She pats the child's head. "Dinner is ready. Gather your siblings." Hillary turns around and leaves the room.

I stand off the bed and watch as Kara bolts out of the room and rounds up her countless siblings for dinner.

Everyone runs down the stairs. They all sound like a pack of elephants as they make their way down the narrow steps.

I linger behind the crowd and file in behind them as they take their seats around the large, round table. It looks like Hillary made spaghetti and meatballs for the group.

I take a deep breath and slump my shoulders when I realize that everyone here has a seat except for me. I stare at the ground as they all eat. I don't want to intrude. "Oh! Avery sweetie! I'm sorry. I didn't even realize you were standing there!"

I nod sadly. Even with my father here, I feel as if everyone in this room is a stranger. It is clear that I am not wanted here. I am just an intruder of their home. I am like a lonely stray that someone brought home. My father not noticing my absence at the table is a huge sign that I am invisible compared to the rest of his family here.

"I'll go grab you a seat. Hang on just one second." My father stands and rushes out of the room in search for a chair.

"Here Avery. You can share my seat with me!" Kara pats the empty part of the seat next to here where she slid over to allow me to sit. "We can share."

I smile sadly and shuffle over to her seat. I sit myself down on the tiny sliver of seat and grab a fork to start eating.

Authors note: What are your thoughts on the characters so far? Anyone you love? Hate? Tell me how you feel!