Fear

Chapitre 1: Famille

Rosemarie

"Always be yourself, express yourself, have faith in yourself, do not go out and look for a successful personality and duplicate it" I repeated my mother's favourite quote as I dared to raise my head and look around the elegant victorian house. In the middle of the marble floored hall was an expensive looking, dark wooden staircase, next to which were standing three people.

"I'd like for you to meet Katelyn. She is 16, a bit younger than you are, but I'm sure you two will get along perfectly", my father told me confidently,   although I could sense the nervousness he felt towards the whole situation. Behind him was standing a tall blond girl, almost a perfect, but younger, replica of the woman standing beside him.

     I nodded, shyly balancing on my feet and biting my lip, as my shoes became way more interesting than my maybe-soon-to-be-step-sister, who also looked away after we exchanged a glance. Well, at least I wasn't the only one who felt awkward about the whole "let' s meet your new sister with whom you'll be sharing a house (And a bathroom!) for an undetermined time". My father locked gaze with his fiancé, before bunglingly clearing  his throat.

" And you've already met Claire" he stated, more vividly, before hesitantly putting an arm around the woman's thin waist, as if judging our reaction towards the new found affection.

     I turned my head towards Katelyn, whose face seemed torn between looking as if she's just sucked on a lemon, or the emotion of a caring mother showing how proud she is with a soft, maternal gaze.

     Claire seemed to notice the unfamiliarity of the situation, and she quickly turned to me, flashing me a shy but genuine smile.

"Why don't you go unpack your things? Katelyn will show you to your room. Don't hesitate to ask me anything you need to get settled in", she said, immediately breaking the awkward silence that followed my dad and hers affectionate embrace. She must have sensed that neither my step-sister or I were at ease with their sweet intimate moment. It wasn't that I didn't like Claire or anything, but I had never really seen my dad acting all lovey-dovey with a woman before. The situation was just plain odd.

     I only nodded, trying at least to flash a half-convincing smile her way, before following Katelyn up the stairway and into an average size bedroom. Two beds  and two chest of drawers were pushed against the walls, leaving little place to circulate, and I immediately felt bad for intruding. I knew Katelyn was used to having her own room for herself, she probably wasn't too fond of the idea of sharing it with a stranger who was also her mom's boyfriend's daughter.

     She stood in the doorway, letting me look around the tiny space.

"Is it okay?", she asked, some kind of worry behind her nonchalant act, and I found myself wondering if many people had ever seen her room.

" Ye-eah" I tried to answer as casually as I could, as I felt my breath hitch at the thought of her engaging a conversation.

     It wasn't that Katelyn didn't seem nice or "not worthy enough" to talk to me; she seemed friendly and a bit reserved, much better than the clingy, overly affectionate teenager I had expected in first place. I just couldn't. Talking to people was notmy cup of tea. It made me feel much too nervous than it was supposed to and my social interactions always ended up plain uncomfortable for everyone. I always tried to avoid them as much as I could.

     My new roommate smiled a bit before showing me my makeshift bed and my drawers, and after another weak attempt at making small talk (and only receiving a shy smile and  a few stuttered words), she left me to unpack my things.