The Girl Who Changes

Chapter 13

The single storey faded yellow painted house stood across from me. I've been inside the house so many times, the squeaky door you have to lift to avoid the noise, the broken step has become something that I step over as a habit.

G and Tina moved in when I was 15. Two years they have lived there, and I never knew. I didn't even pick up on the nicknames when Duncan told us who the hybrids were.

They were like my second parents. I would stay over there when Nat and John went on a business trip they couldn't take me on. If they were like parents they were like siblings. We would always talk, get to know each other.

I thought I knew them. They said they didn't want kids. I understood; they look so young. Only a couple of years older than me.

But they had children. Twins. They were my biological parents. That's why they always came to my high school events. Watched me like they were my parents. Because they are.

They didn't tell me. Why wouldn't they tell me? Its been two years. Two years of me resenting them for abandoning me.

Now they want to meet.

The house that I considered my second home looked different. Something was off. I couldn't figure it out, but something was out of place.

I take a deep breathe and try to steady my heart. It doesn't work

'It's alright, nothing bad is going to happen.' Emerald tries to comfort me. She says she is able to feel the connection between us and them. I can't

"Something feels off, something bad is going to happen tonight. I can feel it in my gut."

'You're just nervous, meeting these people as your parents does that.'

I can't deny that reasoning. Breathing in deeply I walk across the road. The warm air hitting my face even though it was 7'o'clock.

I dodge the broken step and knock on the door. The rattling of the wind chimes echoing in my head. I could hear a chair inside scrape as someone went to open the door. Would it be G or Tina? What am I supposed to do? How do I act?

"Ashley! So good to see you again." Tina's voice breaks me out of the prison I began to build within my mind.

"Its great to be here again." I respond, my body calming, getting back into the rhythm of being in this house. I step inside the threshold and straight into the living room where G is watching the latest footy game.

"Hey, who's winning?" I ask. Footy was one of the sports I loved watching. Couldn't play the game but it was a great sport to watch.

"Hi Ashley, the Demons are at the moment, but the Cats seem to be climbing back into the game."

"Nice, how have they been playing altogether? An obvious win or battling but the scoreboards don't reflect that?"

"Oh can you two shut up about footy? G you know why we invited her over. Go get Kian." Tina says scowling, you could tell she was trying not to break the scowl by smiling. Her eyes though showed sadness. A deep sadness that I have never seen.

"Jeez Tina, just a game, want some small talk to begin with." He says while groaning. He was just like me, not wanting to get up during a game but knowing that if you didn't move that's where you'll be all night.

I turn back to face Tina, just looking at her was shocking. I would never had thought I was her daughter; we look nothing alike. My long light brown hair was dead straight and was so thin I feel as though its bordering balding whereas Natalie has dark brown hair that is so thick she often has to thin it. While I like to keep mine long and not have to cut it often she keeps it short. Our faces were very different as well. She has a nice button nose, heart shaped face and soft almond eyes. I have a nose that hooks over giving me a hawk like characteristic. My face was round and babyish, and my eyes were hooded. The only similarities we had was our eye colour. At least my eye colour when I'm Emerald.