At the End of the Tunnel

Chapter One

Jade POV
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"Jade! We're going to be late for school!" I wake up to my sister yelling at me.

"Is Sienna up yet?" I yell, throwing my light-grey sheets off me as I tumble out of my bed.

Ouch.

I pick myself off the floor as Ivy yells back,"No, she keeps kicking us when we try to wake her up!''

I look over to see her standing against my door frame. She snickers as she watches me. ''I'm pretty sure people in Europe heard you fall.''

I ignore her remark as I throw my sheets back onto my bed. "Okay, I'll get Sienna up and ready in a minute. Who's ready?" I ask.

"Me, Sage, Jett, Crimson, and the twins are ready," replies Ivy.

"Okay, go tell Sage to make breakfast. I'll be right down with Sienna."

I walk to my closet just as she leaves to find something to wear. I settle on a pair of black high waisted jeans and a red crop top sweater. I quickly do my makeup after I change and put my hair in a messy side braid.

"Sienna, you need to wake up!" I yell as I make my way to her room, nearly tripping on the toys in the hallway.

As I get near her door, I see that its open and stop in my tracks. I smile at the sight in front of me.

"Hey, Princess. What are you doing?" I ask her, watches as she combs her long brown hair.

"Doing my hair," Sienna replies, grinning brightly.

"I thought you were sleeping."

"I was, but I thought I would surprise you. Okay, I'm ready now."

"Let's go eat then, Princess. We still have about ten minutes until we have to leave for school."

As we make our way down the stairs I can hear my siblings talking to someone in the kitchen. I start to wonder who it is when Steel runs out of the kitchen and collides with me and Sienna.

"Oh, hey Jade. I was just going to go get you. Aunt Chiana is here," he says.

I can here the fear in his voice. He's trying to be tough and sound like he's not scared in front of our aunt. Our Aunt Chiana gained custody of us when our parents died in an accident. She never took care of us and I had to feed and care for my siblings. After I got my license she offered to move us into our old house and she said she would give us enough money to pay our bills every month, if we stayed out of her way and left her alone. She never liked us, nor did she like my parents. After we moved in with her, our life has been a living hell. Sienna has always been afraid of her. So are the twins and Crimson. Me, Sage, Jett and Ivy aren't afraid of her, but we are afraid of the fact that if she gives us up, we will all be separated. Which is why we hate her.

"When did she arrive?" I ask.

"She just got here," Steel replies.

"Sissy, I don't want to see her," Sienna squeakes, clutching my hand tightly.

"I know Princess, I don't either," I whisper to her. I let out a long sigh before leading Sienna towards the kitchen.

We walk into the kitchen, Steel announcing our arrival. I can see that my aunt is angry with someone but I can't tell who.

" Took you long enough," my Aunt Chiana says. Ugh. Why does she try so hard to look good? Aunt Chiana's auburn, long hair is pulled up into a tight bun. Her cheeks pink from the makeup she put on and her round chin goes along with her beautifully round face. Today she's wearing a tight, sparkly, dress that ends at her thighs, along with a white fur coat.

" Aunt Chiana, it's very good to see you," I say, plastering a fake smile on my face.

"Jade,'' She says, her pale green eyes shooting daggers into my soul. ''I see you still are the same as always. Plain and boring. The same can go for the rest of your family."

Oh. No. She. Did. Not.

"Yes, that's exactly what we are. We're just plain and boring. Too bad we haven't had someone as exciting as you too guide us,'' I hiss through gritted teeth.

Aunt Chiana turns to face me, her heels clicking against the wood floor of our kitchen. "Excuse me?! Are you being sarcastic?!'' She growls with an icy glare.

Sienna and Steel poke their heads out from behind the counter, not sure what to do.

"Of course not! Now, tell me what we did to deserve this wonderful visit," I respond stiffly.

Aunt Chiana smiles, the skin over her cheekbones tighter than ever. Pulling out a chair, she replies, "I have a family friend who needs a place to stay. His parents are going away to see some family members who are ill. He will be staying here."

"Of course he's staying here. We will welcome our home to him," I reply with a forced smile.

"Good, he will be here any minute."

"What about school?" Crimson pipes in.

"Hush child! I am talking to your sister!" yells Aunt Chiana.

Crimson shrinks behind the stool, clearly intimidated.

"No, he has a valid point. We have school today and if we don't leave in a couple of minutes we're going to be late," I point out, Trying hard to keep my tone respectful.

"Nonsense. I already called the school. You will not go to school today," replied my aunt with an annoyed tone. " Well, I better get going. I'm having breakfast with the new mayor.''

With that she flips her hair and sashays out the door.

Then the door bell rings.

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Hi! Thank you so much for reading this chapter and let me know what you think about their aunt. By the way, their aunt is supposed to be crazy rich and thinks that she is loved by all.

My friend Emma and I(Kayra) will be co-writing this story.

This chapter may have been kind of short but the others will be longer. Hope you enjoy the story!