Perfect Places

"Welcome Home Sweetie."

   The car bounced on the road as it sped through dozens of neighborhoods.

Asher had remained almost silent throughout the whole car ride, and so was I. I wasn't quite sure how I felt.

I knew I was nervous ... and ... petrified. Yeah, I was petrified. I was going to have four brothers. Four.

Plus a sister.

   From the perspective of a person who has never had a sibling of any kind, this was going to be ... hard. Let's just say that.

   My thoughts were interrupted by Cecelia and Jim whispering about something. I had never been good at reading lips, so I could really tell what they were saying.

   I glanced over at Asher. He looked insanely nervous. I didn't blame him. He was staring out the window, and his left knee was bouncing.

   I watched Cecelia roll her eyes at something Jim had said. Interesting.

   Eavesdropping was wrong. I knew that. But sometimes, especially at the moment, I just could help myself.

   "Do you think she will mind?" I could hear Cecelia whisper.

   "She shouldn't." Jim responded, with his eyes glued to the road.

   "She better not." Cecelia commented.

   We're they talking about me? Why? And if so, what should I not care about?

   Asher looked almost as confused as I was feeling. He must have been listening in too.

   The minutes seemed to crawl by, taking their sweet time to pass. As I stared out the window, I watched as we passed Jessica and Nicks homes. Were we going to be in the same neighborhood?

   Jim pulled up to a home. No, not a home. A house. No, not a house. A mansion. Nope, not a mansion. A castle.

   The castle was massive. White bricks covered the walls. Dark black shutters sat on both side of each window. Perfectly trimmed bushes and trees lined the walkway to the front door. The grass in the front yard was trimmed to perfection. All of the landscaping was being maintained by several landscapers.

   All I knew was that this family had some money.

   The car slowly pulled up the curvy driveway, giving me time to examine the landscapers. It looked like a boy and a girl.

   Eventually, the car came to a complete stop. Asher and I carefully got out, and collected out bags. I was still in shock because of the massive building that was sitting in front of me that I would still have to call my home.

   "Try not to get too comfortable." Asher muttered to me after nudging my arm.

   I looked at him, confused, "What?"

   He adjusted his glasses, "Something just doesn't feel right."

I agreed with him silently. He was definitely right.

Asher and I were practically pushed to the front door. Jim and Cecelia seemed to be rushing us. I tried to get a better look at the landscapers.

   The boy. From what I could see, he had sandy blond hair that was messily styled. He was wearing a fitted black shirt and jeans. I couldn't really see the color of his eyes, or any of his facial features.

   The girl. She looked ... oddly familiar. So has long blond hair. And ... she had the same body type as the girl that I thought had died all the way back in the woods. It wasn't ... no. It could be-