Chapter Two

After days of this so-called road trip, we were finally at our destination. As we pulled into the circular driveway, I looked at the large building we would now call our home. I was at a loss for words to describe it, but it was better than what I had envisioned. I got out of mom's van looking around in awe, this place made my previous house look dilapidated. 

"Rachel, what do you think?" I heard Steve's voice from behind us, I was so caught up

with taking in its beauty that I did not realize when he and Daniel joined us.

"It's even more beautiful in person," she finally responded.

"Daniel, please show Cece around. Rachel and I have some things to discuss," Steve spoke once more. I could not contain my eagerness when Daniel gestured for me to follow him. 

It was an immaculate, professionally-designed 2-story condo with a private deck and patio which invites comfort and exudes modern elegance. With six bedrooms, four and a half baths, generous living space, and stylish finishes, I could already see myself enjoying this perfect setting for relaxing and entertaining myself in some way. I observed the beautiful mahogany hardwood floors and plenty of natural night flow throughout the home's open, airy layout. Other special highlights included the charming gas fireplace, I already saw myself enjoying a cup of hot cocoa while reading a novel wrapped in a blanket on chilly nights right by there. The rich exposed brick was exquisite with its chic recessed lighting and ceiling fans; I could already see us enjoying gatherings in the generously-sized living/dining area graced by a fireplace, wine cooler, huge windows, and glass sliding doors that lead out to the rear deck. 

The stylish gourmet kitchen flows through to the dining room. This kitchen will inspire both my mom's inner chef along with mine with its granite counters, marble center island with seating, large pantry, Kitchen Aid, GE Profile, and Bosch stainless steel appliances. We took the stairs, leading us to a room on the left that had a tiled bath with a tub and shower, a medium-sized walk-in closet, and still had enough room for my other furniture. It had plenty of room for studying, sleeping, and storing everything! The walls were painted in my favorite color burgundy which gave me a calm feeling on the inside. I could already tell that it was my room.

"This is your room. Rachel was going on and on about how it had to be in this lame ass color," he ruined my evaluation, making a face of disgust as he looked around.

"Can I see our parent's bedroom?" I asked as I ignored his comment. I was not in the mood for his absurd behavior.

"After you," he directed, allowing me to exit first.

We walked down the hall until he came from behind me, opening the doors of the master bedroom. It had its private bath, inclusive of a Jacuzzi plus a huge walk-in closet with sliding doors, with a shelving system, drawers, and a private balcony. This room was twice as big as my room. Mom is going to love this, I grinned to myself.

"This house is nice," I commented while we exited the room.

"Yeah, yeah whatever. You should see our backyard. But anyway," he began as he clasped his hand together, "Let us lay down some ground rules since I'm forced to live with you--"

"But-," I tried to interject but he continued without a hiccup.

"When my bros or girls come over, just disappear. Never go into my room. Cheerios are my favorite, so do not ever touch that. I do not know how you were raised, but around here you do not see anything, so you do not say anything. Simply put do not ever, I mean ever snitch on me," he listed while emphasizing keywords.

"Got it," I simply said. He raised an eyebrow, which appeared as if he was expecting me to say more.

"A couple of my friends are probably stopping by later, just putting that out there," he stated.

"I don't care," I responded loudly as I headed over to my new room. 

I quickly opened and closed the door, smiling like it was my first time seeing it all. I made my way over to my full body mirror. Even though hair sat in a messy bun on the top of my head, I could not help but admire its health and length. I looked down at my average chest above my flat stomach, all accentuated by my long legs adding to my height. I turned sideways to admire the little I had emphasized through the joggers. I am far from conceited, and it took a lot for me to accept my flaws, but I was proud to say that I loved everything that made me myself. 

"So, how are you liking it?" I heard my mother from behind. I turned away from my reflection and was met with the biggest smile one could ever imagine.

"Mom, the place is beautiful! My only problem right now is living in it with Daniel," I scoffed, clearly showed my disgust.

"Cece, that's the least of your worries. Eventually, you two will warm up to each other," she said shaking her head as she released a little laugh.

"Well, Steve wants to show me my new office, so I'll be back a little later. By the way, you need to brush your hair! It looks disgusting," she said giving me a little smile before walking off.

I playfully rolled my eyes and walked over to the window and sat down on the bench-like seating area near the window, admiring the beautiful view it had to offer. I watched as mom ran over to Steve's Mercedes. I rested my cheek on my palm as I sighed at the sight. They were so in love.  I hope to find something like that one day.

I had my life all planned; I was going to major in Journalism at Stanford and complete at the top of my class. After college, I plan to land a job at one of the biggest television networks to showcase my craft. In the process, I would probably meet the love of my life that I could devote my all to, get married, buy a nice house, and create a beautiful family. It was going to be perfect. 

I spoke this over with mom a couple of times, but she claims my dreams are "unrealistic". Nothing in life happens so smoothly, I know I will have to experience a couple of rainy days first. I mean, I can only dream for the best. I grew up a sheltered child, I can not be blamed in entirety if I have a particular view on life. I was so caught up with everything that I did not even realize Daniel was nice enough to carry up my suitcases. I walked over to where he placed them by the door. Two were missing, but I would eventually get around to locate them.

I opened the biggest one, digging around to find something comfortable to put on after showering. I found a plain white tee, loose shorts, and a pair of ankle socks. I pushed my hair up in a bun and got right to business. I was able to shower, refresh, and re-do my hair in a ponytail in about twenty-five minutes. 

After straightening up the bathroom, I left my room, closing my room door on the way out as I began jogging down the stairs. I almost turned around and jogged my way back up when I was met with four peculiar stares from the bottom of the stairs. Now Daniel, well, if looks could kill... 

I quickly looked away, ignoring their existence as if they were not there, just as I was informed during the tour. I walked off to the kitchen to get something to drink while racking my brain to remember if there were other routes to get back to my room without crossing Daniel or his friends.

The back door. I quickly turned my head towards my saving grace as I mentally planned my escape. If I went out through the back door, then entered through the front, I could just sneak back up the stairs without being noticed; especially since they would be expecting me to pass back from the kitchen. I quickly and quietly opened the back door, placing my feet on the soft grass and took my time to close it back. I stopped when I turned around to take in the sight before me. He was right, the backyard was beautiful!

The dew from the grass misted under my socks as I walked swiftly, trying my best to not spill the cup of juice I had in my hand. The sound of shuffling caught my attention and I hastily turned to see what it was. I saw nothing, but when I turned back around, something hard knocked into me and caused a bit of juice to spill onto the ground.  

I looked down worriedly but was relieved to find none had spilled on my clothes. I looked up back to meet a confused stare.

"Who are you and what are you doing?" He questioned, his voice smooth and baritone with a smooth southern like accent.

"I-I-I - um, I live here now. Who are you?" I tried to sound firm, turning this around on him. He laughed then raised his phone to his ear.

"I'll call you back," he dismissed with his velvety voice. He spoke with a slight drawl, almost like a southern accent, who knows, all I know it was soothing to my ears.

"Yeah, so you were saying you live here now. Who exactly are you?" He continued as he disconnected the call and placed his phone in his back pocket. 

"I asked you first," I pressed with narrowed eyes. 

"Okay, okay. Well, I am Daniel's friend and I live in the house in front of yours. I guess that makes us neighbors. I just stepped outside to make a call," he explained then made a face, probably questioning why he was explaining himself to a stranger who might I add, made a complete idiot of herself.

"Well, I'm Cece, the daughter of Daniel's father's wife," I responded.

The feeling of his stare taking in my features caused nervous flits to invade my stomach and a feeling of awkwardness to pollute the air; I could feel his stare as I looked at everything but him. 

"That boy, Danny, he did not say anything about his pops' new wife having a daughter! Well, I'm Christopher," he introduced as a smile spread across his full lips. Full lips? "My friends call me Chris though," he revealed his straight white teeth. 

"Nice meeting you. Well, I probably should head in now," I said walking off before he said anything else. Luckily for me, the door was open, so I just went through and headed up the stairs, without any more encounters.

I opened my room door, resting the half-empty cup on the closest flat surface and closed the door afterward. I sighed as I rubbed my hands against my slick ponytail. I hope I did not come off as rude, I thought, but I had to run off. There was no way I could bare looking at him after I made a stuttering mess of myself after bumping into him. I was not even feeling this drink anymore. My breathing slightly accelerated as I kept recalling the encounter, the beginning signs of an anxiety attack. The door banging against the opposite walls caught my attention. I turned my attention towards the sound. 

"You had one job," Daniel semi-yelled

"I told you to just stay out of my way when my friends are here and you had to do something stupid," He continued. 

"Can you please chill? I was thirsty, so I went to get something to drink. How was I supposed to know your friends had arrived?" I snapped back. 

"Then on top of it, you were outside and pranced your way into Chris! why the hell were you even outside," he said as a look of annoyance swept across his face.

"I didn't want to pass back through to get to the stairs, you could've at least applauded me for trying to avoid you and your precious friends," I rolled my eyes. 

"Whatever, they forced me up here to come to get you because they want a proper introduction," he said as he played with my light switch turning the light on and off. Can he not be annoying for just a minute?

"Tell them that I don't want to be introduced," I mumbled, taking off my socks so I could crawl in my bed. It appeared as if I stepped in something, I had no clue what it was. Not poo though, I thought to myself. 

"Well that's rude," his attitude was wrapped around every word that came out.

"Well, I don't care to get out," I retorted. 

"You're-," he started.

"Get out now!!" I yelled at him.

He held up his hands in defense and slowly stepped out. I buried my face in the pillow wishing I were back in New York.