- Chapter 1 -

- Welcome To The Family -

There she stood. She was tall and slim with long, brown, tangled hair, faded jeans, and a bright pink long sleeved shirt. Aaron's mom, Jane, wanted to adopt another child... obviously, a girl. Another girl to add to his other 3 sisters... so Jane, Aaron, and Angel were at the orphanage...

Jane chatted with the girl a little while, then stood back. She nodded at the lady at the main desk, signed some papers, and soon they were back at their house, the girl staring at the size of it in shock. Even though Aaron hadn't talked to her personally yet, she was starting to get on his nerves. Her actions, her shyness... obviously Angel had gotten along with her pretty well, though. They both talked during the car ride... or, Angel talked. The girl merely listened, smiled, nodded, and said a few words every once and a while.

"We can walk in now.." Aaron said to her impatiently after we had gotten out of the car. Jane and Angel shot him a 'you-better-be-nice' look as they were walking in and Aaron rolled his eyes. The girl's mouth dropped when they entered the foyer. The walls were subtle beige with white borders against the vaulted ceilings and there was fluffy white carpet. There were decorations adorned all over the northern California home that boasted golds, silvers, reds, and greens, considering there were 4 days until Christmas.
Suddenly, the dad - Bob -, Nick, BJ, and Leslie came over to the trio and greeted the girl with 'hi's, 'hello's, and hugs. Once the group got settled, Jane pulled Aaron to the side, although she wasn't being in any way secretive.

"Could you show her to her room?"
"Mom!! Why? Can't Angel do it?"
"Aaron, stop acting like a little child! You just turned 16! Be mature and just do it!"
Aaron nodded and sighed. Jane gave him an appreciative grin and went back to the group. Aaron rolled his eyes. Great...
He motioned for the girl to come to him, and she did so.
"Well, my mom told me to show you to your room, so follow me." Aaron told her, slightly aggravated. She nodded silently and got her small jean bag as they walked up the beige carpet stairs. They passed 3 bedrooms, and got to hers.

Aaron opened the door to reveal a giant room and a connected bathroom. In the room, there was plush beige carpet, a king size mahogany wood 4-post bed with crisp white sheets and a sheer canopy. The girl's eyes lingered on the bed, then moved to the vanity. It was dark mahogany wood and had a round mirror above the top of it, with a matching chair. On the other side of the room, just past the bed, there were 2 French doors with sheer white curtains. Curiosity got the best out of her, and she walked to them, Aaron following her. She grabbed both of the handles and swung the doors open. It was a balcony with a direct view of the Pacific Ocean. She smiled and turned to Aaron.
"Well... thanks for showing me to the room."
Aaron nodded in reply. The girl set her bag on the bed, and they both walked out of the room. She looked down from the upstairs loft, into the living room below to find the family sitting on the tan, suede sectional couch, talking away. The girl and Aaron went downstairs and joined them. Jane was talking to the girl, with Aaron listening.

"Well... I know your name is Melissa, but if you want, we can change it...," She asked hesitantly.
The girl, obviously Melissa, thought a minute. "No... I want to keep my name," She replied.
Jane smiled and agreed. "Ok, well...," She gave Melissa a hug and continued, "Welcome to the Carter family, Melissa!"

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A/N - Like? Hate? Give me feedback! Hugs - Popstar2be