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Prologue
Cerina Porter tucked strands of her long brown hair behind her ear, biting her lip slightly. She slowly plucked a few strings before groaning in frustration. She crumpled up the piece of paper in front of her before tossing it away.
Cerina Porter was sixteen, smart and very pretty, although outspoken. She had long layered brown hair that went slightly past her shoulder blades and sweet sea green eyes. She had long yet calloused slender fingers and not so long legs.
Cerina or Erin stood up and put her guitar in place before trotting down the stairs, grabbing two long strips of cloth by the stairs. She quickly wrapped them around her knuckles before walking down her large Victorian stairs and down to the gym in the basement.
“Good afternoon, Rina babe,” her brother Benjamin teased. Erin rolled her eyes at him and went up to the punching bag. Erin was a martial artist ever since she was a kid, so she masters a lot of things. Ben, meanwhile, was a martial artist and a creative artist as well.
“Hey, Ben,” she greeted, punching the big sausage-looking thing in front of her. She did a roundhouse and a stretch kick. Ben grinned and ran a hand through his messy brown locks before looking back at his painting. “What’s happening later?”
“I dunno. Mom says she’s having a party or something,” Ben said in boredom, trying to mix two colors together and painting a part of his painting. Erin sighed and continued punching the bag. “Hey, I know she’s been having too much fun.”
“She just tries to make us seem to be perfect kids and it bugs me,” Erin said, trying to conceal the hurt in her voice. She punched the bag harder. Ben looked up from his painting and glanced at the slightly sweaty teenager near him.
“Hey, we can’t do much,” he said, gently placing his palette and paintbrush on the messy table beside the canvas. Erin took a deep breath and leaned against the punching bag tiredly. “I mean, whose parents don’t want a perfect child?”
“They want one… But other parents never force their kids to be perfect,” she replied bitterly, looking sideways at her brother. Ben stood up and tucked strands of his sister’s hair behind her ear. “Ben… What do we do?”
“We just have to play along, I guess,” he said with a cheeky grin. Erin laughed and hugged him. They were all they’ve got.
Ben laughed and checked his image in the mirror. He played with his tie and loosened it slightly. Erin smiled at the reflection of her and her older brother in the full-length mirror in Erin’s bathroom. “After this, I can’t wait to take off this suit,” Ben commented with a smile.
Erin chuckled and gently tied a black ribbon around her ponytail. They walked down the grand staircase and saw small crowds with champagne flutes and wine glasses. Erin and Ben glanced at each other with sarcastic smiles before plastering on fake “perfect” ones.
“Cerina, darling, it’s been so long!” Mrs. Weatherby, a grey old lady with large spectacles, strode over to her and planted a kiss on both her cheeks. Erin smiled and greeted Mrs. Weatherby as well before turning to Ben and gave him a look of desperation. “Oh, and Benjamin, you’ve grown into such a handsome young man!”
“Thank you, Mrs. Weatherby,” Ben answered with a smile and a bow. He picked up her hand and kissed it charmingly. Mrs. Weatherby giggled before walking away with a champagne flute. Ben turned to Erin and nearly choked out laughing.
“God, you grow more charming every year, Benjamin,” Erin ribbed with a genuine grin. Ben rolled his eyes and nudged her playfully. They turned around and saw two people who were pretty much in the same situation as they are.
“Why, hello, Cerina, Benjamin,” Amelia Crawford said jokingly, a smile lighting up her pale face. Amelia had light brown tresses down until her shoulders cut straight and stunning chocolate brown orbs. Erin laughed before embracing her friend.
“Hey, Mia,” she said. Ben laughed and leaned forward, hugging Amelia as well. Erin moved over and smiled cheerfully. “Why, if it isn’t Melissa Parkinson in the flesh.”
Melissa Parkinson grinned. She had dark brown curls at the end with highlights of golden blonde in them and stunning blue eyes. She hugged Erin and Ben at the same time. “Hey you two, as usual, looking so fetch,” she said with a smile. Melissa was British and her slang stuck. So did her accent.
“Thanks,” Ben and Erin said together with a grin. Erin glanced around, seeing all the usual faces. Well, except for the three new ones by the door. Erin’s brow wrinkled slightly in curiosity. Ben glanced down at her and followed her gaze.
“There are new faces around.” Erin tucked strands of her hair behind her ear. Ben shrugged as he saw their mother greet them with fake smiles and they replied with formal smirks. Ben wrapped an arm around her shoulder and turned to Melissa and Amelia. “Who’re they?”
“Those are my relatives,” Melissa explained with a roll of her eyes. Erin and Ben chuckled. “That’s my aunt Margaret Parkinson and her sons Andrew and James. James is seven and Andrew’s around seventeen.” Melissa crossed her arms. “Aunt Marge is okay, I guess. James is the most tolerable.”
“And what about that Andrew guy?” Ben questioned, tilting his head slightly. Erin bit her lip slightly, what she always did when she was thinking deeply. Melissa and Amelia glanced sideways at each other, pure hatred and disgust in their eyes.
“Andrew is a jackass,” Melissa said shortly, straightening her skirt in irritation. “He thinks he’s too good to hang out with us. Eventually he just gets kicked out of the adult stuff because they say it’s none of his or our concern.”
“Benjamin! Cerina!” they heard Mrs. Porter say in a silly high-pitched voice. Erin and Ben glanced at each other before rolling their eyes. Melissa and Amelia giggled. “Oh, you two, Melissa and Amelia, darling, come over here as well.”
Erin and Ben snorted before the four walked gracefully to Mrs. Porter. Beside her stood Andrew, James and Margaret Parkinson. Melissa and Amelia nodded at Andrew curtly. He nodded back, a smirk darkening his handsome features. “You four, this is Margaret Parkinson and her sons James and Andrew. They just moved here from Australia.”
“Moved?” Melissa asked blankly. Andrew’s smirk grew wider. Erin disliked him already. She turned to her mother and plastered on a fake smile.
“Marge needs you to babysit the two boys.”
“The two of them?” Erin said with a mischievous smile. She turned to Ben, who had grinned in amusement. “Well, we’re going to have to check with Melissa and Amelia. Do you mind?”
Melissa and Amelia had smirks on their faces. “Oh, it’s no problem with us, really,” Amelia said cheerfully. “James and Andrew are so wonderful.”
“Mum, you do know that I am older than all of them,” Andrew hissed at his mother. Ben raised his hand and mouthed the word eighteen at him. Margaret smiled sweetly. “Mother, please!”
“No, Andrew, you’ve got to hang out with people your own age,” Margaret scolded. She turned to Mrs. Porter and smiled. “Thank you so much for letting them go under your children’s care. They seem like perfect angels.”
“Oh, they are,” Mrs. Porter responded before handing Margaret a champagne flute and whisking her away. Erin and Ben glanced at each other with disgust. Melissa and Amelia exchanged mischievous grins. James went up to Erin and tugged at her skirt.
“You’re pretty. I’m James,” he piped out. Erin smiled and bent down to look at James straight in the eye. “I’m seven years old. How old are you?”
“I’m sixteen,” Erin answered. “I liked it when I was seven. You’re pretty cute yourself, huh, James?” She laughed and ran her hand through his hair. “Now you’re very tolerable.”
James let out a toothy smile. (A/N: Aww, I love James so much, he’s so adorable.) He giggled as Erin gently tickled his side. She stood up and immediately met midnight grey spheres. Andrew raised an inquisitive eyebrow at her. “So, you must seem very arrogant for your age,” he observed.
Erin laughed wryly. “I think it must be the other way around. What do you think, Ben?” she replied, turning to her brother. Ben gave her a smile and a nod. “That’s exactly how I feel.” She turned back to Andrew and raised an eyebrow. “Firstly, don’t treat me like a little kid, I am not one. Secondly, don’t treat me as if I’m perfect either, because I’m not.”
Andrew merely stared at her, partly in surprise and partly in admiration. Erin smirked slightly and glanced at Melissa and Amelia. “Oh, don’t worry, Cerina sweetie,” Amelia said teasingly, “I am so ready to babysit this dork.”
Ben grinned. “Oh, Mia, so am I.” He turned to Melissa and grinned as well. “You and Erin can babysit James. Mia and I will babysit the twerp.”
“I’m not a twerp!” Andrew protested.
“Yet you act like one,” Melissa cut in with a sickeningly sweet smile. Andrew glared at her and she stared coolly back. Erin put a hand on Melissa’s shoulder and gave her a warning glance before they turned to James and fixed his tie.
They sat at the table while waiting for dinner to be served. Erin sighed and sipped some of her Coke. She smiled down at James, a dimple showing on her right cheek. “So, James, how do you find California?” she asked. James grinned.
“It’s so cool! I love the ice cream here!” he said happily. Erin laughed and ruffled his hair affectionately. Andrew watched them both, a small grin on his face. She’s pretty, for a sixteen year old, he thought. Ben glanced sideways at him.
“Hey, don’t even try getting with my sister,” he warned softly. Andrew glanced sideways as well and nodded, raising an eyebrow in bewilderment. Ben shrugged before settling down to his food.
“Oh, you all look so darling! Stay there, I’ll take a picture!” Mrs. Weatherby said proudly before going off to find a camera. Erin smiled slightly and patted James’s messy hair down vaguely before Mrs. Weatherby came back. It was a very old black-and-white camera too.
Andrew saw the slight and vague smile across Erin’s features and he smiled slightly as well. For some reason he couldn’t take his eyes off her either. Mrs. Weatherby took the picture and since it was a Polaroid, she gave it to Andrew.
“Ladies and gentlemen, I have an announcement!” Mrs. Porter called out brightly, smiling as she tapped her champagne flute. Erin and Ben glanced at each other in confusion before turning their gaze to their mother. Her cheeks were flushed. “Ladies, gentleman, Bill has been moved jobs! Cerina, Bill and I are moving to New York since Benjamin’s starting college here.”
Erin could distinctly hear shouts of joy and shock before her vision blurred.
Erin gently hugged James and patted his head. “Hey, I’ll write, I promise,” she said weakly, forcing a smile. James sniffled slightly; he had grown close to her on a span of three weeks. Andrew stood in the background, staring blankly at her.
“We’ll miss you, Er,” Amelia whispered as she hugged Erin goodbye. Melissa followed suit, tears spilling from her eyes. Erin smiled weakly again before dissolving into silent sobs. Amelia and Melissa hugged her one last time.
“W-We have to take you to the airport,” Ben said, trying to make his voice light. Erin turned to her older brother and bit her lip slightly. He hesitated before wrapping his arms around her tightly in a hug and tearing.
“I’ll miss you so much, Ben,” Erin whispered. He hugged her tighter. “I promise I’ll check up on you every so often and I swear I’ll keep in touch… Ben, I don’t want to go!”
“You have to, love, it’s for the best,” he consoled, trying to console himself as well. Erin released herself from his grip and rubbed her eyes tiredly. He gently let go and walked inside to get her things. Andrew paused slightly before walking over to her and hugging her gently.
“You take care, alright? James expects a lot from you,” he said softly. Erin looked up at him in surprise. He gave her a weak smile. “I’m seventeen. I’m not that old and arrogant.”
Erin smiled before Andrew hugged her again. “You know, I think I’ll miss you for just a bit, although I'm wondering why you've changed,”she admitted, grinning slightly. He laughed before nodding his head. “Goodbye, Andrew.”
“Bye, Erin.”
