“Child?” I choked. What the hell was this guy doing here at our house, more or less asking for my triplet brother?

Then, I snapped back into reality. Adeline was buried in my side, and a man claiming to be Hardy’s father was at the door.

“Addie, I’ll live you five bucks later if you go annoy Ian,” I bribed my youngest sister.

“Okay!” Adeline skipped off.

I then turned back to the man. “I’m sorry, but I didn’t catch your name,” I said to the man.

“Oh, I’m sorry,” the man apologized, “I am Lavi Cambria,” he introduced himself.

Cambria? Cambria? Oh crap! That’s….

Suddenly, Jake walked over to us, wearing his usual black business suite and carrying his black leather briefcase.

“Hey Haven,” he said casually, walking past me, as if he didn’t notice this Lavi guy next to me.

Half way through the doorway, Jake paused and then turned towards us.

“Lavi…” Jake said flatly.

“Jake…” Lavi said back, his voice as flat and emotionless as Jake’s.

Am I missing something here? And why does it seem like my step- father and this man know each other? It’s not that rare for Jake to have old friends of his visit him, but a man claiming for Hardy to be his on top of it? Oh gosh…

“What brings you to our house?” Jake asked.

“My son,” Lavi replied back.

“Your son?” Jake said in an amazed tone. “These children are mine,” he said defensively.

Did I ever mention that? Jake had played father to not only my half-sibs, but to Halyn, Hardy, and I as well, since he married Mom, when we were about a year and a half old. He has more custody over us than my real dad does, or at least it feels like it.

Dad was never exactly the fatherly type, if you know what I mean. Jake has his act together much more than my biological Dad, and he’s a great to Mom and my half- sibs.

“Think again,” Lavi, said, the expression on his face appearing more and more like a demon.

“Ian, Isaac, Belle, Blair, and Adeline biologically belong to Marcia and I. Haven, Halyn, and Hardy are Marcia and Lloyds,”

I still watched this in disbelief.

I seems like years ago that I came home, and was planning on helping Halyn get over a breakup with her boyfriend, cooking dinner, and helping Adeline with her homework.

“Correct.” Lavi said, his face growing more and more like Dad’s when he was angry and drunk… “Except for one small detail…”

“Which is…” Jake, lead on awaiting his answer.

“Hardy’s mine!” Lavi grinned.

“Marcia isn’t a slut, she wouldn’t sleep with you!” Jake objected, and he had every right to. Mom wasn’t a slut, and contrary to what people believed, there was a good reason why she divorced my Dad.

“Pity too…” Lavi shook his head. “She is such a pretty girl. He isn’t yours… or Lloyds… or Marcia’s… he belongs to Rain and I.”

“But their looks!” Jake exclaimed.

“Ahhh yes… he did take after his mother… and her twin sister….”

Oh gosh! Oh gosh! Oh gosh! This man is my uncle and Hardy’s my cousin? What about my birth certificate… and Hardy’s?

I suddenly couldn’t take it anymore, and so I took off running.

I ran to the side-gate and kicked it open, and ran through the cramped alley that even a child could barely squeeze though, then I climbed the side-fence, and hoped over. I stopped when I arrived in Adam’s backyard.

By now, tears were streaming down my face, and that’s why I knew that I had to get away. I had to stay strong for my family that was already falling apart enough as it was, before that Lavi dude showed up.

I then began to climb the fire-ladder that Adam and I always left out at his house after sleepovers when we were younger, and that his younger sister Holly and her friends probably used now.

I finally reached the top of it, climbed onto the small back balcony that had back doors to Holly and his rooms’. I looked in, to see him on his cellphone and instant messaging at the same time.

I gave a sturdy knock on his glass door, but he didn’t seem to notice. I then knocked again, with a lot more force, allowing some of my fury to go into to it. Finally, just as I was about to pound on the door for the third time, Adam walked over to the door.

He unlocked it, and opened the door, not to see the girl whom he had acted with for years, or the girl who was jealous of his girlfriend, but the fragile girl who he had met in elementary school who had seen too much and needed a friend.

The first thing that he noticed about me, were the tears welling up in my eyes, streaming down my face, smearing my make-up, and allowing my glasses to be covered in my non-waterproof eyeliner and my salty tears.

Darcy,” he said into cell, “I gotta go, my mom says that dinner’s ready… yeah I miss you too… bye…” and he snapped his phone shut, and let me inside.

The first thing I did, was collapse on his bed and allowed it’s sweet smell of honey from his Mom’s cooking, and thick smell of smoke from all of the cigars that his granddad used to smoke at his house fill my lungs

“Hav…” he said gently, taking a seat beside me. “What happened? Is your Dad drinking again? Did he have another violent rage? Is someone in the hospital? What?”

I nodded my head ‘no’.

“Then, what happened?” he asked, as I took my glasses off and my vision became blurrier than it already was from all of the water in my eyes, then wiped the tears from my eyes.

“This guy…” I sobbed. “Lavi Cambria…” I said his name as if it were foreign to me, which he was. “He came… and said that he had a son… and his name was Hardy… and that Hardy wasn’t my triplet brother, but my cousin…”

And as I allowed a fresh set of tear to wallow down my face, Adam wrapped his arm around me.

“Are you okay?” Adam asked me.

“I think so…” I responded, which was the truth. Once I got over the initial shock of things, I could usually stand strong through the rest of it. For Halyn, things were the exact opposite. So, I knew that if I went back tonight, that Halyn would be okay, long as I got there before tomorrow morning.

“That’s good,” Adam said giving me a reassuring hug. “How about you go wash up, and then we can practice those scenes that we’re supposed to shoot tomorrow?” he suggested.

I then got up, and headed towards the door, as Adam went and rummaged through his closets for a few moments, before tossing me one of his sweatshirts that he knew I would need, because my swim team one was drenched from my tears

I accepted his sweatshirt, before heading towards his bathroom, and locking the door.

I found a washcloth, and removed all of my make-up, then cleaned my glasses. Next, I pealed off my sweatshirt, and put on the one that Adam had lent to me. It was grey, and I was swimming in it, but it was comfy, and it’s honey and smoke smell soothed me.

I then made my way back out, and into Adam’s bedroom.

We sat on his bed next to each other, as we looked onto the same script. We had most of our lines memorized, but we still had a few that needed memorizing and another few that we needed to get our wording right on.

“This is weird,” Ashtin said.

“Too weird,” Aaron said back.

“It’s like everyone expects us to be like the ‘perfect couple’ or something. They don’t seem to realize that we don’t want to make-out with each other 24//7,”Ashtin pointed out.

“I know,” Aaron agreed.

“Then, what are we going to do?”

“I don’t know,” Aaron confessed.

“Yeah,” Ashtin agreed calmly.

“But we have to stick together no matter what,” Aaron explained.

“And we will,” Ashtin squeezed Aaron’s hand.

It was then, that both Adam and I realized that our characters were supposed to kiss.

Ashtin’s lips met Aaron’s and Aaron’s lips met Ashtin’s.

Except, that we were no longer acting. We were Adam Harper and Haven Cambria, two best friends who fell in love, despite everything. And for a second, I swear that I forgot that Adam had a girlfriend.

Adam and I parted lips, and each took in a fresh breath of air. We were both speechless, and didn’t know what to say.

Then, suddenly, a voice came down from the downstairs.

“Adam, it’s time for dinner!” Mrs. Harper called.

“Coming Ma!” Adam called, as we both got up, and headed downstairs.

“Oh, and Ma!” Adam called. “Is it okay if Haven joins us for dinner!” he asked, as we made our way down the stairs and into the kitchen.

“Of course baby! You know that you’re always welcome here!” Mrs. Harper exclaimed, as she brought a hot pan of something that smelled really good to the table. She then turned to me. “It’s great to see you again, baby. Long time no see. It’s good to see that you’re still alive.”

“Barely,” Adam said, as he made a place at the table and set a table setting for me.

“Barely? What happened?” Mrs. Harper asked, aware as Adam about my family issues.

“Hardy isn’t her real brother, he’s her cousin,” Adam explained, filling two cups up with milk: one for him and one for me.

“Bless the child,” Mrs. Harper said, going over to the door on the left side of the kitchen where their den was, and to call Mr. Harper and Holly, who were watching baseball in their den. “Come on you two, it’s time dinner!”

Holly and Mr. Harper arrived a few moments later, and we sat down for dinner.

“So, how’s the business?” I asked them, referring to the catering business that the Harper’s own and run.

“Surprisingly good, considering that everyone’s been into diet fads lately,” Mr. Harper commented.

“And that is another downfall of the Hollywood lifestyle; everyone is obsessed with their weight and looks,” Holly commented.

I nodded my head knowingly.

“Kids these days can’t seem to grasp the concept of moderation and exercise,” Mrs. Harper added.

All of the Harper’s were in decent shape; they are all really into baseball, and on top of that, Holly dances with Belle.

Finally, dinner ended.

“Thanks for dinner Mrs. Harper,” I thanked her, as I got up from my spot at the table, and prepared to leave their house, ready to face what tribulations awaited me back at my house.

Ding! A bell went off.

“You’re welcome baby,” Mrs. Harper said, removing whatever it was that she was cooking from the oven.

“Bye Guys, bye Adam!” I waved.

Adam and I had been really awkward around each other since kissing. Sure we had kissed before, but all of those were on camera, and they didn’t feel as right. Maybe because so many people were watching, that there was no way that it could actually feel romantic. And, on top of that, Adam had a great girlfriend who didn’t deserve to be cheated on.

“Bye,” he said, his brown hair and icy blue eyes suddenly looking very, very attractive. “And just give me my sweatshirt back tomorrow,”

I turned to walk out the door, when Mrs. Harper stopped me.

“Baby, I know that your Mom works late, so I thought that I’d save you the trouble of having to get dinner for everyone. Here’s a broccoli-cheese casserole,” she said handing me the pan of what she had just pulled out of the oven.

“Thanks,” I replied simply, and I left their house.

I walked to my house, and went through the side gate, which was still open from when I had kicked it open earlier. I then went through the back door, and set the casserole on the stove.

From the kitchen, I could faintly hear Mom and Jake talking, and Mom crying.

“It was a miscarriage. I never lied to the kids about that, and there were triplets, but Angel died because the umbilical cord was wrapped around his neck during birth. The same day Marcia was giving birth to Hardy. She said that she couldn’t leave her baby with Lavi, that he wasn’t trustworthy, and she told me to take care of him. Then… then… she died…” Mom cried.

From the un-confused look on Jake’s face, I could tell that he had known what had happened, but was just letting Mom cry for the first time in a long while.

I sighed, before heading to my room, ready to face what drama lay ahead.

A/N: That has to be one of the longest chapters that I have EVER written! Thanks for reviewing Ashley Hyperkins and twilightx! I hope that you all enjoyed chapter two! Anyways, any feedback is appreciated:-)