Page 12 of Echoes of Us

With that, I turn off my phone and I open the door to my new room. Holy. Shit.This room is ginormous. It is even bigger than Aunt Beth’s entire living room and kitchen combined. There is a king-sized bed between two large windows. I go to sit on the bed, sinking into the pillowy mattress. The sage green comforter is the softest thing I have ever laid my hands on. Why are there so many pillows? I look across the room, where an oak hutch fills a corner of the room. It has six large drawers and a set of double doors. I walk over to open them, finding a big flatscreen TV. This is insane. Who needs a TV that big in their room? I close the double doors, turning to look at the matching oak desk in the opposite corner.

I walk over and notice a box with a red bow. I pick up the note on top that reads, ‘You will need this for school. If you prefer a PC instead of a Mac, we can return it and let you pick out a new one! Welcome home, sweetie!’ I open the box to find another box with a MacBook Pro laptop on the cover. I close the lid and shake my head; overwhelmed doesn’t even begin to describe how I feel right now.

I grab my bag and open a door, finding a huge walk-in closet. My eyes widen as I step inside, doing a 360 turn in the middle of the room. The closet is almost as big as the room I shared with Mom. Our old mattress and two storage boxes could easily fit in here. Sighing, I begin to hang up what little I have. I look at the small section of my clothes on hangers and then at the multiple rows of empty hangers, inside the large, empty closet. A perfect image of my life. Empty.

I sit on the floor, curling into a ball. I can’t help the tears that begin to run down my cheeks. I slowly break down, overwhelmed by all of the emotions I have held inside since my aunt chose Colin over me. For the next seven months, I have to live with a family who has no idea who I am or what I have been through. Making matters worse, their daughter despises me simply for existing. I didn’t think it was possible to be more alone after losing Mom.

I was totally wrong.

Chapter 12

Emmaline

Surely this is a bad dream.Yep. The past week has just been one big nightmare. I lean over to check my phone, but I am immediately met with a face full of hair. “Eli! Get your ass off my pillow!” With a grunt, Eli rolls off the bed. He lies by the door with a look that demands ‘let me out’. I chuckle, reaching for my phone. There is a text from Mom.

MOM 7:28 AM

Good morning, honey! Will you please knock on Teagan’s door when you’re up to make sure she is awake? Also, show her where the towels and toiletries are. I put them in the drawers on her side of the sink. Thank you!!

Rolling my eyes, I get up and walk into the bathroom. I can’t believe I have to share my bathroom with her. The Jack and Jill concept has never been a problem…until now. My bathroom is super spacious, which is the whole reason I chose this bedroom when we moved into this house a few years ago. EJ’s bedroom has its own bathroom, but it is much smaller. Mine has a huge walk-in shower, two deep sinks, and tons of storage. I walk through the long bathroom and kick the door on the other end and scream, “Get up!”

I hear nothing from the other room, so I lock the door and take off my clothes for a shower. I wrap a towel around me and brush my teeth while the water is warming up when the door swings open. A stunned Teagan is standing in the doorway.

“Get out, freak! Don’t you knock?” I scream, toothpaste spraying from my mouth.

Gathering herself, she smirks and leans against the door frame. “Don’t you know how to lock a door, princess?” She replies.

I did lock the door, but I always seem to forget that the lock to that room is broken. Giving myself a mental note to have Dad fix that ASAP, I reply, “This is my bathroom. You can find somewhere else to get ready.” I push her back and slam the door. Feeling victorious, I step into the shower and continue my morning routine.

Before walking downstairs, I go to see if EJ is ready yet. I usually have to help him pick out an appropriate outfit on Sundays. Mom is busy making breakfast and Dad is… Dad, so it is up to me to make sure EJ is dressed. I walk up to his door and hear him talking to someone, probably Eli. I knock, then open it to see Teagan sitting on his bed. He is holding up two bow ties for her when they turn to look at me.

“Morning, Em! Which one of these do you think I should wear? Teagan picked them out!” EJ says. I glare at both of them and slam the door.

Downstairs, the air is filled with the scent of eggs, bacon, biscuits, and pancakes. Mom never makes such a huge breakfast on Sundays. Of course it is all a show for that girl.

“Morning, honey! Are Teagan and EJ almost ready?” Mom asks as she sets the bowl of eggs on the dining room table.

“Call them down and find out,” I say as I pass her and head out to the back patio. This is all just too overwhelming.

I find Eli rolling around in the grass. He wobbles up to me, tail wagging and a big, goofy smile. Eli has this adorable habit of showing his front teeth whenever he greets someone. My family calls it his ‘winning smile’. I smirk at the memory of the first time he did it as a puppy. I wish we could go back to that day, when we were a family of four happily adding Eli to the mix. This addition is not a happy one. I hear a tap on the glass door behind me and turn to see Mom motioning me inside. “C‘mon Eli. Let’s get this morning over with.”

The church parking lot is packed. Dad isn’t able to find a spot close to the building and we are already running fifteen minutes late. That girl came downstairs in jeans and a T-shirt, so Mom forced me to give her one of my old dresses. Since she’s about three inches shorter, it looks ridiculous on her.

“Bye, everyone! See you at service.” Mom says rushing toward the building, waving goodbye. She was in charge of bringing muffins to her Sunday school group and with us being late, she was freaking out.

“Em, I’ll take EJ this morning to his building. You can show Teagan where to go for Sunday school and where to meet us for the service. Your mom wants us to sit as a family today,” Dad says, grabbing EJ by the shoulder and leading him away.

“Have fun in Sunday school, Teagan!” EJ yells as Dad pulls him along.

I take in a deep breath and turn to her, but she is already walking back toward the parking lot.

“Excuse me? Where the hell are you going?” I call out as I walk after her.

“Away from this hell hole but that is none of your business, princess,” she says as she continues walking toward the back of the parking lot.

“Look, I would love for you to be anywhere but here, but my parents will be pissed if you leave. They will somehow find a way to blame me,” I retort, stepping in front of her and holding my hands up.

“I am not staying here, so either you come with me or you get out of my way,” she replies.

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