Chapter 4 Not Really Related 1

• Not Really Related 1
• [ARIA]
• “Welcome to your new home,” Nathaniel, my mother's new husband, spoke with a big smile on his face as he opened the door to the two-story house.
• I stood transfixed beside my mom who had on a similarly huge smile as Nathaniel. She was very happy, and I couldn't fault her for it. It had been ten years since my father died, after all.
• My mother got married yesterday, and she could very much be the happiest woman in the world right now. Nathaniel was a client at her workplace, and they seemed to have kicked it off with each other. So much so, they got married barely six months after meeting. She didn't even wait a full year to get to know him better before marrying him. It was bizarre.
• From what I knew, Nathaniel had a son who was a year older than me, and his wife died during childbirth, so he raised him all alone. He didn't get married since then, till he met my mom. And now, we had to move to a whole different city so we could all live together as a big, happy family. Apparently, his son couldn't be at the wedding because he had some last minute stuff to do in college. But I didn't believe that. It looked more like he didn't want to come to the wedding to me.
• I was pissed about the whole arrangement. Because of her marriage, I would have to start all over in a new city. New school, new environment, new friends—and that's only if I was lucky enough to make some. I wasn't known to be the most social person out there. I loved keeping to myself, and I cherished the few friends I had back in my old school, but now, I had to do it all over again.
• It made less sense since I was in my last year of high school. I could have stayed back in my old city. My best friend would have let me live with her for the time being, and I could have gone to college from there, but my mother didn't like that idea. She didn't want to let me out of her sight, and that was another reason for my anger.
• “Aria... Why are you just standing there? Come in,” I heard my mother's voice, and I snapped out of my thoughts. I put on a fake smile and walked into the house. I looked around, admiring how nice it was. It was way bigger than our old two bedroom apartment, for sure.
• As soon as I stepped inside, it immediately felt like I’d walked into a palace pretending to be a home. Everything sparkled like it was begging not to be touched. It was elegant, expensive, and screamed money—and none of it felt familiar.
• “What do you think? Is it up to your standards?” Nathaniel asked, the big smile still on his face. “Your mother told me you had pretty high standards, so I had to do a little renovation. I hope it's up to your taste.”
• I spared my mother a glance, and she smiled at me sheepishly. Why the heck would she tell him that? If she did it in an attempt to make me like living here, she was failing at it. I wasn't even picky.
• Looking back at Nathaniel with a smile which looked more like a grimace, I said, “Yes, it's pretty nice. I like it.” There was no point hurting the poor man's feelings.
• “You really think so?” he asked, and I nodded stiffly.
• “Yeah, you outdid yourself. It's beautiful,” I responded, and I almost recoiled at my own lie. Nathaniel didn't know that, though. He just looked at my mother with a grin because of my approval.
• As I was looking around, I heard my mom whispering to Nathaniel, “By the way, where is Jace? It's about time we introduced them.”
• Jace must be his son.
• “He should be upstairs. I left him at home when I came to pick you guys up,” Nathaniel whispered back.
• “Will you call him? They should meet now.”
• “Alright, let me go get him,” Nathaniel said to my mother before turning to me. “Excuse me. I'll be back in a moment. Please feel at home.” He climbed up the stairs and disappeared out of sight after that.
• “So... What do you think of Nathaniel?” my mother asked as she sat on a couch, and I went to sit beside her.
• “He seems like a nice man. Why do you ask?” I asked back. If she really wanted my opinion, she would have asked me before she got married to him. It wasn't like not having a good opinion about him would change anything.
• “Oh, nothing. I just wanted to know what you thought about him,” she responded, and I nodded as I looked away from her, my attention on the pretty chandelier hanging above my head.
• After a few minutes, Nathaniel descended the stairs, and the smile that was on his face before he went was nowhere to be found. A guy was behind him as they came to the sitting room.
• “Ladies, this is my son, Jace,” Nathaniel spoke as he stepped to the side, revealing his son.
• My eyes widened as I took in the appearance of the person standing in front of me. He was tall with a lean and athletic body. He had dirty blonde hair and blue eyes, and he was putting on a white tank top and a pair of grey sweatpants. He had a deep frown on his face that made him look intimidating, and I could immediately tell he wasn't pleased to have us here. But there was no denying the look of surprise that flashed in his eyes as he saw me. I could only wonder why he looked at me like that.
• “Jace, this is Vanessa and Aria. They are your new family,” Nathaniel said, introducing us to Jace, and his expression darkened as he heard his father mention family.
• “They are not my family. We are not related,” Jace snapped at his father, and Nathaniel glared at him in annoyance.
• “Behave yourself. They are your mother and sister, and you will treat them like it!” Nathaniel snapped back, and they glared at each other. “Now be a good brother and show your sister to her room.”
• Jace opened his mouth and was about to say something to his father, but he kicked against it. He turned to me with the frown still on his face as he said, “Come with me.”
• He didn't wait for my response before he started walking up the stairs. I carried the boxes which contained my clothes and I followed behind him, struggling with my things as I went up the stairs. For fuck’s sake, the least he could have done was help me with my things.
• He stopped in front of a door after a few seconds, and I almost crashed into him because of how distracted I was. That earned me a glare from him. Great.
• He walked into the room, and I followed behind him. It was a nice bedroom. The walls were a light pink, a queen-size bed with a nightstand on the right. There was a vanity, and a set of table and a chair for studying. I nodded in approval. It wasn't anything special, but it was way better than my old room.
• “As you can see, this is your bedroom,” Jace spoke, dragging me out of my thoughts. He pointed at one of the doors in the room, and said, “That is the bathroom. Unfortunately, we will have to share it because it is between both of our rooms. The second door there leads to my bedroom. Do not make the mistake of coming in there.”
• “Also, I love having a clean space, and since we have to share the bathroom, I will appreciate it if you clean it after every use. And make sure you don't scatter your products all over the place. Keep it clean at all times,” he finished, and I glowered at him, biting my tongue to keep me from responding. I was offended by his assumption that I was a dirty person, but I couldn't give him the satisfaction of gracing him with a response.
• “Thanks for showing me around. I appreciate it,” I lied through my teeth, and he huffed. For a few seconds, his eyes seemed to take me in, but he looked away almost immediately.
• “Whatever,” he mumbled as he left the room, and I banged the door behind him.
• “Why the fuck is he so rude? I never asked to be here in the first place,” I muttered to myself as I went to my boxes to start arranging my things.
• A few hours passed, and I was finally done putting my belongings in their new place. I was about to lay down on the bed and crash when I heard a soft knock on my door.
• “Who is it?” I asked, my voice coming out groggy because of how tired I was.
• “It's me, Aria,” my mother's voice sounded from outside the room. “Dinner's ready. You should come down to eat.”
• My stomach growled at the mention of dinner, and that was when I remembered that the only food I had eaten all day was breakfast. I was starving.
• “Alright, mom. I'll be down in a sec,” I shouted in response, and I heard her walk off.
• I got to the sitting room a few minutes later, and I saw that everybody was already eating. I looked at their plates, and I saw that they were having lasagna. My plate was already on the table, and it was beside none other than Jace. I almost hissed in frustration because I would have to sit beside him for the entirety of dinner. That sounded unbearable.
• I took my seat, and I saw Jace glare at me from the corner of my eye as I started eating. I ignored it and decided to enjoy my meal.
• After several minutes, I was done eating and so was everybody else. I was about to stand up and return to my room when Nathaniel spoke, “Guys, we have something to tell you.”
• I raised a brow, wondering what he had to say, but Jace looked uninterested. “What's that?” I asked, eager to hear him.
• “Vanessa and I have decided to go on our honeymoon... Tomorrow,” Nathaniel said, and my eyes widened in surprise.
• “What? I thought you said you were not going on a honeymoon?!” Jace and I uttered simultaneously as we looked at our parents, and they smiled sheepishly.
• “We later decided to. We want to enjoy some time as a newlywed couple, and this is the best time to do it. We will be gone for a week,” my mother responded in a low voice, and I looked at her in annoyance. Aren't they a bit too old to do things like this? Didn't they have to go to work or something?
• “Where am I going to stay if you go on this honeymoon?” I asked, trying to stop myself from yelling.
• Nathaniel responded before my mom could. “You'll be staying in the house with Jace. You guys are both on your summer break so you should use that time to get to know each other and have fun. I'm sure you guys will get along well.”
• Jace and I shared a look then. Jace looked absolutely furious while I was unsure about everything. It was like he wanted to be anywhere but here.
• I stared down at my empty plate as I thought to myself, “This is going to be the worst week of my life.”