Page 3 of Splintered Desire

It wasn’t until after Sophia left that I thought friends might be nice. Daniel, a boy a grade higher than me, had suddenly noticed my existence one day, but that wasn’t a good thing. He, his two friends, and his little sister, Jaz, had, for some reason, decided that making my days worse was the highlight of theirs.

I’d gone from almost invisible to the butt of all of their jokes and taunting. Thankfully, they were mostly easy to ignore; it wasn’t until later that things got physical.

I was an easy target; at least that’s what they told me, and for a while, they were right.

Wednesday

Pulling up to the house feels like something out of a movie or a fucking book. It looks like a whole-ass fairy-tale castle as Dad drives us down the long, winding driveway. The grass is kept, every blade green and lush, unlike our old yard, which was more than half dead; hell, the greenery was mainly weeds. We might have moved up since the shitty apartment complex we started in, but this isn’t just a few steps up the ladder… This is a whole other world. One I never imagined, let alone wanted.

“Give it a shot, Munchkin,” Dad says with a chuckle, pulling my attention from the immaculate grounds.

“I didn’t say anything, Dad,” I grumble, crossing my arms and sinking further down in my seat. I’d outgrown that nickname a long time ago, but he still calls me it every once in a while. I didn’t have the heart to tell him to stop, though.

It's no use denying it, though, so I don’t even try. Dad knows me too well, so quiet or not, he knows I’m not excited about any of this. I can’t help it if my face shows exactly how I’m feeling.

I have terrible resting bitch face. It’s a defense mechanism, one that’s done me well for the last few years.

Besides, I don't feel like I’m being unreasonable here. Most people wouldn’t want to move into a house with a stranger. The money is cool, sure, but we were doing just fine. Not to mention, moving more than an hour away meant I’d have to take my next semester of classes at another campus.

The only saving grace is that The Pit is still only an hour away on the city bus. Not that I’d tell Dad that; he would lose his mind if he found out I was there on Saturday nights and not studying in the library like he thinks I am. I study there a lot, just not on Saturdays, but he assumed that’s where I go, and who am I to tell him he’s wrong?

“You didn’t have to say anything. Your face always does it for you.”

His laugh bounces around the car, and I can’t fight the smile that pulls at my lips. I might hate almost everything about this damn move, but Dad's happiness quickly reminds me why I’d agreed.

I have a smart-ass remark ready, just like I always do, but before I can get the words out, we reach the end of the drive, and I get my first real look at our new… mansion. It’s a fucking mansion.

Every bush is shaped, and in the center of the circle drive is a horse…a fucking bush horse.

The house is white, with black accents that give it a modern look, despite its high-class appearance. Even before we reach the house, I see sparkling chandeliers through more than one window.

What kind of house needs a chandelier? Let alone multiple?

As if the house wasn’t already a monstrosity, there are three garage doors on the far left side of the house.

We’ve never had a garage, and they have one big enough that it needs three doors.

“Beautiful, isn’t it?” Dad asks as he pulls up in the circular drive to the front door, and I can’t do anything but nod. “Beautiful” doesn’t even begin to cover it, but what the fuck, man? I’m going to get lost in there. It might be bigger than the college I’d been taking classes at, and it took me almost a whole semester to figure that place out.

“Fuck, Dad, I’m never going to be able to find my way out if I go in there.” He purses his lips at my cursing but doesn’t comment on it. I know Dad hates it when I swear, and I try not to around him, but my brain isn’t really functioning fully right now.

“You’ll be fine,” he says, throwing the car in park. “Worst-case scenario, I’ll draw you a map.” With a wink, he pushes open his door and gets out. I have no choice but to follow him or sit alone in the car all night, though the thought is tempting.

If he leaves me behind now, I’ll be screwed.

“Har, har, super funny. You should have been a comedian instead of a vet,” I shoot back as he rounds the car and heads toward the front door.

“What about our stuff?”

“Don’t worry, Arthur will get everything for us,” he tells me as I jog to catch up with him.

Who the fuck is Arthur?

“Arthur is the butler.” Dad glances back at me, and I can only imagine what my face must look like. “Don’t make it a bigger deal than it is.” He waves it off before continuing inside.

I feel my eyes go wide, but I’m not sure what he expected.

She has a fucking butler! Who is this lady, a queen?