C2 Chelsea

"Are you serious, Mom? You married him without informing me of your plans?" I flop down onto my bed, close my eyes, wishing to wake up from this nightmare.

"Virgil and I have been dating for five years now. Plus, he's a decent man. Therefore I don't understand what your problem is." Is she kidding me?

"His son, Mom," I state firmly, rehashing the same conversation mom and I always seem to have.

Mom's aware of the fact Kevin and I rarely get along. Kevin has his moments where he's known to be generous. Unfortunately, he's annoying most of the time.

Kevin is like a mosquito you have to keep swatting away. Regardless of how many times you smack at it, the damn thing keeps biting until you squash it.

I don't have any issues with Virgil because my mom is right; Virgil is a reasonable man. Finally, there's something mom, and I agree about. However, his son is a different version of him. Hence, Kevin is the one I have a problem with and the one I'm unable to tolerate.

"Unfortunately, he's your stepbrother. Now, you must find an alternative to get along with him and find it quickly." Mom states as she strides out of my bedroom.

I follow behind her, "I'm not the problem. Kevin is. He's done nothing but made my life miserable since you've been dating his father." Well, almost the entire time. Kevin wasn't always annoying.

I'm unsure of what changed about Kevin as he got older. I'll admit, I liked the younger version of Kevin better than the older version.

I snatch the suitcase from my mother's hand, unable to hide my frustration. "What are you doing?" I ask hysterically.

Mom tosses the suitcase onto my bed, appearing to be irritated. "Pack your belongings, Chelsea. We're moving."

Oh no, she can't possibly force me to live somewhere I won't be happy living.

My mother runs off, gets married without giving me a warning. Next, she informs me to pack my belongings to move in with my enemy. "I'm not living with Kevin," I declare, infuriatingly.

She spins around furiously. "Then get yourself a job, young lady, and pay for your own bills. I refuse to ruin my chance at happiness just because you're a brat."

I throw the suitcase onto the floor. "You and Virgil are aware that Kevin and I don't get along." I pause, taking a much-needed breath before questioning her. "How the hell could you do this to me, Mom?"

Mom's eyes flicker with madness as she speaks. "As I've said before, Chelsea. You can get a job and maintain this house by yourself, or you could learn how to make friends with your stepbrother. Indeed, you and Kevin behave like two children when you're in the same room together instead of the eighteen-year-old teenagers that you are." Mom shakes her head, staring at me. "In fact, you and Kevin are too old to behave the way you two currently do."

Mom understands I'm unable to maintain a full-time job at the moment. Otherwise, I'll have to drop out of high school. I have two months left before graduation; therefore, working isn't an option.

Ugh, life is so unfair. "I wish Dad was still here," I whisper underneath my breath.

"Oh, please, Chelsea. Stop wishing for a man who hasn't been here for you since you were twelve-years-old. News flash, Honey. He's with Lori raising his new daughter, or did you forget?" Ouch, mom's remark stung.

I didn't forget.

How could I considering Mom has a habit of continuously reminding me that my father had replaced me.

Dad cheated on my mother, and Lori became pregnant. Evidently, My mom isn't the forgiven type. Therefore he hadn't stood a chance with her after the affair.

Mom kicked my father out of the house as soon as she saw the text messages between Lori and my father. Of course, my father apologized time and time again, yet mom wouldn't forgive him. She couldn't live with him knowing he was having a child with another woman.

Furthermore, I don't fault my mother for it. Some situations are unforgettable; knocking another woman up is a mistake that couldn't be forgiven.

My dad blamed it on the alcohol, claimed it was a one-night stand, and promised never to do it again. Still, mom wasn't having it.

Admittedly, I've always wondered about my little sister. Except, I didn't want to be the one to reach out first.

Since the day my father left, I've always questioned how my father could leave me and start over with a new family as if I never existed to him. Clearly, when he and mom divorced, dad left me too.

Following their divorce, dad would visit until mom met Virgil. Once Virgil walked into mom's life, dad walked out without an explanation and never came back.

Sometimes I blame Virgil for my father leaving because if he and mom never dated then, my father wouldn't have been a jealous jerk and left.

I don't understand how dad assumed he had a right to be jealous when he cheated on my mom and lived with his new girlfriend.

Presently, I stand in the middle of my bedroom with tears in my eyes, wanting to hurt my mother the way she had hurt me. "If you hadn't dated Virgil, daddy wouldn't have left me. Moreover, my life wouldn't be changing the way it is. You've put Virgil and his son before me, and that's not fair, Mom."

Immediately, mom removes her cell phone from her pocket, shoves it toward me, "You want your father? Call him. I'm not going to deal with your attitude just because you're not getting what you want. I've spoiled you your entire life Chelsea, and I have always put you first. Always. So, don't feed me that bullshit."

I stare at her hand in disbelief. "Well, you're not putting me first now. Obviously, If you hadn't climbed into Virgil's bed a year after you and dad had broken up, then daddy would still come around." I might have been young when she and dad divorced, though I do remember certain things.

Mom raises her hand and slaps me across my cheek. With contact, I suck in a deep breath holding my cheek.

Mom has never put her hands on me in the heat of anger, not even when I would backtalk her.

Shortly, I notice tears forming in my mother's eyes. "I'm sorry, Chelsea." She comes over, draws me into a hug. "I didn't want things to happen like this. I'm sorry for uprooting your life. You have and always will be my reason for living, but Virgil makes me happy. I love him so much, Chelsea. And, I need for you to understand that."

I wrap my arms around my mother, "I'm sorry to Mom for being a brat, but I really hate Kevin."

"I know you do, but boys will be boys. Other than that, It's a boy's job to drive a woman crazy. If he isn't, then he isn't doing his job right." Mom snickers before she releases me.

"I wish Virgil drove you crazy." I smile to pass it off as a joke even though I meant it. Perhaps, if Virgil drove mom crazy the way his son does to me, then mom wouldn't have married him.

Mom picks a hairpiece off my dresser and tosses it at me, "That's not funny young lady."

Obviously, mom must really love Virgil for her to move in with him. After my father had cheated on her, mom swore she'd never become dependent on another man again. Yet, here she is, moving into another man's house.

Previously, I've heard Virgil and Mom mention marriage, but I've never heard them make any plans. Thus, I assumed I would have more time to adjust, or I was hoping so, anyway.

In truth, Kevin and I knew each other before mom and Virgil even dated. Currently, we're enrolled in the same school together. Also, we share the same group of friends and even attend the same parties.

Even though Kevin and I had known each other for years, we've barely spoken until our parents dated. He's recently formed a habit of calling me 'sister,' and I believe he enjoys doing it because he realizes it irritates the hell out of me.

At the moment, Kevin tends to irritate me purposely. In some cases, I don't believe he plans to, but he just does.

Moreover, Kevin is spoiled like me and is accustomed to getting everything handed to him on a silver platter.

All the girls at school lust over him. Moreover, he enjoys the attention. There is always a girl hanging off his arm or trying to climb up his body when we're at parties. Yet, when a dude comes near me, he plays the brother role and follows me around like a lost puppy.

I guess I'll have to adapt to him since mom has done ran off and married his father. After all, what choice do I have? I love my mother, so for her, I'll try.

I can't promise everything will be sunset and roses, but I'll try for my mother's sake.

Without a doubt, I'll have to adjust to sharing her since that's not something I'm used to doing. Considering it's been my mother and me for six years, I've always had her full attention.

Now, she'll have to divide her attention between the three of us, and that's not something I'm fond of.

Perhaps, I am a spoiled brat, but I don't fancy sharing. I guess it comes with being the only child.

Although I might not be my father's only child, I am my mothers. All my life, I have been the apple of her eye. So, for this reason, I refuse to allow Kevin or her marriage to come between my mother and me.

Even if I have to keep my distance from my stepbrother to prevent future arguments to limit arguing with my mother, I will.

Formerly, I have seen Virgil's house, and it's enormous. His house resembles a mansion compared to ours. Hopefully, my bedroom will be on a separate floor than Kevin's; then, I'll be capable of avoiding him at all cost.

In the meantime, I could spend more time with my best friend Jason to avoid being home as much as possible.

I'll definitely be marking the days off on the calendar, counting down the days until I graduate.

Once I graduate, nothing or nobody will stop me from moving out.

When you plant two spoiled teenagers in the same flowerpot who are accustomed to receiving everything they want whenever they want it and never had to share anything a day in their life unless they wanted to, it is a recipe for disaster.

And, our parents are going to be caught in the middle of the storm.