Shennan was walking around her room slowly. She knew that something was up. She knew it when her father called her last night from the airport saying that he had good news. She doubted that.
Just then her little brother Mykah came running into her room.
Smiling at him, she bent down and picked him up. "Did you talk to anyone today?" She asked as he played with her dyed jet-black hair.
Biting his lip, Mykah shook his head 'no.'
Shennan sighed softly and sat him down. Patting the spot next to her, she waited for him to sit. Once he was seated she made him look her straight in the eye. "Myk, you have to start talking again. I know you miss mum, but she's gone now. It's been almost two years." She said softly.
Mykah looked away as a tear slid down his little cheek, and Shennan's heart went out to him. She had lost her mother too. Only she didn't know her mother. Her parents divorced while she was very young, and her father took her away from her mother and brought her to London, England.
Shennan let her gaze go out her window. She sighed again and hugged Mykah to her. That had happened almost fifteen years ago.
Mykah hugged her back. "I'll only talk to you." He said as he continued to hug her. Then he pulled away and kissed her cheek.
She kissed his in return, then looked him over.
He was an adorable little boy. His hair was a light blonde and always soft; and he had the most mesmerizing green eyes that could turn hypnotic if one was not careful enough, and though distant now and reserved, they were still over powering.
Shennan knew she looked nothing like her stepbrother, but she wished she had his eyes sometimes. Instead she was stuck with her dark violet eyes. They didn't bother her that much, but she was constantly asked if they were contacts, and she hated that the most. She was nearly sixteen, ten years Mykah's senior.
They heard the front door slam shut and Mykah jumped off the bed. He stuck his arms up for Shennan to carry him. Carefully and quickly she picked up Mykah's tiny little body and carried him into the den where their father awaited their presence.
She sat Mykah down on her lap when she sat down. "Yes, Father." She said looking at him.
Trying hard to see if she could read his expression, but she couldn't. He kept his face reserved, and he knew that she'd read him like a book if he didn't.
"Shenn, I uh," Mr. Launders stalled. "I met your mother while I was on my trip to the States." He stated.
Shennan was silent. Waiting for him to finish before she decided to blow up. "Go on." She encouraged tightly.
"I want us to visit her. Since it is summer. You don't have anything planned and your home schooling is nearly finished." He said rubbing his chin.
Her blood boiled instantly, "No!" She shouted. "I won't go!"
She set Mykah on the ground so that he could go to his room. But he sat on the floor near her feet. "Bloody hell! I don't know her, and I don't want to know her!" She shouted.
"Stefani! Jason! Come in here!" Ms. Hurst shouted.
Stefani ran inside from the backyard and Jason slowly walked down the stairs. They sat on the couch in the living room. "Yeah, Mom?" She asked, breathless from her run.
"Honey, I met your father when I went on my trip." She started uneasily.
Stefani smiled brightly, "Really? Am I going to meet him? Does he have any kids? Any around my age? Any girls?" She asked in one breath. Excited by the fact that she might have a chance meeting her real father and maybe a few siblings.
She cast a sideways glance at Jason and instantly regretted being so happy. Jason's father had married her mother but they had gotten a divorce a year later. Jason had refused to go and live with another stepmother. After all Stefani's mom was his sixth.
But she couldn't help herself though. She always made up stories in her mind about what her father was like and the sisters and brothers that she might have and not know about.
"He does have two kids." Ms. Hurst said smiling at Stefani in relief.
"He has a daughter that's your age, and a little boy I think he said was almost five now. Maybe six." She replied.
Stefani laughed. "Sorry, Jason, no one at the age of eighteen. Looks like you're stuck with Isaac as a friend."
He shrugged his shoulders carelessly. "Well, the girl your age may be a complete brat." He warned.
Quickly, she looked at her mother horrified at the thought and paranoid that that may be true.
She laughed, "From what your father says, she's very intelligent and serious but has a humorous side to her." She reassured.
Sighing, Stefani laughed as well. "So when do we get to meet them?" She asked.
Shennan mumbled all through the flight from London to the States. Not only did she hate flying and having to switch planes three times; but she also hated the fact that she was going to meet new people.
"What kind of a name is Tulsa anyway?" She complained to her father as she carried Mykah and he carried their entire luggage collection on a luggage cart.
Her father sighed. "Shennan, please." He said in a tight voice. "Just behave and try not get into any fist fights." His voice pleaded wearily. Tired of her consistent whining and complaining.
"Fine." She mumbled. "Where are we going now?" She asked.
"Well, we have to find your mother first." He replied searching through the crowd.
"I hope you don't expect me to call her mother because I will not." Shennan said firmly.
Her father just nodded his head, and then he stopped walking. "There she is." He said pointing to a tall blonde lady. Near her were a teenage girl with the same blonde hair, and an older boy with dark blonder hair.
Shennan swallowed and started walking toward them. As she got closer she noticed that the blonde girl kept staring at her. So she stared back. There was something about her that made her uneasy.
When she got close enough the older boy pointed out the obvious.
She didn't want to hear it, but she did. "You two look like twins." He said in awe.
They each turned to their parents, at the same time they replied.
"Mom?" Stefani asked smiling.
"Father?" Shennan asked coldly.
"Umm, I guess we should have told them." Mr. Launders said smiling at his two daughters.
Ms. Hurst nodded her head in silence. She wasn't sure if this was a good idea anymore.
It was obvious who took after which parent. Shennan took after her mother. They both had the same dark violet eyes and the same character. Each careful and somewhat reserved to other people who tried to make them open up to them.
Stefani took after her father. They each seemed happy all the time. Always smiling and trying to get other people to smile with them. They each had bright baby blue eyes that could make your eyes hurt if you stared at them too long.
Stefani and Mr. Launders always looked for the best and let fate and luck decide where they were going in life. While Shennan and Ms. Hurst decided what their fate and luck would be in life.
When they went to bed, Stefani and Shennan stared at each other in silence for a moment. Shennan compared her black hair to Stefani's golden blonde. We're as different as the night and day. She thought to herself as she lay down in the rollaway bed.
Stefani turned the lights out. "Do you think that we could spend tomorrow together?" She asked softly.
Shennan took a deep breath. "If you like." She said politely.
Her accent was thick and it sounded weird to her when she heard Ms. Hurst, Jason, and Stefani talk in their own accents. When she first met them, if she wasn't so angry, she would have laughed at them.
"I'm glad that you are here, Shennan." She said before she rolled over and went to sleep.
"Yeah, me too." She said to herself. She counted the minutes before she knew Mykah would come in asking if he could sleep in her bed. As he had done for the past two years.
Sure enough Mykah came in. Not saying anything he climbed into the small bed with her. He gave her a small peck on the cheek and whispered, 'Goodnight.' Before he fell asleep.
Shennan smiled to herself as she pushed his blond hair out of his face. At least she knew that Mykah would be with her. He wouldn't do anything without her. He would wait until she got home to do his homework, to do his chores, to get ready for bed, to do mostly everything.
And it never bothered her. She loved having Mykah as her brother. Stepbrother. She reminded herself before she fell asleep.
