Mom was acting weird today.

The scent of blueberry muffins permeated the large white pristine kitchen decorated with stainless steel appliances that didn't show even a single smudge or fingerprint, thanks to the housekeeper employed weekly by my parents.

Mom never baked.

I would've written it off as store-bought, but the proof was on the steaming cooking sheet left out on top of the barely ever used oven.

She flitted back and forth between the living room and laundry room with baskets and baskets of laundry piled up.

"Umm...what's up?"

"Oh, good, you're home. Can you get your brother to come down soon? I have a surprise for the two of you, and I need to make sure that he'll be on board."

"Uhh...sure. Let's see if he'll actually listen to me."

Trudging up the stairs to Grey's room had me questioning...lots of things. Mainly the fact that Grey hardly listened to anything I had to say, least of all requests made by our mouther.

"Hey, you in there?"

My fist pounded on his door twice. Three times. Four. Nothing.

Would he absolutely kill me if I went in his room without asking? It wasn't like he could yell for me to come in.

I slowly nudged the door open a crack, then a few inches.

The scent of weed and cologne sprayed over it thickly hit my nose and my eyes watered at the strong combination.

"Dude. You really think that's going to work? Just hop in the shower or throw on some different clothes and wash your hair over the sink real quick. Mom wants you downstairs now. A surprise or something."

I got a guttural grunt from the corner of the room where his bed was hidden underneath piles of fantasy novels (my brother was a closeted romance freak, but he liked people to think he was a Tolkien fan, which was just as worse in my opinion) and grew momentarily surprised.

A grunt was the equivalent of a "be right there", and he gave those out about as often as hundred dollar bills.

So, not frequently.

The scent of fresh baked cookies tore me away from the hallway and running straight back into the kitchen where I found our mom hunched over a piping hot tray of cookies that looked burned around the edges.

"Mom. What are you doing? Maria Hartingrove does not bake. Ever."

"I know, I know. I just want to make a good first impression, that we're a good, normal and stable family."

"And why would you need to do that? Did someone call child services on you? Are they coming to check on Grey? Because if they're coming you might want to deep clean his room before..."

"Why?"

There was a suspicious gleam in my mother's eye that I definitely did not like. I also didn't want to rat out Grey, but if child services really were called...

"No reason."

"Mhm. Well, it's a surprise, but no, child services were not called. I work closely with them and would know about it, but my home is very safe and clean and stable. Which is why we're going to be having a guest staying with us for a bit of time. How much time depends on a few things."

Grey chose that moment to slide onto the barstool at the end of the counter, and at the word 'guest' immediately perked up and paid rapt attention to the words coming out of our mom's mouth.

"A guest? Like...a foster kid, coming to live with us? Haven't we tried this before? That little boy a few years ago that took all our kitchen knives and hid them under his pillows in case someone tried to get him in the night?"

I shivered at what a nightmare that had been.

"Yes, a foster is coming to live with us, but she is nothing like that little boy. He actually found a loving home after staying with us, and she hasn't had any luck on that front, so we thought we could give it a shot, to see if we might be her--"

"I swear to god if you say 'forever home' I'm gonna puke."

"...forever home. Look, I know it's not ideal to introduce another person to our dynamic right now, but she needs this. She needs us. I need you to all be on board in helping acclimate her to our house. Understood?"

"She? Well, how old is she?"

Visions of a half naked woman in my shower was a definite plus in having a new house mate.

"She's a year younger than Grey, seventeen. Don't get any ideas, this girl's been through the wringer. I expect you to all be on your best behavior. I want her to feel comfortable around here, like this is her house too. I want to be that stable, loving home for her, and I don't want you two to mess it up by being inappropriate with her. And if you do happen to make her feel uncomfortable in any way, if she comes to me with any issues?"

I waited in the uncomfortable silence for her to finish, to tell us what our punishments would be.

"No phones, no television, no car or motorcycle privileges. Our housekeeper won't be cleaning your rooms, doing your laundry, nor doing your dishes. I won't be making your lunches. It will be school and home and staying in on the weekends. And I will be home to enforce these punishments, because I will be home for the next two months to make sure her transition is seamless. Do we all understand each other?"

"So, if we do anything to make her uncomfortable, or hurt her feelings, or make her feel unwelcome, we're basically in jail? Yep. Pretty much covers it."

Grey's eyebrows rose in silent question. I could translate it immediately.

"What does Dad think about this?"

Mom put a hand on her hip at my question.

"Your dad agrees wholeheartedly with me. This is a young girl in need of help and a loving home, and we have all the resources available to us to give that to her."

"No. There's something else here. There's gotta be a reason you're bringing her in like this, especially with our fucked up situation," I said.

"There is something else, but that's on her to decide when and if she wants to tell you. Now, she should be here soon back from the library. I told her to be back by five for dinner. Go get ready, I want you to meet her as soon as she walks through the door."

"Aye aye captain."

Grey started dancing, very badly, to some song that he was signing to so I whacked him on the back of his head and turned around to head back up the stairs after seeing the silent shake of his laughter moving his shoulders up and down.

I turned back around at the last second and rummaged through the cupboards to grab him a bag of hot Cheetos and a Honey Bun.

I assumed he was thanking me profusely in sign language but I couldn't make out the words. 

Shame washed over me, but I let it become doused in amusement as he kept signing words to me that I assumed were as follows:

"Best brother ever," "So hungry," and "How did you know?"

The red lining his eyes and the scent of weed was more than enough to know, not to mention his easygoing attitude that usually only followed a few good hits of his bong upstairs.

It was better than his angry alcohol phase, and his nearly catatonic Xanax phase. I'd prefer him to not do drugs on medication at all, but with Grey, you take what you can get.

We're all a little fucked up inside.

My eyes stung with tears as dust from the books floated into them after slamming them shut.

I couldn't believe she'd given me a car.

A. Car.

An actual vehicle with four wheels that ran on gasoline and took you from point A to point B.

The school day had been nerve wracking waiting for Colton or any of his friends from his posse to corner me and taunt me about what had happened...but it never did. No one said a thing.

I was still reeling from meeting Grey, reliving the experience over and over in my head that I hadn't noticed the text messages until school let out.

The dean of the school himself had met me outside my last class and hand delivered the keys to me with a little note.

Figured you might need this. Meet back at home for dinner at 5 to meet the boys! -Maria

The shock coalesced with giddiness mixed with utter amazement.

Walking out to discover a silver Mercedes Benz convertible, however...

That was pure and clear disbelief written on my face.

Something slick and oily wrestled its way into my veins as I questioned why in the hell this woman was doing this for me, what she might've wanted from me...

She knew that I could take care of myself the moment I came into my inheritance that had been frozen by the state, so was she only buttering me up until the time came?

What was her ulterior motive?

She'd seemed so genuine and sweet, but now...

Now, I didn't know anything anymore.

I tossed my book bag into the back and cranked the car on.

The controls were high tech and hard to figure out. My phone connected to the monitor without me even hooking it up.

The steering wheel decal glimmered in the afternoon light, and the dashboard glowed as if lit from within, the whole thing feeling like one big joke on me.

Like any minute, the camera crew would pop out and laugh at me for ever thinking anyone could ever be this kind without something in it for them.

So, I drove the car to the library and studied until my brain hurt. I studied until I forgot.

I even forgot Mo, the plans that we'd made to meet up at her house to study. A quick text remedied that.

Me: Can't come over, foster parent drama. Tell you later.

Mo: Oh no! Keep me updated! Let me know if there's anything you need.

Sometimes it felt like I didn't deserve a friend as good as Mo.

The drive back to Maria's home was stilted, and it felt like I was driving on the water, each bump or pothole I hit feeling like it would jostle me and send me flying overboard into the churning seas of the life I shouldn't have been living.

I should've been in a life where I didn't have to question someone's kindness and put their motives into light.

Should've been living in a home where I felt loved and safe, not one where my parents cheated and murdered and went to prison.

But this was real life, not some fantasy I'd concocted in my head while staring at the ceiling of a foster home I hated.

This was real life, even as I pulled up to an astute two story home, glistening white in the afternoon sun. A home that resembled my old one, the one where I was supposed to be loved and cared for.

I pulled into the large circular driveway and parked beside a sparkling black motorcycle I'd seen at the school a few times.

Great. So I went to school with these people, too?

Maria was there, then, arms swathed in a basket filled to the brim with baked goods.

Was this real? This happiness to see me, this eagerness to make me feel welcome? Or was it a ploy to somehow get control of my inheritance?

Considering her job, I wouldn't be surprised if she could afford a lawyer who could petition the courts for her to become my Power of Attorney and get access to my money that was supposed to be mine when I turned eighteen.

Slinging my heavy backpack over my shoulder, I steeled myself to approach the front wraparound porch that reminded me of warm summer days and family barbecues.

"You made it just in time! The boys are setting places for dinner. I baked these for you."

I reached out to grab a cookie that was hard as a hockey puck and blackened on the bottom.

"Thanks."

Walking into the lavish home with my teeth trying to break the barrier on the cookie, the crumbles dropped out of my mouth and onto the floor when I noticed the two boys standing in the dining room, staring at me like they'd seen a ghost instead of an actual human being.

"You wouldn't happen to have two intruders setting the table right now, would you?"

Maria laughed. It was a sweet, twinkling laugh that fell on my ears like warm spring rain.

"Of course not. Camille, meet Parker and Grey, your new family for however long you want. We want you to feel as welcome as possible, but we will understand if in time you don't feel this is a great fit. We only ask that you give us a chance."

I nodded my head, because, yeah--what else could I say to that?

"Boys, come on. Introduce yourselves."

"Oh, that's okay. We've met once or twice at school."

Well, that was an understatement.

I locked eyes with Grey and the laughter in them was enough to make him sign something to me discreetly enough when Parker and Maria turned toward the kitchen island at the exact same time.

Needless to say the awkward tension in the room was...palpable.

Grey signed one sentence to me that about summed up everything that I was feeling.

"Well, this should be fun."

***

Author's Note:

With 'Rebound' officially completed, I will now have much more time to devote to this book, so stay tuned for more updates!

I hope you're all excited for what I've got planned!

Until next time my lovely readers,
Kristen :)