2010

"Dell, I am bored. What do you wanna do?" asks Chastity out of the blue.

To be honest, I don't know what to do either. I am also bored, though I don't wanna show it.

"Any ideas?" she asks again. To be honest, she's beyond irritating me. Worse still, I always struggle to cope with being around her all the time. She has no friends at all, which forces me to stay with her at parties and events, whereas I could peacefully chat with Perrie, Presly and Jayliana. (Oh, I forgot to mention. They're not very fond of Chastity. They find her a little... uhm... boring.) Even though only Jayliana is a friend of mine, I still consider the other two at least good acquaintances and nice enough to be worth spending some time with.

What makes me suffer most is that she has other siblings, even though she dislikes them. I have none. Or, at least, besides her.

"Delanie! I asked you a question! What do you wanna do?" she insists, much to my (growing) disdain. I don't want to do anything with her, especially after her complaint.

"You know what, Chastity? I don't want to do anything right now, especially after you asked!" I explode. "Now, leave me alone. Go and read one of those stupid books. I want to stay on my own!" With that, I slam my room's door behind me. Still, I manage to overhear her replying, "The Pointed Prince saga is not stupid at all! Wash your mouth with soda if you have to make these comments!"

That's enough for me. I take my iPod and immediately pick the playlist with the loudest and most upbeat songs I have. The louder, the more distracting. I have no time for hearing Chastity defending her precious books.

Anyway, it seems as there's no place for me in this family. I'm living with my mother and Chastity's dad, as well as her sisters and step-siblings from her father's previous relationship. My own father? I have no clue of where he may be. Mom once told me he's been in jail for years, though, for that I have no more news of him, he may even have died sooner or later.

My attempt of getting a little bit of peace fails due to the sense of guilt. I shouldn't have talked so bluntly to Chastity. She is my only blood sister, and also the only person I reveal my secrets to when Jayliana is too busy hunting for guys.

I decide to stop listening to music and reach her room instead. As predicted, the door is closed. I knock it, without receiving any answers.

I end up knocking that door for at least ten times; however, realizing that she will definitely not reply to me, as she may be busy reading or being resented to me, I give up and go back to what I was doing. Why the fuck can't I sort anything out when it comes to my own family? Do we all deserve to suffer this way?

I walk back to my room, only to be stopped by someone tapping my shoulders. As I turn, I see Chastity's face. She's keeping her head low, probably not wanting to meet my gaze. "Sorry for lashing at you, Dell."

"Don't worry. It's all my fault," I reply back, tears pouring down my face. "I shouldn't have talked to you like that."

She pulls me toward herself, pressing my head on her chest and holding me tight in a hug. "Shh. Stop crying."

Even though we're not 100% blood sisters, we still love and support each other, no matter what it takes. We've had some rough patches in our life, but that's basically nothing that can't be fixed.

As I consider going back to my room, however, my mind brightens up with an idea. "Wait, Chastity, I think I've just come up with something we could do together."

She stares blankly at me, open-mouthed and probably shocked that I somehow paid attention to her. I know, I shouldn't be overly mean to her, especially because she hasn't got any friends, unlike me.

I smile at her, wanting to comfort her. Actually, it works, as she smiles back at me. After all, I'm glad it works, since my idea may really strike her attention. "Okay, listen. It's a game you may really love. Trust me."

She giggles as she starts being excited by my idea. It might be a little devious, but, to be honest, I don't care about that anymore. What matters is that she likes it, regardless of the risks that might occur.

"Let's play Secrets."

As I throw the bomb, she starts laughing softly. She thinks it's just a joke. Still, I don't think it is. After all, it's a game like others: it's just all about uncovering hidden truths. Like Truth or Dare, but without dares.

"Why are you laughing?" I frown at her, after which she turns back serious.

"Oh, nothing, nothing." She dismisses her nerve-wrecking laughter with a poor excuse, as usual, but I don't mind that honestly. What matters is that she didn't lash out.

I take for granted that she reacted positively to my suggestion, so I rush back to my room, take a big black box from my wardrobe, on which there's written "Secrets" in silver, and then pick my phone. I need more players for this game, or else it won't be fun.

So, I digit a number and press the call button, waiting for an answer. The device keeps beeping for what seems to be an endless time, downright annoying me. I know I should be more patient, but, come on, we're talking about Secrets!

At last, I finally hear someone from the other line. "Hi Delanie! How are you? I guess you want to call me because you're so excited about something special!"

"Oh, hi, Jayliana." I hesitate, not knowing how to sound convincing enough without being too clingy or annoying.

She laughs under her breath. "Hehe. You're up for something, right? Come on, don't fool me." She's so freaking persuasive when she wants, so I mean I just have to tell her things exactly as they are.

"Yeah, you're right. I'm actually up for something exciting," I reply with a little bit of malice, failing to repress a nervous giggle. "A Secrets game."

Silence falls on the other line as I'm left open-mouthed by my own words.