- Sunday -

     THE SILENCE THAT LOOMED about Elias' coveted gold Lincoln was more stifling than his new cologne.

The first thing I knew about Angel Blaine, you may ask? She was a whore for the holiday scents. He smelled like a damn Christmas tree.

"Perk up, Hayden." Elias' words sucked me up and out of my daze. "We're nearly home."

I scoffed quite verbally at the term. Never once could I have imagined Elias Pennington leaving the hustle and bustle that was New York City. After raising his fractured family in the likes of a penthouse overlooking his law firm off Times Square, I'd have assumed he didn't have the guts to leave the place. But, as luck would have it, my so called father had traded down for a more rustic feel. The road we'd been driving down looked as though it hadn't been paved in upwards of fifty years.

If that was even possible.

"I realize you've taken a more shy approach when it comes to your family," he continued, "but I'm going to need you to stop. I don't want you to be outspoken by any means, but do be polite when meeting your step-mother."

"Future, step mother," I correctly.

I watched his eyes roll to the back of his head through the rearview mirror. "Whatever technicalities there may still be before the wedding, I would like you to treat her better than you've ever treated your family. She's been nothing but kind to myself, and your brother-"

"Jay's home too?" I couldn't help but to interrupt. I vaguely remembered the mention of James Pennington gracing us with his prescience when Elias had insisted I join the family for the summer, but never in my wildest dreams would I have thought Jay would have agreed to this. He hated me as much as I hated him at the moment, and if either one of us could figure a way out of this three-month-long hell-scape Elias had concocted, it would be Jay.

It seemed I didn't have much say in the matter since the incident, otherwise I'd be busting through the door right this second.

"Your brother won't be home as much as you're thinking," Elias reassured. For a second I could have sworn a look of sympathy crossed over his eyes. "He'll be staying for a month, but he will be training for the draft most of the time. Afterwards he'll be whisked off by God knows who to another part of the country."

"And if he doesn't get drafted?" I chanced the sentence, despite the fact that both Elias and I knew there was no way an NFL team would ever pass on James Pennington. He was the best football player I'd ever seen, and that was saying something. My older brother had practically been born with a football in his hands, and he would most likely die with one in them.

Jay would be gone before I knew it. At least I had Elias to thank for that.

"Here," a single sigh escaped his mouth, "so you can get aquatinted with our house guests. I know how you and Jay are with strangers."

I took the phone from his hands, knowing the passcode by heart before a photo of my father, and yet another blonde, popped up on my screen.

Her crystal blue eyes were the first thing I saw, either one being surrounded by laugh lines. Her bright and welcoming smile was the only thing about her that matched those blue orbs, her lips painted in that of a light pink in contrast. She wore a simple black pantsuit, her arms wrapped around my father's waist in the most loving of ways. The dirty blonde color of her hair trailed halfway down her back, and was pushed off her shoulders just enough for me to catch the glimmer of what looked to be a brand new pair of diamond earrings.

If only her left hand had been exposed in this particular shot. I'd be able to see how gaudy that ring my father got her was.

Shot by shot, each were the same. I continued to swipe right through a few more, each looking about the same as the last. The two both working in the law profession left little change in attire, or scenery, enough to catch my interest. But what did stop me was the last photo in his camera roll, the picture illustrating that of two girls, who looked to be my age, laying out on the hood of a car in the sun.

The brunette looked to be the one holding the camera, making a duck face with her maroon lips to boot. Her hair had been pulled into a high ponytail and allowed for the vast amount of sunlight to reflect a bit of red highlights that you wouldn't otherwise notice. Her top barely covered her ample cleavage, but shockingly enough, it wasn't the girl with the brown eyes and smokey makeup that caught my attention.

The bashful blonde with the half smile sitting behind her made me feel as though she was staring into my soul.

Those tan cheeks were coated in a bright pink blush, and I could feel her embarrassment at the selfie through the picture. She tilted her head to the right in question, her own dirty blonde ponytail swinging to the side along with her. A small smile tugged at the ends of her pink lips, and I could tell she'd opted not to wear makeup on this particular photo. After all, I'd dated my fare share of girls who called themselves beauty bloggers. Her lack of makeup only highlighted the freckles that dusted over the tops of her cheeks, and I found my eyes gliding over ever single one.

She was gorgeous, enough to take my breath away, and I'd only seen the one candid shot.

"That's Angel's daughter, and her best friend," Elias spoke absentmindedly. The car had slowed quite considerably, and it wasn't until this particular moment that I realized we were pulling into the driveway of a palatial estate that could only belong to Elias Pennington. "They're both from Virginia, actually."

"What's her name?"

The Lincoln stopped in the driveway, giving Elias ample time to lean over and take a look at the photo himself. There was a sense of pride to his movements when he gently pulled the phone from my waiting hands.

"Scarlett," he said. With the mention of her name, I couldn't help but to notice the shocking resemblance to her mother. "Scarlett Blaine."

# # #

The front door creaked when I stepped over the threshold, and immediately upon entering, my nose caught the scent of something utterly delicious coming from what I could only assume was the kitchen.

"We're home!" Elias called. He pulled my suitcase in and rested it under the coat hanger that had been bolted to the wall at my right. The ratty old grey suitcase could barely move, or be moved for that matter, and looked like it'd been pulled off a street corner somewhere. It stood out quite considerably next to the many designer coats and bags hanging off each hook on the wall. I was starting to get the feeling that my stuff wouldn't fit in here as well as it had in my dorm back at UPenn.

"We're in the kitchen!"

The voice was rather melodic and quickly pulled my father from his spot near the now closed front door, but not before he quietly insisted I remove my shoes. Apparently that small idiosyncrasy had stuck from his time living with my mother. I stood rooted in my own spot, watching as he turned he corner and walked into what I could only assume was a living room.

"Come now, Hayden," Elias' tone was sharp. He gave a quick wave of his hand in the direction of the kitchen, his way of trying to get me to move with his mind. I silently obliged, taking careful and barefooted steps across the deep brown oak wood floors. I felt like if I touched any of the pure white walls I'd leave a mark, so I pushed my hands into the pockets of my jeans.

"I'm so happy you made it home before dinner," Angel called. Her voice urged Elias forward once again, my father finally leaving me behind in the general pursuit of his future wife.

The floor continued to creek with every step, forcing me to halt my movements. I was a stranger in this house, not only to the people inside, but to the state of Virginia as a whole. Meeting knew people had never been my forte, and now having two new so called family members enter my life at such an alarming rate, it left me feeling sick to my stomach.

If I ate the intriguing meal that Angel made I had a feeling I might upchuck all over the real brown leather sectional I was leaning on.

"It was a hell of a drive." Elias' voice was raised just a bit higher than normal, and I knew it was because my presence was still lacking in the kitchen. I couldn't bring myself to move from the living room, staying put and gently stroking my fingers over the soft fur blanket I'm sure Angel had thrown across the back of the couch. "Hayden? Would you join us for a moment?"

For a twenty-one, nearly twenty-two year old man, I was sure a coward.

My entrance shocked Jay more than it should have, and his eyes went straight from mine to whatever he was mixing in the pot on the stove. He stood next to who could only be Angel Blaine, his sight still fixated on the wooden spoon. His hair look tousled enough to know that he'd just woken up from a nap. It wasn't much of a surprise.

Little known fact about Jay? He live-streams his private football practices on Instagram every morning at five. I had to unfollow him for the singular reason that he kept waking me up. Notifications could sure be a bitch when you didn't want them.

"Hayden," Angel smiled brightly up at me. "I've heard so much about you."

I could have mentioned the fact that I knew nothing of her existence until a few hours ago, but I opted to give her a smile instead.

"Come, sit. You must be exhausted after the drive," Angel took her place behind the stove once again. Though the island in the middle of the kitchen sported a bit of counter space, it also housed a stove that looked state of the art. "We're making chili."

Angel wiped her hands on the white chefs apron hanging loosely over her clothing. From what I could tell she had opted for comfort in honor of tonight's impromptu dinner just as Jay had. Her white washed jeans looked to have paint splattered across them and the back of her bright blue shirt read 'Grove Hills, class of 2015' in bold black lettering.

Recognizing I'd graduated the same year, I came to the assumption Scarlett Blaine attended Grove Hills high school here in the lovely state of Virginia.

"Jay," Elias started as he too took a seat on the opposite side of the island, "do you have anything to say to your brother?"

Jay took a deep breath, most likely gathering the courage to actually look me in the eye, before saying, "hey. Heard you got kicked out."

I ground my teeth together, narrowing my eyes in on him. Earlier today, I wasn't sure how I would be able to look at myself, but I had been wrong in even thinking that.

I didn't know how I was going to look at Jay after all he had done to me.

"Well you would know," I said curtly, standing from the cool metal bar stool. Jay averted his eyes again, "I'm going to take a nap. Thank you in advance for dinner, Angel, it was lovely to meet you."

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