Chapter 1 1- Meeting The Two Best Friends

Scarlett Monroe 

The flowers on my mother's grave wilted the day we moved out of the city to move into my stepmother's house. It wasn't until we really moved out of my birth town that I truly felt lonely. The ruin of my life started the day my mother died, and it has continued since then. 

My entire life turned upside down the moment six words left my father's mouth. 

I want you to meet someone. 

And that was exactly how I met Asher Callahan. My stepbrother. 

"I said I don't want her here, Mom!" These were the words that welcomed us when I first stepped inside their house. Cold, hostile, and unwelcoming. 

I would be lying if I said those words didn't hurt me. It wasn't like I was expecting any sort of welcoming hug or a welcoming party from them, but the venom in his voice and coldness in his tone surprised me. 

The creaking sound of the door got their attention when Dad walked inside with our bags and other belongings, making the woman in front of me freeze. A look of guilt and sympathy crossed her eyes before she masked it under a welcoming smile. 

And without delaying a second, she walked forward and embraced me, patting my back. But my arms neither hugged her back nor pushed her away. I stood rigid, taken aback, and awkward. But it wasn't my stepmother that had my attention. 

It was him. Asher Callahan. He was looking straight in my eyes. Dressed in a brown sweatshirt and a pair of jeans, he stood, at least, a foot and a half taller than me. His dark and damp hair fell recklessly over his forehead. But it was neither his height nor his physique that intimidated me. It was his eyes— those gray orbs. They were so dauntingly cold and impassive that it somehow got imprinted inside me. 

"Scarlett, it has been a long time since we met. I am so happy that we will finally live together as a family now. Are you hungry? I am almost done with the dinner." Alyssa, my stepmother, announced excitedly, almost clapping her hands to prove her point. 

Asher snorted in response, making me grit my jaw. 

"I am not hungry, Alyssa. We stopped on our way to grab something. I am tired. I'll just rest for a few hours, if you don't mind." I said, shifting my gaze from Asher to her as I pulled away from her, not liking the physical touch too much. She shook her head in response. 

"Of course not, sweetheart. I have cleaned the second room on the top floor for you. If you need anything, Asher's room is just beside you." Alyssa said, making me almost choke on my spit. 

The hell? 

And for once, the feeling of annoyance was mutual between us because I saw him opening his mouth to speak something but decided otherwise. Grabbing his hockey bag, he walked past us, almost knocking Dad on his way out. 

"Please don't mind him, Mason. He's not a bad kid. He's just... an introvert." Alyssa said, looking at Dad apologetically. 

If he is the definition of an introvert for her, I'd hate to meet an extrovert from his family. I thought, almost snorting to myself. 

"I understand. He's also just a kid, after all." Dad said, placing his hand over her shoulders. 

It was only when they leaned closer to kiss each other that I turned around. After seeing my father loving my mother, kissing her all the time, it was hard for me to see him with someone else. Even when I was happy for him finding love again, a piece of me still longed for my mother. And the very piece longed to see my father with my mother.

I quickly ascended the staircase and opened the second door upstairs. 

The room was simple. The walls were painted in cream color, bare and plain with no photographs, no decorations, nothing. A single bed rested against the wall under the window. Beside it stood a medium-sized table with nothing but an alarm clock over it. 

I opened my bag and pulled out the warmest pair of pajamas I owned, along with a long-sleeved t-shirt. After taking a long, warm bath, I couldn't hold back the urge to just slip into the bed and get swallowed by the sheets, away from the reality of my miserable life. So I did exactly that. Turning the lights off, I got into bed and just tried to sleep away the anxiety of starting a new life with new people who didn't want us in their lives. 

I don't know how long I slept that evening, but I woke up to loud noises and bickering. Before I could've gotten up from the bed to see what the commotion was about, the door of my new room was barged open, making my eyes widen in panic and alarm. 

Suddenly, the noises stopped. And there stood two people on my door. While one looked bored and annoyed, the other one looked at me in astonishment. 

"Since when do you bring girls home, Asher?" The stranger said, making me blink my eyes. The moment the realization hit me, my face turned red; partially from the assumption of the boy that I was one of his side-chicks, and partially from the annoyance with their lack of manners. 

Clearly, the ego wasn't just restricted to Asher Callahan in this household. 

"I'd appreciate it if you refrained from introducing me before I introduce myself." I answered for Asher, offended that someone would assume me as his fling. Shifting my brown eyes from Asher to the stranger beside him, I stared down at him. 

The unnamed and unknown stranger looked taken aback by my answer because he immediately raised his arms in surrender, offering me an apologetic smile. 

"Apologies, Miss. If you allow me, who are you?" The stranger asked me, and I looked at Asher before looking at the other boy. 

"His stepsister."

"Nobody." 

Asher spoke at the same time as I did, making the stranger beside him smile curiously.

"Hell no! You never told me you have a stepsister, Asher. Oh, and by the way, I'm Ethan— Ethan Kingsley, your brother's closest friend." He said, and I raised my eyebrows at him. 

"Next time knock before you enter this room. It's no more empty."