Betty felt empty. She had to say goodbye to her mom and live in a house full of strangers.
She didn't feel comfortable here but her so-called grandmother didn't care about the fact.
Her phone went off and she slowly rolled over in her bed to grab it from the bedside table.
Chloe
She picked up without hesitation. Chloe was her best friend. They've been friends since they were kids. They knew everything about each other, even the darkest secrets.
"Betty, how are you? I just talked to your mom and I can't believe -"
"You talked to my mom?" Betty cut her off, feeling guilty that her mom had to be alone now.
"Yes. She's okay, don't worry about her alright? She's got me, I'll take care of her, Elara and I are baking her a cake just as we speak."
Betty smiled, listening to her words. She knew she could always count on them. "Thank you."
"Now tell me about you. Your mom wants to know more too, like how long are you going to be there? Are you being treated right? Who do you live with? Did you eat?"
"Are you done?" Betty couldn't help but crack a smile at her best friend's behavior.
"Wait, Elara wants to ask something-" there was a pause as Chloe waited for her older sister to speak. "No, Elara, she doesn't have a boyfriend. What kind of question is that?"
Betty chuckled, hearing them bicker like always. Chloe and Elara loved each other more than any other siblings Betty has ever seen but they would argue all the time.
"She's laughing, isn't she? I was successful. Tell her, Betty. I should be your best friend."
Betty chuckled again, shaking her head. After a brief moment, Chloe came back to talk to Betty. She explained everything that she knew at the time.
"Well, I'll call tomorrow too and if you don't pick up, I'm calling the cops."
"They're not going to kill me, Chloe."
"How can you be so sure? Maybe one of the brothers will kill you so he doesn't have to share his company with you, you said the oldest just walked away without a glance. He's bad news Betty, stay away from him."
"You're overthinking this, Chloe. That kind of thing only happens in books, okay?" Betty tried to reason but inside she did feel doubtful.
"Just be careful. If you die, who will come with me to bike or read books and who can I rent to?"
Betty snorted, "Of course, that's what's your worried about, not that a human life is at risk."
Chloe could hear the tone of Betty's voice and she knew her best friend was just messing with her. They talked like this for hours before the cake was ready and Chloe hung up so she and her sister could deliver it to Blaire.
Betty sighed and decided to get some sleep but it proved to be really hard, knowing she lived with three guys now.
The only man Betty was completely comfortable around was Elara's boyfriend, Dean.
He was respectful, polite, kind and sweet. One time when Elara took a bus to get to school, an old man made her uncomfortable, after hearing this, Dean went out of his way ever single day so he and Elara could take the bus together from her house.
Every single day, till Elara graduated, for two years. He lived on the other side of the town but that didn't stop him. Ever since that he had Betty's utter respect.
She wished to find someone who'd be willing to do anything for her.
Maybe one day she will.
______________________
"Here's the dining room, Ma'am." One of the maids guided Betty downstairs so she could eat breakfast. This mansion was bigger than it looked. It had a huge staircase and Betty lost her way trying to find a dining room or a kitchen.
"Thanks." She said in a low voice and looked around the room. It was empty but the table was already set. So she took a seat and started eating. She didn't want to be here, she was forced to stay but she wouldn't starve just because no one had woken up yet.
She had whole 10 minutes to herself, eating in peace when she finally heard footsteps coming her way.
"Sister! You're up early." Kai gave her a big grin before sitting next to her and facing her. "Did you sleep alright?"
Betty was confused as to why this boy was already calling her a sister and why was he being so casual about this whole thing.
"I would have slept better in my own bed." She didn't even glance at him, she was too busy trying to taste every single dish. She has never seen so much food in one place before.
"Well, grandma decided to keep you here and I kind of like you. I was about to hang out with my friends, you wanna come?"
"She can't. She's coming with me." Betty's head turned to see the oldest of her half brothers standing near the entrance. He looked just as grumpy as the day before.
She was curious what Alicia did to the man that he was ready to spend time with her. Yesterday Ronan didn't even listen to her own grandmother.
But maybe she didn't have the full picture yet.
"Get ready, we're leaving in ten." Ronan turned around without another word and walked out of the house, wanting to see Alicia before leaving. He knew his grandmother always took a walk after waking up. It was her way of staying healthy.
"Ronan, dear." Alicia smiled, seeing her oldest grandchild. She knew he would come around.
"Only today." Ronan stated, crossing his arms in front of his chest. "After that you're taking her and teaching her. She's not my responsibility and never will be."
"Ronan, sweetheart, it's not her fault. She hasn't done anything to you. We've talked about this." Alicia tried to touch his shoulder but Ronan backed away.
"Yes, we've talked about this and you knew how I felt about all of this but you still brought her here." Ronan tried to control his tone. He didn't want Alicia to see just how much this affected him.
She shouldn't be here. He could already see that his grandmother favored the girl more than her grandsons.
"Ronan. She didn't do anything wrong, Betty has a right to live here and have a relationship with you."
"No. She lost that right when her mother took her away, after using me to imprison our father."
"Ronan, your father wasn't a good man-"
"I don't care about him!" Ronan raised his voice, tired of not being heard of. He didn't understand why Alicia was acting like this when she knew what was really bothering him.
"You know what happened after dad went to jail. It was all Blaire's fault." Ronan made a disgusted face at the mention of her name.
Alicia opened her mouth, wanting to say something when Ronan pushed past her, hurrying to get away before he said something he'd regret in the future.
Exactly two minutes later, the door of his car opened.
Betty got in, buckled her seat belt as Ronan started driving, trying to ignore the presence beside him.
"Where are we going?"
"Alicia didn't tell you?" Betty's heart beat accelerated at the tone of his voice. She shook her head, turning to look out of the window. She didn't like being around an angry man.
"Too bad. You'll see when we get there."