A Single Bolt

                                               
                                          Chapter One
June 27th

The orange sky continued to get darker and darker as the grapefruit-colored sun began to slowly wane behind pale, white clouds. Aside from the intermittent chirping or birds, it was wonderfully silent. Just the way Alex Lionetti liked it. He had just graduated from Ocean Lakes High School the previous day, but instead of partying or getting gifts, he was sitting in the passenger seat of an old car, next to the driver and in front of his sister.

  He forced the memories of his home in Virginia into the back of his mind, wanting them to slip away, to never come back.

  He wanted to forget everything that had happened there, the memories that altered his life. The memories that changed from a sweet, loving child to a malicious eighteen-year-old boy.

  He didn't enjoy being a mean person. What most people didn't know was that it just wasn't in his nature. He hated to upset people, but unfortunately, his memories forbade him from being anything but spiteful.

  Some people even compared him to a rose: undeniably beautiful to look at, but dangerous to touch.

    Sure, people liked Alex when he was younger, especially back in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, when he was adorable and small. He'd walk his younger sister to school every day, make cards for his teachers for every holiday, he’d always do his work and he was just a happy-go-lucky child. With his hair, once a beautifully deep auburn and gold-flecked, he was definitely a beautiful child. Most people called him "Alex, the Italian Redheaded Wonder”, because he was simply too memorable to be called “Alex.” His mother was extremely proud of him. The adults loved being around him and bringing their kids over for play dates, because little Alex Lionetti loved to play with everyone. He later became known as “Alex the Intrepid” because he was a fearless child, but nevertheless, people loved him.
         
    People especially liked him after he hit puberty in mid-7th grade. They began to treat him differently. When he was 12 years old, he grew over eight inches, he lost all of his baby fat, his hair changed from its rich red to a reddish-brown chestnut and his voice dropped a whole octave. Everyone began to fawn over the fact that his olive skin didn't have any blemishes or faults whatsoever, that his eyelashes were so long and curled that they looked fake and that he had a nice smile, though he rarely smiled. In fact, they were so rapt from his handsome face; they didn’t pay attention to his new “I hate everybody” and “screw the world” personality.
           
The girls at his old high school (and middle school and even elementary school) always raved about his good looks and told stories about asking him out, and always tried to sit next to him in class. Or behind him. Or in front of him. Or across from him.

Or diagonal to him. It was ridiculous. Most of the stories they told weren’t even true, but Alex didn’t care, not one bit.
 
  Even the elder ladies in his neighborhood talked about him. They rambled on about him being such a “handsome young man”, and always tried to set him up with their granddaughters, but it never worked. Alex never met any of the granddaughters, but not because he couldn’t, because he wouldn’t. He refused to. The last thing he needed was an infatuated girlfriend.

And when the ladies would talk to him, he would make eye contact, smile his dazzling smile, and occasionally nodded whenever they made a comment to make it look like he was actually listening.

It wasn’t that he didn’t like the attention, he didn’t mind it. He just had no concern for what people thought of him.

But he didn’t want to be forever known as “Mean Alex Lionetti”, he wanted to be known as “Nice Alex Lionetti”, just like how it was when he was younger.

They drove along a suburban road, lines with stores of every type. As they drove north, the flat terrain gave way to rolling hills.  The names of the towns they passed indicated the nautical heritage of the island’s Gold Coast: Glen Cove, Sea Cliff, so on and so forth.  Eventually, Mr. Miller turned onto a winding, tree lined road and they entered another world.  It was a rural oasis amid this suburban setting and was probably the most picturesque places Alex had ever been.

Along the tree-covered lane were enormous, gorgeous mansions, acres apart, one after the other.  Every so often there were people on the front lawn, the mothers dressed in rich silk and pearls, the fathers in suits, and the children in suits and dresses. Their hair was perfectly coiffed and their faces were perfect and beautiful. There were white fences along some parts of the lane and horses galloped in the occasional pastures. Everything was so unbelievably beautiful. It was something out of a very pleasant dream. It probably cost millions of dollars just to visit this place for vacation, but billions of dollars to live here.

As they proceeded along the covered streets, which were marked by hand painted, wooden post signs with names like Excelsior, Covered Bridge Lane and Greenbriar the more his terrible memories faded. Like some lost sailor of centuries, he had the sense that he was laying eyes, for the first time on the New World.  Perhaps, just perhaps, his arrival in this place would mark a new beginning and he could become the person he’d always wanted to be, and less of the person his memories forced him to be.

“I think you’ll like it here, Alexander.” Mr. Miller’s unsolicited opinion suddenly rang, bringing him out of Alex deep thought.  Mr. Miller had set those exact words as the three of them drove over the Delaware Bridge, but Alex chose to ignore him.
         
“I guess.” Alex shrugged, looking through his window. He didn’t feel like chatting, not right now. He wasn’t in the mood for an awkward, forced conversation anyway.
         
  Right now, he wanted silence. Not an iPod, not a cell phone, or even a laptop. Just silence.
                
He spent almost seven hours in the back of an old, white ford truck, with his three-years-younger sister and “the family driver”, Mr. Miller, and he was exhausted, famished, and desperately needed to take a piss. If they weren’t on the block of their destination, he would’ve probably killed himself. He had no family to live for anyway.
     
  But saying, no, even thinking about the word “family” made his eyes twitch and churned the insides of his stomach.  Family? What family?
     
  Alex didn’t have any family.
 
He lived with his drunken step-father Joseph Penney and his younger sister Annalisa Lionetti in a small apartment in Virginia Beach, Virginia.  Even though they lived on the outskirts of a beautiful beach, they never actuAlly went to it. The last time Alex remembered going to it was when he was eight and Anna was not yet six when they and their mother and Joe first moved there, back when they were happy.
   
           That November, after giving birth to her third child Julianne Penney, Mollie Penney passed away. And after Julianne passed away in the house fire of three years ago, it was just Alex, Anna and Joe. It started off pretty good, until Joe stopped caring. Since Alex was eighteen and Anna was fifteen, he was bound to take care of her. Often, Alex had to find a way to obtain dinner for his sister and him because Joe forgot. Alex had to pick Anna up from her extracurricular activities. Alex had to pay for every little thing the two of them did. 
     
          But he was nervous about going away to college in September. He planned on going to NYU, but because he was so nervous about his sister, Alex thought about going to VU instead. He couldn’t leave Anna alone with Joe, he just couldn’t. 
 
           If that so called “man” was ever home, which was rarely, all he did was drink Bud Lite, watch college football, and smack his step-son around.
     
    But if he ever hit Annalisa, Alex would kill him. Literally. He didn’t even care what the consequences were. Even though the two of them didn’t get along, ever, Alex would always protect his younger sister. He even tried to disguise them driving to New York for her, saying they were going on a vacation, because the real reason was simply embarrassing.
       
         A few weeks ago, after spending the day at clubs drinking and doing drugs, Joe was arrested. He was caught drunk driving on I-95 and was pulled over, and he was arrested for a DWI and refused to take a breathalyzer. He was sentenced to a few months in the jail of Richmond, so Anna and Alex were forced to live with their only living relative, their Uncle Larry (Joe’s twin brother) in Brookville, Long Island, New York until the nonsense was over.
         
           Because he lived so far away, Uncle Larry never came to visit. Alex hardly even remembered him. All he knew was that Larry had two kids that he hadn’t seen in over nine years, who were around the same age as he and Anna, give or take a year or two.
       
    He only really remembered the oldest daughter, her name was Jill. She was a year or two younger than him, and the other one was a bit younger than Anna. He knew it started with A, though. Alyssa? Ashli? Ariel?

“So kids, are you excited to see Jillian and Allyson?” Mr. Miller asked a strange tone of friendliness in his usually bitter voice.
         
Oh yeah, Allyson. That was the other one’s name. Alex thought, smiling bitterly.

“Ally? I remember her! I think she’s a little younger than me, but… we can hang out together. That wouldn’t be weird, right?” Anna asked unexpectedly, waking up from the deep slumber Alex thought she was in.

“Your sure can, Annalisa!” Mr. Miller answered.

Alex scoffed.

“What?!” Anna hissed, glaring at him.

“Oh, nothing, nothing at all.” Alex said, shaking his head.

“You don’t think Ally and Jill will like me?”

“Anna, I don’t think anyone will like you. You’re so annoying. And you’re always depressed about your life, but you’re just being dramatic.”

“Says the kid who never smiles.”

“I do to smile!”

“No you don’t! You’re the one who’s so depressing all the time, not me!”

“I’m not depressed, you retard.”

“You’re not? Oh, well, you could’ve fooled me.”

“The lady doth protest too much, methinks.”

“What?!”

“Yeah, exactly. You have no idea what I just said, did you? Stop spending so much time looking in the mirror and more time reading. You’re going into 10th grade; you should know that all that glisters is not gold...”

“Al-ex-an-der. This is exactly why you don’t get any girlfriends! You’re perfectly capable to have one, going into college and all, and all of my friends like you. You’re just too serious and self-absorbed!  And you think you’re better than everyone else just because you’re smart and good-looking without trying. Love isn’t based on smarts or looks seriousness.  It’s based on desire and happiness. God.”

“And you’ve had boyfriends to reference this on?”

After Alex said that, Anna went quiet. He knew that Anna didn’t get what he was saying anyway, and it would be pointless to explain. He meant she was extremely beautiful; that she was independent, but he knew what he said sounded nothing like that.

“Kids, kids! Stop the arguing! I think we’re here! We’re home.” Mr. Miller cried, slamming on the breaks, causing both Lionetti children to slam their heads on their windows.
         
Alex sighed and looked down. For some reason, a nervous, butterfly feeling fluttered in his stomach. We’re home. After many long years he would finally be in a place where he would be glad to call his home.

The house they stopped at was absolutely beautiful. It was a classic, red brick, mansion that looked like a model house out of “Multi Millionaire” magazine, complete with pillars in the front and bushes surrounding the driveway. As he opened his door, more feelings of nervousness passed through him.         

In the front yard, there was a giant, stone fountain and a statue that looked like a baby angel. There were also Japanese cherry trees everywhere, so the whole yard had dainty, pink flowers scattered across it. It was beautiful.

Once he stepped out of the car, he was automatically assaulted by a rather large golden retriever. It jumped on top of him and panted, licking his face with its slimy tongue. Its tail was wagging happily, and it was so strong, it knocked Alex back onto the car.

“Whoa!” he cried, his amber eyes widening in surprise.

His sister, who he expected would help him, was doing absolutely nothing. She saw Alex pinned by the dog and laughed, crossing her arms.
       
“Don’t just stand there Anna, help me!” Alex whined. He hated dogs- especially ones that were twice his size. 

Anna just shook her head. “C’mere boy!” she cried, slapping her knees.

The massive creature jumped off of Alex and ran over to Anna, his tail continuing to wag. Instead of jumping though, he sniffed her and merrily licked her hands.
       
  “Hi, boy! Lemme see your name tag!” She cooed, bending down to eye level. “Ooh, Sammy Penney! I love it!”
       
Alex rolled his eyes and awkwardly dusted his shirt. There was golden hair all over it. Great, just great. He happened to be dressed nicer than usual: a short sleeved, green t-shirt underneath an open, plaid shirt and jeans. It wasn’t Oscar-worthy, but it was better than the usual t-shirt and jeans he wore. Anna on the other hand, was wearing a pretty, yellow sundress with shiny, yellow ballet flats, and her long, warm auburn hair flowed over her shoulders. Unlike Alex’s hair, Anna’s hair had kept its rich, original color.
     
    He opened up the trunk and pulled out their entire luggage, which was four suitcases, three of them Anna’s. He had no idea what the hell she packed, nor did he care.

“Here, Anna, you take two and I’ll take two…” he muttered, handing them over to his sister.

But she was ignoring him to pet Sammy, who was rolling over in pure ecstasy. Alex rolled his eyes, again, and sighed, and attempted holding three in one hand, but he kept dropping them.

“Here my boy… let me help you.” Mr. Miller said, coming out of absolutely nowhere. Even with his lively brown eyes and thick, graying black hair, Mr. Miller always looked older than he was.

“Thanks.” Alex said, handing him two. The two of them wheeled up the Penney’s stone pathway, and Anna joined them, but Sammy  was following on her heels.

Before he knocked on the door, Alex thought more thoughts of anxiety. What if these people didn’t like him? What if Jill and Allyson absolutely hated him? What if they were in complete love with him, like the annoying girls in school? How old were the girls now? Were they so little, they couldn’t grasp the concept of him being there? Or were they in college, and going to chuckle at him like he was a child? Would they be like Uncle Larry? Would they be like Joe?

“For God’s sake Alex, just open the door!” Anna exclaimed, shoving past him. She knocked twice, and on the second knock, it flew open. “Oops.” She muttered, sulking behind Alex.

“Nice job!” Alex whispered, now feeling irritated. Leave it to Anna to screw up. Instead of having an obnoxious comeback, she fell silent.

Feeling more like a leader and less of a follower, Alex stepped inside and gaped. The inside of the house was even more beautiful than the outside. Everything was perfect, from the hardwood floor to the china cabinets to the grand piano. 

“Whoa!” Anna exclaimed, shoving past him. Not wanting to be the less brave, Alex stalked after her.

“Annalisa, Alexander, it’s rude to go all the way inside!” Mr. Miller whined, following behind them.
         
           Alex heard him sigh as he and Anna entered the backyard, followed by Sammy. In the backyard, there was tons of green grass, three trampolines, a pool, and a whole playground. It was like paradise.

“Mom, I can’t find him anywhere!” he suddenly heard a young girl cry.
       
    “Sweetie, I think he’s in the backyard.” Another voice answered, in a thick European accent.

Alex felt a chime of regret. Why were he and Anna in the backyard?  This wasn’t their house.
         
“Mah, never mind, I see him!” the girl’s voice cried again, this time, sounding closer.

She ran through the double French doors that lead to the backyard and ran towards Sammy, talking to him in that same babyish voice Anna had used.
       
Alex looked at her and at that exact moment, she looked at him. Surprisingly though, she didn’t scream or freak out. She had long, wavy brown hair, bright blue eyes and pale skin, and couldn’t have been much older than 11 or 12.
       
  “Uhm. Hello beautiful.” She said, walking over to Alex, twirling a piece of her dark hair on one finger.
       
  “Hi. Sorry for uh… invading your…property.” He said, looking the ground. The girl, however, placed her fingers underneath his chin and tilted his head up.
       
  “It’s okay, babe. I’m Allyson. Middle name Natasha. Last name Penney. Call me Ally though, I hate being called Allyson. Actually, you can call me whatever you want. You’re very good looking.” She said, smiling at him.
       
  She was, Alex admitted, pretty, but she looked too young. He didn’t know why he hated her name so much though. ‘Allyson’ was a perfectly fine name.

Before he could answer, she bought a finger to his lips (even though she had to be at least a foot shorter than him.) “Are you Alexander?” she asked, her face brightening.
       
  “Yes. Alexander Lionetti. Call me Alex though.” He answered, gently gripping her finger and brushing it off of his lips.
         
  “Oh my goodness, you are gorgeous! I lahv your hair. It’s so nice. I wish mine were that color. And your eyelashes are so long! It looks like you use mascara, but you obviously do not. I wish I had those eyelashes. How old are you? I’m going into 7th grade. And my sister’s going into 12h. She’s turning seventeen in July and I’m twelve.” She boasted.
         
  Alex self-consciously touched his hair, smiling. It was a rare chestnut color that looked even more red-tinted when he spent a lot of time in the sun, and everyone always complimented him on it. “Ah, my sister’s going into 10th. And I’m going into college. I’m eighteen and she just turned fifteen last week.” He said.

“Oh.” Ally sounded disappointed.
       
  “C’mon, let me introduce you to Kayla, she and Morgan just went over by the pool.” she suddenly cried, gripping Alex’s hand. She whipped him over by the pool area, but Alex was confused.
       
  “Jayme? I thought…” he muttered. Oh God, did he get her name wrong?”

“I mean Jill! My best friend’s Jayme and I always get the names wrong.” 

“Oh.”
            “Hey, Jill, look who I found!”
______________________________________________________________________

    "Oh my goodness. It’s so hot I think I might faint!" Morgan Smithies, Jillian Penney’s best friend, complained as she bit her perfectly plump bottom lip.  Brookville, New York was hot in the summer, but it wasn’t as hot as Morgan thought it was. It was 7:42PM, and the temperature had dropped down to 85 degrees. It could be hotter.

“You’re being such a drama queen, Morg.” Jill teased, sticking her tongue out.

"Oh my God, what are you doing?" she asked in alarm, frowning as Morgan began to take off her skirt.

“Going swimming, silly Jilly!” Morgan cried before she did a cannonball into the Penney’s 10-foot-deep in ground pool. She stayed underwater for a few minutes before she resurfaced with a smile. She looked at Jill and dove under again, this time, for longer. When she came up, she rested her arms against the line of the pool and smiled up at Jill.

"Morgan Loraine, come on. Get out...” Jill snapped, crossing her arms. She was wearing a short, flowered skirt and a navy camisole and her long, prettily wavy blue-black hair was cascading past her shoulders and down her back. Her new tan complimented her silvery-blue eyes and her teeth were nice and white thanks to crest whitening strips. She thought she looked pretty, and she wasn’t going to ruin it by jumping in the pool. However though, she was wearing her yellow, ruffle bikini underneath it. Just in case.

“I’m not overdramatic, Jillian Therese. You're just a summer brat who’s ahb-sessed with the sun." Morgan sighed, resting her forehead against the side of the tiled pool.

      Jill stayed quiet, deciding against giving a snippy comeback. Normally she’d have one, but she didn’t like being called bratty. There was a stereotype that the well-groomed citizens of Brookville were snotty, and Jill didn’t appreciate it at all. She didn’t always do the typical hipster things that people in New York did, seeing as she originally lived in Oregon. Morgan was lucky though; her family hailed from Manhattan, so she, her sister Stella, her mother and father practically screamed “glamorous.”

"Y'know, my cousins are supposed to be here soon with their friend. I don't know if they'll appreciate you parading around half-naked." Jill smirked, running her fingers through her soft hair.

"Good point." Morgan sighed before she jumped out of the water.

"Hey, do you want to sleep over tonight? My cousins are coming soon though, so it might be kind of awkward." Jill asked her as they both started walking down her pool deck stairs. 
       
  “Sure. I don’t care. How old are your cousins?” Morgan asked, wrapping a towel around her teeny, lithe frame.
       
  “Uhm. Alex has to be like… seventeen or eighteen, and the other one has to be around sixteen-ish. Or fourteen. Maybe fifteen. I honestly don't even remember.” Jill answered. She honestly didn’t even remember; she hadn’t seen her cousins since she was eight, and now she was sixteen, turning seventeen on July 12th. “I think Alex was really cute though. He had red hair, but it looked so good on him. He must've be, like, insanely hot now.”
     
  Morgan nodded as if she were deep in thought and ripped off her towel, and forced a brush through her long, blond hair. When it was wet, it looked light brown.
     
    “Hey, you said it yourself. Your cousin. Is hot. Plus, I feel like air drying. Maybe it'll get me to pretty.” Morgan said to Jill’s reaction.
           
“Oh Morgan.” Jill sighed, but she was smiling. Morgan was pretty, with dirty blond hair and hazel eyes, so Jill was pretty sure Alexander would appreciate her in a bathing suit.
         
“Hey Jill! Look who I found!” she heard her little sister, Ally, cry.
     
    “Oh God. Probably one of her nerdy friends.” Morgan said, rolling her eyes. She ran back up the steps and jumped into the pool headfirst.

Jill shrugged and unlocked the pool gate, walking to the backyard. The boy Ally was walking with was hardly nerdy. He was absolutely, flawlessly, breathtakingly beautiful. He had light olive skin that was so unblemished; it looked like it was sparkling, prominent cheekbones, slightly messy mahogany-tinted chestnut hair and golden, amber eyes. Normally, red heads with yellow-flecked eyes were a turn-off for her, but it looked so well on him, she couldn’t help but stare at him.

“Look, its Alex! He was just back here with Sam, I didn’t even hear him!” Jill’s five-years-younger sister rambled, a love struck twinkle in her aqua eyes.

“Oh, you just walked in? Isn’t that considered rude?” Jill snapped, walking closer to Alex. Normally, she’d feel self-conscience considering she hardly remembered her step cousin, but right now, she didn’t care.

Alex looked up, looking shy, and shrugged. “Sorry. It was my sister’s fault.” He muttered. When he looked up from Jill’s feet all the way to her head, she felt odd warmth and flushed. Related or not, she was right, Alex was pretty hot.

“It’s fine. My mom didn’t see you?” she asked. She felt her sister glare at her and rolled her eyes. Obviously, Ally already had an obsessive crush on Alex.

“No. I-I’m sorry. I know it was rude to walk in, but your house was just so beautiful. I’ve just never seen one.” He said, now sounding extra timid

“You mean a big house?” Ally asked, grabbing his arm.

“No, I mean a house in general.” Alex said. Jill couldn’t help but notice the muscles on his forearm twitch as he gently tugged his arm away from Ally. She began to vividly imagine what the rest of his body looked like. It probably looked perfect and golden and lean and taut, like the bodies of those people that did many sports at one time. Still though, she felt sort of guilty. She was being completely rude, and Alex wasn’t.
     
  “Well, why don’t you come with me so I can introduce you to my parents? I think Dad’s outside by the garden. It’s pretty sad he didn’t hear you…he must be getting old. You know, being forty and all... And Mom must be upstairs.” She said, smiling at him.
         
  “Sure. What about Anna though?” he wondered.
         
“About who? Oh, your sister! I’ll introduce her later. Ally, can you give her a little tour and I can give Alexander one?” Jill asked her sister.
       
Ally, who slightly scowled, reluctantly let go of Alex’s arm and stalked off to find Anna.
       
    “Sorry about her. You know pre-teens. Not teenagers, not children. They’re…overachievers.” Jill apologized, blushing as her hand accidentally bumped against Alex’s chest. Not surprisingly, it felt hard. She suddenly felt the urge to run her hands through his soft-looking chestnut hair and under his shirt.
       
  “No, it’s fine. Trust me. I’m used to it.” He said. He was oblivious to Jill’s accidental brush or was just ignoring it.           
       
  “So, Alex, you’re going into college now, right? And you’re eighteen?” she asked as they both walked into her air-conditioned townhouse. The first thing they saw was Sammy, who was rolling around in circles. Honestly, Jill thought that he looked like he was on crack.
     
  “Yeah.” He answered blandly.

“Are you nervous? I would be. The last time I saw you, you were going into third grade.” She noted, trying to start a conversation.

“Nope.” He answered.

Jill frowned and looked at him, unhappy with his lack of extrovert-ness. Cute or not- this kid was probably a killjoy. But then again, maybe there was a reason to his quietness. After all he did live with Uncle Joseph and Uncle Joseph was a crack head. She felt tempted to ask him if he was ever abused, but she decided against it.

“Ah, Alexander Lionetti! I’d recognize those beautiful eyes anywhere! Come here, my sweetheart!” she heard her mother cry from the top of the stairs in her Russian accent. Camille Penney took the stairs two at a time, her long, brown curls “billowing in the breeze.” Jill stared at her mother blankly.
Instead of rushing towards her, Alex stood and stared at her in silence. Jill couldn’t say she blamed him. Her mother did get a bit over-the-top sometimes, and her accent was slightly intimidating.

“Hello, hello! My, you’ve grown!” she cooed when she saw Alex, grabbing his cheeks and swishing them all in different directions.  “You are absolutely divine, my love! I remember when you were a child. My how you’ve grown, my love! He is beautiful isn’t he, Kay-Kay?” she towards turned Jill, still holding Alex’s face in her hands.

"Mom, please stop.” Jill begged, crossing her arms. She ignored the glow in her cheeks when her mom said “beautiful.”

“Ah, is that Lou Miller!?” Camille cried, spotting a man standing by the front door. He looked uncomfortable.

“Hello Camille.” He said. He was smiling a tight-lipped smile Ally and Jill called the “go away” smile.

Jill caught Alex’s yellow-flecked eyes and gave him a “sorry about my mother” look she gave all of her friends. He smiled sheepishly in response, as if saying “its fine.” She bet he was used to it; someone with a face like his must get attention all the time.

“Hello Louis. How are you? And where is Anna?” Camille wondered nosily.

“I do not know actually. I’m sorry about the children wandering in.” Mr. Miller said. Jill noticed a southern accent in his voice and suddenly remembered that the three of them came from Virginia. If the three of them came from the south, then why didn’t Alex have a southern accent? Maybe he lived somewhere before Virginia, like California or Oregon.

“No, no, it is fine! I am glad they came in. Although in Russia, it is common courtesy to knock on the door.” Camille boasted.

Jill groaned inwardly. She really hoped her mom wasn’t going to give the Lionetti’s and Mr. Miller the “back in Russia….” Speeches she gave to all Jill and Ally’s friends.

“Its common courtesy everywhere, mom.” A voice Jill recognized as Ally’s spoke. Jill turned around and saw her younger sister standing with Morgan and the most gorgeous girl she had ever seen in her entire life. The girl had every single physical attribute Alex had. She had the same high cheekbones, same long-lashed, almond-shaped, deep gold eyes, same pert nose, and the same thin eyebrows. She even had the same perfect Cupid’s bow lips. She was obviously Anna, Alex’s younger sister. The last time Jill had seen her, Anna had been six.

“Ah! Such a beautiful girl!” Camille cried once she saw Anna. Ally frowned with jealousy, and Morgan stared at Alex like he was the meaning of life.

She again shot Alex a look, but instead, he was looking at Morgan. She gave him a flirty wave and he smiled back. Jill felt feelings of jealousy as he looked at her, seeing as Morgan was still in her bathing suit, and Alex was totally checking her out. It wasn’t fair. Jill saw him first, not Morgan.

“So Alex, come meet Daddy.” She said, grabbing Alex’s hand and leading him outside. She ignored the electric shock that shot up her arm and through her entire body. Luckily, only Anna followed them.

She saw her father, Larry Penney, leaning over a plant in the front yard, squinting. With his short, blond hair, tanned skin and bright eyes, he looked like an older David Beckham.

“Hi Daddy!” she called brightly, running over to him and kissing him on the head. Her dad’s head felt bristly and warm.

“Hello princess!” her father cried, standing up and hugging her. When he saw Alex and Anna standing behind her, he gasped.

“My my, its little Annalisa and little Alexander!  Only you’re not so little anymore! Come here, children!” he exclaimed, running up to the Lionetti siblings. He engulfed the both of them in a bear hug, which they both didn’t return.

“Ah, excuse me. I mean….” Larry trailed off, putting out his hand for Alex and Anna to shake it. Anna shook it first, giggling, but as Alex gripped it and shook it, Jill noticed his arm muscles again, and she looked away to find a distraction.

After the casual “how are you kids” and “you’re getting so big” rant, Larry bought the two siblings back over to Jill. “Jillian, darling, why don’t you and Ally take these two for a tour around the house, shows them where they’re staying?”

“Okay.” Jill said. She linked arms with Anna and giggled, but when she linked arms with Alex, she blushed, again.  His skin was warm. The three of them walked inside, and when they did, Camille was still rambling on to Mr. Miller, and Morgan and Ally. Camille was probably telling one of her “back during the Cold War” stories, so Jill was able to slip past the pair of them and her sister and Morgan without anyone noticing.

“So, Jill, do you and Ally like, get along?” Anna asked once the three of them made it halfway up the stairs.

“Usually. We argue over stupid things, though.” Jill said. She remembered one year, Ally accused her of stealing one of her Ferby’s, and Jill denied it. That night, Ally broke into Jill’s room and cut all their hair off of Jill’s California Style Barbie’s.

“Oh. Cool.” Anna said, smiling. She was clearly jealous, because she and Alex obviously didn’t get along whatsoever.

“Hey Jill, can I use your bathroom?” Alex asked when they had reached the top of the stairs. Jill noticed that it was the first time had had spoken since the three of them came in together. And she was a little irritated.

“Sure. First door on the left.” She instructed him. Her irritation quickly melted away when she saw Alex smile at her before entering the bathroom. Goodness, he even had a perfect smile. His teeth were so white and straight.


“I’m so glad we’re here, Jillian. I think we’re going to have an astounding summer.” Anna said quietly. Jill turned to her and smiled. Anna had such an innocent, beautiful smile on her face that it was impossible not to smile back.

“Me too, me too.”