The new sister

[redblood]

Spoiler

Jacob Baxter sat at his computer. His mind was in a bit of a disarray. His new sister would be coming home that day. Not a baby sister, no no. His mother hadn't been able to get any children after his birth. And quite frankly, she hadn't wished for more children after that. So one could imagine the shock on Jacob's face when his mother Cynthia suddenly told him that they were going to adopt a girl.

At first Jacob had believed that his mother was going through some kind of middle aged crisis and wished to go back to her glory days as a mother. But that was not the case. She hadn't made the decision because she wished for another child, and it wasn't a toddler they would be taking care of. It was a 17 year old girl whom had been passed around from home to home. Apparently she had been quite unlucky. One of her adoptive parents had died in a car accident, while another had become extremely sick and then passed away.

The 20 year old college student wasn't thrilled to say the least by those news. Getting a new sister, a 17 year old no less, was quite an odd situation. Did his parents honestly expect him to treat a complete stranger like a sister? She was in high school for God's sake. Girls that age were annoying brats. Especially the pretty ones. Sure, they were nice eye candy, but there was rarely anything in their heads. He almost wished they had taken home a toddler instead. At least they had an excuse for being annoying, and they could have some cute moments too.

He heard a knock on the door. It was time.

Jacob walked down the stairs and came down just in time to see his mother open the door. "Welcome Dominica. It's so nice to finally meet you." Cynthia Baxter welcomed the girl with a warm smile. She stepped to the side and let the girl come in. "I do hope you will enjoy your stay here." She then added. "My husband is working right now, so you'll be introduced to him later. My name's Cynthia Baxter, and this is my son, Jacob." She made a movement with her hand for Jacob to step forward. He hesitated for a bit before finally sighing and walking up to the girl.

"Hey." He said shortly with a nod of his head. It was as if he had returned to his early teenage years. Short words and seeing no reason to talk to others.

 

[The Returner]

The social worker picked her up from the orphanage where she was temporarily staying. It was all girls. It was run by Catholics. Everybody just assumed that Dominica was brought up in such religious ways because she refused to take of her own, small cross decorated with minuscule obsidians. Whilst she absent-mindedly looked out of the window, Dominica wondered about her new 'family'. Not that they would be around much longer, but what else was there for her to do, during this boring journey across town? Either way, they will be her last ones before she'll have to move towns, or provinces. The quaestor was already getting impatient with her mishaps, but she just couldn't help it. It was the grudge she held against each and every family she ever met. They had something that was denied to her and the bitterness of the fact was too much to bear most of the times.

"We're here," said the female as she stopped the car and got out, trying to flash the girl at the back a supportive smile, as if she needed one. Dominica got out, holding her backpack as that contained all her possessions. The house looked nice. Middle class, probably, some garden at the back, but no animals it seemed, which pleased the latino girl as she found them most irritable. Putting on a small, almost unsure smile, she progressed to the door, where the 'mother' and the social worker exchanged few words. Just look grateful and humble, she told herself as she shook Mrs. Baxter's hand in greeting.

"Nice to meet you too, madame," she replied, maybe a bit too formally, as any kid from her supposed background would. Her eyes then travelled to her new 'brother'. Tall, well build, somewhat handsome. There was a tingle in Dominica's throat. A desire. He must have taken a good care of himself, which in turn must have had good 'side effects' on what was coursing through his veins. Dirty little secret? Dominica did prefer to feed on athletes. It made her feel young again.

"Hey," she said, equally simply and eyed him up and down once again, before she looked away with a tiny hint of a blush across her cheeks. Take cover behind your cross, for it shall shield you from your enemies. In other words, act like a Catholic virgin who has never seen a man up close and you'll be off the radar as a predator for long enough to feed as much as you want.

"Well, I believe all the paperwork has already been signed and dealt with so I will leave your new addition to the family with you." The social worked cut through the sudden silence, directing her words at Mrs. Baxter, before giving another encouraging nod and a smile to Dominica. That was the last she saw of her, as she left the house and the sound of the car died in the distance soon after.

 

[redblood]

"Please, just call me Cynthia." Jacob's mother told her upon hearing the words madame. She would have loved for Dominica to call her mother, but at her age that would probably not happen. Even if it happened, it would most likely take years, and by that time she would probably be out of the house.

Jacob raised a curious eyebrow as the girls eyes left him. It seemed like they had gotten the innocent and silent type. Well, that was probably better than the obnoxious shopping freak type. Though it was quite the surprise. She definitely didn't have the looks of a quiet rule obeying girl. If anything she seemed more like the type to be surrounded by guys 24/7 and taking full advantage of it. Would she even make it in a mixed gender school? Guys would probably drool over her from the moment she walked through the doors. If she couldn't even look at them without blushing, how would she survive even one day among those hyenas? Not because it was his problem. He had his own school to worry about.

Cynthia bid farewell to the social worked and closed the door behind her as she left. "So, Dominica. Do you want to rest for a bit and get unpacked first before we talk about rules, school and all that?" The middle aged woman asked considerately. "Jacob won't mind showing you to your room and helping you get your things in order if you'd need him."

An ice cold glare came from the son as he heard the words leave his mothers lips. Thanks for letting me decided that, old hag. He thought to himself. It always annoyed him when they decided things for him. "Any reason why you can't volunteer for it?" He asked, trying to sound somewhat neutral, but his irritation probably shone through.

"I could, but then you would have to prepare for dinner. Do the dishes so we have something to eat on, go shopping so we have something to eat, and make the food so we can eat it." Cynthia pointed out. Dumbfounded Jacob only mumbled something almost inaudible. For any other human, it wouldn't have been understandable. But after having been exposed to the same behavior for 6 years, his mother knew that it was a disappointed agreement to her proposal of him helping their new family member.

"Don't pay any attention to him dear. His teenage phase is just holding on for longer than expected." Cynthia reassured the girl. "So, what do you want to do first?"

 

[The Returner]

From the corner of her eye, she watched Kevin. In a way she was glad he was not a kid. As gullible as they were, Dominica hated feeding of them. She might be a monster but she is not cruel and a sadist. The exchange happening between him and his mother was also quite amusing. It was more than clear that he was not particularly happy about her staying but for all Dominica cared, this situation would not last longer than a year. A year for him might seem too log, for her it was just a fraction of all the time she has already spent walking this earth.

"I think, I'd like to unpack first if that's ok," she replied and looked from Cynthia to Jacob with hope in her eyes as if she was hoping for her new brother to help her out. As if she was trying to find an ally in him. She might as well start playing her deadly card games now and wt her prey prepared for some 'personal' time later.

 

[redblood]

"Of course. I'll come up with some tea for you shortly." Cynthia said with a caring voice before looking over at her son. She already knew he would do it, but sometimes he needed some persuasion to get going. One glance from his mother after she already had won an argument was usually enough.

Jacob sighed without any shame over showing his distaste of the current situation. Everyone in the room probably already knew about it. If the girl hadn't caught up on it yet, then her innocence was bordering into stupid territory.

He looked Dominica over with a fast glance before nodding for her to follow him, then he walked towards the stairs. Considering she only had one bag, he didn't care to carry it for her. Girls could carry things themselves. There really was no reason for guys to pretend to be gentlemen just because a girl was cute. If she had more than one bag, two, three or four, then of course he would have been nice and helped her out. But he would have done that even if it had been a guy. It was just common sense and courtesy. He wasn't that much of a douche.

"This is your room." He said as they arrived at the room just beside his own. He opened the door and walked in. In the room was a bed, quite new by the look of it, a half full book shelf, an empty closet, a desk and a chair. "Mom used to store her doll collection in here, but when dad got fired around ten years ago, they had to sell them all." Jacob told her, mainly to try to avoid some awkward silence. His father did have a good job now, but at that time they had almost been thrown out of the house because they couldn't pay their bills. The collection had been a life safer until he finally got a new job. "Glad they're out. Those dolls were creepy. Almost thought they were possessed or something." Well that sentence wasn't lame at all. A big guy like him being scared of dolls. On the other hand, he had been ten when they were sold. Everything scared ten year old kids.

"Did you need help with anything?" Jacob then asked. He would much rather go to his room and play WoW, but if he left without even asking, his mom would most likely kill him later for being so rude.

 

[The Returner]

"Thanks," Dominica answer with a hint of a smile before she looks at Jacob. Yes, he doesn't seem to be that happy about his newly assigned task, but the girl couldn't care less about that. She follows him at his command, silent but investigative. She looks around the house, noticing every possible detail to understand this family as quickly as possible, which will make her future 'adventures' easier. Upon arriving in the room, Dominica noticed the lack of decorations and the quite frank given space for freedom of it. Cynthia might have done it intentionally or not, but the almost non-present picture, apart from a very neutral frame with a photo of a flower in it, hanging on the wall, gave Dominica a chance to put up her own things.

Dolls? Well, that certainly was surprising and Dominica raised her eyebrows at Jacob. She never understood why mature women collected them. Was it a wish to be young once again? A sentiment maybe? Either way, Dominica was glad that they were all gone now. "I totally get that. I find them quite unsettling. Especially those porcelain ones." She replied with a shudder. In front of her inner eye, however, she could smell the burning hair and hear the crack of the fine material. She shudder again, but run her hands up and down her arms as if she was cold. Dropping her rucksack on the bad, she now placed her hands on her lower back as if stretching a bit whilst looking at her new 'brother'.

"Actually, I was hoping you could help me get to know this family a bit more. I know we won't be spending that much time together because once I am 18, your parents have no legal obligation to allow me to stay here. But I thought that maybe we could try to make the little time we have as bearable as possible." The innocent smile was perfect. In fact, it was perfected throughout the years that Dominica was talking her way into various households. Of course, all that happened before any set constitution was in place that people would cling onto and suspect anyone who came to their door, asking for some food and a roof over head. As far as Dominica knew, these people where now called stinking homeless. Oh, where did the ease and liberty of beggars disappear to?

 

[redblood]

Jacob couldn't have agreed more. His mother had been a collector of porcelain dolls, and they had been nothing but creepy. Every time he had looked into those dead glass eyes he had been sure they would suck out his soul, or something like that. Once again, he was ten, of course his imagination would take over when he found something that scared him.

"Don't worry about that. As long as you keep studying, mom won't mind you being here. Not even if you get in on a six year long education at a university. Apparently she has a thing for watching people suffer through their homework. If not, I would probably have been kicked out by now." The last sentences was mostly a joke.

Usually it was shared between him and his friends, as he was the only one still living with his parents from his group. Their parents might not have thrown their kids out, but they had seemed quite happy about their sons and daughters finally moving out. In comparison, Jacobs mother could as well be holding him hostage. Not because he wanted to leave. Having his own apartment just seemed bothersome as it would mean he would be forced to get a job. Working and studying at the same time wasn't his thing, he had tried it before. His grades dropped, he didn't get enough sleep and he had almost been kicked of the team. Never again would he try to dual school and work again.

"But if you want some tips, then don't disturb dad during Sundays. He is trying to write his third book so he locks himself up one day every week and dedicates at least 15 hours of that day to his writing. Heads starts rolling if anyone interrupts him." Jacob put a finger at his throat and swept it to the other side as if to cut it off, just to dramatize what he was saying. "As for mom... She's extremely talkative, and it's almost impossible to make her angry if you aren't her husband. She'll make sure you know every detail of her life within a few weeks. After that, you probably won't even want to get along with her."

Jacob gave a quick look at Dominica's bag before he continued speaking. "So you don't want any help with unpacking then?"

 

[The Returner]

More than a hint of a smile showed on Dominica's face. It seemed as if Jacob's joking managed to slowly ease her apparent nervousness. Well, apparent...She saw him as prey and as long as he believed that she was starting to feel comfortable, he might as well drop his guard slightly. "Homework you say? Well, I hope I won't let your mum down on that one." The smile stayed as she was looking at him and listening to his tips about the family. So his father was a writer and very busy on Sunday, which possibly meant he'd be tired as hell on that day at night. In her head, she started to devise a feeding schedule. It wasn't that Dominica over indulged in eating. You know, she had to keep the figure. But feed more than once a week, keeping the taste of blood on her tongue, it was her dirty little secret.

"Noted," she replied, giving Jacob thumbs up, before moving her eyes towards her bag. Nice offer, but if he'd ever make one move to touch her stuff, she'd probably suck him dry on the spot. Dominica was super protective of her rucksack. That's why she had it with her on the back seat instead of in the trunk when she came earlier with the social worker.

"No, I'm fine thanks. I think I'll be alright doing that myself." There was no sign of over-protectiveness of her things, just a friendly response with a light shrug. Moreover, Dominica herself felt like she has done enough socialising with that boy already, and part of her began to desire some peace and quiet on her own.

 

[redblood]

It was nice to see that she had some sense of humor, but he were still unsure what to think of her. She wasn't as annoying as most girls her age, at least those he had met, but she seemed almost too innocent. It might be a weird thing to be bothered about, but somehow it seemed ridiculous. But maybe it wasn't like that. Dominica might just be extremely shy, which might come off as innocent, and once they got to know each other better, she would become more open and outspoken. Not because he needed to get along with her, he just wanted her to be tolerable to be around. There would definitely be times he wouldn't have a choice but to be with her. Like during family dinners.

"Okay then." Jacob replied. There wasn't much for him to do in her room if she didn't need help, so he could probably safely assume that it was okay to leave without his mom going berserk on him. After a moment of awkward silence, he continued to speak. "I guess I'll see you at dinner, if there's nothing else you want to ask of course."

He had already started to move a few steps closer to the door, but he still held back a bit, waiting for her answer. It would look really bad if he already had gotten half way to his room when her reply came and she actually had some questions for him.

 

[The Returner]

His retreat seemed almost laughable, but Dominica held the snickers inside her chest, keeping the innocent smile on. Jacob had bright eyes. It was clear to Dominica that she would have to be very careful about keeping up her appearances around him in order not to betray her true intentions.

"No, I am fine, thanks." She said and watched him exit. Once he was out of the door, she let our a long deep breath as if she was not respiring before. Truth was that she was just relieved to be on her own. Suddenly, even her body language changed. She didn't seem so stiff, nervous even. Her shoulders relaxed and she leisurely flung one of he stray strands aside as she turned towards her bag, having her back to the door. Her hearing would help her uncover anyone who would silently try to creep back into her room, but of course she wouldn't be able to react based on that as she is not supposed to have supernatural hearing if she were to maintain her mask of as a human.

Either way, she didn't really have that many possessions. Some underwear, few tops and pairs of jeans, one outgoing outfit, one smart outfit and that was it. She never needed much more, and no foster family ever took her shopping so there you go. She didn't have a chance to build a closet like any girl of her age would probably have. However, clothes never meant that much to her. At least not as much as what was buried at the bottom of her bag. It was a book and leather covers. No title on it so it was difficult to figure out what the book was about just looking at it. Dominica cared about the contents of the book. Especially, a hand drawn picture of her and her family. Her real family. The picture revealed so much truth about who she was and were she came from, that if anyone was ever to see it, her whole disguise would fall apart. As for the book itself, it was in fact a journal. Dominica's journal. But it was not complete. The last entry was on 26th January 1480. Dominica didn't have to open the book to know all that, she just carefully laid it by her bed, before showing the empty rucksack beneath the bed.

 

[redblood]

"Okay then. Uhm.. I'll be in the room next door if you need something." Jacob told her and stepped out of the room. Walking back to his own room, he thought about his new sister and what impression he had gotten so far from her. She had a sense of humor, but she seemed extremely shy or innocent. She wasn't very talkative either, but that might be because there wasn't anyone in her age group in the house. Maybe once she met people of her own age she would ease up a bit.

There wasn't much to go on just yet, and so far his thoughts of her were mostly negative rather than positive, but it wasn't with much, and anything she said during the following days could probably throw him over onto the positive side, or make it worse and get him further into the negative side. It was just to wait and see.

As Jacob started up his games, Cynthia knocked on Dominica's door. "Dominica dear. I've brought some tea for you." She said melodically. "Has the unpacking gone well?" She also asked once the door opened.

 

[The Returner]

It wasn't long before Cynthia came up with some tea. How classy. "Thank you," she replied with one of those smiles she has been throwing around since arriving at this household. "I didn't really have that much to unpack to be honest." She added as she looked around her still bare room. "But thank you for getting this room set up for me. I really appreciate it." Taking the cup from Cynthia, she held it in her hand carefully. It was quite warm.

"Jacob told me, that you used to collect dolls." A curiosity crept into her voice. Whether it was real or staged would remain a secret that only Dominica knew. "Can I ask you, why?" She took a sip of the warm beverage as she carried on watching the host mother. One thing that Dominica managed to develop throughout the year was a technique called cold reading. One could find out so much about another person just by reading even the slightest facial movement or a glitter on emotion in the eye that showed up for only a fraction of a second.

 

[redblood]

"Oh it was nothing dear. It was time that this room came to use." Cynthia said with a warm motherly smile. She was the kind that trusted people far too easily. Already before she had met Dominica she had already accepted her as a daughter. It was just the way she was. Her husband often said that her overly nice behavior one day would get her into trouble, but she never listened. She was almost fifty years old and still she refused to see any evil in the world. Believing that something good laid in every human heart felt too important to her for her to be affected by some bad news. Some rotten eggs here and there doesn't form our whole civilization, she often said.

At the mention of dolls her eyes lit up. "Oh that. Well, it was my grandfathers hobby. He loved dolls and collected a lot of them. He often showed me his collection and told me the history behind them. Then he passed away and my father was about to sell the whole collection, but I begged him not to do it. I begged and I cried until he promised not to sell them. They held some of my fondest memories of him. So I got all of his dolls, but still it wasn't enough. I needed to continue his work and get more. It felt like it was something my grandfather would want me to do. Naturally I started to collect more and more. It made me feel close to him." Cynthia sighed slightly disappointed before she continued.

"But then our family ended up in a crisis. I had to sell most of my collection. I was completely heart broken at the time. It was as if I lost my grandfather again. But I couldn't let my family starve or get thrown out on the street, so of course I sold them. Eventually I got over it, and I did save my favorite. A doll named Anna-Belle. My grandfathers very first doll. Now I realize that I don't need dolls to be close to him, but that one doll does give me comfort when I remember him. Just like the collection did when I had them all." Wrinkles appeared around her eyes and at the end of her lips as she smiled to her fond memories. Her grandfather had been like a father to her when her father barely had been there. It hadn't been easy to let go when he died, but his collection had somehow held her together.

"How did Jacob behave? He didn't say anything inappropriate? If he does, don't be afraid to stand up to him. He might look a bit intimidating, but he would never raise his voice towards nor hurt anyone no matter what they do or say. So make sure to tell him off if he doesn't behave himself. Some discipline doesn't hurt that boy." Cynthia then snapped out of her memories.

 

[The Returner]

Her grandfather? Well, that couldn't have got any more weird, could it? Dominica thought, be her facial expression stayed attentive. Cynthia seemed to be the type of woman who is very family-based and would do anything to help save it. After all, selling the collection was such an act. Yet, these types could turn out to be the biggest trouble. They were very perceptive and they noticed instantly if something was wrong with one member of the family or the other. Cynthia would have to be taken out first. Which, on the other hand, shouldn't be difficult as she seemed to be very trusting. Well, every cloud had a silver lining.

"Oh, he was very kind. Though, he seems to be kind of upset about me being here. I wouldn't want to cause any trouble in the family just by presence," she said, sounding worried and nailing the concern perfectly. Maybe Cynthia would share with her why Jacob was behaving that way. Frankly, it was partially obvious. Who on earth would adopt a girl of her apparent age, just to harbour her for a year? Yes, that might have been one part of the reason. But was there anything else? Dominica couldn't help but wonder.

 

[redblood]

"Oh no no no no dear." Cynthia said worriedly. "Don't think like that. Your presence is no trouble. Not at all." The middle aged woman tried to reassure Dominica. "Jacob isn't too fond of changes, and this is a big change for our family. He will be a bit grumpy about it, but as fast as he gets used to the new schedule and to have you here, he will lighten up, I assure you. You should have seen him when he went from high school to college. The schedule was so different, he refused to come out of his room for two weeks except for during school hours." A small chuckle left the old woman's lips before she went on topic again.

"Don't worry about him. He just has a hard time adjusting to changes. It is in no way your fault. Changes are a natural part of life and he must learn to deal with them." She paused for a little bit, seemingly thinking about how to best bring up the next topic. "And speaking of that, we were wondering if you wouldn't mind spending some time with him. Me and my husband thought it would be easiest for both of you to get used to this new change if you had some hours every day to interact with each other." Cynthia proposed, clearly not wanting Dominica to do it if she didn't want to.

"We're not saying that you should spend your free time with each other, but we thought that since Jacob drives to school every morning, he could give you a ride every morning. Then you will both have homework, so you can do them in the same room at specific times. Even if you don't talk to each other much, you'll at the very least get used to one another." She explained before giving Dominica a questioning look. She wouldn't demand the girl to befriend her son. Friendship or sibling love couldn't be forced. It had to grow naturally, and both sides had to enjoy each others company to some extend. If they didn't get that chemistry she would understand, but there was no reason for not trying.

 

[The Returner]

So he was against changes. If he only knew what kind of change she will bestow upon him, he would much rather go to the extreme and had a chaotic schedule at least. Yet, she nodded. As if she understood and that revelation eased her troubled, young mind. There was a comical aspect to it, however, that Dominica had to hold the chuckles deep inside her chest. Just imagining Jacob, sitting in his room, pouting and refusing to come out just because he progressed to college, for which he should be more grateful than resentful...it just amused Dominica. In her times, education was unreachable to her so once she started her new life, she leapt at every book, every note and equation she could find, soaking in knowledge just like a sponge soaks in water. To be honest, she didn't even need to go to high school anymore, but because of this new modern age, rules by laws about minors, she didn't have that much choice. Modern age and its freedom were so illusionary compared to some decades, maybe a century or two ago.

When Cynthia brought up the idea about her and Jacob spending time together in order to get used to each other, her immediate response would have been 'yes, absolutely'. But since she assumed the innocent, slightly nervous type of façade, she had to keep it up as well. So she took a few seconds, 'thinking' about the issue, before nodding. "Yes, I think that sounds like a good idea. If Jacob really is that much against change, getting used to me a bit by bit might help him. But if he doesn't want to do it, that's also fine." Oh, the need to show consideration for humans. If she would have to drop another 'others are more important than me' line out there, she would probably not be able to hold straight face.

 

[redblood]

Cynthia gave off a warm bright smile at the reply. "Oh don't worry about it. He won't mind at all." She reassured the seemingly innocent girl. It wasn't completely true, and she knew that, it would take a while before Jacob learned not to mind it, but he would at the very least pretend he didn't mind the situation while he still were in his grumpy period.

"We're eating at seven thirty. You can rest or take a look around the house until then. Don't worry about entering rooms, all the rooms you shouldn't be in are already locked, which at the moment are non if Jacob hasn't decided to shut everyone out again." The last bit was mainly a joke. Jacob had known for months that Dominica would be coming, or at least that someone would be coming, so it wasn't a surprise for him. He shouldn't get such a bad reaction this time. With that Cynthia left the room and let the girl be.

At dinner time, Jacob's father had returned home. "Has everything gone well?" He asked, to which she just smiled and replied "see for yourself." After that she shouted for the two upstairs to come down.

As Jacob came down, he wasn't all too happy. "It's four minutes left before it's half past." He pointed out and gave a fast glance towards the clock in the kitchen. Two minutes left for that one. So it did go slightly wrong, but it had still been a bit too early.

"I'm sorry it wasn't at the dot, but a few minutes back or forth won't hurt now and then." Cynthia pointed out as she motioned her hand for Dominica to take one of the two empty seats. Of course she pointed towards the one Jacob never sat in. As everyone sat down and the food laid on their plates, Cynthia began to speak again.

"So Dominica, this is my husband Daniel. He's a man of few words, but don't feel intimidated by that. He's not as scary as he seems." The older woman got quite the glare from her husband.

"Only speak when you have something to say. I just don't have much to say most of the time." He pointed out to his wife before giving a nod to Dominica as if to welcome her to their home.