"I take it that you're Camille?"

With flaming cheeks, I nodded at Blaine's doppelgänger. "And you must be Carter."

He chuckled and swung his bag over his shoulder. "It's nice to finally meet you." He then reached out and hugged me, I was too shocked to do anything but stand there stiff as a board, but it didn't seem to register to him.

He prolonged our meeting by trying to have a conversation with me and like the grumpy chick that I was, I was annoyed by the time he'd left to take a shower. Although I had no idea why, Logan stuck by my side.

"How about you and I watch a movie?" he asked, stepping in front of me. "It's bound to take the edge off."

I crossed my arms and before I got my response out, Caitlyn stormed over, wearing a menacing frown. "Sounds brilliant. What are we watching?" She stared at me as she asked this.

She had another thing coming if she honestly thought that I was going to decline the offer just because she was now in the picture―figuratively speaking. "Yeah, Logan. What are we watching?"

He stared between us girls as though he was trying to figure out what game we were playing. "Okay, no. I'm not doing this," he said with a shake of his head. "I'm not putting myself in the middle of this. I'm outta here."

"Weakling," Caitlyn muttered when he walked away from us.

I was inclined to agree with her and reluctantly chuckled. She looked at me and almost smiled but thought better of it and walked away instead, heading in the same direction that Carter and Logan had gone.

With nothing to do, I decided to do what I assumed every other bored teenager with no social life did, I went back to my room to hibernate until dinnertime. I'd just propped my feet up and was laying on the bed with my laptop burning a hole in my jeans when there was a knock on the door.

"What?" I called out, hoping that it wasn't my non-mom wanting to chat.

"Is that the new way of greeting people?" I looked up when I heard Carter's voice and sat up, dropping the laptop beside me.

"Sorry," I said sheepishly. "I thought you were To―" I caught myself before I put my foot in my mouth. I wasn't sure that my issues with Tori was something that I was ever going to share with my new siblings and starting a conversation that way was sure to lead us down that road. "Doesn't matter what I thought," I finished lamely and disguised my awkward moment with a chuckle. "How are you?"

He smiled and it put me at ease for the time being. "Better now that you're here. Mom has been an emotional wreck since you know..." he trailed off with a look that said that he definitely put his feet in his mouth.

"Since my dad died," I finished for him. "It's okay, you can say it. He's dead. There's no denying it."

"Yeah... that." He cleared his throat and I shrugged. There was nothing to add to what I'd said and just when I thought he was going to take his leave, he surprised me by staying put. "I'm sorry for your loss," he said with what appeared to be genuine sadness. "I can't imagine what it's like to lose a parent like that, so I won't even attempt to say that I understand what you're going through."

I downplayed the moment with a shrug. "Thanks."

"So," he said, reclining onto the bed and using his elbows to support him. "You're Mom's secret kid, huh?"

I couldn't suppress the laugh that bubbled out of me. "What? That was so random!"

He joined in my laughter. "What? It's the truth. You appeared out of nowhere, dude."

I shrugged. "It's a long, complicated story."

"So?"

I rolled my eyes. "So, I don't wanna talk about it."

He stared at me long and hard before shrugging. "Alright, fine. Well, how do you like it here so far?"

"Yeah," I said, sitting up, crossing my legs in front of me. "About that. Where exactly are we? Like is this the city or... cause there's like a driveway and stuff and from the pictures that I've seen, that's not exactly―"

"Woah there, Nelly. We're in Westchester," Carter chuckled. "It's not in the heart of the city but it's still New York. Oh and it's total suburbia."

"Meaning lots of rich, preppy types?"

"Meaning it gets pretty boring around here."

"Huh," I mused. "Interesting."

"No. Not interesting. Boring. Keep up, damn."

I chucked my pillow at him and we burst into laughter. I didn't know anything about the kid but it was really nice just laughing again for no reason, so I decided right then that I liked him. "I'm hungry, are you?" I asked, getting up from the bed.

"I'm a growing teenager, I'm always hungry." He put his hands out and I tugged at him, letting go when he was almost up. "You're a horrible person," he muttered, getting up on his own.

"What's your point?"

"You'll fit right in!"

I rolled my eyes and smiled a happy smile as we made our way into the kitchen where we found Tori making dinner. She lit up when she saw Carter and a part of me felt a twinge of resentment when they embraced.

"Why didn't anyone tell me that you were home?" she asked amidst their hug. "Oh, I've missed you so much."

I wanted to look away but like the glutton for punishment that I was, I forced myself to continue watching them, while a storm raged within me for reasons that I didn't even want to think about.

"Alright, Mom," an embarrassed Carter mumbled, pulling away from her. He then turned to me and I traded my frown for a smile. "You know, you two could probably pass as sisters," he said, tossing me an apple from the counter.

I bit into the apple, refusing to respond to what I'm sure he meant as a compliment, while Tori beamed. "I'm so glad you two are getting along," she said with misty eyes. "I was so worried that this might all be too much for you guys to deal with right now."

"And by 'you guys' you really mean Cait, don't you?" Carter asked, making air quotes around the words you guys.

His mom rolled her eyes. "No, I wasn't implying anything. I'm just saying." She smiled at me and I took another bite of the apple. "It's really great having all my loves under one roof."

Carter rolled his eyes. "Roite. Well, I'm gonna go play some ball with Logan. See y'all later."

I couldn't decide whether I wanted to throw up or gouge my eyes out at her proclamation. I was happy with not being classified as someone that she loved and since she went ahead and opened that can of particularly delightful worms, I had no choice but to ask a question that I was sure would do more harm than actually solve anything.

"So, do you usually abandon the people that you love or is it just me?"

She had the nerve to look upset. "Why would you say such a thing?"

"Because it's a free country," I replied in a matter-of-fact tone. "And also, because it's the truth."

"I didn't abandon you, Camille. How could you even think such a thing?"

I got up and made my way to the trashcan to thrown away the rest of my apple and leaned against the fridge door. "Hmm, well let's see. It'd been about sixteen years since you'd laid eyes on me, right? Well, that was obviously before this whole dead dad thing. But isn't that right?"

"That wasn't a choice that I made easily," she defended.

"Ah, but it is true."

"Sweetheart, my leaving had nothing to do with the way that I felt about you," she said with tears now in her eyes. "I've loved you way before you were even born and that love is something that will never ever―"

I rolled my eyes. "Oh my gosh, woman! That's not even what I asked. You were too busy living your new life to even send me a birthday card or just pick up the damn phone and call me for sixteen years, so don't talk to me about love. Love is being there for your kid even when it's hard. And if it was hard for you, can you imagine what it was like for me?" I continued before she even had a chance to open her mouth. "Of course not. You're a selfish person. And you're a greedy person. You already had one family that you didn't even have to decency to stay with, what on earth made you think that you deserved to have two?"

When the tears that were pooled in her eyes, slipped out, I left the kitchen. Call me heartless, but there was only so much compassion that I was capable of feeling for someone who clearly didn't have any for me. And it really bugged me that it took my dad dying for her to get on a plane and come see me. So if me not caring about her tears made me heartless, then I was proud to wear that badge.

Photo on the side: Douglas Booth as Logan.