*Iris P.O.V.*

The steady, quiet hum of the engine and the soft "whoosh" of tires on the road were the only sounds we could hear. The vehicle smoothly navigated the roads on the outskirts of the main island. Despite the sunshine and the steady sound of waves crashing onto tropical beaches that seemed to stretch further than the eye could see, the mood inside the car was deeply ill-tempered. I didn't know quite what to say. I was heartbroken herself...but my niece Riley had just lost the only parent she'd ever known. Despite my vast vocabulary, words failed me.

"I think you'll like the house." I settled on lamely, my nearly-black brown eyes not moving from where they were settled. "My husband and I bought it a few years before he...passed. I've got a lovely bedroom picked for you, and tomorrow after school we can do a little shopping, get some paint samples picked out if you don't like the color or set up I've picked, and by the end of the week--"

"I don't want to talk about my room." Riley interrupted coldly, her eyes focused out the window to her left, the sharpness in her gaze hurting me. A very pregnant silence hung between us before I spoke again, my voice softer, in guarded tones. "We could order pizza for dinner. Maybe watch a movie?"

"Correction." Riley responded, her tones acidic, her eyes narrowing as she turned her gaze to me without moving her body. "I don't want to talk. Period. Leave me alone." The teen hissed. Her attitude caused me to cringe, the dark and heavy atmosphere inside the car belying the bright and sunny environment surrounding it.

For now, I left it alone and redirected my attention towards driving. It was obvious the young woman wanted nothing to do with me. *How can I blame her? She hasn't even seen me since she was small...likely remembers so little about me that it's like going to live with a stranger. What other fifteen year-old girl would feel good about this situation?* I could only hope that seeing the house would turn her opinion the other way. I had found healing in the ramshackle beach home, would Riley?

Pulling off the road, I slid the gear shifter into park, turning the ignition to the left and extracting the key before opening the door. Riley didn't bother to get her bag, just stalked away from the vehicle silently, obviously still angry. "Why shouldn't she be?" I murmured towards the sky, "You left her with no one but me, Tabby..."

It was in that moment that I decided that no matter how difficult I had to try, I was going to become Riley's protector. Become the family this girl so desperately craved. She hadn't gotten grandparents--My and Tabby's mother and father had died during a political assassination, and Riley's father had never been in the picture. And now her mother had left her in this world, to be cared for by a relative that was a relative stranger to her.

Wandering down the beach path, I released a relieved sigh at the sight of the home. Really, it was something that belonged on the east coast somewhere, among the rocky beaches and rainy weather. It had been straight out of a fairytale--newly on the market, just in the right price range, and needing little to no renovations when Henry and I had been searching for a home before my first novel had been published. The natural wood shingles were treated, but left unpainted. I truly loved the house. The shape, the contours, every crack and crevice, including the way the house seemed to breathe as the waves crashed over the sand beneath it. My own little piece of heaven.

Impatiently Riley waited by the front door, her arms crossed tightly over her chest, scowl perpetually painted on her lovely features. I took my time, getting her bags out of the car and hauling them to the deck where they wouldn't be ruined if it rained. Darkness was slowly closing in on us, and I wanted to get inside with what little amount of daylight was left. I reached for my key, and unlocked the door. Once that small task was done, she was inside almost immediately, sighing appreciatively at the air conditioning but not appreciative enough to utter even a word of thanks. She merely stood in the middle of the open-concept floor plan and turned to gaze daggers at me.

"Where's my room?" She demanded. I was taken aback by the rude comment, before numbly responding.

"Second floor. Go straight down the narrow hallway and it's the only door on the right." Riley turned on her heel and marched up the steps, disappearing altogether. I simply stood there staring after her. The girl was lovely. Looked so much like her mother, aside from that tanned skin tone. By the look of her, I guessed her father was Hispanic, or something of the like. Maybe Native American. Tabby had told me her father's name, but apparently the guy had never seen it fit to be in his daughter's life. His name wasn't even on her birth certificate. I closed her eyes and was at once in a flashback.


"I took the test, Iris...It...it was positive. What am I going to tell mom?" Tabby's facial expression conveyed sheer terror. She was only seventeen. Unmarried. And her father was up for re-election next year.

My eyes widened considerably. I was seven years older than her sister. At twenty-four I was newly married, and Henry and I had been trying for a year and a half to get pregnant, with no help. At twenty-four I was foolish, self-centered. She was beautiful, she had always been more beautiful. Smarter. But I had this on her. She had gone out and got herself pregnant. But more than judgement flooded my heart. So did anger, fueling my hateful words, my hateful actions...my hateful thoughts. It pounded in my chest like an angry man against a locked door. Like waves hurtling themselves against the rocky edge of a cliff. That still didn't excuse me for what I'd done. The anger I felt boiled inside of me. I was absolutely furious that this child, who didn't even want the baby, could have the child I so desperately craved.


"You...you should be ashamed of yourself! I never want to see you again!" I cried, trying to stop the tears coming to my eyes. How was it fair that someone who didn't even want a baby was allowed to have one, and I wasn't?! I'd never forget the betrayal and hurt that flashed across her face that day.

Turning my back, I had simply run away, the beginning of a separation that would last sixteen years.

I hadn't seen her sister after that until Riley was nearly ten. Henry had recently passed away, and my heart was hard. The cynicism had grown like an ugly scar over my soul. Henry's funeral was the last time I'd seen Tabby alive. And I hadn't even spoken more than two words to her...

Shaking my from my sad memories, I wandered into the kitchen to decide what to do for dinner, shoulders slumping slightly at the sad memories, and the vivid picture of my sister's coffin in my mind's eye. My heart was heavy, but my hands were busy, trying to clear these things from the thoughts running through my head so I could be a proper parent figure to Riley.

*Riley P.O.V.*

To me, it was hell. Hell that was a dull-colored piece of crap on some garish-hued sandy beach. Waters so clear it should be criminal. The island was so far from the mainland that there weren't even ferries that ran back and forth between, otherwise I might have considered running. No, we had to take a plane, which made escape all but impossible. The moment Iris told me where my room was, I stomped up the steps, attitude in full swing. Did I care? No.

Iris hadn't even cried at the funeral, I thought bitterly. Not even a single tear, just some screwed-up look on her face like she smelled something bad.

This wasn't right. The room was nice but it wasn't...me. It wasn't the room I was used to. The room I was used to held my paintings, my sketches. The ones I'd done in art classes and my sessions at the community college. The walls here were bare, save for a couple of mirrors and some cheesey "LOVE" print in the corner. It was too bright for me...at least for right now. With my frame of mind, I'd prefer colors to match my mood. Black, dark red.

Only three boxes stood in the corner. One box was dedicated to shoes and one to clothes. One was all of the important things I've ever acquired in life which amounted to very little. The other was my prom dress. One I'd never wear because my now ex-boyfriend, a senior, would be attending prom alone while I started over at a new school.

Anger flooded my system at the thought and I glared at the new laptop on my new desk. The new phone. Little did Iris know, there was no way in hell I'd get rid of my prepaid cellphone, even if it no longer had service. That cellphone held the last text message I'd ever received from my mom. I could hear her voice telling me she loved me whenever I felt like it.

I wandered over to the window, gazing out at the scenery. Before mom died, I would've killed for a room like this in a place like this on some vacation. Darkness was falling over the island, turning the skies to darker shades that were reflected in the water below. I loved the city but most girls dreamed of a white sand beach and clear waters. However my current situation kind of killed it for me. This was a prison.

With a half-hearted sigh, I wandered over to the bed and settled down on the plush covers. That's another thing that annoyed me about Iris. Mom and I had struggled constantly. I was used to cheap, rough blankets from cheap stores. We only once ordered pizza, and mom had paid in singles. And here Iris was, the millionaire sister who had fame and fortune, throwing three-hundred dollar bed sets my way, seven-hundred dollar phones. New laptop, new TV, new furniture, new clothes. The electronics in this room alone could've given my mom and I food for months, maybe even a year at the right stores. And she just threw them at me, trying to buy my affection. Screw her. I hated her. I hated this house. Tears rose to my eyes but I blinked them away, sinking into the softness of my bed. Tomorrow I started school.

*Iris P.O.V*

I silently placed the tray of cookies on the desk. I figured after an in-flight dinner, a little home-cooked sweetness was in order. Turning around to gaze at Riley's sleeping form curled into the fetal position. She looked so vulnerable there. I could only hope that as her emotional wounds healed, her anger towards me would lessen.

I hadn't been there for much in her life, but I was going to starting this very moment.

I turned and made my way out of her room, stopping to gently drape a blanket over her and shutting the door behind me. With an exasperated sigh, she moved suddenly, kicking the blanket towards the foot of her bed and immediately curling back up, which just caused me to smile. She was so much like Tabby, stubborn. I reached to shut off the lights as I made my way out, cloaking the room in darkness. Tomorrow was going to come quickly. I had to be up early to wake her in time for school.

Wandering into my study, I seated myself silently behind my desk, gazing at the dark screen of my computer. Words had abandoned me lately. My inspiration to write further had died with my sibling. My trademark blue notebook sat on my desk, waiting patiently to be filled with words. For now, that would have to wait. Before that call, I had a million concepts bounding around in my head. Now my brain might as well be laying on the desk before me for all the good it was doing.

I turned on my computer, settling for merely checking my stocks. Money had never been a motivation for my writing. I was more than financially stable. I owned properties on the mainland. Stocks, movies from my books, multiple printings. Income had grown into wealth. Yet as the old adage said, money could never buy happiness. I swiftly turned the computer off and pushed back from the desk. Pitting my elbows on my thighs, I buried my head in my hands and spoke to the girl I'd ignored for sixteen years.

"You have to help me here, Tabby. I know you're mad at me but...I need to make this work. I need to redeem myself, even if it's just a little bit. Riley deserved to be raised by a mother who understood her. Who has been there since she was born. Someone who knows what they're doing..." I whispered, feeling a little silly talking to a woman who had passed a month before. However, it was the truth. I needed her help, wherever she was.

"I miss you, Tabs." I whispered brokenly.
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