My Brother's Dirty Secret

Chapter 3: Utopia

By the time we touched down in Ravenburn, I was well-rested and well-fed. The blue-eyed attendant was a fantastic cook, and her brown-eyed comrade was quite the entertaining conversationalist and doting server. Another expensive-looking car was waiting for us at the runway, this one a subtle tan. There were three different people waiting by the vehicle, but even without a picture of them I could pick out my new parents. It helped that the man who I assumed was their driver wore a suit almost entirely identical to Daegal’s.

The woman rushed forward as soon as my sneakers touched the asphalt; I could tell by the way her arms were spread that she was about to hug me, but I still tensed up reflexively. As if she could sense my unease, she hesitated with just a foot and a half between us, allowing us a chance to study one another.

My new mother, Rose Black, was so beautiful that it almost hurt to look at her. Her straight hair was like gold, shiny in the midday sun even tucked behind her ears, showing off her perfect heart-shaped face. Her eyes, sage green with moss flecks, were wide as they passed over me, and her fairy milky complexion was flawless. She clasped her hands before her chest as if to keep from reaching out, and her round lips were parted slightly as if in awe. Rose stood at least four inches taller than I, which would place her at around five-foot-eight, and the figure of a fashion model. Even with the private jet, the fancy car, and the servants waiting with bated breath, she was dressed in simple attire: a long sleeve black turtleneck tucked seamlessly into a deep green skirt that flared out from her hips and ended just above her knees. A thin gold bracelet on one wrist; a gold wedding band on the ring finger of the opposite hand, accompanied with its matching engagement band; a smooth, round stone hung from a delicate gold necklace; and two diamond studs hung from her earlobes, adding an air of class to her outfit, which I could only describe as “substitute teacher who says her personality is being a Slytherin”.

She broke out in a bright white smile. “Hi, Artemis. I’m Rose, and this is my husband Jason.”

My new father had stepped forward after seeing his wife pause, and he was no less intimidating. No less than six feet tall, with chocolate brown waves and dark brown eyes that seemed to shift between red or black depending on how the light hit them. His skin tone leaned more on the golden-bronze side, implying an interest in the outdoors, and his black sweater and tan dress slacks screamed old money, even with his only accessory being a wristwatch. His smile was more contained than Rose’s, but just as kind as he offered me his hand.

“Artemis, we’re excited to finally meet you. I hope Daegal and the Twins took care of you?”

I nodded and cleared my throat. “Y-Yes, they were all wonderful.”

“Great,” he beamed. I noticed that Daegal had carried my bags to the car, and that Rose was frowning in his direction before she turned back to me with a puzzled look.

“Where are the rest of your bags?”

“Uh…” I gulped, unsure how to answer that. “I-I-I only have those two.”

Rose’s eyes widened. “Really? You were able to fit all of your belongings in just two bags?” After I apprehensively nodded, she threw her husband a pleading look.

He chuckled. “Don’t look at me like that, Rose--you’ll have to ask Artemis.”

My brow furrowed in confusion as my foster mother turned to me. “I hope this isn’t rude, but will you let me take you shopping tomorrow? We don’t have a lot of time left before school starts and I just want to be sure that you have all the necessities!”

“Oh, uh, sure?” I answered, feeling awkward. I know she wasn’t trying to put me on the spot, but she really was. “Back in Gravehurst, school didn’t start until the end of August. Is that the same here?”

Jason chuckled. “No, actually. Your first day of school is Monday.”

I thought my eyes were going to bug out of my head. It was already Friday afternoon, meaning I only had two and a half days to mentally prepare myself for my senior year at a new school in a completely new place. After seeing the look on my face, Jason and Rose laughed.

“Don’t worry, Artemis! Mrs. Dominguez sent us your transcripts after we signed the documents,” Jason assured me. “We already know that you’re a bright young woman. You’ll do just fine.”

I’m not sure if it was the sincerity behind his words, or the adoration he already seemed to display in his gaze, but Jason’s assurance really resonated with something deep within me. Rose also seemed genuinely interested in me and certain of my capabilities, and some long-lost emotion swelled up inside. I didn’t want to admit it, but a small part of me was worried that they wouldn’t like me.

“Uhm, p-please call me Mimi,” I told them, tacking on a half-shrug as a way to feign nonchalance. “I know my name can be a mouthful and, uh… Everyone who really knows me calls me that, so…”

They both visibly relaxed, and I think Rose actually sniffled. “Of course, Mimi,” she smiled. “Can I… Is it too weird or too soon if I hugged you?”

At first, I found her question off-putting. No one had ever asked me for a hug before. On the other hand, it was truly endearing because… Well, because no one had ever asked me for a hug before. No one had ever been so respectful of my personal space, even if they carried an awareness of my past history. This woman saw my file, saw how many times I was returned, read all about what happened in other households, and not only does she still want me, but she is doing everything she can to make me feel comfortable.

I must have taken longer to answer than I realized, because Rose’s face fell a little before she regained composure. “Sorry, you’re not obliga--”

“No, I--I know,” I nodded. “I’m okay with hugging. Thank you for asking, it… It means a lot that you did.”

She wrapped her arms around me delicately, with one of her hands stroking my hair. Her hold was by no means crushing or trapping; Rose’s embrace was somehow both strong and gentle, filled with grace and a tenderness that was rare where I came from. “Of course, Mimi. And if you feel that anyone here oversteps in any way--they make you feel uncomfortable, or pressured about anything--then tell us. Please. We can’t help you fix a problem if we don’t know it exists.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

‧͙⁺˚*･༓☾ ☽༓･*˚⁺‧͙

Jason and Rose climbed into the back of the spacious car, beckoning me to join them. The interior was much larger than you would think upon first glance; it had two pairs of gray leather seats facing one another, and enough cup holders to classify it as a movie theater. My new parents had claimed the seats toward the front of the vehicle, so I took one at the rear. There were a couple feet between us, which made me relax a little bit more--I was worried I’d have to be squished up against one of them. Or worse, between both of them.

After Daegal shut the door and slid into the passenger seat beside the driver, we pulled away from the jet and a pair of waving Twins. I waved back at them, a genuine smile on my face. I was actually kind of excited about this new family.

“Would you like a drink, Mimi?” asked Jason, pressing a button on the console beside him. A compartment popped open, and I could see that it was insulated to allow the piles of ice and unopened beverages to stay cool. “We always try to keep a little of everything.”

I could see cans of soda, bottles of water, some champagne and spirits, and… Juice pouches?

Rose squealed in delight and plucked one of the juices from the ice box. “Jason, where did you find Summer Drop?! It’s the rarest flavor!”

He chuckled at her enthusiasm and took the juice from her; she narrowed her eyes at him, relaxing only when he ripped the little plastic straw off the pouch and jammed the pointy end in through the top. Then he handed it back to her, a cocky half-smile on his lips. “Here you go, my love. No spills with me around.”

She pouted dramatically at that. “I don’t spill it… All the time. And if you’re that confident, I have a box of jars for you to open at home!”

Jason shook his head, amused, and noticed that I was watching them with intrigue. “I know you’ve probably never heard of Sugary Lagoon; it’s a bigger brand here in New England,” he explained. “When we were kids, it was the most popular brand for juice, soda, even cocktail juice and mixers for alcohol. They had damn near all corners of the beverage market settled--and one summer, they came out with this limited time juice flavor called Summer Drop that was an instant hit. They bring it back for anniversaries, but other than that it’s impossible to find in our country. It’s sold more commonly in Europe, so I found a vendor that’s willing to ship me a few boxes every month from here on out.”

“Oh,” was all I could really say. It was pretty interesting, but I was more focused on the fact that my new foster mom was giggling and doing a happy dance in her seat across from me.

“Do you want to try some? It’s a sort of peach-mango flavor!” gushed Rose.

“Uh, sure?”

“We can mix it with some rum or whiskey, if you want?” offered Jason.

My eyes widened. “Uh, I’m too young to be drinking--I mean, I’ve tried a little, but it’s not really my thing..?”

It was the truth. I had made the unfortunate mistake of accepting a sip from one of Leo’s guys before, not realizing he had already finished most of his soda and had filled the rest of the to-go cup he was drinking out of with vodka. It was so gross, making me wonder why those drinks were highly sought after by my peers.

Jason laughed softly at my insistence and tossed me a Summer Drop. “Only a joke--and a bit of a test. We appreciate you following the law, but on the off-chance you decide to do something you shouldn’t, make sure one of us is supervising, okay?”

I gulped. “O-Okay.”

“Mmm--or Apollo!” Rose suggested, a patient look in her eyes. “We get it if you don’t want to talk to us old people about your day-to-day. He’s not too much older than you, so you might feel more comfortable with him around.”

Something about the name she said made me sit up a bit straighter. “Um, who is Apollo?”

“Our son, your older brother,” she said, as if she were reminding me. When there wasn’t a semblance of recognition on my face, she paused. “Did--Did Mrs. Rodriguez not tell you we had another child? Will that be a problem for you? He’s in his second year of college and only comes home for weekends and holidays, so he’ll never be a bother--”

“No, no! It’s no problem at all,” I blurted out, fighting the rising panic. “Miss Celia did say that you had adopted before--I guess I forgot. I’m sure Apollo is great.”

“He is!” she smiled wistfully. “Very bright, very talented--”

“He’s a little lazy,” Jason murmured, a can of soda raised to his upturned lips. He made a show of wincing when Rose elbowed him in the ribs, but something told me that he barely felt it. “What?! He’s always playing video games and partying.”

“He gets straight As and keeps his room clean, I think he can spend his free time how he wants,” Rose chided him with a smirk and a shake of her head. “Anyway--Mimi, the reason we’re going on about Apollo is because, even though he’s rarely home, you will still see him around since you’ll share a wing with him.”

I c****d an eyebrow at that. “L-Like a bedroom?”

“Goodness, no!” Jason assured me. “A wing is a section of a house. The west wing of the second floor is where we sleep, and where our offices are. The east wing is where Apollo’s old room is, and where you’ll be living.”

“To be honest, your name was what sweetened the deal for us,” Rose admitted. “Mrs. Rodriguez made it a point to show us all the information for kids available to adopt without putting any identifying information on there, like names and race, so all we really knew about you at first was your adoption history and your grades.”

I blinked. I didn’t realize that Miss Celia did that, but it made sense. I’ve seen more of my black peers age out of the system than my white peers, and turning eighteen didn’t magically make their problems go away.

“We loved raising Apollo, but we also know it’s harder for older kids to be adopted,” Jason pointed out. “So all we asked was that she present us with options that were over twelve and took their studies seriously. She recommended your file above all others, so you were one of our finalists.”

“Then we saw your name--’Artemis’,” Rose continued, her green eyes sparkling. “I’ve always had a love for various old world mythologies, but to find a teenager that exceeded our minimal standards and had a name that matched our son’s? I knew it was absolutely kismet!”

I nodded along. “Oh, yeah. Apollo and Artemis are twin gods or something, right?”

“Correct!” she applauded quietly. “Apollo is the Greek god of archery and the arts, associated with the Sun. Artemis is the goddess of the hunt and wilderness, and is used by many practitioners of Wicca to personify the moon. They’re the Divine Twins, so it only made sense for us to bring the two of you together.”

I wasn’t sure how I felt being part of a set I knew nothing about. Granted, they admitted that they liked my profile before they knew my name, but it still felt kind of weird. They said he wouldn’t be around much, so I don’t think it’ll come up ever again, I silently hoped.

We spent the rest of the ride from Ravenburn chatting aimlessly. Jason would point out landmarks along the way, sharing tales of when he and Rose were my age. According to my new parents, Ravenburn was only a fifteen minute drive from Middlemoor, and its contemporary shops and assortment of restaurants made it popular with the local youth. I learned that they were neighbors and childhood friends who developed crushes on one another and became high school sweethearts. I knew way too many kids whose junkie parents had been together since high school, and they ended up hating one another until things got too hostile for children to be around. It was heartwarming to see a couple that actually made it work--and it was obvious that they were still very much in love.

Maybe I can have something like that someday, I wished as we passed a group of teens my age exiting a movie theater. They looked so happy and carefree. Maybe I can find something like that here.