Page 1

SHADE

Ten years ago.

‘ T hat’s April. She’s your stepmother now. The girl walking next to her is Marguerite, her daughter, and your new stepsister.’

‘You got married?’

Andy’s voice is incredulous, but I don’t know why he’s surprised. John Novelle doesn’t ask anyone’s permission to do anything, least of all his two kids.

My father’s tone is almost bored. ‘I did.’

‘You didn’t invite us?’

I roll my eyes at my brother. Why is he bothering to ask? He knows what Pop is like.

‘You were at school,’ my dad replies readily. ‘I saw no reason to bring you back for a party .’

I glance at Andy. I am a little surprised now. Usually, Dad would have us in suits like his, touting us before his friends and associates like little clones for a big PR opportunity like that. It’s not like him to pass it up, but I guess, as it’s Thanksgiving, we’d be coming come for the weekend anyway. The Van Houssens usually have their holiday party on the Friday, so he’ll want us to go, look like a family.

‘We haven’t even met her,’ I can’t help but mutter, my eyes sweeping over the woman in the black pencil skirt, red-soled heels, white blouse, and matching blazer with her brown hair neatly coifed.

She’s already had the Novelle makeover, it looks like. That’s the first thing Dad does when he decides to date someone new. The family image needs to be upheld, after all.

But the kid next to her is in a pair of jeans and a shirt that looks a little small. The long hair that matches her mother’s is in two braids down her head behind her ears and tied together at the end. She plays with the end while she walks, flicking it over her thumb at an almost frenzied pace.

It’s kinda weird.

My father rolls his eyes at my words. ‘You’ll meet her at dinner. Make sure you’re dressed properly and on your best behavior, or else.’

‘Or else’ is never an empty threat with my father. It could mean two weeks without screens, or a month of weekends helping the gardeners move dirt in the grounds somewhere. He even called Birchmore Academy in October to make sure our free time in the rec room was taken away for a month because Andy got in trouble for something. I still don’t even know what he did, but I sure as shit got punished too.

‘Yes, sir,’ we both mutter, watching as our dad strolls from the room without a backward glance at his two sons.

‘What the hell?’ Andy mutters, staring at our new mom and the girl who looks like she’s about our age. ‘Pop decides to get married to some gold digger on a whim and we have to just deal with it?’

I stare down at them from the tall window. ‘She might not be here for the money.’

He grunts and side-eyes me. ‘Course she is. Who would marry Pop ? And c’mon. That girl with her. The shirt. The shoes. Looks like it’s all from that warehouse store outside of Richmond. Can you imagine if she came to school dressed like that?’ He laughs a little. ‘Her clothes don’t even fit her.’

I shrug, kind of liking the look of her; different from the other kids I know. She looks fun.

‘And I don’t care what he says,’ Andy continues. ‘She ain’t my mom and that girl is not my sister.’

I hear the sadness in Andy’s voice, and I brush my hand against his. Neither of us remember much about our mom. She passed away before we were two, but we used to wonder what it would be like to have one. Someone to hug us when we fell down or read to us and tuck us in at night. I mean, I guess that’s what moms do...

Andy makes a noise of anger where even a few months ago he would have returned the gesture. Now, he yanks his hand away with a sneer.

‘Don’t fucking touch me!’

He turns away, mumbling something about gold diggers and gay brothers and I roll my eyes and call him a jackass to cover the way his words cut me.

He leaves the room the same way Pop did, and I keep watching.

I wish I could say that this was a surprise or a shock, or that my dad doesn’t just make massive decisions that affect us all the time on whims, but he does. A year ago, he fired our au pair. Sally had been with us for five years and we came home from school to find her gone. Six months ago, he decided we were going to boarding school.

But there’s no point arguing. John Novelle’s word is law in this house, in Richmond, and beyond. I don’t know how far his reach actually goes, but it’s further than my sixth-grade world anyway.

I watch my new stepfamily for a few more minutes. April talks to the girl, pointing things out on the property like she’s trying to make the girl want to be here.

My stepsister, as far as I can see from up here, looks unimpressed.

I snort a small laugh. Yeah, I like her already.

The clock on the mantle chimes six and I sigh. Dinner will be in thirty minutes and Pop said we have to dress to impress, so I leave the room, my shoes hardly making a sound on the Parquet flooring.

I take the back stairs, even though we aren’t supposed to because it’s for staff. I don’t want to run into anyone. In my room, I decide to take a quick shower. I do actually want to make a good impression, not just with my new stepmom, but with her daughter too. I pick one of the pressed Oxford shirts and a pair of chinos off the hangers at random.

I make myself presentable, taking extra care with my hair, and I’m ready by six twenty-five, walking down the grand staircase and stepping into the formal dining room at exactly six thirty.

I find my father and April already there. They’re talking quietly with glasses of wine in their hands. The girl isn’t there yet.

Andy walks in just after I do and frowns at April who smiles when she sees us.

‘My sons.’ Pop says, gesturing at us. ‘On time for once.’

My new stepmother comes forward. She’s in an evening gown now and her hair is curled around her shoulders.

‘You must be Andrew,’ she says, her face softening as she glances at my brother and then at me, ‘and Jack.’

‘Yes, Ma’am,’ we say almost in unison.

‘You can call me April. I understand this might all be a bit of a surprise. I know Marguerite was a little shocked when I told her.’

‘Where is Marguerite?’ my father asks. ‘I said six thirty.’

He sounds casual but, I lock eyes with Andy, she better show up soon. Dad hates waiting on other people.

‘She’ll be here in a minute, I’m sure,’ April says with another smile, this one a little forced. ‘Shall we sit and chat while we wait for her?’

Pop sits at the head of the table with April to his left. We sit on his other side.

‘So, your dad tells me you’re coming back to Richmond for school,’ April begins. ‘That’ll be nice. We’ll be able to get to know each other. Marguerite will be in class with you as of Monday, of course. She’s around the same age as you both, so I’m sure you’ll get along great.’

Andy and I share another look. No more boarding at Birchwood? This is the first we’ve heard of it. John Novelle strikes again. I don’t know whether to be glad or not.

We make all the correct noises in the face of April’s seemingly unflappable cheer, and I can’t help wondering where my father found her. She’s not like the society women he usually dates who always seem so far up their own asses that they can’t see that my father doesn’t give two shits about them. I do like April, I decide, but she’s very different from my father.

A door creaks open, and we all turn to look at the girl who comes in quietly.

‘There you are, sweetheart.’ April says, rising. ‘Did you get lost?’

The girl says nothing but her eyes flick over me and Andy. They avoid my dad entirely.

‘Come and meet Jack and Andrew.’

She steps forward and I see that she hasn’t changed clothes. She’s still wearing the jeans and the long-sleeved green shirt with the arms that are a little too short.

She doesn’t say a word as she sits down next to her mother and looks down at the table.

April doesn’t seem surprised by Marguerite’s behavior, and I chance a look at my father. He hasn’t said anything, but I see his jaw tic.

‘There are new clothes in the closet in your room. Didn’t you see them?’

Marguerite doesn’t look up and I see April give John Novelle a speaking glance and, for the first time in my life, I see my father back down.

Holy crap.

From the corner of my eye, I see Andy reassess April with unconcealed surprise. She has power over my father. No one has power over John Novelle.

‘It takes Marguerite a little time to settle into new places, but I’m sure she’ll get there.’

‘Where did you meet?’ I ask, burning with curiosity.

My father clears his throat. ‘April and I knew each other a long time ago, didn’t we, honey?’

April takes a sip of wine and then gives my dad a small smile. ‘Yes, a long time ago. We reconnected as friends and, well, that’s that. Your dad was there for me and for Marguerite during a... Well, a few months. We spent some time together and realized there was more to our friendship.’

It sounds plausible, but it reeks of one of my dad’s spins. April knows all the etiquette rules, though, which means my dad didn’t pick her up in a bar, or something. I’ll bet they knew each other like she says, but there’s probably a lot more to the story than what they’re telling.

I look at Marguerite. Dinner has been served and she’s eating slowly, moving her food around her plate. She’s made separate piles for her potatoes and broccoli. They aren’t touching anymore. She consumes each pile individually, barely looking up from her plate.

The rest of dinner passes quickly and soon dessert is served. Marguerite hasn’t spoken even once and hasn’t looked at any of us, except for when my father asked her a direct question and her mother nudged her. Even then, she only glanced up to incline her head as little as possible in response.

My father didn’t like that. He considers it disrespectful, but he didn’t say anything.

Then the plates are cleared, and my dad looks at me and Andy expectantly. It’s permission, or an order, to leave, depending on how you look at it.

We both stand and April smiles at us like she means it. ‘It was a pleasure to meet you both. Sweetheart, why don’t you go with them? Maybe they can show you around the house, so you don’t get lost again.’

I nod automatically, and the girl rises without a word, following us out of the dining room.

She trails us up the stairs to the wide corridor and stops when Andy whirls around.

‘In this house, we dress for dinner,’ he sneers, looking down at her well-worn clothes.

I watch her face, expecting her to get upset. Most other kids do when Andy decides to be a dick, but she just looks at him. She doesn’t act like she cares at all.

I snort. ‘Don't be a jerk. You sound like Pop.’

He scowls at me. ‘You show the weirdo around.’

He turns and goes to his room. ‘You’re not my sister,’ he calls over his shoulder. ‘Don’t expect me to be nice to you.’

He shuts it quietly, leaving us in the hall alone.

I watch her. She’s looking around, taking in the cream carpet runner and the painting on the wall close by.

‘Want me to show you around?’

She doesn’t answer, but she doesn’t move when I start walking.

‘You don’t want to see it?’ I ask.

Nothing.

‘Okay. Well, I’m going to play video games, then. Want to do that?’

This time, she follows me to my room.

She stands at the threshold, taking in my gray walls and my twin bed that looks so tiny in the corner. Her eyes move to the couch sitting in the middle of the room in front of the seventy-inch flat screen on the wall.

‘Come in.’

She takes one step inside as I get the controllers from the TV cabinet and then, belatedly, she comes to sit on the other side of the couch, as far away from me as she can get.

I hand her the controller and start the car racing game.

‘Hey, you’re pretty good,’ I tell her a few minutes later and, when I next look over at her, she’s smiling wide at the screen, her feet moving back and forth almost in excitement as she drives.

I grin at her profile. She doesn’t look at me, but I think I’m going to like having a sister.