Water Wtich part 2

So much had changed. So much hate and evil had been allowed in the house. All because of him. He had waltzed in here, in the wake of the despair and the hole that was left after dad had died, and moved in on us. Of course, she didn't care, she was "happy" again, with him. Didn't bother her in the least he was an evil thing, a spawn of Satan (I was convinced damn it!), or that he and his cold asshole of a son were cruel bastards.
I didn't believe her, when she claimed she was happy. The light wasn't there anymore, her eyes didn't sparkle. They were dull now, and I was afraid they were getting darker and darker each passing day, with no hope of the light coming back. It was all because of him. He ruined everything.
"Oh, Lana, stop it. The girl can get up whenever she wants! It is a Saturday." he smiled at me, the wrinkles at the corners of his eyes crinkling. He looked so nice, I know. Hell, I bet you Hitler looked nice while he was planning genocide secretly, but there was something off about him. Something about him threw the switch on my inner panic alarms, and my mother didn't believe me at all. She wasn't in to the whole psychic thing, even though I didn't claim to be psychic. Even animals avoided the man, our dog Roxie had tried everything she could to stay away from him.
I looked out the window, to her kennel. The poor dear, she should be in the house, on my bed asleep and happy, not outside in the weather. It wasn't fair, what gave him the right to ruin our happiness. A gold wedding band, a piece of paper, and a ceremony that I had been forced to attend. Mom had threatened to ground me from the beach if I dared to object during the ceremony. Of course I obeyed…and was hurt. She betrayed me in that moment, made me resent him anymore. That little bit of cruelty would cost him, if I ever had the chance.
I stood up slowly and cracked my back with a smugly satisfied pop. Oh, the joys of summer vacation…nothing to do besides sit with them al day. And with that asshole of a "new brother" I had in the next room. I had nothing against him personally, his cold and aloof attitude matched that of so many of the beautiful, the popular, or the connected at school. I was used to it, my dislike stemmed from the fact of who he was related to. He was not liked by association.
"Devon, dear you need to get dressed we have men back in the house!" my mother putted around my room looking for something "decent" for me to wear. I ignored her, and pulled on a pair of shorts. My t-shirt was as long as a dress, the only way they would have seen anything is if they looked on purpose. Ignoring her protests, I walked out of my safe haven, and into the kitchen.
Breakfast was mandatory, an old rule from the good days, when  dad would be around to cook for us. I actually enjoyed being in the kitchen then, being with him. The flour and egg fights we got into made my mom laugh as she cleaned the kitchen and him and I up. But not anymore. I had no one to mock fight with anymore.
It had been months since he drowned, but it was still all too fresh for me.
I moved slowly, past all the places where the pictures had been. They had all been replaced by tasteful prints, and flower fixtures. To help with the "pain" of losing him. But to me, the absence of the photos, the physical shows of lost memories from childhood, happy times when we were a family, it just hurt me more. They were gone, packed away in the attic somewhere, buried just like he was. Buried and forgotten by all but me.
I ran my fingers softly over the place where my favourite picture had been. It was empty, nothing had been placed here. The spot was mocking me, silently, and I wanted to break it so bad, to smash it. I wanted to cry so hard, but I couldn't. crying was a weakness, and you couldn't show weakness in this house.
"So, what do you want to eat?" Erik poked his head out of the kitchen doorway, and I grimaced. He was cooking again, and he cooked all too well. It made me have to be nice to him.
"What are you offering?"
"Eggs and toast, pancakes, or cold cereal." his tone was like the cereal, cold. He didn't resent me, he didn't show an anger to me. He didn't show anything, I was starting to think he was a robot, or a golem. He had no emotions, at least when I was around.
"Eggs and toast please, with-
"With a little bit of cheese sprinkled on the eggs. pimentos, olives, and a dash of pepper flakes in the eggs themselves, and so much butter on the toast it's drowning. Coming right up." he turned toward the fridge, and I couldn't help but feel a tiny bit overwhelmed. He knew what I wanted for breakfast, to a T. I knew close to nothing about him, other than  if he wasn't my stepbrother he would make me drool.
He, unlike his pale and dark looking father (he had the whole Dracula thing down pat), was golden. Everything about him was gold, his skin, hair, and eyes. Tan, but not too tan, and hair like spun gold that fell in long curls. His eyes were a stunning, like the Twilight vampire eyes I bet you. Golden rimmed in chocolate. He was beautiful, I guess. If only he wasn't related to that person.
I caught my reflection in the mirror. I was a perfect mixture of my mom and dad. I had her straight hair, but his dark black colouring. His eyes, her nose, and build, and his personality. I scrutinised my body the most, I was fine with my hair and silvery-blue eyes. I wasn't so fine with my curves. I wasn't fat, mind you, just voluptuous? Is that the word for big boobs, thin(ish) waist, and hips that don't lie (mostly cuz they couldn't talk I guess)?
I looked back at my eyes. They looked like ice, really. The silver blue always got comments of "Do you wear contacts?" and "Your eyes are beautiful!" though, I really didn't think so. They were eyes, and that was it.
I sat down at the bar, and grabbed a peach, one of the things I loved most about summer. Biting into it slowly, my eyes closed in sheer ecstasy as the juice worked its way around my mouth. God, they were so good, these peaches. Fresh from the orchard, which was just down the road next to the vineyard and winery. Living on the northern east coast had it's pluses, for sure, besides just being near the sea.