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CHAPTER ONE

I don't knohy this all has to fall to me My stepmother's dead and Dad's a wreck She was his entire world and

My fingers trail along her shelf of bells She had bells from all over the world, every state, every place she ever visited I pick up a delicate glass one with doves and a sht twist of my wrist and its delicate tinkle falls into the silence of the room

The life is gone from this house

As a stepht We weren't close but she wasn't 'evil' or 'wicked' She made my dad happy and that was all I really wanted froical ht he'd never be happy again Now that Meryl's gone he's a wreck again, buried at the bottom of a bottle and I don't expect him to come up for a while

Opening the hallway closet there's a box of pictures and scrapbooks on the bottos but this looksroom table It's heavy, there must be a lot of books in here

The pages crackle as I open the first one expecting to see childhood memories Instead it's filled with articles, carefully cut froazines and placed under laminate

Ben Of course

Prince Benjamin Brandt Sets World Water Speed Record! The first headline reads

Prince of nothing He's not really a prince, that's just what the media has dubbed hiainst us even having a title I shake rainy black and white photograph of hi a trophy

There are more photos of his with socialites, he ood to have so many beautiful women at his beck and call

Benjamin Brandt To Build New Rocket for Speedboat

They go on and on There's not a single photograph of childhood, just clippings of Ben's exploits Knots tighten inIt's always about hi the book closed I go over and jerk the fridge open but the door refuses to open

"Damn it!"

I pull with allon it, the door opens with a pop and I fall backwards into the center island bruising my kidneys I stare into eotten rid of the perishables leaving e to be filled

Tears fall unbidden The door slowly closes and I sink to the floor Those ey forto be filled I don't try to stop my tears as they fall

I feel aard and alone Unwanted Dad did his best There are scars left on you though when your own ue o with it A scent The sot rid of every trace of her he could find