2

2.Family

Rose stared at the handsome boy standing next to her mother.

"M-my brother?" She stuttered.

"Yes my dear. Josef here is your step brother. Now come on."

Rose's mother turned and walked out of the airport with Josef and Rose in tow. Rose walked out of the airport too and her eyes followed her mother to see a fancy BMW M3.

"This is your car?" Rose asked her mother.

"No, actually its Josefs." Her mother answered. Rose tilted her head in disbelief at Josef who was climbing in the driver seat.

"He looks my age so why..." Rose gestured at her step brother.

"He is your age my dear. Here on Olvido you get your license at sixteen." And with that Rose's mother got in the car.

Rose's bags were already safely tucked in the trunk by Josef, she was now gazing at the wildlife that she could see from the road. She spotted a few small animals and a deer or two. Once on the road they were at such an angle they could see a portion of the forest and Rose could swear she saw figures moving in between the trees.

Rose switched her sitting position so she could keep her eye on the forest as it disappeared around the corner. She had to admit to herself that Olvido was massive. She expected one of two things. One: that there'd be so much wildlife, there'd be little houses and etc. Or two: there'd be a lot of houses and little wildlife. Both were wrong as there was both a lot of wildlife and houses. Rose couldn't believe.

The car ride was five minutes and soon Josef pulled in to a what looked like a richmens house.

It looked small from the car but as Rose got out she couldn't help but gawk at the house. It was amazing, and she couldn't find the words to describe it. She could see the a blue glow from behind the house. She knew that it was more beautiful at dawn which it was right then.

"It's beautiful, isn't it?" Josef said. Rose turned to see him standing with her bags, staring at her. He already knew what she was thinking.

"My father died. He left me a bunch of money. When your mother came, she adopted me." He informed Rose.

"I had enough for everything so Josef here repaid me by building this house. Could this guy get any sweeter?" Rose's mother asked.

Rose's mother walked up to the door and unlocked it. Rose followed suit. She didn't need to help Josef with her bags because it looked like he could handle it with his build.

Rose couldn't find the words to describe the outside of the house, but she couldn't find the breath to breathe inside the house. Warm light filled the room. Rose immediately noticed a bean bag, bookshelf and furniture. The blue glow caught Rose's eye as she saw the massive pool through the big sliding doors. Stairs led to what she thought were the bedrooms.

"Well..." Rose licked her parched lips."this is quite a house." Josef's laugh filled the room. It was a nice one.

"Mom, I'm taking Rose's bags to her room." He called out and made his way upstairs. Rose felt a tap on her shoulder.

"There's a couple of chairs on the deck. Take some time. Clear your head." Rose's mother said.

Rose walked to the sliding doors and opened them. She stepped out onto the deck and found her way to a chair. She was glad for the opportunity to clear her head. Rose sighed for relief. She was glad there was no other man in the house but she was sad and surprised at Josef. Rose didn't have an idea when his father died but he already accepted it. The way Josef talked about it so openly, Rose wondered if she could ever do that.

"You okay?" A male's voice brought her out of her thoughts. She shifted to see Josef looking at her. For some reason Rose's face heated up. Then she blurted out a question.

"When did your father die?"

He didn't even flinch and still kept his eyes on her face.

"Eight years ago." He answered. Rose had called it.

"It's always going to be hard, but someone will fill the void. Your mom did that for me. Hopefully, she'll do the same for you." And with that Josef turned and walked inside.

That was the big question, wasn't it? Would Rose's mother be able to fill that gap? Or would it be Jackson? And that's if he would make the distance.

Rose became agitated and got up from her seat. She then moved to the outer edge of the pool where she got such a view. She could see a couple of hills in the distance, a bit of road to her right and to her left a piece of the forest stuck out.

Suddenly a flash on her right caught her attention. She looked to her right and something, like a majestic beast, lit up the night. There on the hill light's glowed. Rose felt eyes on her. Then just like that it faded.