1. Kristen

Eighteen-year-old Kristen Grey stared out of her window as the car sped past mountains, trees, and fields.  She had been sitting on the passenger seat doing just that for almost four hours.  She didn’t really want to start a conversation with her mom who was driving her to some remote mansion for a so-called vacation – a vacation she hadn’t really planned.

“You will have to talk to me sometime, you know.”  Erin Grey’s dark eyes moved from the road to her daughter and back.  “It’s not like I’m sending you to boot camp.”

Kristen rolled her butterscotch colored eyes.  “Like it makes any difference.”  She tucked a strand of her brunette hair behind her ear.  “And who is this Uncle Alex you’re forcing me to spend my vacation with?  I haven’t even met him before.”

“I’ve already told you.”  There was a hint of annoyance in Erin’s voice.  She had lost track of how many times they had the conversation.  “He’s the youngest son of an aunt of mine and he needs help with some things.  Besides, you don’t have anything to do at home.”

“How would you know?  Have you asked me?”

Erin sighed.  “It’ll be a good experience for you.”

Kristen slumped in her seat.  “I wish dad was here.”

“Well, he’s not.”  She turned left towards an uphill road.  “And even if was, he would do exactly what I’m doing.”  She sounded inexplicably certain.

“You don’t know that.”  Kristen glared.

“Neither do you.”

The rest of the ride was filled with silence, except for the low buzzing of the radio.  The forest thickened as the road continued going uphill.  Soon, the concrete road became mere, soggy soil.

After a few more sharp curves, they finally reached a wide clearing.  In the middle of it was a huge, old, mansion.

Kristen couldn’t help but stare at the view in awe.  Aside from being enormous, there was greenery everywhere she looked.  The walls of the old mansion stretched to a point where she can no longer see where it ended.  They were covered with vines and roses.  The remaining half of the archway of the main door was surrounded by thick bushes.  The big, circular fountain in front of the house was dry and filled with moss.  Two towers stood at both ends of the main house.  And by the number of windows visible from the front, there were at least twenty rooms inside.

She had only started to take in a few more details when the car screeched to a stop.

Erin opened her door and stepped out.  She walked towards the compartment and started unloading.

Kristen followed her mother out of the car, her eyes never leaving the mansion.  “Hey mom, how many rooms does this place have?”

“I’m not sure.”  She unloaded the last bag and closed the trunk.  “You have to ask your Uncle Alex later.”

Kristen walked towards her things and grabbed two bags.  “Where is he anyway?”

Erin was about to answer when a guy in his early twenties shouted from about a few feet away.  “Erin!  Glad you could make it!”

“Oh, there he is.”

Kristen turned to where her mother pointed and was shocked to see a young man with dark hair and dark enticing eyes running towards them.  His legs and his arms were long and his shoulders were broad.  His pale skin seemed to glow under the rays of the setting sun.

“Is this some kind of a joke?” she whispered.  “I cannot call someone that gorgeous, ‘Uncle’.”

Erin shushed her before Alexander Devon was able to reach them.  “Hello, Alex.  Nice to see again,” she greeted when he finally stopped.

“It’s been a while, hasn’t it?”  Alex smiled, his perfect, white teeth showing.  “And this must be Kristen.”

Kristen smiled, her thin lips closed.  “Please, call me Kris.”

“Well then Kris, you can call me Alex.  I’m only four years older than you, so I really don’t want to be called ‘Uncle’.”  He grinned.  It was a charming sight.

“Okay, Alex.”  She couldn’t say she didn’t love the way his name rolled out in her tongue.  If only he wasn’t relative…

“Well then.”  Alex clapped his hands together.  “Why don’t we go inside and have your things brought up to your room while I serve you and your mother something to drink?”

“Okay.  Sure.”

Alex led the way, a bag in his hand, and both Erin and Kristen followed a few steps behind him.  A maid in uniform welcomed them when they got inside the mansion.

Alex gave the bag to the maid and nodded for Kristen to do the same.  They entered what seemed to be a receiving area and settled down on the long, comfortable couch.  He started fumbling with the things on top of the short table in front of them and served it on porcelain cups when he was done.

Kristen took a sip of the hot liquid and couldn’t help but grimace from its bitter taste.

Alex chuckled.  “I take it you’re not a fan of brewed coffee.”

Kristen nodded sheepishly.  “Sorry.”

“Don’t be.”  He shook his head and reached for a small, silver pitcher.  “Here, put some sweet milk.  It’ll kill the bitterness.”

“Thanks.”

Alex turned to Erin and smiled.  “You seem to be enjoying yourself.”

“This thing’s been keeping me awake when I need to be.  It’s a close friend.”  She chuckled.  “Oh, by the way, when are Helen and Diane arriving?”

Kristen turned to her mom with curious eyes.  She didn’t know there were other people arriving and joining her in the isolation, which she had thought would be torture until a few minutes ago.

“In about a few minutes.”  Alex glanced at his expensive-looking watch.  “Their daughters are coming to help as well.”

Erin turned to Kristen and smiled.  “You see honey, you won’t be lonely here.  Your Aunt Diane and Aunt Helen’s daughters are in the same age as you.  You can all hang out together.”

“I suppose…”

The day was turning out to be a day of revelation for her.  Yesterday, her mom and her dad were the only relatives she had.  Today, she has a gorgeous uncle, Alex, and two aunts whose names she had never heard of until now.  It surprised her that her genealogy was actually bigger than a tree with three branches.

Kristen was about to ask more about her mysterious summer companions when the sound of a car idling came from outside.

“Looks like one of your aunts is here.”  Alex placed his cup back on the table and stood up.

Erin also stood up and gestured for Kristen to follow her.  “C’mon, you should meet her daughter.”

Kristen nodded.  If she was going to spend her entire summer vacation in a remote mansion, she might as well make the best of it.

 

Reviews

[Moonlight]

Wow. That is really some good work. Something that really jumped out at me was the uniqueness of the 'uncle', Alex. Most rich mansion owners are "old, fat and ugly", so this was a truly refreshing break!

Other than that, I also like the description of the mansion. In one or two places, I admit, I think that you might want to make minor changes, so please refer to the notes for that.

Once again, amazing work! Keep me posted on the developments of the story!
-Moonlight

[Enigma]

Great Write!! Kept me hooked to it till the end.
I really enjoyed the way story unfolds itself. It's interesting and kind of funny that Kristen doesn't know about her relatives...lol
I'll be reading more of this story soon enough...
Well Penned...
Well Done!!!