Rule #9 Read Online Free Page A

before. I’ve only been cursed with my father’s crazy ex-girlfriend.
    Natalie digs the pen into the notebook. “The answer is ‘Hell, no. Who would? Have you seen his stupid kids? They look like their mother. Our child, unlike hers, is perfect.’”
    “Crap, I hadn’t thought about children. Are they gonna have kids?” I look at my friends in horror. “That’s all I need—some baby,” I say. “And Natalie, you’re beautiful.”
    “Welcome to my pathetic world. Pretty soon you’ll have your own little half-sister.” Natalie shoves the black-and-white book away and flops onto her back. Her eyes shut. “And whatever. I’m not all that.”
    “I agree with Massie. You are very pretty, Natalie. And Annabelle is a sweet baby sister,” Vianna says, pulling her feet off the floor onto the chair. She wraps her hands around her legs. “Try dealing with a stepbrother.”
    “I’m not sure what would be worse, baby sister or pot-smoking, high-school-dropout stepbrother who can’t keep a job,” I say.
    My friends argue over this. Natalie has the five-year-old half-sister, while Vianna has the twenty-year-old stepbrother. I’d choose the baby sister. She’s cute. I’ve met the brother once and he’s kind of slimy. I don’t say this out loud, though. It would be like taking sides and I don’t need to take sides on this one.
    “Okay, Natalie, you win. Your baby sister is so much worse than my stepbrother. At least I don’t have to compete with an adorable kid.” Vianna winks at me. Then she announces, “I have a question.”
    Natalie reaches to her side and grabs the book, then sits up. She’s ready and willing to be the appointed dictation taker for the quiz.
    “‘Number Two: Will you make your stepchildren’s lives miserable?’” Vianna asks.
    “That goes without saying,” Natalie says. “The answer should be, ‘Yes, every chance I get,’ because that shit happens as soon as they say I do .”
    “They pretend to like us. But they don’t,” Vianna says. “I really thought Wendy would be nice. She acted nice in the beginning. I don’t know what I did wrong.”
    “I’m sure they have a list of ways to make our lives suck. Not like mine can get much worse. Since Stephanie came into the picture, my life completely, totally sucks.” Natalie taps the pen against the notebook. Then she starts to write again. “‘Number Three: Will you keep your new husband away from his children?’”
    “Do you really think they plan it out?” Vianna asks.
    “Of course they do,” Natalie answers. “I’m sure the minute my dad put that stupid ring on her finger, Stephanie was like, ‘He’s mine now. His kids have a mother, and she can take care of them.’” Natalie pauses before finishing. She can’t talk and write this out at the same time. “‘Besides, my daughter needs her daddy more than his other kids do. That was his past life, we are his life now.’”
    “My plan is to keep my distance,” I say. “I think it’s better to be the one to stay away than to be the one who’s removed.”
    “Yeah, Wendy removed me quickly.” Vianna’s eyes focus on the floor.
    “Stephanie, too.” Natalie tosses the notebook.
    Vianna lets her feet hit the floor. She stands and walks to the bed, picks up the book, returns to the desk, and writes, “‘Number Four: Will you make sure your husband spends more time with your children than his own?’” Vianna answers the question with, “‘Yes, I will.’”
    Natalie marches over and takes the book away. “You can answer better than that. The answer should be, ‘My son needs him more than his daughter.’ But we all know it’s only because your son’s dad left you when you cheated on him. Skank. I think she’s on husband number four, if I’m not mistaken.”
    Vianna looks worried about Natalie’s new entry. “Is anyone going to read this besides us?”
    “No. My mom won’t even look at it,” I say. “And even if she did, she would never in a