Kimberly lay on her back, her head falling down off the end of the new divan bed. From this angle she could survey her new room whilst still sulking.

Her father passed the slightly opened door, she knew he had glimpsed inside to see if his hot headed daughter, had come to her senses.

But, she would never understand, so he would be a long time waiting!

Reaching 18 was a milestone. Adult time. But for Kimberley she felt more like a lost child.

After years of having her dad all to herself, sharing her part time mum with a weak willed stepdad, she did not plan for a new full time step mum, and a tiny all consuming baby brother.

Although she couldn’t hold James responsible, and to be fair he was quite cute, she enjoyed her daily cuddles. But when he took over her large Victorian bedroom, together with an antique wooden cot, beautiful carved wardrobe and matching chest of drawers, she was not happy.

He is tiny, she had argued he does not need such a huge room. You promised me when we left our old home, it would be my room, where my friends could chill, and sleepover. Now where will they sleep, hanging from the ceiling?

Her dad had tried to reason with her, she would soon want to move out, to fly the nest. It made sense the baby needed more space for all his paraphernalia. And yes he was too young for the almost life size rocking horse but...

Bang, she hoped to have made a louder noise, for true effect, before she stomped loudly up the redecorated staircase, with its sumptuous wallpaper. Under a zillion family photos. Well mostly of James, looking cute. And a huge portrait of her new stepmum, and dad on their wedding day. It filled the top landing, she wanted to knock it off as she ran by.

Now looking round the box bedroom, With its token new furniture to fit in the smaller space, sold to her as if they were over generous in buying the most up to date marks and spencer matching pine bedroom set, to include a compact dressing table.

It felt cramped, but not as cramped as her heart. It transpires that sharing your best friend with two new people was harder than she first thought.

Ellie tried at first. Generous, smiley and fun, Kimberley warmed to her immediately. Cinema trips to see Romantic comedies became their ‘thing’

She could see how happy she made her dad, like she completed him. She was excited when he proposed and looked forward to them becoming a family.

They sold their small London home and moved into the glorious renovated mansion, belonging to Ellie.

Kimberley had been delighted to have more space, and to move to a safer posher area of London. Life was good.

She had not considered Ellie getting pregnant, she assumed she was too old, so it had been a shock when they announced it, over a meal in their favourite restaurant.

Kimberley had virtually choked on her prawn cocktail. A baby? You are kidding? They had both looked disappointed with her reaction, and she could see a look of concern on her new stepmothers face.

She already had two half siblings, but they were nearly teenagers, so she was used to them, and besides barely saw them. She loved them very much, but a new half brother or sister? My word she was old enough to to have a baby herself.  

It was the hormonal pregnancy that started to show a crack in her lovely relationship with Ellie. Her infinite patience was waning. She showed more irritability about every day things

At first, her new stepdaughters’ bedroom was kept reasonably tidy. The freshly decorated room with a friends secondhand teenage style furniture was perfect for the then 15 year old.

At first Ellie was bemused by the artistically lined up glasses on the dressing table, with various amounts of liquid in as though Kim was about to play a tune. Probably with the used chopsticks glued to her plate by sticky Chinese leftovers.

Any suggestion of taking them all back to the kitchen was met with a ‘hurumph’ A new tone of sigh becoming more familiar as time passed.

The final straw had come when Ellie was running late for a concert with her friends. After searching her own wardrobe for the new white  cheesecloth  dress, she only purchased the week before, she asked Kimberley if she had seen it.

Red faced her stepdaughter ran up the stairs two at a time, Ellie found her tossing clothes off the top of a huge pile strewn across the floor. Near the bottom emerged a screwed up white dress. 

‘Here it is, sorry, you had left it hanging in the laundry room, and I though I would try it on as I thought that style would suit me. Um it did so I bought a pale blue on on Thursday. I meant to put it back.’

Ellie wasn’t sure how long she stood with her mouth open in stunned silence, or when her new crumpled dress was placed over her outstretched arm, as her cheeky house companion scooted past in a rush, but she couldn’t move. She stared at the ‘jumble sale’ in the second biggest bedroom of her parents old house.

Her mother would be mortified. On closer inspection of the room, she counted 5 mugs, 3 crisp packets, an empty biscuit packet, 2 dinner plates, a banana skin (something healthy she mused), and 7 glasses, most containing gone off milk in various stages of becoming cultured cheeses.

The bed was unmade, the pillows fallen on the carpet, well what you could see of it. A multitude of stuffed toys, mostly from her childhood years, presents from her doting dad and his parents, were strewn across the top of the bed, the window sill and chest of drawers. She was sure they were multiplying like rabbits on a weekly basis.

The wardrobe doors hung open, forlorn as if they had given up the will to close, A barrage of ‘stuff’ oozed out onto the floor. Coat hangers hanging empty on the lonely rail. Drawers half opened like a ready made staircase should the soft toys fall and want to climb back up. Excessive clothes spilled out from each.

Hairbrushes, make up, hairdryer, jewellery box, open with contents spilling out, all crammed on the mirrored dresser. Ellie caught sight of her reflection. Tall, elegant, neat and tidy. Her long blonde hair swept up into a bun. Her face pale and shocked. When did Ellie turn into an animal? No that was an insult, no animal would be that messy!...No wonder she always kept her door closed.

Ellie walked carefully out tip toeing between the various piles of mayhem, closed the door behind her, and headed straight to the kitchen, and the wine rack.