17 Going On 18...and in Danger (Part 1)

A teenager's 18th birthday is considered a huge rite of passage, and is also the subject of heavy anticipation. Turning 18 means responsibility, it means entering adulthood, and at times, it can also mean emancipation and independence. For those reasons, every teenager looks forward to turning 18, but none more so that Veronica "Ronnie" Hartnett, who has spent the last month counting down the days until that particular day. Though she is looking forward to all of the things that come with being 18, there's one thing she wants the most on that day: getting away from her stepmother.

Ronnie had been raised by her father, Lucas Hartnett, for nearly all of her life; her memories of her mother were very few and vague. After raising Ronnie on his own, Lucas married Jillian Rosen when Ronnie was a high school freshman, and during that time, Ronnie and Jillian actually had a good and close relationship. However, tragedy struck both women when Lucas suddenly passed on when Ronnie was 16, and it was a loss that both women mourned. In spite of this, the relationship between Ronnie and Jillian became strained, to the point where Ronnie began to felt that Jillian was controlling her life.

Ronnie's belief increased she started noticing that someone was following her on her way home from school. This went on for two weeks, and each time, Ronnie would only catch a glimpse of her pursuer before losing said person entirely, but she had it in her head that Jillian was somehow behind it. Despite her suspicions, Ronnie never said anything to her stepmother, and she continued to look at her calendar and count down the days.

"Just seven more days."

The following day saw Ronnie attempt to take a different route home, but she had that familiar feeling of being followed once again. Having had enough, Ronnie turned around and shouted at her mysterious and unseen tracker.

"I've had enough of this; being followed every day! Come out, whoever you are!"

Following Ronnie's angry demand, a person in a hoodie suddenly emerged, and once the hoodie was removed, Ronnie was very surprised to see who it was.

"Mom?!"

Ronnie wasn't even a year old when her mother was in her life, but in spite of that, she recognized the face of the woman who gave birth to her, April Donnelly. She never knew what really happened to her mother, just that she was out of her life for so long, and she had been kept in the dark about April's true whereabouts. Despite having not physically seen April in so many years, she happily hugged her mother, showing a high level of happiness over their reunion.

"I'm surprised you recognized me!" exclaimed April. "It's been 17 years."

"I could never forget the face of my own mother," replied Ronnie. "I missed you so much! We have a lot of catching up to do." Their planned reunion was interrupted by Ronnie's cellphone ringing, and when Ronnie saw who it was, she panicked.

"Jillian!" exclaimed Ronnie. "I'm sorry, Mom, I have to head back home, but I promise we'll catch up later." Ronnie walked home as fast as she could, and her fast pace only resulted in her arriving home a minute late than usual. She attempted to sneak in as slowly as possible, hoping to avoid being on the receiving end of Jillian's scolding.

"You're late, Veronica."

Ronnie gave a frustrated groan, as she heard Jillian's voice with that familiar, stern tone. "I'm only one minute late," said Ronnie.

"That's usually 10 minutes later than usual," replied Jillian. "It doesn't take that long for you to come home from school. What kept you?"

"Maybe if I actually had a car...," muttered Ronnie.

"I'm sorry, what was that?" asked Jillian. "Look, I know you're looking forward to turning 18 and getting away from me, right? I was a teenager once, I know that feeling. But that's just days from now, so be patient, and come straight home from school from this point on."

"I'm going to my room," said Ronnie. "Or do I need your permission to do that, too?" Jillian watched her stepdaughter walk away with a mixture of frustration and a bit of heartbreak. Despite her stern demeanor, Jillian did consider herself a mother rather than a stepmother to Ronnie, who entered her room and kept her encounter with April a secret, but only because, in her mind, she wasn't upset enough to let her know the truth.

The following day saw Ronnie at school, leaving her third period English class, when she was suddenly surprised by the sight of her mother outside the school, motioning for her. It was during school hours, but Ronnie took an alternate route to the back of the building, making sure she wasn't seen before making it outside, where April was close by.

"Mom!" Ronnie said as she hugged April, "what are you doing here?"

"Isn't this your free period?" asked April. "I figured I'd take this time to finally spend time with my little girl." April's statement led Ronnie to realize that her mother had been watching her longer than she figured, but that was the furthest thing on her mind, as mother and daughter entered the former's car and drove away from the school. At some point, April actually allowed Ronnie to get behind the wheel and drive, which pleased Ronnie to no end, as Jillian's strict rules prohibited her from even thinking about driving.

Ronnie enjoyed her mother's company so much that she became surprised when she saw that it was close to the end of the school day, and she had spent hours with April. Even so, she didn't care, she had so much fun.

"I enjoyed this day; thanks so much," said Ronnie.

"I did too," April said as she drove close to the house, which caused her mood to change. "Listen...you haven't told Jillian that you and I have been spending time together, have you?"

"No, Mom, I haven't," answered Ronnie. "Why?"

"I don't think she'd be happy to know that I'm in your life again," said April, after which Ronnie got out of the car and returned to the house, but not before hugging April. Ronnie was fortunate; Jillian wasn't home, and Ronnie wasn't thinking about what her stepmother could be doing. All she could think about was the day she spent with her mother, and how happy she was that she was back in her life once again.

However, on the next day...

"Veronica!"

The booming voice of Jillian served to be a detrimental start to Ronnie's Saturday morning, and before she could even think about how to explain herself, Jillian was in her room. "The school just called me," she said to her stepdaughter. "Could you care to explain why you left school early yesterday and didn't return?"

"Can we please talk about this later?" asked Ronnie.

"We will talk about this now, Veronica!" exclaimed Jillian.

"Oh my God, don't call me that!" shouted Ronnie. "You know Dad always called me Ronnie. Ever since Dad's death, it seems like you've done everything you've can to forget about him!" Jillian suddenly slapped Ronnie, but right after, she gasped over what she had just done, while Ronnie simply held her left cheek and simply glared at her stepmother.

"Thanks for revealing how you really feel about me," said Ronnie. "Now I don't feel bad telling you that I've been hanging out with my mom." Ronnie left her room, but she was closely followed by Jillian, who still maintained remorse over what she had just done.

"Wait a minute," said Jillian. "You saw your mother? When? Was it the other day? Is that why you were late that day?" Ronnie didn't answer Jillian, she continued her beeline to the front door, with Jillian left concerned. She remembered April's statement about how Jillian wouldn't like that she was seeing her mother, but despite this, Ronnie felt relieved that she told Jillian everything. Her feeling of relief continued while she leaving the mall with her mother, but it came to a halt when she was nearly run down by an oncoming car, with April saving her from such a fate.

"Are you OK, baby?" asked April.

"I'm OK," replied Ronnie. "That driver, though..."

"Didn't that car look familiar to you?" asked April. "I swear that looks like Jillian's model."

"What?" a stunned Ronnie asked. "Are you telling me...no, I don't believe that. I mean, Jillian can be a bit controlling and she did seem to be taken aback when I told her about you, but I can't see her doing this!"

"Wait, you told Jillian that we've been spending time together?" said April.

"We got into an argument," Ronnie replied, "and I just blurted it out. What's going on?" April breathed a deep sigh before finally gaining the courage to respond to Ronnie's questions.

"I seriously think Jillian's hiding something from you," said April. "About a year ago, I went to Jillian's home looking for you. I wanted to see you face-to-face for the first time in so long, but when Jillian saw me...she went crazy."

"What?"

"I entered the house looking for you," April continued, "and Jillian kept screaming at me to leave. She really went ballistic when I attempted to enter her office; that's when she threatened me." Ronnie couldn't believe what she was hearing from her mother, who later uttered the following statements:

"Whatever Jillian's hiding has to be in her office. And who knows what she'd be willing to do to keep it hidden?"

April's words stayed with Ronnie during the drive back to her house, and once she entered, she saw that Jillian wasn't at home. Ronnie called Jillian's name to make sure that she wasn't home, and after receiving no response, Ronnie took a look at Jillian's office and decided to go inside to see what, if anything, her stepmother was hiding. She went straight to Jillian's desk; searching all five of its drawers, until finally finding a document, and the contents shocked her.

What Ronnie found was a will detailing that she was the benefactor of a massive fortune, with her father being in charge of Ronnie's finances until her 18th birthday. As stunning as that was to Ronnie, what she read next was even more shocking:

"In the event of Lucas Hartnett's death, guardianship would be transferred to Jillian Rosen."

The very statement had Ronnie thinking back to Jillian's behavior in the year that passed since Lucas' death. The arguments, the strict demeanor, and they later turned to the incident at the mall parking lot, as well as April's words about Jillian. Ronnie originally didn't believe that Jillian was capable of such a thing, but now she had doubts. Is she the potential victim of a possible murder plot masterminded by her own stepmother?

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Check out Part 2 below!