Raina Rae Stepsister -

Kayla laughed softly. “Better than no pancakes at all.”

Raina sat on the edge of the bed. “He was terrible at telling jokes. And he always burned the pancakes.” raina rae stepsister

For the first time, Raina saw past the attitude. Kayla wasn’t trying to take her place—she was trying to understand what a real family looked like. Kayla laughed softly

“Put that down,” Raina said, voice sharp. And he always burned the pancakes

That night, they didn’t become best friends. But Raina left the photo on her dresser instead of hiding it away, and Kayla started knocking before entering the room. Small steps. Stepsister steps.

The tension hit its peak one Tuesday night. Raina came home from volleyball practice to find Kayla sitting on her bed, holding a framed photo of Raina and her late father.