As soon as Aria Lee walked into the house, she could feel the tension in the air. Her stepbrother, Ryder, was standing in the living room, his arms crossed and a scowl on his face.

"Fine," she said, folding her arms. "I'll do my part. But don't expect me to be all cheerful about it."

Ryder scowled, but Aria just smiled and took the paper from him. She scanned it quickly, her eyes widening in surprise.

Aria rolled her eyes and dropped her bag on the floor. She had always struggled to get along with Ryder, ever since her mom had married his dad a few years ago. Ryder had always made it clear that he didn't want her around, and Aria had tried to avoid him as much as possible.

Ryder finally looked up at her, his eyes narrowing. "I've made a schedule for us," he said, holding up a piece of paper. "We'll be doing chores all morning, and then we can watch TV or something in the afternoon."

Ryder nodded, his jaw set. "Yeah, I do. You're part of this family now, whether I like it or not. You need to pull your weight."