Ash had arrived at the dinner thirty minutes late.
She was greeted by only her mother and Carol, Carol's son nowhere to be found.
Almost an hour had passed now and Carol insisted that they ate without him but Sia had said otherwise.
"I'm so sorry about Eli." Carol sighed out, checking the time once more. "I will be sure to give him a punishment."
Ash let a breath out of her nose in a laugh at this.
Her mother rolled her eyes before clearing her throat.
Suddenly, the front door was heard opening and shutting quickly.
"Sorry I'm late." A voice familiar to Ash had called out as they jogged into the dining room.
Eli stopped as he saw Ash.
Ash smirked, waving tauntingly at him.
"Eli, you're late. Fifty-six minutes late to be exact!" Carol had yelled at her son.
"I know, I know, I just got held up with something." Eli said as he slid into the empty seat next to Sia.
The seat across from him was luckily not occupied by Ash, as she had taken the seat across from Sia.
Sia stared at Eli, eyes wide at the bruise under his left eye and the scar at the top of his lip.
"After our guests leave, I'm gonna think of a good punishment for you, mister." Carol had glared at her son, causing Sia to look away from the boy.
"Yeah, yeah." Eli huffed as he scooped his food unto his plate.
Everyone followed him, filling their plates with the food infront of them.
The first few minutes of eating were spent in a silence as everyone was too hungry to talk.
After Ash had almost finished her meal, Carol spoke up.
"So, Ash, where did you go for a walk?" Carol had asked, starting up conversation.
"Uh just to a convenience store to get something to drink." Ash shrugged before she glanced up at Eli. "Some dicks called me a bitch and tried to fight me but I scared their lame asses off."
Eli glared at her as he shoved his fork in his steak.
"The audacity of teen boys nowadays." Carol sighed, shaking her head. "I wonder where their parents are."
Ash laughed slightly at this, Eli smiling.
"You guys planning on staying here in the Valley for long?" Carol had asked, looking to Sia.
"Me, yes." Sia had cleared her throat before she nodded to Ash. "This one has to go to college."
"Oo, where are you planning on going to college?" Carol had asked the girl.
"Anyone that accepts her." Sia snorted as she picked at her food.
"Oh." Carol said, wide-eyed at Sia's rudeness to her daughter.
"Actually.." Ash had started, glaring at her mother. "I'm planning- No, I am, going to Harvard."
Sia raised a brow at her daughter with a glare.
"With a scholarship." Sia added, her jaw clenched.
"You have to be smart for that, dear." Sia snorted as she picked at her salad.
"Well if you paid attention to me instead of whatever men you were whoring around with-" Carol's eyes widened and Eli snorted as Sia snapped her eyes up to Ash with a deathly glare. "You would know that I was top of my class and I'm planning to be the top of the class at my new school as well."
