Sister Mother

Chapter 9

Addie

"Hi, I'm here to pick up a pizza. The name is Addie McKenna," I said to the girl behind the hostess counter at Ria's Pizzeria. She had blonde hair tied into a messy bun.

"I'll check to see if it's ready," the girl said before she walked away.

I sat down in one of the benches against the wall. My hands covered my screaming, aching hips. I served a seven-year-old's birthday party at Cheddar's and only got to sit down twice during my shift. My hips felt like someone had taken a frying pan and smashed it over them. Waitressing was the job that paid the most but also hurt the most.

My phone buzzed inside my purse.

Beatrice: FYI I ordered breadsticks

Addie: Breadsticks and pizza? We can't spend too much. What happened to the budget?

Beatrice: It died.

"Seriously Bea?" I whispered, tucking my phone back into my purse. Closing my eyes, I tried to avoid imaging the price. Seeing dollar signs so many times a day made my head hurt more than my hips.

We saw Mom and Dad today, and that always puts us in a weird funk. An extra special treat just this once might be worth it, even if I'll have to work overtime to earn the money back.

"McKenna!" called the hostess.

Wincing when my hips felt the burden of my body weight, I walked over to the hostess stadium where the girl was holding a large pizza box and a small black box.

A large pizza, Bea? And breadsticks? Do you know how many books I'll have to shelve and burgers I'll have to serve to earn that back?

I pulled my debt it card out of my wallet, but the girl shook her head.

"You're all set," she said.

"What do you mean?"

"The charge was taken care of online. You're all set."

I stared at her and waited for her to jump and shout, "Ha, just kidding! Pizza is now two hundred dollars and the breadsticks cost a literal arm and leg! You're fucked, Addie!"

The hostess stood there smiling while she held out the boxes for me to take.

Run, Addie! Run before the world wakes up!

"Right," I squeaked as she went around the podium, and bent down a bit so that I could reach the boxes. On top of the black box was a receipt that I avoided looking at. "Thank you. Have a goodnight."

"You too."

Afraid that if I took too long, the sweet girl would call me back in there, I nearly tripped over my feet as I scurried out.

Maybe Beatrice gave the woman my credit card over the phone or online. We've ordered pizza before and I've always paid on arrival, but she could have done it differently, right?

I walked over to my car in the handicapped parking space and pulled the passenger side door open. I set the boxes on the seat and then looked at the receipt.

Yikes, that's a big number behind that dollar sign.

I raised my eyebrows when I saw the last four digits of the card that had been charged. Those were not the last four digits of my credit or debit card.

"Free pizza," I whispered. "The fucking universe gave us free pizza and breadsticks."

I squealed like it was my seventh birthday and shut my car door. After climbing into my seat, I texted Gabe.