After the Storm {Book 2}

Chapter 6: Cindy and the Attitude

"Ryan do you guys ever go to Church?" I asked him the next morning as breakfast was being made.

"The last time we went was when..we saw mom."

The sound of obvious rattling dishes filled the awkward silence.

I sipped my orange juice. A couple of minutes later a glass plate dropped.

"Shit!" Cindy yelled.

"Oooohh!" Ryan cooed.

I got up and examined the damage. She began picking up the pieces with her bare hands. "Here, let me help you."

"No! I got it." She angrily snatched up the pieces.

"Honey, you're gonna' cut your hand."

"I don't care!"

I leaned down. "What's wrong with you?"

"Nothing is wrong with me!" She said ignoring my soft tone.

"I can see it in your eyes. You're angry. What's wrong?"

She ignored me and kept picking up the pieces.

"Cindy." I said sternly.

She yanked her head up. "What!"

I stared into her face for a second and just shook my head. "Fine. Whatever." I got up and stormed out of the room.

Gosh, she can be such a...meanie..sometimes.

I stalked upstairs to cool off. Annah was still asleep in her crib, so I went to check on her.

The nursery was silent, with only the faint sounds of a sleeping baby. She was laying on her back, her eyes closed shut. I stayed there standing over here as her face sometimes formed  a small smile.

Playing with the angels.

I pulled up a chair next to her crib and just watched her. "If only you knew what was going on, Annah." I said quietly to myself.

She shifted slightly, seeming to be waking up. After a few seconds of constant fidgeting, the smile on her face seemed to fade and a twisted, cranky expression followed by a loud cry.

I got up and scooped her out of the crib. Her eyes adjusted to the scenery and she stopped crying once she saw me. Her hand landed on my face, partially slapping me.

"Ow."

She giggled and did it again.

"Ow." I said a little louder.

Another burst of giggles followed by a tougher slap.

"Ow!" I poked her in her stomach lightly.

Then her eyes seemed to fix on something behind me. I turned around and saw Ryan standing in the doorway with a distant look on his face.

"Hey Ryan."

"Hi." He mumbled. "I was looking for the bathroom..sorry." He quickly walked away.

"Wait, Ryan." I headed out of the room but the bathroom door had already closed. I sighed.

This was going to be a long 10 years I had ahead of me.

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We all spent the rest of the day lounging around the house, dealing with Cindy's constant bad attitude and slamming things around. Ryan and I had shared several glances whenever she went into one of her rampages.