Man of The House (SAMPLE)

Ch. 1

Casey had one hand dangling out of the car window while his other rested on the steering wheel. He bobbed his head to Tupac's All Eyez On Me as he casually cruised down the streets of Newark, New Jersey. The light winds blew through Casey's small curly afro as his foot pressed down harder on the gas. Cruising around his city was one of his favorite things to do. It was something he did to clear his head, find clarity, or just to relax. All of his best memories, most of them pertaining to his father, were made while driving around Jersey listening to his father tell old stories about the wild shit he used to do back his day.

Casey smiled a bit at the thought. He used to live for his father's stories. It was hard to believe that those stories actually took place in Casey's opinion. Casey's father, Daniel, was so well rounded, respectable, and level headed. But apparently he wasn't always like that. During his teen years, his father was a mess. A straight up fast talking, risk taking, womanizer.

Daniel was the man that Casey aspired to be someday. He admired watching his father come home from work day in and day out, always bringing his mother flowers when he returned. Casey loved the way his father made his mother Cassandra light up with pure excitement every single day.

Daniel made everyone in the house light up upon his entry—especially his girls. Daniel was like a celebrity in his home. It was always an uproar when he entered. But that happened everywhere Daniel went. He just brought that kind of love and energy everywhere. He was a people's person, always quick to help his neighbor.

All of those things made Casey want to walk like his father, talk like his father, hell, he wanted to be his father. The amount of respect, love, and admiration Casey had for his dad was immeasurable. It was a beautiful thing to be raised by a king.

The grin on Casey's face faltered when he realized it wasn't easy filling his father's hefty shoes. His father had made the burden of responsibility look so easy. But it was anything but easy. When Casey was thirteen, Daniel passed away due to a brain aneurysm. From there, Casey was pressured into become the head of the household.

At only thirteen, Casey found himself getting a little 'job' bagging groceries at their local supermarket. The supermarket owner, Mr. Bosh, was an old friend of Daniel's and decided to help out by allowing Casey to work there after school from five to nine PM. The pay sucked and was always inconsistent being that Mr. Bosh was paying him under the table and the tips that people left were even worse.

But as soon as Casey turned sixteen, he got himself a real job. He started working at this shoe store called Fresh Line up until his eighteen birthday. Once he turned eighteen, he started working nightshifts for FedEx Ground moving boxes in a warehouse. The pay was good but damn the job was exhausting.

"This isn't the way home Case."

Casey pulled up to the red light then looked over at his little sister Celeste. He'd just taken a quick fourteen minute drive from Newark to Jersey City to pick up his seven year old sister from school. It was routine for him to pick her up on Fridays being that he had early release from school and his mother wouldn't be off of work in time to pick her up.

Casey nodded. "I know. We're gonna make quick stop before we go home," he replied to his little sister.

"A stop where?" Celeste asked, cocking a brow. "You know mommy said not to be riding around in her-"

Casey rolled his eyes. "Be quiet, it'll only be a minute." With that, Casey took off when the light turned green. Celeste sat there, her eyes roaming her surroundings. She was very intuitive for her age. She was very bright... and annoying at times.