The Princess of the Streets

Seventeen - Trouble

I opened the front door a crack, and saw that the living room was empty. I sighed in relief as I slipped into the house. 

"Boy, are you in trouble."

"Jesus!" I shouted as I jumped and put my hand to my quickly beating heart. So much for keeping my presence quiet! 

I calmed my breathing and took in the drop-dead gorgeous girl in front of me. She had thick black hair, light skin, and a perfectly curvy body. She was a bit taller than me, but not by much, and had big brown eyes. "Kaycee!" I didn't think twice before throwing myself at my sister in a hug. She was my favorite older sister with the obvious exception of Ryder because she was kind and driven and mature. The last one was a fairly uncommon trait in my family.

"Careful, Chasey, precious cargo here, remember?" Though she still returned the hug. 

"Shit, I forgot. Sorry." I backed up with a grin on my face. Kaycee had just announced to us last month that she was pregnant though she refused to mention who the father was (which was strange since she wasn't the type to sleep around). I was happy to have heard the news. Kaycee was going to be a great mom, unlike my other sister, Sofia.

 I was glad it was Kaycee who had surprised me and not Sofia, or I probably would've decked her in the face. 

"So what do I owe the honor?" I asked, tilting my head curiously. 

"You don't know? We're supposed to be going to Dad's new friend's house for a dinner party." 

The hell? Since when?

"No, I didn't know. Nice of Dad to tell me," I muttered.

"I don't think you want Dad to talk to you anytime soon," she said in my ear. "Anyhow, you probably want to go get ready. It's supposed to be a big family dinner."

"Family dinner? Tell me Sofia was excluded

Just then, the back door in the kitchen opened, and the super skinny, wavy brown-haired, and dark tan girl came into view. My shoulders sagged in disappointment. Kaycee patted me on the shoulder and gave me a sympathetic smile.

Her obnoxious preppy-girl voice soon filled the air. "Frick, Belle. Leave me alone for, like, thirty seconds. What did I tell you about being annoying?"

Immediately my blood began to boil. She sounded like she was talking a dog rather than her two-and-a-half year old daughter. I clenched my jaw and rolled my eyes at her.

"Mommy, want juice," Belle said, holding up her sippy cup above her head. 

"Awe," I said, as my mood rapidly shifted at the sight of my wobbly, chubby-legged niece. She had skin and short curls the same color as her mom. She was wearing a blue dress with a ruffled skirt. I hadn't seen Belle in forever, and she most certainly grew.

"Jelly-Belley!" I squealed happily, running toward the kitchen with my arms open. 

Belle looked over with a confused expression on her face before seeing who I was and breaking out into a tiny-toothed grin. She wobbled over to me and hugged me. I squealed like an annoying girly-girl again and lifted her off the ground.

I had two major weaknesses; cupcakes and kids. Though kids definitely won out over the former.

I kissed her cheek about ten times in rapid succession, getting a fit of cute giggles from her. "Auntie stop," she giggled out. 

"But why? You're so cute," I said with a pretend pout. She poked my bottom lip and copied my pout. I covered half my face with one hand. "You're too cute, you know that?"

I set her down and took the sippy cup from her hand. I walked over to the fridge and started moving things around to find the juice.

"No, don't get her the juice. She needs to learn she's not going to get everything she wants," Sofia said. I looked over my shoulder to glare at her to see she was fixing her makeup in the reflection of a shiny spoon.

"Are you fucking kidding? She's two years old and she's thirsty," I said angrily. 

She looked over at me and scoffed. "You're not her mom, I am. You aren't a parent, Chase. I said no juice."

I'm gonna fucking maim you one day, I sang in my head. It calmed me a little. Sofia wasn't cut out for parenting. She had Belle at age sixteen, and it wasn't uncommon for her to threaten giving Belle up for adoption when things got too stressful on her. Like when Dad told her she needed to pay her own bills, or when she couldn't find a nighttime babysitter on a weekday, for example.

I took a deep breath when a can of orange soda on the top shelf caught my eye. "Okay, Sophia, no juice." Never said anything about pop, though.

"Good," she said smugly, before going back outside. I quickly grabbed the pop off the shelf, opened it and poured it halfway into Belle's sippy cup. As soon as the lid was fastened, I hurried over to the little cutie and handed it to her. 

"Quick, waddle away before she comes back," I whispered. I picked her up and sent her in the direction of the living room where Kaycee was now watching the TV. 

The back door swung open and slammed shut, making me straighten quickly and turn around. 

Dad stood there with a fierce glare and clenched fists. I knew he'd never hit me, but it was still intimidating.

"Thirty seconds to explain yourself. Go." His voice was the same deadly calm it had been on the phone.

"I-uh, well," I began, stumbling over my words. "Chace and I had a project we needed to do, and we couldn't do it in detention, so I knocked Lewis's name tag on the floor. Then we ran out and chilled at the park." I explained, talking way too fast for me to realize how stupid my explanation sounded.

Dad put his hand up. "Let me get this straight. You pissed off your teacher so you could skip for a school project, of all things. With that Collins kid?"

"Yeah..."

Dad put his hands over his face and slid them over his head while he sighed and growled simultaneously. "You're in deep shit, you know that right?" he said, pointing at me.

"How deep?" I asked.

"Give me your keys," he said, sticking his hand out.

No. Uh uh, not happening. "I'll run away," I threatened quickly, though we both knew it was an empty threat.

His face darkened. "Give me your keys, or I won't let you leave the house at all."

I breathed out through my nose and looked at him pleadingly. "Why?" 

"Chastity, I swear to God if you don't listen to me you're grounded for a month."

I clenched my teeth again, glaring at him for calling me Chastity. "Fine, Adrien, I'll go get my fuckin' keys!"

I stomped off to get them out of my car, slamming the door behind me. It was nearly dark out, so I vaguely wondered when we were going to leave for that stupid dinner party.

"I'll get you back as soon as I can, I promise," I muttered to my car as I snatched the keys from the passengers seat. I shut the door and patted the car as I walked by.

 I stomped back inside and into the kitchen before roughly slamming my key chain into his hand. "Happy now?"

"Very. Now go put on something nice. We're leaving in ten minutes whether you're ready or not," he said in that tight voice that only parents could pull off when their kid was in trouble. He walked out the door and let it shut hard behind him.

I flipped him off because I knew he couldn't see me, and hurried up the stairs to change. It had been a long time since I was in that fowl of a mood, and the last one to cause it was Chace. It was funny how things could change like that.