Miss Independent

Chapter Three: Shepherd's Pie

Chapter Three: Shepherd's Pie

I peek out from behind the tree across the street at the little blue house.
I want to die. I have nowhere to go and I'm starving.
And I want to shower.
And I can't call Alex, obviously.
Stop being a bitch Katherine. Go and ring the bell.
Shaking my head to myself, I march across the street, hesitating on the front porch.
I look at the time on my watch and see it's around seven.
I take a deep breath and ring the bell.
I hear movement inside, and a moment later, the front door opens.
For a moment, I refuse to look up, but when I do, i come face to face with my shell shocked mother.
Her mouth opens and closes a few times.
I pick anxiously at my fingernails, my hands shaking slightly.
I see her eyes start wandering my body, eying my arms.
She's probably checking for needle marks, but she won't find them.
I do cocaine every once in a while, not enough to get addicted, but weed is a different story.
"Sophia?" I hear my father ask somewhere in the house. "Who is it?"
Mom looks like she doesn't know what to say.
I vanished over a year ago and have been very good at avoiding them. I saw her once a week after I left. I had been into the drugs well before that.
I only left because they tried to force me to at least go to a therapist.
I needed help, or so they said.
But that's ridiculous. I'm not addicted.
"Mom?" I hear my brother asks.
"It's Katherine." She says finally.
I shouldn't have come here.
I shake my head and start backing up, but she sees that I'm about to flee and darts forward, grabbing my wrist, she pulls me inside and shuts the door.
I can't remember the last time I had a home cooked meal and I'm thirsty. And tired. And sad. And I want to take a shower and go to sleep.
Dad comes into view, followed by my brother and my sister.
"Dude, where have you been?" My brother asks me.
"Around." I reply quietly.
"Around where?" He asks.
Mom and Dad look at each other and I see Dad nod.
"Are you hungry?" Mom asks me.
I want to say no and leave, but I don't want to sleep on a bench, so instead, I nod.
She walks into the kitchen and I hesitate before following her, my mind screaming that I don't belong here.
She pulls out a chair for me and gets me a glass of water.
I can't remember the last time i had water from a fridge.
Let's face it - fridge water tastes better than bottled water.
My Dad and siblings sit at the table and they're all kind of staring at me. I drink some of the water, staring intently at the table.
Mom sets a bowl of shepherds pie in front of me and I can't help it when I practically wolf it down.
"When's the last time you ate?" Dad asks quietly.
"This morning." I say.
"What did you eat?" He presses.
"Uh, McDonald's fries. And a McDouble."
My parents are the people that like organic food and only homemade meals. They frown deeply on processed food. My mom's mashed potatoes are always made with real potatoes and not boxed.
I was raised eating the real stuff so eating it again, well, it makes me want to moan out loud.
"Where's Alex?" My sister Claire asks, distaste evident in her tone.
I shrug one shoulder and swallow my food before I speak.
"No clue."
"How about you eat and shower." Mom says. "Your clothes are still in your dresser. Are you staying the night?"
I hesitate.
"Um, I don't really have anywhere else to go." I mutter.
She nods slowly.
"You know you can stay as long as you'd like."
Dad pauses slightly.
"If Alex shows up at the door, is he coming inside or am I sending him off?"
"You're sending him off Dad. He fucking destroyed my sister." Liam pratically orders.
"He didn't destroy me." I hiss at Liam.
"Yes he did." Claire says. "I want the sister that used to read me bedtime stories, not the one smoking weed in our shared bedroom."
"Well she's dead." I say, frustrated. "I'm not fucked up, alright? I'm not addicted to drugs! I can stop if I want! Everything I do is because I want to."
"Enough." Dad says, raising his voice slightly. He turns to me. "Katherine, do you want to talk to Alex?"
"No." I say flatly. "If he shows up, tell him you don't know where I am."
I finish my food and water and rinse my dishes, putting them in the sink.
"Go take a shower." Mom says gently. "Come downstairs when you're done. I miss your face."
I don't reply, I just go down the hall to the bathroom by Liam's room and me and Claire's room.
I start the water and strip down, throwing my clothes in the hamper.
I could really go for a blunt right now.
Frustrated, I get under the hot spray and wash vigorously. The water is so hot, it burns, but I couldn't care less.
I wash a couple of times and get out, wrap myself in a towel and go into Claire and I's room.
My sister is sitting on her bed and she looks up from her phone when I walk in.
"What happened between you and Alex."
"Nothing." I say. I get underwear, a t-shirt, and a pair of shorts from my old dresser and drop my towel, dressing.
I can't remember the last time I got to brush my hair but my hairbrush is gone so I don't bother. I towel dry my hair and leave the bedroom. I put my towel in the bathroom and turn on the fan, and then I walk into the living room where my parents and brother are sitting.
"Do you want to talk about Alex?" Mom asks.
Yes, but no.
I just sigh and sit down.
"I don't know." I say finally. "No."
"Alright." She says.
I know they have rules so I just sigh.
"How about you guys just lie down the ground rules?"
They just look at each other.
"Sweetie, when is the last time you did drugs?"
Blunt, I reply. "Today."
They both nod slowly.
"And when is the last time you didn't do drugs?"
I try to think of it.
"I don't know." I say finally. "But I'm not addicted." I shake my head.
Claire walks into the room and sits down next to me on the couch.
"Claire, go to your room." Dad says. "You're too young."
"Dad, I'm fifteen." She argues. "I'm staying."
He probably isn't in the mood to argue with her, so he just sighs and looks back at me.
"Honey," Mom starts.
"Guys, seriously, I'm not ten, alright? You want the truth? Ask. Tell me the requirements of me staying here. I get a job? I go to therapy? What? What is it?"
Mom and Dad both look at each other and I hold my breath and wait for it.
"You go to rehab." Mom finally says.
Immediatedly, I'm on my feet.
"No. Hell no." I raise my voice slightly.
"Katherine." Dad stands up too and Mom is already looking like she wants to cry.
"I'm not going to fucking rehab, alright? I'm fine!"
"Fine!" Dad raises his voice over me.
What? He's not making me go?
"What?" I ask.
"Fine, you don't have to go to rehab."
Mom gives him an outraged look but he ignores her and holds my murderous glare. "But if I find out you did so much as sniffed a fucking drug, you're out. On the street. I don't care if there's six feet of snow on the ground, do you understand me?"
I open my mouth to reply and close it again.
"Well?" He raises his voice. My Dad is a retired Army veteran. He has his drill sergeant voice and he uses it on us.
It always works.
"Yes." I say.
"Good." He says. "One fucking slip up Katherine Amelia. One. You don't get any more second chances. As a matter of fact, you're on house arrest. You're a child. I don't give a shit if you're twenty two. You're not paying rent, which means you follow my rules since you're living in my house."
"Fine." I throw my hands up. "I already told you guys I'm not addicted to drugs."
I go to storm past him and he grabs my forearm, forcing me to a halt. His grip isn't hurting me, but it's firm, telling me not to try to march off.
"If you slip up and you end up back out of the house, I won't have you back in my house. You're a bad influence on your younger siblings. Next time you come knocking at my front door, the answer will be no."
"Okay." I say. I go to walk off but he pulls me back again,  his brown eyes boring directly into my blue ones. "I know my smart daughter is in there somewhere." He says. "I just hope the stupid part of you hasn't murdered her."
With that, he releases me.
Without a single response, I march to my shared bedroom and slam the door, cussing under my breath.
I can hear Mom whisper yelling at him and a moment later, I hear them send Liam and Claire to bed. Claire enters the bedroom and doesn't say anything to me, she just changes into her pajamas and crawls under the covers.
When she's situated, she glances at me.
"Can you shut the light off? I have school tomorrow."
I flip the switch and then flop into my bed, glaring at the ceiling.

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