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Chapter 13

The front door opens and before I know it, the house is once again filled with voices and laughter. By this time, the kitchen is clean, food is put away and the dishes are done. Prince, Paris, Blanket and I are seated in the living room watching Law and Order. I never really liked this show and I assume the boys don't either, but Paris does and we are being respectful. 

"Hey, guys! It smells good in here." my mother says as everyone floods the living room once again. The four of us take turns greeting everyone and they take their seats.

"Where should I put this?" Randy raises a styrofoam box in the air and my mother points to the kitchen. "In the fridge is fine. You can take it before you leave." Randy nods and walks to the kitchen followed by Janet and Joseph.

"Where's Marlon and Jermaine?" I ask and my mother looks at me. "Jermaine wanted to go home and get some rest. His and his wife's anniversary is tomorrow and he still has to buy a present, and Marlon's son's birthday is tomorrow." I nod. 

"Did you guys eat yet?" my mother asks and we all nod. "We had spaghetti." Prince says with a smile and my mother smiles back. "That's what it smells like."

". . .Well, we talked and agreed that if you want to go spend the night with them tonight, you're more than welcome." my eyes widen at my mother's offer. There is no way I can turn it down.

"Duh!" I say a bit too harshly and everyone laughs. "Well, we'll be taking off here in a few minutes. It's quite a bit of a drive since we have to drop off a few." I hop up and head toward the stairs. 

When I get to my room, I grab an overnight bag and stuff clothes into it. I pack all the necessary items I would need for an overnight stay, and head down stairs right after.

"Ready to go?" Katherine asks and I nod. We start heading toward the door. I look over at my mother and she smiles. As Katherine, Joseph, Paris, Prince and Blanket move to exit, they stop when I do. I turn back to them. "Go ahead, I'll be out in a minute." I say and they nod and exit the house, closing the door behind them. I walk over to my mother and hug her. 

"Thank you." I say and look at her when I pull away from the embrace. "Nat, I'm really sorry. I know it was wrong what I did. But now, I'm really glad that you know them. I'm proud of how well you're adapting to this. You're just like your daddy." I smile and hug her again. "I love you." I say and she says it back. Before I can start crying, she shoos me off.

"Have fun!" she calls and I nod and smile before exiting the house.

When I close the door behind me, I try to find which car is Katherine and Joseph's. I find it more quickly than I thought I would, because Randy had just pulled out of the driveway the moment I close the front door, and the only other car in the driveway is my mother's.  

I can't help but feel a bit awkward getting into the car with these people I barely know. But then again I feel a slight sensation of comfort.

"What do you want to listen to?" Joseph asks and I look at the other kids and shrug. "Doesn't matter."

"Let's listen to dad!" Paris announces and we all nod in agreement. "What song?" Katherine asks. "Um. . .You Rock My World?" I suggest and Katherine smiles and turns to the song. Everyone begins to sing and bob their heads to the tune as we drive except Blanket, but we ignore him.

"Almost there." Paris says and I nod. By that time, we had listened to three songs and dropped off the nieces and nephews at their homes. I thought a lot about the fact that these people are my family. I still couldn't believe it, but I knew I had to start. Part of me still believes that this is a dream. It has to be. But if it was, I probably would have woken up by now. 

When we pull up the house, my eyes widen. "Holy crap!" I say and everyone giggles. "What?" Katherine asks and looks back at me from the passenger seat. "Your guys' house is huge!" they all shrug in unison and smile.

We exit the car and I wait for Paris to enter before I do. The inside is even prettier than the outside. I've never been in such a big house in my life; that I remember at least. This house is about the size of my high school if not, bigger.

"You can sleep in my room. We can put your bag up there and watch a movie or something?" Paris says and I nod with a smile. "Sounds great!" I say and follow her up the wide, beautiful wooden stairs. She leads me to her bedroom and I gape at the sight.

"I won't even say a thing." I say and she turns to me and giggles. "I already know what you're thinking." she says while nodding. I look around and find posters of Michael Jackson and The Beatles plastered onto her walls as well as mine.

"You can set your bag over there," she points to the love seat in the corner. "I have a sleeping bag that I can use for tonight and sleep on the couch. You can have my bed." she offers and I smile I set my bag on the love seat and turn to her. "Are you sure?" I ask and she nods. "You really don't have to."

"I mean, we have a couple extra bedrooms, but I want you to stay with me." she says and I nod and thank her.

"We can go to the theater and watch a movie if you'd like." she says, using a tone that made the statement sound like a question. I nod and tilt my head to either side. "I didn't bring any money." I say and she giggles and grabs my arm. "You don't need any," she says and drags me out of the room. "it's just down stairs."

"You have a movie theater in your house?" Paris nods and shrugs as if it is nothing special. I really wonder how normal the high life is to them, because it definitely is not for me.