{~~~Jade~~~}

Well, that could've gone worse.

"I didn't say it went well, I said it could've gone worse." I reiterate out loud before Tori can hop on my ass about the mess I made when I shoved that engagement ring on Vega's hand.

I knew better. I did.

I just couldn't help myself.

I love Vega; and I missed her like crazy while she was away getting "space" from me. Especially because it came out of nowhere.

And I mean abso-fucking-lutely nowhere.

We were doing fine. Well, there was that mortifying mishap when I went to visit her; but it wasn't so bad that she needed to avoid me afterward. At least, not the way she avoided me. She just totally cut me off. No explanation, no calls, no texts; she didn't even come to school….for six fucking weeks!

Who does that!?

I wanted to teach her a lesson once she came back. I wanted her to spot me in the hall, on my way to class; and I wanted to just walk by her without offering her a smile, or talking to her, or even looking in her direction. I wanted to show her exactly how it felt to be treated like that.

But I couldn't because I couldn't find her anywhere; yet, I knew she was in school. I heard Other Vega complaining about still having to chauffeur her sister around even though she was no longer casted up.

It pissed me off; knowing Vega was still avoiding me. So, I spent most of first period trying to figure out how to punish her for that as well.

But then, when I finally saw her again, right before second period, she was so…cold. Like she didn't care if I ignored her very existence…like she would have preferred it if I did…Like she still didn't want to be around me.

It scared me. I felt like I'd lost her. And I didn't, don't, want to lose her.

So, I tricked her into going on a date with me. It was a bit extreme; lying about inviting everyone, taking her to the beach knowing that her arms were too sensitive for all that sun, getting her car towed, and all the other stuff; but it was also worth it. She warmed up to me considerably; even agreed to go on a second, "real," date with me the next day.

This day, actually. And it started out so good. She was smiling. and laughing, and she didn't seem to mind me constantly touching her….

Then she stepped away for less than five minutes and Alyssa fucking Vaughn was all over her; and Vega was letting Alyssa fucking Vaughn be all over her; and then Alyssa fucking Vaughn kissed my girlfriend; and Vega didn't seem uncomfortable with it…at all. In fact, it seemed as if they'd done it before…. multiple times. Like it was a thing. And then, on top of all of that, Vega had the nerve to come back to me and ask for her handcuffs, probably so she could use them on Alyssa fucking Vaughn later, and I lost it. I overreacted and I just…I fucked up. I know I did; but even with the horrible result my freak out yielded, I'd probably do it the same way all over again. I got what I wanted out of it and the consequences could've been much worse.

Sure, Vega was upset; and it'll probably be months before she ends break now, but when I tried to take the ring back, she wouldn't let me. More than that, she looked absolutely horrified that I even tried; so, at least I know she still wants me. Plus, we're essentially engaged. That's something.

It's really not.

Shut up Tori.

I try not to think about how right Tori is on my way home.

She doesn't make it easy on me. She insistently suggests that I turn around and apologize to Vega. But I won't. I'm not sorry. Not really. And that may make me a selfish gank, but at least I'm honest. At least I'm showing Vega how much I love her; how much I want her. And If I messed up soooo fucking bad, she would've given me the ring back when I tried to take it back!

Tori has nothing to say to that.

{~~~O~~~}

Joy's the first person I see when I finally get in the house; and she's got a big smile for me. "How'd your date go?"

"Fine." I mutter. I can barely look her in the eyes, even though I'm sort of not lying. My date went good. Then bad. Then really fucking bad. Then fine.

"Oh." She seems to get it because she doesn't press me for more information. She just changes the subject with an easy smile and a, "Can you take Kayla home? I already gave her an early dinner, just in case. Now if I could just get one other little girl to eat…" She mumbles the last bit to herself.

I roll my eyes and walk away. Redhead's not a little girl. And Joy's obsession with whether or not she eats is starting to get weird.

I march my way upstairs and I shout, "Booger and Booger's booger, get out here!" as soon as I'm close enough for them to hear me over their constant racket. I swear, I could hear their squealing and laughter as soon as I pulled up to the house.

Kayla pops her head out of the room immediately and she offers me an agitated glare. "Stop calling me that!"

I shrug.

I would call her something else, but her life's too fucked up and Booger's booger is the meanest thing Tori will let me call her.

"Hi, Jade." Amber pops her head out right beside Kayla's. She offers me the very opposite of an agitated glare. She gives me a smile so wide, and honest, that her cheeks have hidden her eyes from me.

She's been smiling like that a lot lately. It's like she's a completely different person, but at the same time, she's still my little booger.

So, I smile back, at the both of them, even though Kayla's still scowling. I'm sure it's more to do with the fact that she knows what's coming rather than the name I just called her.

The girl hates going home.

I'm proven correct when I say, "Get your shoes on." and Kayla freezes for a second as a flash of anxiety runs across her face. Then, without a word, the look is gone and she goes back in the room. "You too, Booger." I say while thoroughly ignoring the sadness on Amber's face. There's no point in asking if she wants to come. She always does.

"Meet me at the car." I tell them before going back downstairs. It always makes the trip harder if I have to watch their sad little faces as they slowly trudge their way down the stairs with drooping shoulders, listless hands, and dragging feet. So, I avoid all that shit by sitting in the driver's, with my car running; and I keep facing forward until I hear them get in the backseat. A simple, "buckle up." is all I say to them before we're on our way.

The ride isn't overly long, I'm just kinda tired. It's barely 5pm, but I've had a full day; physically, but mostly mentally, exhausting. I need some rest. A lot of it.

I sigh in agitation once I pull up to Kayla's.

There will be no rest for me when I get home because there's no car out front.

Valerie isn't home.

Kayla sighs too, but I have a feeling it's more from relief. Then she opens the door to get out.

"Where are you going?" I snap as I turn in my seat to glare at her. I don't mean it, I'm just irritated.

"Oh." Kayla pauses before saying "5-6-8-5-2-3-3;" then she tries to leave again.

I roll my eyes. "No one's there, Kayla."

She shrugs. "I know, I'm just gonna go in through the"-

"Get back in the car, kid." I cut her off. "I'll bring you back in the morning."

She doesn't even hesitate to obey me.

The girls are a lot louder on the way back, or maybe their voices are just higher pitched. Either way, it's annoying so I try to tune them out all the way home. But I can't really do it because I know Joy's gonna be wazzed off.

Usually, she doesn't mind Kayla being there, even if the kid is loud and obnoxious. It's just, she was hoping to have a Kayla-free atmosphere during Grayson's visit tomorrow. And I don't blame her; those things are unpleasant enough without adding an extra variable in the form of a super active third grader to the mix. Then again, Grayson probably won't even notice that Kayla's not one of his kids, so…

I think about telling that joke to Joy once we get in the house; but as soon as I come face-to-face with her, I just kinda gulp it down.

She does not look happy…at all.

Not that the girls noticed. They ran upstairs the second I unlocked the front door for them.

I give Joy the most innocent smile I can muster. "Hi, Mom." I say, she's still much more lenient on me when I use that word.

She smiles back at me immediately. Not like one of Amber's face-consuming grins, more like she's tolerating a cute little puppy that just peed on her kitchen floor.

"I thought you were taking her home?" She sighs.

I shrug. Innocently. "Valerie wasn't there, Mom."

Joy's smile gets a little more tolerant. Like I'm a cute little puppy begging for scraps at the dinner table.

"Did you try calling?" She indulges me.

"Yes." It's a flat out lie and Joy knows it. I can tell by the skeptical look on her face. So, I give in and tell the truth. "I'm just not in the mood to deal with her, right now." I whine.

It has absolutely no affect on her. She just purses her lips and raises her eyebrows at me; and I know I've pushed the sad puppy thing as far as it'll go.

"Fine." I give in. "I'll call her. But can't I take her in the morning, before Grayson shows up?"

Joy thinks about it for a second before agreeing. "Just make sure it's before 3pm."

"Thanks, Mom." I grin.

She answers with an amused roll of her eyes before walking away. Probably to clean the already spotless living room. She'll do that half a dozen more times before Grayson shows his ornery ass up.

I call Valerie once I get to my room, but I'm not surprised at all when she doesn't pick up. I leave a message though. It's my first time doing so because I usually don't want to send Kayla back anyway. But this time, I need Valerie to babysit her kid for me while my father visits.

{~~~O~~~}

The rest of my night goes pretty much how I expect it to go. With Joy constantly calling up to me from downstairs and asking me to fix this and straighten up that; and Booger and her booger making their special brand of racket. I swear, the only thing I'm missing is a call from Grayson.

My phone buzzes as soon as that thought flits through my mind and I roll my eyes. "I was just kidding." I complain out loud.

I grab up my phone, intent on ignoring his ass, but then I see something that damn near stops my heart…in a very literal way. It's not Grayson badgering me. It's a text from Vega. And it says:

My Vega: you forgot to kiss me goodnight.

Holy shit!

I did forget.

How the hell could I have forgotten?

I jump out of my bed and throw on some shoes, I think they're mismatched, and I have on two left shoes; but I barely notice because Vega, my baby, basically asked me for a kiss. There's no way in hell I'm giving her time to change her mind.

I'm nearly out the front door, and I mean my hand is on the knob and I'm about to turn it, when I hear, "Jade, where do you think you're going?"

"Vega's." I rush as I snatch the door open. Because I'm going. I don't care what anybody has to say. Not even my mother.

It's like she can sense it because she's next to me in a flash, pressing the door back shut firmly. "It's late, Jade." She says softly.

"Please, Mom." I beg. I'm not even using the "M" word to get what I want this time. I just really want to go. And I really want my mother to let me. "Look!" I say as I shove my phone in her face so she can read the text Vega sent me. And as she's reading it, I desperately chant, "please, please, please…." until she lifts her hand off the door and tells me I can go.

I'm out the door before she can change her mind or say another word. I don't even thank her because I don't feel I have the time.

As soon as I get in my car, the debate begins. Where should I kiss Vega? On the mouth? on the cheek? I only get one, you know. How long should it be? What would be too much? What would be too little? It has to say the right thing. It has to convey how much I love and want her; but at the same time, it needs to be respectful and slightly apologetic. I want to show her that I'm serious about this courting thing, but at the same time, I want her to know she's already mine.

And then there's the fact that it'll be nearly 10:30 by the time I get there. Most likely Papa Vega will answer the door. I don't think it'll take much to let me see his daughter, but I know I better be on my best behavior.

It takes me the whole twenty-four-minute ride to Vega's to get fully prepared. I've decided on a quick, but not chaste, peck on her lips. It's supposed to be a good night kiss at the end of a date after all. And I believe it'll say everything I want to say.

"Okay, Jade. You got this." I coach myself. And I also remind myself that Vega asked for this. So, I more than "got this." It's a done deal.

I take several breaths as I walk up to the front door; and I exhale slowly as I ring the doorbell. I try my best not to fidget as I wait for the door to be answered, but I can't help it. I'm nervous.

Thankfully, the door's pulled open not too long after I rang the bell; but I freeze when I see who's on the other side of it.

I was expecting Papa Vega. Had a little speech and everything. But it's Vega at the door. She's wearing a tank top and sleep shorts; and her hair is up in a sloppy bun. Suddenly, the only thing I want in the world is to crawl into bed with her, wrap my arm around her waist, and bury my face into the back of her neck. I bet I would sleep so good.

"Jade?" She rubs at her eyes with the back of her right hand. "What are you doing here?"

I reach for her, ignoring the way she tenses up when I place a gentle hand on the back of her head. "Good night, baby." I whisper as I lean in and kiss her forehead softly. Then I turn to go before I could do something stupid, like ask if I could stay…or cry. I kinda feel like crying right now and it's the suckiest feeling in the world.

"Jade?"

I turn right back around at the sound of Vega's voice. "Yeah?"

She rubs at her eyes once more before yawning out a, "What time should I bring Riley home tomorrow?"

I want to tell her to bring her as early as possible so I can see her soon; but Riley would probably like to spend more time with her. So, I settle on, "About 3." Grayson is supposed to be in at 4:30-ish.

"Okay," Vega nods in understanding, either that, or she's dozing off right where she stands. "See you tomorrow, Jade." She yawns again.

I don't even have time to bid her good night again before she's practically shutting the door in my face.

On my way back to my car, I get the feeling I'm being watched, so I turn back and glance up at Vega's window. Riley's staring down at me.

I stare right back until she gives me the finger a few seconds later.

I roll my eyes and leave. Normally, I'd do it back; but Tori hates that.

{~~~O~~~}

On weekends, Sundays especially, I usually sleep in late.

Not this Sunday.

I know it's early as soon as I open my eyes. There's barely any light out; which just irritates my soul. Especially since I didn't sleep well last night because sometime, between 12am and 3am, Booger and her booger snuck their aggravating asses into my bed. And I can deal with Amber's constant kicking, and Kayla constantly digging some part of her anatomy into my lower back. I can even sleep through most of it; but what I can't take is Kayla's endless whimpers throughout the night. She never endures her nightmares in silence; and she never wakes up from them on her own. Which is just confusing because she's actually a really light sleeper.

And now, the smell of a huge breakfast is practically suffocating me.

I groan a little because it can only mean one thing. Some-fucking-how, Joy's gotten even more nervous since last night.

It's probably best not to ignore her while she's like this. She might set the house on fire.

I sit up and stretch, looking over the little boogers in my bed. I want to be mad at them for depriving me of a soundless sleep; I really do, but I can't help the smile that sneaks its way onto my face at the sight of them. At how different they are, even while unconscious. Amber's strewn all over the place, taking up half my bed despite being so freaking tiny; and Kayla's in a tight little ball. She rarely ever moves in her sleep. Not even during a nightmare; if possible, she makes herself even smaller.

I tap Kayla's hand and she opens her eyes immediately. "Wake up."

She shuts her eyes back and I leave her be. I've learned that she'll get out of bed in about two minutes. Almost literally.

So, I set my sights on my booger. She's a bit more difficult to wake. Not without scaring her anyway.

I get out of bed and lift Amber up before setting her down on her feet, facing her away from me. She sways a few times, and I help her keep her balance until she realizes she's standing. I know she's awake enough for me to let go when she starts yawning and stretching.

Then she turns around and gives me one of those smiles. "Good morning, Jade."

"Morning, Booger." I reciprocate as I kneel down in front of her and grab both of her tiny little hands in mine. "Joy's making a big breakfast for everybody and I want you to tell her it's good even if there are egg shells in your eggs, okay?"

Amber nods her head and squeezes my hands briefly. Then her focus switches to an area to my right, and I know Kayla's up now. So, I turn to face her. "What's my number?"

Kayla whines in exasperation, throwing her big ass head back and punching my pillows. "5-6-8-"

"Area code too." I interrupt. Just to be an ass, because I already know she knows it.

"Ugh!" Kayla drops her big ass head forward and whines some more, but louder and into my pillow this time. I'll have to remember to wash that later.

"I can't hear you." I taunt while snatching my pillow away.

She glares at me.

I raise an eyebrow at her.

She glares some more.

"Just say it, Kayla." Amber pleads softly.

My Booger's booger doesn't even hesitate. "2-1-3-5-6-8-5-2-3-3" just spills out of her mouth like vomit.

"Thank you." Amber smiles.

Kayla smiles back.

It's so fucking gross.

"Get out of my room." I gag, while shooing both of them out. Then I dress quickly and head downstairs.

I come to an abrupt stop as Redhead flies right past me, nearly knocking me over on her way out.

Damn. I didn't even know she was here. I figured she spent the night at André's or something.

But Apparently Joy knew she was here, because she comes rushing out of the kitchen with a Tupperware in her hand. "Melissa!" she shouts. "Take some-"

"Going to the mall. I'll eat while I'm out. Thanks, Joy!" Redhead claims before slamming the door shut behind herself.

"That girl…." Joy starts mumbling as she heads back for the kitchen. I sigh and follow after her; watching in silence as she tosses a few dishes into the sink and continues to mutter to herself.

"I'll take a plate, Joy." I say when she throws a glass plate into the sink. I don't need her to start breaking shit because she's irritated.

Joy jumps. Surprised to see me.

I roll my eyes. I've been behind her for like three minutes. She's usually a lot more aware of her surroundings.

"Good morning, sweetheart!" Joy smiles at me while fixing me a plate real quick. It's got more on it than I usually eat, but I don't complain. I eat everything; but I make sure to fix Amber's plate because she's not gonna eat a lot. And I don't want Joy's feelings to get hurt if Amber ends up throwing some of her food away.

Joy can fix Kayla's plate because Kayla will eat everything. That girl always eats like it's her last meal.

{~~~O~~~}

Once the girls have eaten, I kill a little time by taking them to the park before having to take Kayla home. I wanted to get them, and their racket, out of the house so Joy could wazz out in peace.

It was the best decision.

Even I get a small headache by all their screaming and squealing. Don't they ever get fucking tired? Because I'm exhausted just watching them.

I check my phone for the time and note that it's around noon.

Time to take Kayla home.

"Booger! Booger's booger!" I yell loud enough for every child on the playground to hear me.

I hear a familiar, "Stop calling me that!" and I smile.

"Time to go!" I yell back before promptly turning around and heading for my car so I won't have to see the sad shit. And once they get in the back seat of my car, I ignore their sad little whispers too. I have to, or Kayla will never go home.

I'm relieved to see Valerie's car when I pull up to the house. So relieved that I ignore the unfamiliar car beside it.

Before I can shut my car off, the front door swings open and some random bare foot, hairy-bellied, dude yells to Valerie that her kid is back.

Kayla takes a deep breath and opens her car door.

Tori starts to get a little antsy.

So I ask "Who's that?" for her.

"Another new daddy, I guess." Kayla shrugs before planting her feet on the ground.

Tori. Freaks. The fuck. Out.

Like that bitch basically takes over my body and has me turning around in my seat, reaching into the back of my car, and pulling Kayla's ass back inside by the back of her pants.

She shrieks in alarm and flails before landing roughly on the rubber floor mat.

I mean to apologize; I really do, but Tori growls out a, "Get back in the car." down to her instead.

Kayla blinks up at me, shocked. I don't blame her. I'm always careful not to manhandle her. Always. I have no idea what the hell Tori was thinking.

Kayla blinks a few more times at me before saying, "But if I don't do my chores"-

"No," I cut her off with a glare. "If you don't stay your ass in this fucking car…"

Seriously? Since when does Tori curse at children?

Wasn't me, dum-dum.

Oh. Yeah, that could've been me.

As soon as Kayla's fully in the car, with her door shut and seatbelt back on, I drive off. I don't even spare another glance toward Bubba on the porch, who's now asking Valerie what her kid looks like.

Unsurprisingly, the girls go right back to being loud and obnoxious. In fact, as soon as we step foot inside the house, Kayla squeals, "Tag, your it," before tapping Amber's shoulder and running upstairs. She nearly knocks Joy down on her way up.

I wince at the look Joy gives me. "Jade, sweetheart, I thought you were taking her home." She's got both hands on her hips and she looks so exhausted, and so very exasperated….

"I couldn't do it." I bite my lip a little nervously. I know Joy's not gonna hurt me or anything, but I don't like her to be mad at me. It's a new thing I've developed. I have no idea where that shit came from.

"She wasn't there?" She demands, practically glaring me down; making me feel much shorter than I am.

I clear my throat, so I can talk through the nerves. "No, she was there." I admit.

"Jade!" Joy huffs.

"Can't you do it?" I beg before she can blow up at me. Because this wasn't my fault. Not really. It was all Tori's doing. She doesn't like leaving Kayla with Valerie on a normal day. She irritates me about it damn near constantly. So of course she freaked out when she saw a potential pedophile waiting for Kayla to get home! And maybe it wasn't fair to judge that guy. Maybe he's nice and wouldn't hurt a fly, but if he's not, if he is abusive or a pedo, I don't trust Valerie to protect my Bogger's booger from him. I don't even trust that she'll care!

All of those thoughts must show on my face to some degree; because Joy calms down and holds her arms out for me to step into. I don't even hesitate to go to her. She gives me a tight squeeze before agreeing to take Kayla home in a few minutes.

But a few minutes quickly turn into a few hours. Joy gets distracted by the million things she doesn't really have to do in preparation for Grayson's visit and she soon loses track of time.

The one thing she doesn't lose is her voice.

Unfortunately.

She's constantly screaming up to me about getting dressed, and combing my hair, and texting Vega about bringing Riley home…It's fucking annoying.

And unnecessary. Who cares if the house is dirty when Grayson gets here? Or if I'm presentable? Or if all of us are even here? I'm not even sure Grayson would care.

I put my earbuds in so I can stop constantly hearing Joy scream "Jade!" at me.

And not even two minutes later, my door's abruptly snatched open.

For the love of-

"Joy, chill!" I yell. "He's not gonna be here for about two hours! I'll get ready…" My voice trails off when I actually look at my doorway. That's not Joy at my door, but Vega. A seriously pissed off Vega.

My reaction to her is immediate.

And wet.

God, she's so sexy when she's pissed.

"I just brought Riley home," she starts off, totally neglecting to give me a simple hello. Which is just rude, but I'm digging it right now. "She's downstairs watching TV." Vega finishes.

"Okay…" I say, waiting for her to get to the part where she tells me why she's so wazzed off. Not that I mind.

At all.

"You," she points at me and narrows her eyes. I bite my lip because damn. And I mean Day-umn. "Are gonna go down there and watch TV with her."

I scowl and shake my head, totally breaking free of that little spell she had on me because watching TV with Riley does not sound sexy.

At all.

There's no way in hell I'll do anything of the sort.

Vega steps further into my room, placing her hands on her hip. "Jade!" She growls.

"What?" I snap my legs shut and sit up straight; trying my best to hide the fact that my duey has started drooling.

"She doesn't think you love her!" She hisses at me.

"So?"

"Jade!"

Ugh!

"She told you that?" I sigh heavily.

"Not in so many words;" she continues with the hissing. "But it's something you would pick up on if you actually paid attention! You two need to bond!"

I roll my eyes. There're a few things she would pick up on about me if she actually paid attention. And what about our lack of bonding?

At the thought of us bonding, my eyes immediately search out "the ring" and I frown a little. The last two fingers of her left hand are kinda stuffed into her jeans; like she's hiding it. Normally, my mind wouldn't go there immediately-

Yes, it would.

Okay, it would; but the angle her hand is positioned in looks so freaking awkward that it's super obvious.

"Tori?"

I watch the anger on my girlfriend's face vanishes immediately at the small voice behind her.

Amber.

"Hey, Mamita!" Vega exclaims excitedly while giving Amber the kind of hug that lifts her straight off the ground. Her ring finger is carefully hidden by Amber's hair.

Yeah, she's definitely hiding her ring on purpose. But why from me? I already know it's there.

"I missed you!" Amber says, absolutely refusing to let Vega go, so my girlfriend gives a small little heave ho and suddenly Amber's perched on her hip. Still, Vega hides her ring finger; this time underneath Amber's shirt.

It's actually starting to irritate me.

Vega gives Amber all of her attention; so, she doesn't see me glaring at her as she exclaims, "I missed you too! When are coming to my house, huh? The folks have been asking about you."

"Trina too?" Amber gasps.

"Uh, sort of."

"Sort of?"

"Yeah, um…When she says, "Hey where's that other one, I need six hands to carry these bags when I go shopping," does that count?"

Amber nods her head, grinning like a maniac. For some reason, the girls seem to genuinely like Other Vega. I'll never understand that one.

Vega makes to set Amber down, but my sister holds on tighter, refusing to let go. "Are you leaving now?" My booger pouts a little.

"Not this minute." Vega shakes her head. And only then Amber let her go. Not completely though, she grabs Vega's arm and starts to pull her toward her bedroom. "Come play with me."

"Booger, where's your booger?" I cut in before they can leave.

"Mommy took her home." She chirps, too excited by Vega's presence to be sad about Kayla's absence.

"Your booger?" Vega frowns.

Amber's ears go the cutest shade of pink and I don't expect her to answer, but she does. "Kayla B." She admits.

"Kayla B.?" Vega's frown deepens. "The third grader with the ta"-

"Tori!" Amber cuts in, face absolutely crimson. It immediately draws my attention from obsessing over the fact that Vega's still hiding her ring.

"What?" I cut in. "The third grader with the what?"

"Nothing!" Amber shrieks, before tugging Vega out of my room.

Vega gives me one last look. Nodding her head toward the direction of the stairs, where Thing One is.

Right.

She wants me to bond.

I nearly forgot.

And I ain't gonna do it.

"Now, Jade!" Vega yells from the hallway.

Fine.

I quickly go through my DVDs, pick out my favorite cartoon, Happy Tree Friends, and head downstairs. Vega wants me to bond, I'll fucking bond.

Riley's in front of the TV, right where Vega said she'd be; and I interrupt her show to click the DVD player on.

"Hey! Turn it back." She scowls at me.

I ignore her, pop in the DVD and head straight for her.

She crosses her arms over her chest stubbornly. More than likely she thinks I'm about to tell her to move over as she's sitting in my favorite spot, and she's determined to give me a hard time.

I don't say a word. I sit next to her and drag her into my lap before scooching over to sit in my favorite spot. It's the end seat and it's got the best armrest ever.

"What are you doing?" Riley jerks, trying to hop up out of my lap, but I hold her around the waist tightly. She's not going anywhere.

"We're bonding." I tell her.

"Why?" She squirms.

"Vega says so."

"Why?" She's still squirming, but a lot less.

"Because," I squeeze her around the middle and pull her closer to me. "Vega says you think I don't love you; and I do. So, we're bonding." I answer simply.

"Oh." Riley says quietly before nervously kicking her feet.

It comforts me greatly to know that she's just as uncomfortable with this shit as I am. And I guess that's Vega's problem. This shouldn't be so damn awkward. She's my sister. Amber's fucking twin. I should feel the same way about holding them both.

But I don't.

This feels weird. It's not the same as holding Amber.

Which is just fucking ridiculous.

I take a deep breath and turn slightly, putting my feet up on the couch and laying back against the armrest.

Riley sits still. Her back ramrod straight. I roll my eyes before adjusting my arm more securely around her waist and pressing play on the show.

She fights me, not physically or verbally refusing, but she stiffens even more. I can feel just how tightly her torso is contracting.

I don't make a big deal of it, just rub Vega Circles into her back. It's almost five minutes before Riley relaxes into me completely. We're hallway through the first episode and I watch her face, rather than Lumpy amputate the wrong leg. I know she's aware of my staring, because she's not paying attention to the TV. If she was, she'd be having more facial expressions flicker across her face, like disgust or maybe even a small laugh here and there.

She begins to squirm again a few minutes later. Not like before; much subtler. Like she wants to lean against me, but she doesn't trust that I'll have a positive reaction to it.

When it becomes more awkward than amusing, I tug on her; pulling her down so she can lay against my chest.

And it's not awkward that she doesn't know what to do with her hands. It's just…sad.

It's sad that this has been our thing for so long. That we push each other away, and argue, and fight; and it's all become so fucking automatic that I sometimes forget that I don't really hate her.

And it makes me uncomfortable, realizing that she doesn't know that.

So, I adjust my sister so that she can rest comfortably against me. And I continue rubbing the circles into her back until it's not weird anymore; until she's so relaxed that she falls asleep; and then I still continue with the circles because this isn't so bad. It is almost like holding Amber. Just… different, but certainly not worse.

I even stay put when I hear the front door open because I'm too comfortable to care about who sees me in this position. Plus, it's probably just Joy, coming back from dropping off Kayla.

And that's who I see, running up the stairs.

Kayla.

"What the hell?" I mutter, just as Joy comes into view. She spots me on the couch, takes one look at my raised eyebrows and knowing smirk and rolls her eyes at me.

"What?" I ask innocently.

"Shut up."

I snort. Looks like me and Tori aren't the only ones who thought Bubba on the Porch was a pedophile.

Then Joy gasps, out of nowhere, and I freak out a little.

"What?" I sit up slowly, trying not wake Riley. "What's wrong?"

Joy just continues to stare at me, which makes me even more anxious, before she stutters out a, "y-you….you can tell them apart right? You know which one's Riley and which one's Amber, don't you?"

I scowl at her for worrying me; and because that's the stupidest question Joy's ever asked me in my life.

Of course I can tell my sisters apart!

She points at me and continues. "You do know that's Riley, right?"

I look down at the sleeping kid in my arms and a smile just comes to my face. She's just as cute as Amber. Sometimes I forget they look the same because they're so different. But I get Joy's question now. She's wondering why the heck I'm holding Riley.

"Vega says we need to bond. We're bonding." I shrug, as if it's no big deal.

It's a huge fucking deal.

Joy looks like she's about to cry.

"That Tori," she sniffs. "She's a smart one, isn't she? God, I love that girl…"

I roll my eyes to show that I'm over it; but she doesn't take the hint.

"Have you two talked at all?" She takes a few steps closer to me. "Did she say anything when she dropped off Riley?"

I shrug and look back at the TV.

Joy sighs and looks over at the TV as well.

"Can't you bond over normal cartoons?" she frowns.

"Nope." I grin.

"You are just un-freaking-believable." She mutters.

My grin widens. For some reason, it doesn't irritate me as much when she tells me that.

And just as soon as my grin appears on my face, it disappears; because Grayson has just walked in. I look to my mother, wondering why she didn't warn me that he was here. But I already know the answer. She was distracted by me and Riley's bonding. And before I can adjust to Grayson being in the house, Fucking Ellen walks in behind him, and my eyes bug out of their sockets. Because I'm so fucking disturbed by the sight in front of me.

Ellen's gotten fat, but not her whole body. Just her stomach.

She's pregnant.

"Wake her up, will you?" I blink a few times and realize Grayson's talking to me. "And get the other one."

I scowl at him. The other one? Really?

He's such an ass.

Joy starts petting my hair. Like she knows I'm about to get up and kick his ass and she's trying to calm me down.

"Hurry, Jade. I don't have time to waste. I have something to tell you all." He motions toward Riley, reminding me that he wants me to wake her up.

"Where is Amber?" Joy asks me. And I have to admire how well she's taking this. Her ex-husband's rudeness and the fact that he can't seem to tell his daughters apart.

"She's upstairs with Vega." I tell her while gently shaking Riley awake.

"Tori!?" Joy's squeals of excitement literally hurt my ears and I wince. On the plus side, they wake Riley up. "She's still here? You didn't say…are guys off break now?"

I shake my head.

"Oh. I'm sorry, baby." She leans over and kisses the side of my head. Then she's heading upstairs; I'm assuming to collect Amber.

"Who'sTori?" Ellen asks. It's the first thing she says to me in five years.

I roll my eyes. Hello to you too, bitch.

"Jade," Grayson barks at me. "Your mother asked you a question."

I ignore him. I answered every question Joy asked me already.

I think.

I press pause on the TV and turn Riley in my lap so that she can face her dad. I hold her loosely so that she can even get up and greet him if she wants, but she doesn't move. I can't tell if she hasn't really woken up yet, or if she just doesn't feel like talking to Grayson.

So, we all just kinda stare at one another as we wait.

And it's just awkward.

So, so, fucking awkward.

I glance at the stairs every three seconds, waiting for Joy to come back down here so I don't have to deal with these people alone.

I sort of get my wish a few seconds later when Vega and Amber come running down the stairs. Well, Amber's running; and she doesn't stop until she's right in front of Grayson, squealing "Daddy!" and launching herself into his arms.

I cringe, knowing he probably doesn't even know who she is. In fact, he probably doesn't even care; because he just gives her a few awkward pats on her back.

Ugh, that is not how you greet an Amber. Maybe Riley, but not Amber.

I look around, hoping Joy's made it back downstairs, but I spot Vega instead.

She mouths something, and points to the door; clearly saying she's about to leave.

"No!" I panic a little, startling everyone with my shouting, but I don't really care. "Please stay." I beg.

Vega looks from me to Grayson, to Ellen, then back to me again before nodding. Then she sits down next to me on the couch and I ignore the way she hides her ring.

Especially because Grayson's still being an ass to my booger.

"Let go now." He says irritably while pushing her away; and both me and Vega turn to face him; glaring at him in disbelief. "I have something important to say."

I see Amber's face fall and I clench my teeth together. Because would it really kill him to not be so fucking rude.

Look who's talking.

Not fucking now, Tori!

"Mamita, come." Vega says, patting the seat beside her.

Amber sits in Vega's lap instead, no doubt she's in need of a bit of comforting.

Grayson doesn't seem to give the tiniest of damns. He smiles, actually smiles, and says, "As you can see Ellen is pregnant. I'm having a boy…Finally, I'm having a son! Fourth time's the charm. And I want you all to…"

I blink at him; tuning out the rest of his speech.

I don't even want to hear the rest because how could he say something so fucking fucked up? Fourth time? Doesn't he care about the third try, about Mercy? I know it's been a few years, but Joy still cries at the mention of her name sometimes, and none of us were allowed in her room for years, for Christ's sake!

"I hope you miscarry." The words are out of my mouth before I can even think about them; about how extremely harsh and unforgiving they are. All I can think is that I want him to fail. I don't want him to get his fucking miracle. I want him to hurt, the way Joy's been hurting, the way I've been hurting. I want his newfound pride and joy taken away from him. I hadn't thought about the fact that I was wishing harm on another human's life.

My brother's life.

"Jade!" Grayson glowers down at me. I've never seen him so pissed. Even at his pissiest moments, he's managed to appear extremely dispassionate. "Apologize to your mother, right now."

"My mother's not here." I retort. Though I am sorry for what I said. I just can't bring myself to apologize to Ellen.

Not for anything.

Not ever.

"Now!" he yells as he stomps up to me.

I slide Riley off of my lap and jump up out of my seat. "Fuck you!" I hiss.

His jaw drops; like he can't believe I'd have the nerve to look him in the eyes and say something like that.

I get even more pissed.

Why would he be surprised by my behavior? He shouldn't ever be surprised by anything I ever do. He doesn't know me. He's a fucking stranger. So why would he think he can come into my home and start demanding shit? Why does he think he deserve my respect, my obedience, my time?

You know what? He doesn't. He doesn't deserve any of my time. I don't have to be here with him. So, I walk away.

I'll go upstairs and listen to some music or something. The twins can have a nice little visit with their dad without me.

I don't get very far before my arm is grabbed. It's a strong grip that could only be Grayson's.

"Don't you dare walk away from me." He growls.

I whirl around and snatch my arm out of his grip. "Or what?" I growl back.

He reaches for me again, probably about to drag me outside so we can have a talk. West-to-West. But then…

"No! Don't hit her!" I literally grunt as a little body causes me to lose my breath when it's propelled into me, full force.

Amber.

She's got her arms wrapped around me tightly. Sobbing into my stomach.

"Please don't, Daddy." She begs. "Please don't hurt her. Please, please please…" And before I can comfort her in any way, Grayson suddenly yelps in pain.

I frown, looking over to see what's going on and I just freeze.

It's fucking chaos.

Riley's got a huge chunk of Grayson's left leg in her mouth, biting the shit out of him. Grayson's trying to shake her loose, while hollering, "Somebody get her off of me!," Vega's trying her best, but Riley's being stubborn, and Ellen is just trying to avoid getting hit in the stomach by all of Grayson's flailing around.

Fuck.

I move to help out, but can't really, because Amber's still blubbering into my stomach and she refuses to let go.

Shit. This kid has PTSD, or something.

I swear, this better be one of those things that I'll be able to laugh about a few years from now, but for now, it's just a hot fucking mess.

I grab my booger up into my arms and quickly walk over to Vega. "Here, take this." I say while holding a nearly hysterical Amber out for her.

Vega's eyes fill with relief. No doubt she doesn't know how to get Riley to stop; or she's simply unwilling to do what needs to be done.

Amber's still begging her daddy not to hurt me, and Vega holds her close; soothing her with gentle Spanish words and soft pets to the back.

I look over at Riley and Grayson, and I just shake my head. He's still yelling for someone to get her off of him.

Pathetic.

I roll my eyes before stepping on Riley's foot. And when she gasps in pain, I pull her away from her father. Then I pull her into me as best as I can, but she's still trying to get at Grayson. And she fights me for her freedom to do so.

"Stop it!" I hiss into her ear.

She's not hearing me. She either can't, or she doesn't want to. All she's focused on is getting her hands, teeth, back on Grayson; and man, adrenaline plus Riley equals some annoyingly strong shit.

Grayson hobbles away from us, towards the downstairs bathroom. Ellen follows him; but it doesn't seem to register with Riley. She's still fighting me.

I take a few punches to my thighs, and one really painful one to my cheek, before my sister realizes she's not going anywhere. And once she settles for fuming silently, I turn her around to face me, gripping her by her upper arms tightly.

"Calm the fuck down." I tell her.

She blinks at me, rather quickly. I suspect she's trying to keep from crying. And I know if the tears should come, they're not going to be because she's sad. This kid is livid. Like the way Joy gets when she's pissed. She's got her lips balled up, her nostrils are flared, her little chest is heaving up and down so fast that I'm pretty sure if she keeps it up she's gonna get too much oxygen to her brain and faint.

I let her arms go, quickly grabbing her face and pulling her even closer.

Eye to eye.

West to West.

"If you don't calm your little ass down you're gonna go into cardiac arrest or something." I taunt. "And if you do, I'm not giving you mouth to mouth, understand?"

She glares at me some more before yelling, "You're so…so… stupid!"

Almost immediately a tear drops out of her left eye and I pull her into a hug. She wraps her arms around my neck and holds me tight.

"And you're d-dumb." She all but wails.

I smile and rub Vega Circles into her back. This is the kind of bonding I don't mind doing with Riley. It's way less awkward.

"And you're a gank." She continues.

I lift her up into my arms and when she wraps her legs around my waist, I'm almost surprised that they're just as little as Amber's. Somehow, she always seemed so much taller than her twin.

"And I hate you." Riley claims.

I grin over at Vega, wanting to share this special moment with her. She's still holding Amber, still petting her gently, still shushing her with Spanish words, still hiding her ring. And instead of smiling back at me, she narrows her eyes and mouths 'Really?'

"A lot." Riley insists.

I shrug my shoulders and continue to rub circles into my bacon's back. I'm feeling really affectionate towards this little girl right now.

"All the time." Riley sniffs as she holds onto me even tighter. "Because you're really stupid."

Vega rolls her eyes at me and I just continue grinning. I swear I've never felt so loved by this kid in my life.

"You're really chizzin' dumb." Riley hiccups.

She's so fucking adorable, and before I can help myself, I turn my face a little and blow a raspberry into her neck.

She barely notices.

"I just hate you." Riley sobs.

"What the hell is going on down here?"

Finally! My mom shows up.

I look over at her, ready to answer, but then she says, "Where's your father?"

"Changing his tampon." I smirk.

"Jade…" I'm sure she was gonna say a lot more, but she gets distracted by Amber in Vega's arms. Specifically, what Amber's saying because the kid is still begging her daddy not to hurt me.

Then Joy sets her sights on me and I sigh because here we go….

"He hit you?" She barely breathes.

"No"-

"Don't lie to me, Jade."

"No one hit me." I shake my head and nod towards Amber. "She just got scared. You know how she is."

Then Joy raises an eyebrow and focuses her attention on Riley. The kid's still in my arms, still calling me names, and still holding me tight.

"We're still bonding," I lie. But it's not really a lie.

She glares at me. Because she knows I'm lying, even though it's not really a lie. We are bonding. And it's going great. But we're no longer bonding just because Vega said so either.

Thankfully, Grayson comes back into the living room. If I had to guess, I'd say he and Ellen were checking over his injuries.

The thought makes me smile a little. It was just one bite. A really hard bite, but still…No need to be so dramatic.

"I wonder if Jade being in your care is having the best influence on her." Grayson scowls as soon as he has Joy's attention. "Maybe she should come stay with me."

"I'm almost eighteen." I scoff. "You can't make me live with you."

"They're not." He rebuttals, pointing toward my sisters. "They've got ten years."

There's a small part of me that's pleasantly surprised that he knows their age. But I barely acknowledge it because I'm pissed at his obvious threat to take my sisters away.

Joy's more pissed than I am, though.

She walks right up to him and pokes him in the chest. Hard. "Don't ever threaten to take any of my daughters away." She hisses.

Grayson takes a step back. And Ellen…the bitch has the nerve to approach my mother, stand by Grayson's side, and glare. She's got one protective hand over her belly and she says, "Jade isn't"-

That's all she gets out before Joy turns her focus on her. "Oh, she's yours?" she snorts. "When have you ever done anything for her? Better yet, when has she ever even needed you?"

Ellen opens her mouth to reply, but before she can get a single syllable out, Joy cuts her off. "Never, Ellen." She says with so much finality, it leaves absolutely no room for argument. "The answer you're looking for is fucking never.

"She's never needed your kisses on any of her scrapes or bruises because I provided those." Joy holds up her index and I know Ellen's about to get a full list of all the things I never needed from her thrown in her face. "She's never needed your advice on boys or girls because I got that covered too. She's never needed your parental signature to go on a field trip because mine works just fine. In fact, the only signature of yours she needs is the one signing away your parental rights. You gonna give that to her?" Joy tilts her head to the side in challenge.

Ellen, who's been getting redder by the second, looks absolutely pissed by Joy's nerve.

Me? I thought it was a brilliant way to slip that parental rights thing in there.

Not that I expect it to work out in my favor. My mother told me she was afraid Ellen wouldn't sign her rights away out of spite. I doubt she'd do it out of humiliation.

So I'm totally not surprised when Ellen spits out a venomous, "I wouldn't ever give you that satisfaction."

"That's what I thought. Get out." Joy points to the door. "All three of you."

"Wait!" Grayson steps back in. "If she signs"-

"Grayson!" Ellen's jaw drops, and she clutches at her stomach like it's about to fall on its own.

"Just wait a second Ellen." Grayson patronizes before turning back to Joy. "If she signs, I'm no longer responsible for mortgage. I'll still pay support for the other two, but I've got to put my son through coll-"

Joy holds up a hand, halting Grayson's little speech. "Did you just…. try to sell my kid to me?"

"What?" He scoffs. "Of course not. Don't be dramatic."

But Joy's not even listening. She rubs at her forehead like there's a migraine on its way with an ETA of two seconds from now. "Mortgage is only 2,500 a month, with less than thirty more payments to go. That's 75,000 dollars. At the most. The fucking most Grayson!" She snarls at him. "75,000 dollars and I can have her? Like I don't already fucking have her."

"That's not what he was"-

"No!" Joy Growls at Ellen.

Ellen snaps her mouth shut.

Joy turns her attention back to Grayson. "75,000 dollars. That's it? That's all you think she's"-

"Mom"- I try to cut in because I don't really like where her thoughts are going.

She cuts me off with a literal snap of her finger. She doesn't say anything to me, she doesn't even look my way. Just snaps her finger at me and jabs her index towards the stairs.

I can't argue with that, so I don't even try. Surprisingly, Vega doesn't try to escape either. She's still got Amber in her arms and she follows me up the stairs.

As soon as we get to my door, I set Riley down. We're not even fully inside when the screaming starts.

And it's loud.

I turn on some music to drown the sound out.

It helps. I almost don't even hear the knock on my door a few seconds later. In fact, the only reason I hear it is because I know this song too well and that thump against the door didn't go with the beat.

I go to open my door and wince a little when I see Kayla. I totally forgot she was here.

She doesn't spare me a glance; just searches the room for my booger. Of course it doesn't take her long to find her. She's sitting on my bed; well, she's sitting in Vega's lap while Vega's sitting on my bed.

I totally expect Amber to jump out of Vega's arms and run over to her booger so they can make their racket, but Amber stays put.

Kayla glares. And I mean, she sends a glare that threatens immediate death if Vega doesn't unwrap her arms from around Amber's middle within the next few seconds.

I roll my eyes. It's kinda funny, but at the same time, no one glares at my baby. And at the other same time, I'm not in the mood to yell at Booger's booger. I just feel….I don't know. Off.

So I choose to distract Kayla instead.

"Hey, Booger's booger," I say and while I wait for her response, I pull out my phone and go over to my desk to sit down.

"Stop calling me that." She snaps, and since I already knew she was gonna say that, I don't even acknowledge it.

"Come help me with this." I beckon her towards me.

"With what?" she scowls at me, even as she makes her way toward me.

"I can't get past this level." I lie while loading up some random puzzle game.

She snatches my phone away from me and starts tapping away at the screen. I swear this kid's manners are the worst I've ever seen, but at least she's not scowling at my girlfriend anymore.

"This is so easy," Kayla mutters. She leans up against me, the side of her head pressed against my arm and her elbow digging into my thigh. It's actually a bit painful, so I slowly wrap my arm around her (so I don't startle her), and I pull her closer to relieve the pressure on my thigh.

It's instant relief.

Kayla doesn't seem notice, or care about, my relief. She starts singing along to the music and I smile down at her. I forgot she loves this song. And her voice isn't… horrible.

I harmonize with her; but in the wrong key, just to fuck with her because her reaction is always amusing.

She gives a long-suffering sigh and drops her big ass head back. "You have to sing a bit lower."

"Like this?" I say before pausing the music from my phone. Then I sing, "We found love in a hopeless place." An octave too low.

"No," Kayla groans before singing my part in the right key. It's like she doesn't even realize how amazing her ear is.

"Oh, so I should've only taken it down a half step?" I ask once she's done showing me my part.

"Yeah."

"Okay, let's try it again."

This time, I sing it correctly, and Kayla smiles at me for getting it right. "Yeah, just like that." She nods approvingly. "Turn the music back on and we can try it again with Rihanna."

I roll my eyes because her manners still suck. Would it kill her to say please? But before I can turn the music back on, Riley comes out of absolutely nowhere and snatches the phone out of Kayla's hands. "I wanna play!" she exclaims. Which is just fucking rude, but she overdoes it when she adds a hard shove to Kayla's chest.

"Riley!" Vega yells in a way that lets me know there will be Spanish reprimands after that. But I'm way too focused on reacting to the situation to really appreciate it.

I quickly grab Kayla around her middle. Not just to break her fall, but because the kid's got a bit of a temper and I'd like my sister to live to see another day. Because I love her annoying ass.

Just as I suspected, the second Kayla gets her balance, she growls and tries to lunge at Riley.

"Give it back!" she screams. It's a bit unnecessary as Riley no longer has the phone. Vega does. And she's holding it in front of Kayla.

Once Kayla notices, she takes the phone back and again tries to go for Riley, but I hold her back.

"But she hit me first!" Kayla insists.

"Fine." I sigh; because she has a point. "One push, and that's it."

"What!?" Vega exclaims. She grabs Riley and tucks her neatly behind herself; shielding her. "No one's hitting anyone, Jade!"

Kayla turns to me. "That's not fair!"

"It's kinda not." I agree.

"Two wrongs don't make a right!"

"Well, what would make it right, Vega?" I snap. I've always hated that saying. It just doesn't make any sense. And it's not fair. "Riley was out of line. Period." I explain. "She doesn't just get to go around hitting people because she feels like it. And then, you telling her that the person she hits doesn't get to hit her back will only send the message that as long as she hits first no one should be allowed to retaliate because two wrongs don't make a right." I mock.

"Who said anything about not retaliating, Jade?" She gives me this look that makes me feel like I'm wrong, and I'm missing something super important, and I've failed at being a decent human being; all in one. Then she pulls Riley out from behind herself. "Riley, you owe Kayla an hour of servitude."

"What?" Riley gawks at her.

I do too, but way more silently; because what the ever-loving fuck?

"I will put my timer on for an hour," Vega continues as if she didn't just say the most fucked up thing in the history of fucked up things said. "And until it goes off, you have to do whatever Kayla tells you to do."

"Kayla," Vega turns her attention to Booger's booger. "You are not to tell Riley to do anything that could hurt her. Deal?"

"Deal!" Kayla grins.

"No." Riley folds her arms over her chest. "I'm not being her servant. She can hit me back."

"No." Vega says.

Riley ignores her. Instead, she approaches Kayla and says, "Go on, hit me."

"Nope." Kayla refuses with a full-on smirk. "I want you to be my slave."

Riley's nostrils flare because no one used the word slave. Servant was bad enough, but slave?

"Hit me!" Riley demands.

"No."

"Hit me!"

Ugh! This is getting so annoying. And I'm surprised Amber hasn't said anything in Riley's defense yet. I mean, I get that Kayla's her booger, but Riley's her sister. And to be honest, I'm a little disappointed in my booger; but when I look over at her, I see why she's been so silent.

She's sleep.

I smirk a little. I swear that kid can sleep through anything.

"Tori!" Riley snaps, abruptly taking my focus away from her sister. "I don't want to be her slave."

"Your actions have consequences, Monstrito." Vega shrugs. "Maybe next time you'll think before you put your hands on someone else."

"But I only hit her a little." She pouts.

"Maybe an hour's too long." I cut in.

Vega glares at me. "I can make it two hours."

"Shut up, Jade!" Riley turns, simply to bless me with a glare before turning back around to face Vega. "Fine, one hour. But how long is that?"

"Two episodes of Rugrats."

"What?!" Riley gasps. "Tori, don't make me-"

"We can make it 4 episodes of Rugrats."

"No!" Riley panics. "I'll do it."

"Ready?" Vega says before tapping at her phone.

Riley nods.

"Go."

Kayla immediately sits down on my bed, opposite of Amber's sleeping form. "Take my shoes off, slave." She commands.

Damn.

I don't blame Riley one bit for her hesitation because even I bristle at the sound of that.

Riley turns to Vega.

"If you don't do as she says, I'll have to start your time over."

Begrudgingly, Riley begins to make her way over to Kayla.

"Faster, slave!"

Ugh, there's no way I'll be able to listen to this shit for a whole damn hour.

"Why don't you guys go play in the other room." I suggest.

"No." Vega sends a glare my way.

"Fine." I mumble.

"My socks too!" Kayla demands.

"I don't" -

"No talking, slave!"

"How many more minutes does she have?" I practically whine. I'm not even ashamed to admit it. This shit is gonna drive me insane.

"Fifty-nine." Vega answers without missing a beat. And I scowl down at her. Not that she notices. She's taken a seat on the floor between me and the fuckery happening on my bed; and she's just… playing on her phone…like this shit isn't even bothering her.

"Brush my hair, slave!"

"Do you have to yell?" I snap.

Kayla just smiles back at me. "Do you have a brush, so my slave can do my hair?"

I'm tempted to tell her that I don't have a fucking brush, but for some reason, I glance over at Vega, and she's got her head tilted slightly, and one eyebrow raised.

"Yeah." I sigh before getting up to get it for her.

"No!" Kayla commands, "Just tell my slave where it is, she'll get it."

"I don't want to be her slave, Tori. And you can't make me!" Riley finally snaps. "You're not my mom!"

I expect to see a bit of hurt flash through Vega's eyes, but she just looks bored. "If you don't like your consequences, we can go downstairs to your mom." Vega shrugs before standing and making her way to the door. "Let's ask her what your consequences should be."

"No!" Riley panics. "I don't want to tell my mom."

Vega turns around. "Oh?"

"But I don't want to be her slave either. Can't I have a different consequence?"

"Why should I let you choose your consequence?" Vega folds her arms over her chest and I don't know what's wrong with me, but I'm so…not turned on, that's not the word. But I'm so….something. I'm absolutely something while watching her deal with my sister.

"Did you give Kayla a choice?" Vega continues. "Did you ask her if you could hit her?"

Riley's face falls. "No. But I'm sorry."

"Uh-huh." Vega shifts slightly. "You're sorry you hit her, or are you sorry because you don't like your consequence?"

Riley hesitates for a few seconds before saying, "I don't like my consequence. But I won't do it again, Tori." She rushes to add on.

"Come here." Vega beckons Riley to her and my sister goes without hesitation. Vega bends over slightly, resting her hands on her knees. "It hurts me to see you sad, Monstrito. You know that, don't you."

Riley nods her head.

"And you could've lied to me, when I asked why you were sorry, but you didn't."

Riley shakes her head in agreement.

"I love that about you. How honest you are. I also love how protective you are. And how sweet you can be. And you are just so beautiful, inside and out.

Riley smiles. Hell, even I smile.

"You don't have to be sorry, Monstrito; but it disappoints me that you aren't." Vega sighs. "It disappoints me that you could hurt someone, who didn't even do anything to you, and just…not care at all.

"It just kills me that there is something ugly inside of my beautiful Monstrito." Vega shakes her head sadly. And Riley drops her head in shame.

Vega blinks a few times, like she's coming out of her own little world and she looks at Riley. "Hey," she says while grabbing a hold of my sister's face with both hands, "I will still love you, no matter what's on your insides, okay?" Vega smiles.

Riley doesn't smile back.

"Are you okay?"

I shake my head. Seriously? Of course She's not okay. You just called her ugly. I think to myself.

Riley doesn't answer. She just walks over to my vanity and pulls out my hairbrush.

"Go ahead and start the time over." She says before walking over to Kayla.

I watch in awe as Riley begins to brush Kayla's hair. She's gentle and thorough. Obeying every one of Kayla's commands, no matter how many times she's called a slave, no matter how many different asinine and humiliating commands she's given, Riley just ignores it. Just does whatever Kayla says. And soon enough, the taunts, the commands, the name calling begin to dwindle and die down. Soon enough Kayla is just quietly staring at her knees while Riley continuously brushes her hair.

And it's just sad.

Even Kayla thinks so, because she says, "You can stop now." About half an hour later.

"The timer didn't go off yet," Riley answers without pausing in the slightest with the hair brushing.

Kayla shakes her head. "You don't have to be my slave no more." She says before jumping off of the bed without a backwards glance and coming towards me.

"Can I play with your phone?" She asks somberly. She won't even look me in the eye. I'm so fucking disturbed that I give it over without a thought.

I get even more disturbed when Riley approaches me as well; then she gently taps Kayla's shoulder.

Kayla looks up at her; no smile, no frown, no nothing.

Riley barely looks back at Kayla, not at first; but then she seems to get whatever it is she's internally dealing with together and she looks up. She looks Kayla straight in the eyes and she says, "I'm sorry I hit you."

"'s okay" Kayla shrugs before going back to playing the game.

Riley goes over to Vega, who's resumed her seat between me and my bed, and sits next to her. Vega wraps an arm around her and brings her in close immediately. "I'm so proud of you, Monstrito." She says before kissing her the side of her forehead. Twice.

Riley doesn't say anything, just kinda buries her face in the crook of Vega's neck.

And like, what the fuck did I miss? If Vega made me be someone else's slave, there's no way in hell I would want to cuddle up to her afterward. And I sure as hell wouldn't-

"I can't get this stupid level!" Kayla suddenly yells. I jump a little because she startled me.

Kayla raises her arm over her head and I already know what her tantrum throwing ass is about to do, so I yell at her.

"Kayla, I swear to God if you throw my phone…." I don't finish the rest because there's really nothing I'll do to her. But she doesn't know that.

She tosses my phone onto the desk, right beside me, and gets up. Which I'm okay with, but then I see that she's heading for the door and that's not okay.

"Where are you going?"

"For a walk!"

She means around the neighborhood. And usually, me and Amber would go with her, but Amber's still sleep and I don't feel like going.

"Get back here!" I yell at her some more.

She defiantly takes another step toward the door.

"Kayla…"

She runs.

I run up to her and grab her around the middle again.

This time she screams.

She doesn't just scream either. She fights and struggles. And scratches. She's a hundred times worse than Riley could ever be.

And I don't know what to do. I'm not good at this kind of stuff.

I look over to Vega, to see if she's got a clue on how to deal with this, but as soon as I turn, I hear another scream. One that doesn't belong to Kayla.

It doesn't take me long to find out that it was Amber. She's finally woken up, and she's standing, not even two feet away, holding her mouth. Vega's kneeling in front of her, asking her to let her see. I don't even realize Riley's left the room until she's coming back with a wet rag. She offers it to Vega, and Vega barely looks before taking it from her and continuing to try and pry amber's hand from her mouth.

Amber's not really paying Vega much attention. She's looking at me, and somehow I know she wants me to let her booger go.

It's then that I realize Kayla's stopped struggling. And she's apologizing. It's incoherent mostly, the two words "I'm" and "sorry" continuously running into, and over, each other.

So, I do. I set Kayla down on the ground and as soon as her feet touch the carpet, she taps Vega on the shoulder and points at the cloth in her hand. "Can I have that, please?"

Vega frowns, like she doesn't want to give it up, but then she does.

And me, I'm just weirded out because I don't think I've ever heard Kayla say please.

"Sit down." Kayla says.

Amber does it.

"Lemme see."

Amber slowly moves her hand from her mouth and before I can get a good look at the wound, Kayla gently presses the wet cloth to Amber's bottom lip.

"I'm sorry." She apologizes again. More coherently this time.

I hear a sharp inhale from above the little boogers on the ground, and I look over at the source. There's something wrong with Vega. She looks like she's about to cry; and not like she thinks the boogers are cute, but like she's hurt. And not physically either.

"Vega?"

"It's getting late," my girlfriend says before inhaling and suddenly the look is gone. "I should go."

"I wanna go." Riley pipes up. I don't even know if she truly means it. The response was more automatic than anything.

"As long as it's okay with your mom." Vega says. Her response seems a bit automatic as well.

I roll my eyes. "Just take her, Joy always says yes."

Vega doesn't even ask if Amber wants to go. Just asks for a kiss in Spanish. That's automatic too. But then Vega sets her attention on Booger's booger, which is not automatic. She lays a gentle hand on Kayla's head before patting her shoulder comfortingly.

"Be nice to my Mamita, third grader with the ta"-

"Tori!" Amber squeaks, face going crimson.

Vega smirks.

"Third grader with the what?" I ask. Because it's seriously not fair for them to keep me out of the loop!

"Nothing." Vega smiles before motioning for Riley to follow her.

Amber stares at Vega's retreating back, and I know she wants to go, even with her booger still here. but she still stays for me. I love that about her.

But you should really let her go.

Not now, Tori.

{~~~O~~~}

I had to fix the girls something to eat because Joy hasn't come out of her room yet. She's been in there for a few hours, long after Grayson and Ellen left; so I figure she's had enough time to cool down, plus, selfishly, I want to see if she's sober. Because if she is, I'm hoping I can get her to take Kayla home tonight.

I open her bedroom door and find it empty. Which is weird. I didn't hear her leave.

I find her a few minutes later. She's downstairs in her office and she barely turns around when I come in. I find it alarming. Joy always give me her full attention whenever I'm in hearing distance.

"Whatcha doin?" I ask in a playful tone.

"Just some figures." She murmurs.

"Figures?"

"Nothing to worry about, baby." She gives me a smile, but it's strained and I see just how exhausted she is. "I just have to move some stuff around."

Oh. Money stuff.

"Ellen signed?" I venture.

"Yeah."

I should be happy, but if Ellen signed, that could only mean one thing.

"Grayson's no longer paying the mortgage." I sigh.

"Don't worry about it." She mutters. "You'll still be able to go to college. Thank god, I just have one more payment for Hollywood arts…."

I feel guilty immediately. Well, guiltier than before. It's not fair for Joy to have to "move tuff around" for me.

"I could get a job." I offer.

"No." She shuts me down so fast that it seems she already knew I would offer.

My shoulders droop. I actually really want to help, but she's not gonna let me. I can always tell when there's something she won't budge on, not even if I call her "Mom." And if I sneak and get a job, she'll know because she always knows everything.

"What's wrong, sweetheart?"

See? She always notices everything.

"I just…." Ugh. I hate it when I can't figure out how to explain my feelings. So, I just go with what's on the surface of my thoughts because I want to say something. "I just…you could've been like Valerie and no one would care. You could've been the kind of parent that screams at me, and hits me, and lets….No one would care if you did. Grayson wouldn't. Ellen wouldn't. You…no one loves me like you do, and I just wanna help." God, that totally made no sense.

Joy stands up and hugs me tight. "You help plenty, baby."

Okay, maybe it made sense to Joy. She seems to get me without me having to say anything anyway.

I hesitate slightly before offering another solution. One I'd been thinking about for a while. "You could…." I pause there, trying to figure if I should say it or not. Or even how I should say it.

"What?" Joy asks, pulling back from our hug to look me in the eyes.

"You could foster." I try. "I looked it up. You're good with kids and"-

"Jade."

"What?"

"Even if I fostered, there's no guarantee I'd get Kayla."

I kind of hate that she figured it out so fast. I didn't just randomly look up fostering one day. I was trying to figure out what to do about my booger's booger. She shouldn't be with Valerie, but I'm afraid they'll take her someplace my booger won't have access to her if I report it. Plus, I'm not sure there's anything to report. Yes, Valerie's always screaming at Kayla for no reason, but I've never found a bruise on Kayla that was suspicious.

Before I can try again from another angle, we hear the sound of the front door opening and slamming shut. Only redhead slams the door like that.

"Melissa?" Joy calls. "There's some leftovers"-

"I'm not hungry right now, Joy, thanks!"

Joy grits her teeth, the expression she gives me when she's losing her patience.

"I'll go." I offer, since she's already having such an eventful day.

"Thanks, baby."

"No problem." I mutter before marching my way upstairs. I swear, Redhead's getting on my last nerves. I mean, she doesn't have to eat, but she still should eat to keep Joy from losing her mind.

I snatch the door open, intent on giving her a piece of my mind, but I just stop and stare because she's got her shirt off.

And her stomach has gotten fat.

She's pregnant. Not as pregnant as Ellen, but she's definitely got a little junior rolling around in her uterus.

"Don't you ever knock!" she yells at me. And I quickly shut the door and just stand there because Redhead's pregnant. And I had no idea. I mean, we're not exactly close and it's not my job to notice things like that, but we do live in the same house.

But at the same time, it's not like she's suddenly started having weird cravings and eating everything in sight. In fact, she doesn't eat much around the house at all. If she did, Joy wouldn't be so obsessed with…

Oh. Joy knows.

She has to. She always knows everything and it would make so much sense. On my way down the stairs, I mentally go over everything Joy's said or done when it comes to Redhead. There isn't much, other than the eating thing. But I remember once, a while ago, Booger's booger chucked in the doorway and while I was cleaning it up, Joy asked me if it was Redhead who threw up. I thought it was weird, why the hell would I be cleaning up Redhead's upchuck. I hated her more then than I do now.

Yeah, Joy knows. She probably thought it was morning sickness, which as far as I know, Redhead doesn't have.

"Joy?" I say as soon as I get back to the office.

"Yeah?"

"How come you always try to make Melissa eat?"

"Because she should eat."

"Yeah, but you're a bit obsessed with it."

"because she should eat." Joy repeats with a straight face. Looking all innocent and oblivious and shit.

I'm not buying it, so I decide to just cut the chiz and get down to it. "You know, don't you?"

"Know what?"

"Mom…"

Joy sighs. "Jade, if I do know whatever you think I know there's a good chance she asked me not to say anything to anyone. So we'll discuss it when it's public knowledge, okay?"

"Fine."

I go back upstairs. Thinking about what this means for me. Well, it doesn't really mean much. But it kinda explains why Redhead works so many hours and wants to move out. It'd be better if she stayed though. Gave money to Joy.

In fact, she should stay. If Joy won't let me get a job, at least I can make sure she gets a little extra income because of me. In fact, it's perfect. It'll be like I got a job anyway, despite Joy telling me not to. I love being a rebel. Even if it costs me. And this is gonna cost me.

Now all I gotta do is convince Redhead to stay.

It should be easy.

I mean, living on her own with a kid will be nearly impossible, even if she ends up moving in with André…if he can escape his grandma.

I run over the idea a few times in my head, trying to get used to the idea of a wailing infant constantly in the house, and by the time I reach Redhead's door, I've convinced myself that I should be able to handle it.

This time I knock, and Redhead opens the door immediately, almost like she was waiting for me to come back. "What?" she glares at me.

I slide into the room all the way and shut the door behind me. "I can help." I announce.

"What?"

"With your situation."

She rolls her eyes at me. "I don't need your pity."

I snort. "Pity? Oh, darlin' I'm not doing this shit for free, or out of the kindness of my heart. I have a proposition for you."

She folds her arms over her chest. "What is it?"

"If I'm not in school, I will watch the baby while you're at work, and it can stay in my room every other night, so you can catch some Z's" I start off before going into why my proposal is basically irresistible. And I make sure to seem matter of fact and casual without being overwhelming. "I know it doesn't seem like much but trust me; I watched Joy and Grayson struggle with a newborn for months. The baby cried every two hours like clock work, and they, Joy mostly, had to get up every time to feed her, or change her diaper. Try doing that while working and going to school, if you plan on going to college after we graduate.

"I mean, you could try it on your own, but it would be so much harder."

I stop there, not wanting to push too far or seem to eager. I know she realizes I'm not doing all that for free, or for her; but I also don't want to seem more eager to help than she is to receive help.

"And in return?" She asks after a long ass beat. Which is good. It shows she's genuinely considering.

I smile and hold up my index. "One: you stay here, pay my mom for the room."

She blinks at me, like this was not what she was expecting. It probably wasn't. but I shrug and add another finger. "Two: Vega gets to be the godmother so she can stop being jealous of my godson."

"I promised Julie"-

"Is Julie offering to keep your kid while you work?" I cut her off. None of my stipulations are negotiable.

"Fine."

"And three"-

"There's more?"

"The most important part." I nod.

"What?"

"I get to name the kid."

She just blinks at me, waiting for the punchline.

There's no punchline.

"You're serious?"

"Dead serious. So, think it over."

Redhead frowns. "You wouldn't name it anything like "Baby A" would you?"

"Think it over." I repeat, because I'll name the kid whatever the hell I want. Even Baby A.

"Fine. Okay. Whatever."

"Fine you agree? Or Fine, you'll think it over?"

"I'll think it over."

I glance down at her stomach and for the briefest second, I wonder what Joy would do if I got pregnant, short of kill me. No, she wouldn't kill me. But she'd probably be disappointed. Make me get a job, maybe? She wouldn't cut me off like Melissa's parents did. That I know. And I find myself being curious, despite my dislike for Redhead. Or maybe it's because of my dislike for Redhead. I wanna know if I'm truly the luckiest girl I know to have a mother like Joy. One who wouldn't hurt me, or ignore me, or abandon me, or cut me off because I made a mistake. And before I convince myself not to pry, I say, "So, is that why your parents cut you off? Because you got pregnant?"

"Mostly," she shrugs. "They're just scared I'll be too fragile or or it'll reverse my remission or something."

As soon as those words leave Redhead's mouth, she freezes. And I know she didn't mean to say them. That she didn't mean to tell me.

But it's out now and she can't take it back.

"Remission?" I practically choke.

"It's not contagious." She rolls her eyes.

I roll mine back. "Don't be an ass."

"Speaking of asses, how's wooing Tori going?"

"No." I stop her right there. "We're not doing girl talk."

"Oh thank god, does that mean you'll get out of my room?" She smiles sweetly.

I smile back, just as sweetly. "Keep it up; if you accept the deal I'll name your kid either Poseidon or Andromeda."

{~~~O~~~}

"Hey," André practically sings. "You have on an engagement ring."

Most of my week has gone by pretty smoothly. Redhead started eating, so Joy's been happy and looking at me like I performed some kind of miracle. Which is awesome. My sisters are happy. Like they could be completely different people. School hasn't been sucking so bad, and Vega…. Well, at least she's actually in school. We're still in a weird place, and she's still hiding her ring.

Or she was trying to.

But she's slipped up. Just now, during lunch, on day four of her hiding her ring from everyone.

And as soon as André points out her ring, she hides her left hand under the table.

Seriously?

"We're engaged." I tell everyone.

"Oh awesome," André congratulates. "I was wondering when your break would be over."

Redhead nods her head. "Me too, and in that case my answer is yes to your proposition."

Vega looks uncomfortable and confused. But she doesn't say anything.

I roll my eyes again. "We're still on break."

Everyone turns to me. But I keep my eyes on Redhead. "Is your answer still yes?"

She scratches the side of her head in confusion before looking from me to Vega, then back at me again. "I guess so." She shrugs.

"Wait." Beck shakes his head from side to side. He's the only one not staring at me. He directs his question to Vega. "Why would you say yes, if you didn't want to end break?" he asks suspiciously.

I punch him on his arm.

"It's a legit question!" He fires back defensively.

"It is," Redhead agrees. She's too far away for me to punch in the arm. Plus, she's right. They're both right. It is a legitimate question. But it's not like Vega can tell them that I used a blind pinky promise to make her wear the ring. They wouldn't get it.

Vega seems to come to the same conclusion. So, she gets up and leaves.

I punch Beck's arm again before going after her.

I have to run, which I hate, to catch up.

"Vega!" I yell.

But she doesn't stop.

"Vega," I grab her arm once I'm close enough and turn her around to face me. "What's wrong?"

"There's an engagement ring on my finger, Jade!" She snatches her arm out of my grasp.

"I know that!" I snap back.

"Well, you can't just go up to someone and say, "Here; wear this and never take it off!""

"So you're mad that I didn't propose correctly?"

"Yes!" she screams.

But she's lying. Or at least partially. It's not the only thing bothering her. And I suddenly get angry because this would be so much easier if she'd actually just say what the fuck she means. If she would just tell me what she wants, I'd fucking do it, instead of trying to figure it out on my own!

"Vega"-

"I gotta wazz." She cuts me off before turning away.

Ugh! Her and her stupid fucking imaginary bladder issues are so fucking annoying.

And what's even more irritating is Tori's silence. I don't know if I should go after Vega or give her space and the one time I could use some fucking advice, Tori's silent!

I choose to give Vega space; mostly because I'm irked and I'll probably end up saying something destructive, but I end up wishing I followed when I turn around and come face to face with Beck. I swear, I had no idea he was behind me and I accidentally punch him in the jaw.

Reflexes.

Beck grabs the side of his face and glares at me. "What the hell Jade."

"You startled me." I shrug. "It was an accident."

He doesn't believe me.

"I swear it." I insist.

He still looks skeptical, but pushes it aside. "I just wanted to say it's over between us."

God, help me.

"I know that, Beck." I practically whine because I'm just in that kind of a mood today, I guess.

"No, I mean, I get it." He elaborates. "You're really with Tori."

Oh. That's good. He's finally at acceptance with his stages of grief.

"I just came to congratulate her on her win."

I frown.

"No that came out wrong." He frowns. "I guess I'm just trying to congratulate her on figuring it out. Figuring you out."

I frown some more. His version of acceptance doesn't really sound very accepting.

"What are you talking about?" I ask, though I immediately regret it.

"I just…I just thought I had it figured out, but one miscalculation and…" he makes a gesture with his hands, like an explosion? I don't know. I'm confused as fuck. "But Tori…she gets you. I mean, look at you. On break for months and she's got you chasing after her; proposing to her. And you're still on break. Hell if I had known…"-

"Wait? You think she's manipulating me?" I scoff.

Beck rolls his eyes. "She is manipulating you, but it's not a bad thing. Everyone does it." He shrugs. "I'm just saying hers-"

"Oh my god, Beck. Really?" I cut in, because this boy…

"Remember when she got you to go to the beach, just by bringing your sisters?" He rushes on. I don't nod my head, but I don't exactly walk away from him, as I should, so he takes it as a sign to continue. "That was her manipulating you to get what she wanted. You at the beach. Or when she wouldn't talk to you because she wanted you to apologize. That's what I meant. It's no different than what me and you used to do to each other. I thought it was just our thing though, I never thought"-

"Stop." I interrupt him. I swear, brain's about to explode. "Vega's not manipulating me. She just…" I don't really know how to finish my train of thought, but it doesn't matter. Beck thinks he's right. I can see it in his eyes. It's no use arguing with him. He'll leave if I just apologize and agree with his theory.

"You know what, now that I think about it. You're right." I tell him. And it takes all of my acting skills to seem completely genuine. All of them. "I'm sorry if you think I was a waste of your time."

"You weren't." he smiles at me sadly. "I'll call of Alyssa now."

"What?"

"Yeah, I told her you guys were faking. Asked her to "cause a rift" so you could have an excuse to "dump" Tori and come back to me. It was my way of giving you an out." He smiles. Like I should think that shit is endearing and sweet.

I don't.

"Walk away, Oliver." I growl.

He hesitates for a second, probably wondering if I'm manipulating him.

"This is not a manipulation." I clarify. "I really want you to get away from me."

He takes the hint. And a few seconds later I'm left alone to figure out the mess he's caused, because if…when…if Vega finds out the girl isn't really her friend, it'll crush her.

{~~~O~~~}

All day I try to figure out how I'm gonna break the news to Vega. Or if I even should. Part of me wants her to know just so that she'll cut ties with the gank; but I also know that Vega likes Alyssa and thinks of her as a friend.

There are a million little scenarios that can play out if I tell her, and another million that can play out if I don't. And I'm only on scenario 46 of the telling her option. It's why I'm so distracted when I pick up Amber from school. And it's why I barely notice her somber mood until we're about halfway home.

It just kinda clicked for me, out of nowhere, that I didn't get one of those smiles from her. probably because I'm feeling crappy and in need of some cheering up. But then I look over at my booger and she looks like she needs more cheering up than me.

"What's wrong booger?" I nudge her side playfully.

She just stares out her window. "Kayla wasn't at school today."

Instantly I feel my stomach drop, but I try my best not to let my uneasiness show.

"Maybe she's just sick."

Amber doesn't acknowledge my suggestion. Just pulls on her lip nervously.

I've never seen her do that before and it freaks me out a little. I sigh and turn around, heading for Kayla's house.

Amber perks up immediately. She sits on the edge of her seat the whole time, until we get to the house. She barely even waits for me to stop before she's opening her door and hopping out.

"Booger, stay in the car."

"But"-

"Stay."

I wait for her to get back in before I get out; and I fix her with a warning glare to make sure she stays put. I usually don't have to, but she's a little Riley-ish when she really wants something.

The walk up to the house takes just few seconds, but it feels like much longer. Usually, I can hear Valerie through the door, screaming at Booger's booger.

Today, I don't hear anything.

I knock on the door, bang on it really.

No answer.

I call Kayla's name, just in case she's in there alone.

Still no answer.

It makes me feel antsy, but there's really nothing I can do about it right now.

I walk back to the car and get in.

"No answer." I say unnecessarily before putting my key in the ignition.

"Wait!" Amber reaches over and grabs at the keys. "Can't we just wait a little bit?"

I sigh. "Okay."

It's a bad decision. Amber just sits there and plucks at her bottom lip, any little bit of movement has her whipping her head around. The few times I try to start the car, Amber hits me with the saddest, "just a little bit longer, Jade?" And I can't say no.

It's literally three hours later before I call it quits. No matter how much Amber begs.

She looks like she's about to cry. I hate that look, and I just want her happy, so I try to think of something she'll like, something to take her mind off of her booger.

But nothing seems grand enough. Nothing besides maybe dropping her off at Vega's.

So drop her off at Vega's.

Oh, so now Tori's back?

And I don't want to drop my booger off at Vega's.

I start my car up, and Amber starts plucking at her bottom lip again. She winces at first, and I remember. She had a busted lip from when Kayla accidentally hit her in the mouth. It should be mostly healed by now, but messing with it probably hurts.

I grab at her hand and move it away from her mouth. "Don't do that." I scold gently. She looks up at me, eyes still sad and worried, with a little confusion mixed in now. I point to her lip. "Don't hurt yourself, baby."

Amber stares down at her lap. And when I let her hand go, she sits on it. Probably to curb the temptation.

I make a decision; right then and there. I head for Vega's house instead of mine. I'm absolutely dreading it down to the second.

And when we finally get there, Amber looks over at me questioningly.

"Out." Is all I say.

She does it, but she doesn't take a step toward Vega's house until I get out too.

I approach her quickly, just wanting to get this shit over with before I change my mind. Then I lift her up into my arms and carry her over to the door.

Papa Vega answers when I ring. He seems really surprised to see us. And Happy. He smiles brightly at the both of us and ruffles Amber's hair playfully before hollering, "Tori, visitor!"

Vega's at the door before I'm ready for her to be. All she gets out is a perplexed, "Jade?" Before I shove Amber into her arms. I had to. Because I'm so fucking close to changing my mind and taking my booger home with me.

"Whoa," Vega grunts. "What"-

"She wants to be here, so…" I shrug before turning and walking away.

In my mind, I see this playing out only one way. I figure Vega will be still confused before taking Amber into the house and I'll probably end up sitting outside in my car, outside her house, for a few hours until I get used to the idea of going home alone. I am not expecting the shrill, "Jade!" or the body that slams into my back, or the hands that wrap around my waist tightly, or the panicked, "I'm coming with you!"

And as much as I love my booger's loyalty, it's absolutely killing me. Because I really want this to be over. I don't want to have to convince her to leave me. That's just cruel.

Too fucking cruel.

I take a deep breath and turn around before squatting down so that we're eye to eye.

West to West.

"No," I tap her chest gently. "You're staying here."

"But"-

"Booger," cut her off gently. "I know you wanna stay, okay."

"But"-

"I'll be fine." I lie. "Go. I promise. I want you to stay. I want you to have fun okay, will you do that for me?" I decide to phrase it as a question. Like it's something I want. Hopefully it works.

Amber just stares at me, doesn't even blink for nearly a minute. It freaks me out a little. Like she knows I'm playing her and she's waiting for me to crack. But I can be stubborn, and I'm so determined to see this through. To make my sister happy.

Tentatively, Amber raises her arms up and lays both hands on my shoulders, all while never losing eye contact with me. "You will be happy?" She asks, eyebrows raising in genuine curiosity. "If I stay, you'll be happy?"

"Soooo fucking happy, Booger." I answer, my bottom lip starting to tremble without my fucking permission. "I love seeing you happy." I sniff.

Amber gives me the cutest little frown. Her eyebrows dip down in confusion and her lips purse up briefly. "Jade?" She tilts her head slightly to the side. "How will you see me happy if you're not here?"

And I can't help it. A tear falls. Out of fucking nowhere. "Shit." I curse, because I know I'm undoing all of my handy work. She's not gonna believe I'm happy to let her go if I'm fucking crying!

"Is that a happy tear?" Amber asks.

"Yeah," I laugh, not to sell this act, but out of relief. "Where'd you learn about happy tears?"

"Mommy." She smiles.

I nod. Joy happy cries a lot. "Send me pictures?" I finally answer. "I can see you happy if you send me pictures, Booger."

"How many?"

"Lots and lots of pictures; until the phone runs out of batteries" I wink.

"Ok." She smiles at me. It's one of those smiles.

I nod towards the front door. "Go on, have fun, Booger."

"Ok." She full-out grins now. Then she's turning around and about to walk away.

"Wait." I tug on her arm before she can leave. "Aren't you gonna give me a dummy bay soap?"

She frowns at me, truly confused until I point to my cheek. Then she gets it. She laughs first, then tells me I said it wrong.

I just shrug. I still got what I want.

"I love you, Jade." Amber declares before hugging me as tight as she can. I squeeze her back just as tightly, just to hear the breathless giggles I know will come with it.

I'm not disappointed. She's still smiling when she kisses my cheek before dashing past Vega and into the house.

I blink a little. I had no idea she was still out here. Not that it matters much.

"I'll see you tomorrow, Vega."

I turn towards my car, feeling empty and lonely, but also a little happy because of the smile I was able to put on Amber's-

"Jade?"

"Yeah," I answer absently. I turn back around to face her but I don't really look at her. My mind's on a million other things right now.

"Stay."

"Breaks over?" I say. Though there's a lilt at the end, I'm not really asking because I already know the answer. Breaks not over. Breaks never gonna be ov-

"Yeah."

I blink at her; startled. "What?"

She doesn't say anything. But I need her to.

"Break's over?" I ask again, watching her lips closely so I can see her form the word I thought I heard.

"Yes, Mami. Break's o-"

I grab her up into my arms and squeeze. She said it. She really said it. Break's over.

She's mine again.

All mine.

Exclusively all mine.

{~~~O~~~}

Author's note: Before y'all even , Tori and Riley went to the mall after Jade kissed her good night. No, Tori didn't mention it in her chapter. Yes, I did it on purpose. Yes, Tori was also hiding her ring in her chapter. No, Melissa didn't notice because her thoughts were elsewhere. And Tori is not actually aware that she's hiding her ring. Which is why she didn't mention it in her chapter. It's a subconscious thing. Yes, I did it on purpose.

Also, I have decided to tack a Q and A session to the end of this story when I'm done. That way, any unanswered questions, or even things that just confused you about this story or the characters in it, can be addressed. I've already picked out a few questions that I've gotten over the years to answer. If there are any you can think of, go ahead and ask. You can either comment them here, or PM me if you'll feel better doing it that way. 😊