Chapter Eighteen

I turned around and opened the door. The man and woman roaming in the hallway. "Looking for the bathroom?" I asked with a tilt of my head.

"No, my best friend and his wife. My boyfriend also, but he might be outside." The woman dressed in a sleek gold dress answered.

"Mhmm, I did see a few people outside on the porch. You can check there. There's only the kids and me up here." I lied smoothly.

"Thanks. We'll do that." The white man dressed in a tuxedo answered. They both headed downstairs together. After a while, I knocked lightly on the door.

"They’re gone, looking for you on the porch; better hurry down," I said when they opened the door. The handsome, light-skinned dude went first. The woman, however, stopped at the stairs.

"You didn't interrupt by accident." She said, side-eyeing me.

"Are you asking or telling?"

"How'd you know we weren't supposed to be together?"

"People rarely are. Nice doing business." I watched as the lady went down, her long brown hair fluttering behind her. I counted the money in my pocket. Two-fifty. Not a bad haul. I headed downstairs to help with the remainder of the kids. A faint clicking sound echoes from upstairs. Was one of the twins up?

"There you are. The parents are leaving. We need help cleaning up so we can go." Grace said to me from the bottom of the stairs.

"Coming."

It took Grace, Aurora, and I less than ten minutes to clean up the playroom, and then we all offered to help clean upstairs. Mr.Anderson graciously tipped us all twenties and bid us a good night.

"You're staying, Mi'a. Your room is right by Lillian's. If you need anything, the fridge is open to you, and we'll leave tomorrow morning. We wanted to be here for Lillian's birthday breakfast at least." Mr.Anderson said to me. He yawned into his hand and stretched his legs.

"Even though I'm sure she would have been happier for us just to leave." Mrs.Anderson added with a shrug. "Breakfast is at seven, and we'll drop the twins off at school, and you'll pick them up at four. Lillian's school is right across the street from them, and she won't need any picking up. She'll drive herself in her car. Good night."

"Good night."

I start my bedroom routine with a quick shower and send texts to my siblings saying goodnight. Brayden and Ayana were still arguing about Amarah, and I didn't see that situation de-escalating anytime soon.

PayMe fifty Mi'a. I got you. I roll my eyes at Trick's brief text message. He was already at three hundred and twenty dollars of borrowed money. He took forever to pay me back, but at least he did. Talia still owed me money from last year. I laugh at the irresponsibility of my elder siblings, wondering when they'll grow up and start managing their money the right way.

I lay my head against the numerous pillows on the Anderson guest bedroom bed. I turn my head to one side and then the other. This was too many pillows. My body propped up at a seventy-five-degree angle. I didn't want to be rude and just throw the pillows on the floor. I instead placed them softly on the side of the bed that was invisible to the door. My head now at a one-eighty degree and aided by rain sounds gently playing in the background from Alexa lulled me to sleep.

"Knock. Knock. Breakfast in thirty." Mrs.Anderson spoke from the other side of the door. My head flew up as I tossed my legs over the side of the bed. I picked the pillows up from the floor and placed them neatly onto the bed—a dull throb spreading across my forehead. The array of movements caused me a light headache with some dizziness. I sat up straight and stretched my limbs slowly.

Breakfast sounded nice. I did my morning ritual and was stuck on the last job, literally. My pick gets tangled in my thick afro. "Yeesh, look at that head!" Lillian cried, appearing somewhat magically in my bathroom.

I scowled at her comment. My eyes unconsciously go to her flawless, curly light brown hair. It was in a bun with two skinny bangs on the side. I wanted to ignore her comment. I was a grown-up, and she was a child. Even more so, I wasn't a morning person, and she had just passed me off. "Sorry, we can't all be blessed with little biracial good genes. Do you know what I should call you from now on? Don't answer that, oreo. Because you look black, somewhat black, kind of black, but you're all white on the inside and full of privilege." I responded, walking briskly out of the kitchen and my room.

I feel bad. I do. I shouldn't. She started it, but God knows I didn't have to finish it. I was meant with pink, round balloons in the kitchen and one big one and seven balloons in white. A festival of breakfast foods aligned the kitchen counter. Shit! It was her birthday.

"Happy birthday Lillian!" Her family yelled as I turned around to see Lillian burst into tears. And I had a strong feeling they weren't tears of happiness.

"I hate it!' Lillian wailed before running upstairs.

"Lillian, wait." Mr.Anderson said.

"Let her go. She is such an ungrateful child. All because we won't take the twins and let her invite more people over, and it just be a teenager thing. She's spoiled. She's spoiled." Mrs.Anderson ranted. She wasn't wrong, not all the way anyway. "

"Maybe we can take the twins? It's her seventeenth birthday. Last birthday before official adulthood, and Mi'a will be here. Lillian respects her." Mr.Anderson negotiated.

"She does?" Mrs.Anderson and I said together. We both let out a chuckle, and she handed me a cup of coffee.

"Help yourself, Mi'a, before the twins eat it all. What do you think? Do you want to stay here and just monitor Lillian? I'm not sure if it would be more work or less?" Mrs.Anderson commented. She sat by the twins and started making herself a plate.

"More work." The twins said together.

"Ya know. We could just go to our friend’s house. Can you call Dylan's mom?" Hunter asked, eating some pork bacon soaked in fat.

"Jenny for me," Henley stated with French toast in her mouth.

"And better for us." Mr.Anderson said happily, drinking his morning coffee.

"Mi'a?" Mrs.Anderson asked.

Oh, man. I was the last person Lillian wanted to be around. It would be me, her, and a bunch of dumb teenagers. She was going to make my life a living hell for what I said. "Sure, let's go, team," I said meekly.