Page 13 of Champagne & Handcuffs

“Ready?” I asked Joss.

Just then we heard banging on the door. “Are you in there, Joselyn?” Cruella shouted through the closed metal door.

Joss groaned as she opened the door. “Yes, of course, I’m here.”

Cruella’s dark eyes turned to look in all of our direction. “It’s time to come home.”

“Why?” Joss whined.

Cruella had never done this. She was usually happy her kids were out of her hair.

“Because I said so,” she snapped.

“But we’re going to the movies,” Joss whined. As Joss got older, Cruella let her do more than just go to school. Since having Bryce, it was as though Cruella didn’t care about Joss much. Though Joss still walked on eggshells around her and tried to stay home as much as possible to take care of her brother.

“Not today. Let’s go.” Joss’s mom turned and went back to her trailer.

Joss turned and moved to Bryce. Kneeling beside him, she took the controller out of his hands. “Time to go, buddy.”

“But I don’t wanna.” He crossed his arms over his chest and pouted.

“Mommy said so.”

Bryce turned his head and looked at the door. “I don’t wanna.”

“I said now!” Cruella snapped, causing Bryce to start to cry tears.

Joss reached for his hand. “It’s okay, B. We’ll watch101 Dalmatians.”

Bryce sniffed. “I want to play the game.”

Joss pulled him up. “See you guys tomorrow?” she asked Cat and me.

I gave a thumbs up while Cat said, “Yeah.”

And then they were gone.

“God, I hate that woman,” Grandma groaned and went to the kitchen.

Cat and I both looked at each other and nodded in agreement. Joss had four more years and then she could leave that bitch. Cat and Joss had plans to get their own place once they graduated. I wanted Joss out of that trailer so bad because she needed to be Joss and not a mother figure to Bryce. Bryce had fourteen long years before he could leave. He was a boy, and I didn’t worry that much about him because the older he got, the stronger he’d become.

I looked over at Cat as she sat next to me, our thighs pressed together. “You still wanna go to the movies?” Cat and I had never really hung out together. There were times Joss had to tend to Bryce, and we were left alone, but Cat and I had never gone anywhere just the two of us.

She grinned. “You payin’?”

“I guess I am unless you got a job you didn’t tell me about.”

“Don’t need a job when I have you.” She smirked.

I narrowed my eyes and moved, tickling her as she squealed. “Is that why you hang out with me? Because I pay?”

Cat giggled. “No, it’s because I loooooove you.” She drew out the word love as though she was being sarcastic.

My hands stopped tickling her, and I looked down into her eyes, smiling as I teased, “What a coincidence. I love me too!”

She pushed at my chest, and I moved up and off of her. “What I’d really love is for you to get the newspaper and find out what timeThe Bourne Identitystarts so we can go.”

“Lord you’re bossy, Kitty Cat.”