Chase pulls up to his drive way and just sits in his car. He sees that both of his daughters cars are in the driveway. His sons is out in the road. All of them are in the house going about their lives. They all move about their day to day lives while he remains thing stranger or invader in their day. Patting down his jacket he hears the crinkle of the paper and takes it out of his pocket and puts it in the center conceal of his SUV. Sighing before leaving his car, he check his phones for recent emails then makes his way inside. The family dog barks but then sees its him and his tail goes between his legs, his head bows slightly and his goes into the laundry room where his bed is.

From the kitchen comes to smell of a freshly cooked meal. Laurie has music playing while she cooks. Christine is at the table doing her homework while Jackie is on the computer with head phones one. Both absorbed into their worlds. Down in the basement the older two are working, he saw the emails that his eldest had sent out while he was out, while his son had not.

“Hello family.” Chase says as he continues down the hallway past the kitchen, past Cassie and Jackie into their family room where he puts on the television. This is his routine and he always puts on the news, walks down to his office, gets his computer and then will sit there doing work and have the news play. He begins opening unopened emails while he wife enters and sites on the couch behind him, his daughter then comes to lay on the adman. They continue the conversation they were having in the kitchen. Chase’s face becomes contorted. There is too much noise from the people on the television, focusing on these email, and their nonsense chatter. Chase thinks he needs to stick it out because they came in here to be with him.

“Dad how did your day go?” Christine ask.

Chase turns to face her, gives a big closed lip smile, turns back to his computer, “Keeping at it girl.”

“That’s good. Bad traffic coming back?”

“Not bad. Ya know, I have these email to return so let me just focus on this. Would you guys mind going to the kitchen.” He gives a slight wave with his hand directing back to the kitchen. His wife and Christine does as he instructs and return to the kitchen. Chase keeps his focus on the computer.

When they’re out of ear shot they pick their conversation up again. “Mom, he looks better but I don’t know if he’ll get over Cassi calling the cops on him.”

She plays with the towel folding it in different ways to do something with her hands. “We didn’t have any other choice and she believe she was doing the right thing. What else were we suppose to do?”

“Mom, I’m not saying it wasn’t. We don’t have anymore money to spend on staying in a hotel room and we have left the house before and that doesn’t seem to help.” Christine gets up and walks over to the counter. The day they called the cops comes back to her. Her father had been in a bad episode for months and they were at their wits end. Thankfully this time he was only yelling but it always escalates quickly. In the past they let it play out and would step in when the tension began to great. This was just at the beginning of his episode but the previous one he wasn’t only physical with their mom. He crossed a line with holding onto or fighting off her two sisters.

Christine couldn’t let that happen again. However she’s the oldest. Should she have made the call rather than letting her youngest sister make it? Cassi gets the blame but it’s not all on her.

“All we can do is pray and not say anything to upset him.” He mother puts the towel down and takes the laundry to her room.

Christine gets out the tea and puts water on to boil and just looks around the kitchen. Each spot holds a memory of what happened over the past year. She wished they could all be happy memories but the past couple of months have taken that over. Her father yelling at the top of his lungs that it gives her chills and makes her ill, then seeing her mother crying and sisters just looking so confused. None of them knew what the right thing to do was, or did they just ignore it? The kettle whistles letting her know the waters ready. She pours the water and heads up to her room.

“Taisha why in the hell was that boy in your room?”

“He just stops by every so often. Nothing serious.”

“You were seeing him.” Andre can’t hide his shock.

“Don’t be so surprised Andre. I was and am a single women.” She licks the whip cream seductively gives Andre a little look then graces his side. “You just hate that someone else has had me.” Andre then grabs her arms pulls her close giving her a passionate kiss.

“He may have had you, but I’ve always had your heart.” This makes Taisha melt and she wants to give up everything to him now. They begin to kiss as though the rest of the world does not exist.

“Well look at you two, it’s like when you were teenagers all over again.” They both jump at the sound of Zola. Both hang their heads a bit when seeing Zola. “Now that you are back to grown ups do you know what this is doing to your daughter?”

“Desiree? She knows?”

“Yes ma’am. Saw you two this morning.”

“Oh crap!” Taisha put her hands on her head. “We didn’t want her to find out like that. We were both going to talk to her today when she got home and tell her.”

“Tell who what.” Desiree is walking through the door looking like she just ran the three miles from Andre’s to here. They all just tense up a bit and look at Desiree.

“Oh hey honey.”

“Honey? Oh god who died?”

“No one died.”

“Desiree just listen to your mother and sit over here.” Desire gives her father a look, angry but still does as she’s told. Then suddenly puts on a smile like nothing had happen and all is right in the world.

“Yes parents. What is this lovely news you must share with me.” She then puts her hands under her chin and bats her eyes.

“Desiree this is serious.”

Desiree clear her throat and leans back. “Of course.”

“Your father and I wanted to tell you that, we’re getting back together.”

“About time! I can’t have this baby belong to a single mother and divorce grandparents.”

Desiree walks up the steps to her house and hears people talking inside. She knows the voices but is so used to hearing them yelling at each other she doesn’t recognize then when they’re just talking with one another. She sees her mother and father hugging. Most people would be happy to see them hugging but she remember what her father has done to her mother. “What an idiot.” She runs down her steps to Zola’s house.

Halfway there she sees someone climbing up the side of her house. “What in the hell?” Instead of saying something she just watches them climb up into her mothers room.

“Girl what are you doing?”

Desiree looks up to see Zola looking at her from her porch. “I just saw someone. I’m not really sure what I am exactly doing. Zola I need your help.”

“Well girl don’t just stand there come on over here and talk. I just made myself some tea, like some?”

“Yes please.” Desiree makes her way to Zola’s house but she can’t help thinking she reconized the guy climbing through her mothers window and what on earth her mother and father are doing together.

Now both in the kitchen sitting at the table Zola looks at Desiree seeing the young lady that she has grown into. “Now what do you need to talk to Zola about?”

“Is it weird for a child to not want her parents back together?”

“Yes I would say it is weird. However this child saw what her parents went through and does not want to see that happening again.”

“I’m being serious. I just saw my parents actually talking together and hugging and it made my stomach hurt. That can’t be normal.”

“Desiree listen.” Zola puts her hands on top of Desiree and looks her in the eyes. “You ma’am and papa have a lot of baggage. Dear Lord do they have a lot. I have known Andre since he was young. I have seen him chase after other women but he’s always loved your mama.”

“Then why chase the other women.”

“Because he thought he wasn’t worth having you mama.” Zola looks at Desiree seeing the pain in her eyes.

BOY YOU BEST BE GOING! Both Desiree and Zola jump hearing a man screaming.

“Now what on earth could that be.” They make their way to Zola’s porch. Desiree sees who she saw climbing into her mothers window now half naked on her front lawn.

“Who do you think you are?! You left her!”

“Boy watch yourself and just get goin’!”

“I love her! Taisha I know you love me too. Your just-”

“I don’t think you want to finish that sentence.” Zola says it calmly but with a lot behind her words. She just stares at him and he gathers up his closes and starts heading down the street. “You know I wont stop fighting for you.” He makes his way down the street and all eyes are now on Taisha who just turn calmly and walks back to the kitchen. Zola goes back inside her house. All that is left outside is Desiree and Andre staring at each other. Andre doesn’t know what to say so just turns and goes to the kitchen.

“I know I’ve seen him from somewhere. But where?” Desiree runs down Zola’s porch to catch up with him. She’s so close when he turns sensing someone is following him.

“What you want?”

“I know you.”

“And?”

“How do I know you? Why do I know you. I know we don’t go to school, but I feel like I know you.” He scuffs and bends to pick up his shirt and then it hits her. Tattoo on his back. Desiree lost her virginity to him at a party. If that’s what it should be called. More like she wanted to see what leading a guy on would be like then got too caught up and could turn back. All she wants to do is hit him but she’s frozen.

“I ain’t gunna answer that. Maybe you seen me going out your mama’s room. We been seeing each other. But guess that’s over. Daddy now decided to come home.” Not sure if it’s the way he said, the facial expression he said, or just everything building up so much in her but she snaps and karate kicks him, then drop kicks him and just starts pounding on this guy.

“Don’t fuck with my family.” Desiree then fix her hair, shirt, turns and just smiles.

“Taisha what in the hell were you thinking?” Taisha is still out on the porch all relaxed. “Zola got all up in my business. What did you tell her?”

“What? Zola came over here getting all in mine. Saying people were talking in town.”

“Talking about what?”

“She didn’t say. Desiree came in and she went on home.”

“What are people saying. She kept askin me why I was suddenly comin’ ova here again. Like it was any of her business. I don’t ask her about her boys why she askin’ about us.”

“What did she say about us.”

“Just that if I wanted anything to happen I should either get back with you or walk on.” Taisha freezes not knowing how to react. “So Taisha, I just wanted to ask you, would.” He reaches in his pocket and pulls out a box. “Would you go out on a date with me?” Opens the box and there are two tickets for dancing. Taisha loves to dance and always wanted to go with Andre but he never wanted to. She’s staring in his eyes and gets up to hug him. While hugging him she looks up and sees Jeremy walking down the stairs.

“Andre just a million times yes. I need to take care of something but come back tonight of Desiree is a sleep.”

“You can count on that.” Instead of doing the dog move of kissing her he embraces her and leaves her with that. She blushes and watched him walk away. She watches him slowly as she moves in side holding back the panic rising inside of her.

“Jeremy what the hell are you still doing here.”

“Oh hell no are you getting mad at me. You left me in the closet.”

“Oh shit I’m sorry.”

“Yeah, yeah. Now I am heading home. Or we could finish what we started.” Before she answers he picks her up and they are in her room before she knows it and she melts into him not wanting this to end.