"Becca, hurry up." Said Caden impatiently, knocking on the bathroom door. He hated being inside the apartment. It wasn't a home, it was a hell.
"I can't braid my hair!" Wailed Becca.
"Just put it in a ponytail."
"I can't do that either! It's not fair!"
"Becca, it doesn't matter." Said Caden.
"Yes it does." Said Becca stubbornly. Caden walked down the hall to his mother's room. He dug around under the bed, shifting boxes and other junk until he found what he was looking for. He unscrewed the lid of a jar and counted the money inside. Fifty dollars and thirtythree cents. He slipped a ten into his pocket with the cash Alyson gave him.
"Becca, we've got to be leaving!" Called Caden as he replaced the jar. His little sister walked into the room.
"Caden, my shoe broke."
Caden looked up to see his little sister's tearstained face.
"That's okay, we'll go buy you another pair." Said Caden, looking at the shoes. The sole had completly ripped away.
"With what?"
"This." Said Caden, showing the cash.
"Caden, did you take that from mom?" Asked Becca.
"Half of it."
"But mom's boyfriend already took thirty dollars. He said he was going to blame you."
"Oh well. You need shoes, so let's get outta here." Said Caden. They locked the door and hurried down the street to the payless store.
"When is your friend coming over?" Asked Mrs. Davis.
"Soon. His little sister's coming too because he's supposed to babysit."
"Oh? Alyson, put another plate on the table." Said Mrs. Davis.
"Kimberly's coming over too." Said Alyson as she pulled more plates out of the cupboard. Mrs. Davis looked up from the onion she was cutting. Even with tears pouring down her face, she still managed to keep a smile on her face.
"We'll have to put out another chair." Said Mrs. Davis. The phone rang.
"Kevin, can you get that?" Asked Alyson as she searched the cupboards for a bowl. Kevin picked up the cordless.
"Hello?"
"Hey, sport. Is your mother there?" Said Mr. Davis.
"Yeah." Said Kevin, "Mom, it's Dad."
Mrs. Davis took the phone.
"Alyson, do you know Caden Vespucci?" Asked Kevin.
"Um, not very well." Said Alyson as she dumped pineapple chunks into a bowl.
"He's in your grade. Except math, that's the class I met him in."
"Is he nice?" Asked Alyson as she added other fruits to the pineapple.
"Would I hang out with a mean person?"
"Duh! Sorry, that was a stupid question." Said Alyson.
"Are you going to put apples in the fruitsalad again? I hate it when you do that."
"Fine, I won't. Can you get the whipped cream out of the fridge?" Said Alyson. Kevin opened the refridgerator and tossed a container to Alyson.
"Apparently, you're father won't be joining us." Said Mrs. Davis as she hung up the phone.
"Mom, is everything okay?" Asked Alyson, concerned about the worried look on her mother's face. Normally her mother was always cheery.
"Yes, everything is fine." Said Mrs. Davis, a smile returning to her face. Alyson wasn't throughly convinced. Why couldn't her mother ever just come out and say what was bothering her?
"That must be Caden." Said Kevin when the doorbell rang. Alyson followed Kevin to the living room.
"Hey, everybody." Said Kimberly when Kevin opened the door.
"Caden's not here, right?"Asked Kimberly.
"Not yet."
"Good." Said Kimberly. Kimberly grabbed Alyson's arm and tugged her to Alyson's room.
"I just can't believe you." Said Kimberly, helping herself to Alyson's lipgloss.
"Kimberly, it's not that big of a deal."
"Yeah, but think about it. How would you feel if you found out that your mother paid me to be your friend. Or Lacy? Or June?" Said Kimberly. Alyson thought about. Yes, she'd be upset. She hadn't even thought about that.
"Then it'd be a good idea for you to keep that to yourself. Kevin doesn't need to know."
"What if this blows up in your face?" Asked Kimberly.
"It won't, because you're going to keep your mouth shut." Said Alyson. Kimberly stood up and opened Alyson's closet she dug through it.
"Oh, this is cute. Where'd you get it?" Asked Kimberly, holding a lavender blouse against herself.
"My aunt." Said Alyson. Kimberly dug through the closet.
"What happened to that box we kept in here? The one we made in sixth grade." Asked Kimberly.
"Must've thrown it out, why?"
"Because, we had a paper in there with names on it of every guy we promised to never associate with."
"We didn't even know Caden until last year." Said Alyson.
"Yeah, but we did know Kyle. And I quote; We shall have nothing to do with Kyle Rogers and his goony friends. That includes Caden!"
"Kimberly, let it go." Said Alyson, rolling her eyes.
"Girls, time to eat!" Called Mrs. Davis. Wordlessly, Alyson opened the door and left, exspecting Kimberly to follow.
"Alyson, this is Caden, and his sister, Becca." Said Kevin. Alyson looked at the little girl sitting beside Caden. She couldn't be older than six. Becca had blonde hair like her brother, and hundres of freckles across her cheeks and nose.
"Nice to meet you guys." Said Alyson, sitting across the table from Caden. Kimberly sat beside her.
"Let's say grace." Said Mrs. Davis.
"I heard you spraypainted the school building a month ago." Said Kimberly rudely after they bagan eating.
"No." Said Caden. Alyson nudged Kimberly with her elbow and muttered, "Be nice." Throughout the entire meal, Kimberly did anything except take Alyson's advice.
"Where have you been?" Snapped Caden's drunk mother.
"At a friend's." Responded Caden.
"You stole forty bucks from me! What did you do with it?" Asked Linda. Her words slurred together.
"I didn't." Said Caden.
"Jim saw you take it!" Hissed Linda, slapping her son across the face.
"Jim's a liar and a theif." Said Caden before he noticed Jim walk out of the kitchen.
"Jim took it." Said Becca timidly from behind her brother.
"What was that?" Growled Jim, stepping toward Becca.
"I took it." Said Caden quickly, trying to keep Becca out of it.
"I knew it." Said Jim, punching Caden in the stomach. Caden fell to the floor, momentarily crippled.
"Leave him alone!" Screamed Becca. Jim moved toward her. Becca ran screaming to the bathroom, the only room with a lock. Jim punched Caden in the face, causing Caden's nose to bleed.
"Jim, that's enough!" Said Linda.
"Shut up, bitch." Shouted Jim, pushing Linda back. Jim landed a few more blows on Caden before stopping.
"Oh, Caden!" Said Linda, touching her son's cheek.
"Leave him alone." Shouted Jim from the kitchen. he pulled out another beer and guzzled it down.
"I don't need your sympathy." Said Caden, struggling to stand up. He hobbled to the bathroom and knocked on the door.
"Becca, let me in." He said. The lock clicked and Becca swung the door open. Caden stepped in and locked the door.
"Caden, you got a black eye." Said Becca, handing him a wet washcloth.
"I told you he'd blame you." Said Becca.
"I know." Said Caden, wiping blood away from his face.
"Becca, go see if he's passed out yet." Said Caden. Becca opened the door and walked down the hall. Jim was passed out on the couch, drooling on the cushion. Linda had fallen asleep in the chair next to him.
"Yeah, he is." Said Becca.
"Becca, go pack our clothes." Said Caden. Caden went into his mother's room and took all the money that was left, eight dollars and a few coins. Becca threw all their clothes except what they were wearing into a backpack. She only owned two dresses, a shirt, and a pair of pants. Caden only owned two pairs of jeans, one black and one blue, and two shirts.
"Becca, let's go." Said Caden. He took the bag and shoved in a hairbrush, two toothbrushes, toothpaste, a bar of soap, and a small bottle of shampoo.
"Where are we going to stay?" Asked Becca.
"The same alley we always stay in." Said Caden.
"Let me go get my blanket." Said Becca.