Chapter Three

I pull up to Zara’s mansion sized house pushing my idea to the back of my head for now. I quickly park and get my school bad and some supplies I had in my car already and walk up her Grand Staircase.

“Hey Celeste, come in” She says opening the door and pulling me into her house.

“You have a beautiful house Zara. What do your parents do?” I say honestly curious. The house is 10x bigger on the inside. I didn’t even think it was possible.

“My mother owns a fashion line called Brittney’s fashion co. and my father is a doctor” She says shrugging.

“Can I live here? I bet you have an extra room” I say jokingly but in all seriousness.

“Oh yeah totally” She says giggling as we sit down at the kitchen table.

“Hello, you must be Celeste. I’m Martha, would you two like anything to eat or drink?” So called Martha says wearing an apron.

“Martha, my parents aren’t home. Go watch TV or something. I can take care of myself. I don’t need a cook right now” Zara says giggling as my mouth drops open before I quickly close it. She had a fucking personal cook?

Shit, I have to text my dad

Me: Hi father. I’m working on a school project with a friend. I’ll be home later sometime.

Father: You lying bitch 

I decide to not answer back and we just work on the project for the rest of the time occasionally talking about random stuff. I always thought Zara was kind of snotty but she’s really not.

“You know Celeste, I had a lot of fun and I’m glad we got the project done. Sit with me tomorrow at lunch and maybe we can keep in touch” She says and I nod smiling.

“I would really like that. Bye Martha” I say waving to Martha who is sitting on the couch watching House Wives. I guess we all have our guilty pleasures.

I leave the house and check my phone for any notifications. There’s nothing causing me to smile.

I make my way over to starbucks. I guess you can call me a white girl. But truth is, I work here. Which means I’ve gotten use to and grown fond of the coffee and drinks here.

“Funny seeing you here,  Roxy said you weren’t gonna be here today” Lucas says smiling when he sees me. “Miss me?” I say cocky putting my apron on and walking behind the counter.

Roxy gave me today off but since we finished earlier than I expected and there’s nothing making me want to go home, to work it is.

“You wish” Lucas says nudging me causing me to laugh. Lucas and I are always working together so we talk all the time. Might as well make the best of it. He’s in college right now and needs to make some extra cash.

“Hey Celeste, how are you?” Someone says and I turn my attention to see Roxy standing there giving me a skeptical look.

“I’m sorry Roxy” I say gushing before she interrupts me.

“I don’t care, just let me know next time when your working so I can pay you” She laughs and I nod apologizing.

“Ohhhh, Ms. Celeste got in trouble” Lucas says poking my cheek,causing me to slap his hand

Someone clears their throat and I look over to see of course, Adrian and Skye Whitmore.

“Oh, I’m sorry. Hey Adrian, Skye” I say smiling at the and Adrian smiles a fake smile looking a little hurt. I push it to the side and suddenly my idea pops back up into my head.

“Do you like dogs?” I blurt out accidentally.

“Um, yeah why?” Adrian says confused and I get a “I’ve wanted one for years” from Skye causing me to smile.

“I’ll tell you guys later, my shift ends in an hour. Wait for me and I’ll pay for your drinks” I say and they nod ordering.

As time gets closer to my shift ending I start getting nervous about my question being too pushy.

I quickly make myself a Strawberry Refresher and pay for Skye, Adrian and It’s drinks. I make my way over to Adrian and Skye nervous.

“Alright, so what’s all this about?” Adrian says curious.

“So um. I don’t want to sound pushy. This is just a suggestion and I don’t know if it would work out or actually happen. But there’s this dog at the shelter I volunteer at. She is scared of everyone but me and we both have similar histories. I’m not allowed to have her because my parents don’t like animals. At all. So I was wondering if you guys could come and meet her tomorrow and maybe possibly let her stay at your place during school and stuff. I would pay for everything and even give you guys rides to school when I drop her off in the morning. Her names Mochi” I say and Skye’s face lights up while Adrian smiles.

“Adrian, please?” Skye says turning to her and he nods. “Alright, I’ll ask mom and dad later tonight and I’ll let you know the deal by tomorrow morning” Adrian says to Skye and I causing a huge smile to spread across me face.

“Thank you guys” I say embracing them in a huge hug causing them to laugh and hug me back.

I glance at my phone seeing its only 6 and I still have a while to go till its 9. Even though I should go home so my dad sees me. Unfortunately.

“Do you need a ride home?” Skye says, throwing her cup away.

“Um, no. I’m just going to hang out here for a while. Thank you though” I say smiling, ignoring Adrian’s questioning look.

“Alright, I’ll talk to you later, Celeste” Adrian says smiling and I return the gesture as they walk out of Starbucks.

I quickly do my homework and start heading home at 7:30.

I make a quick stop and get my parents their favorite ice cream to hopefully make up for not being home today.

I pull up to the house and unplug my phone. I look up to see every light on in my house, nothing out of the ordinary.

I grab my bag from the backseat and the ice cream from the passengers seat and quickly make my way into the house.

“The bitch is finally home” My mother says when I close the door.

“What’s in the bag?” My fathers asks and I walk the ice cream bag over to them along with two spoons.

“Hmm, smart girl. But obviously not smart enough” My mother says taking a swig out of her beer bottle making me cringe.

Soon enough, my mothers hand makes contact with my cheek and my eyes start to sting, tears threatening to spill.

Son of a bitch, she’s gotten stronger. I wasn’t expecting that.

“Any plans as of tomorrow?” My father says shoveling ice cream into his mouth.

“Um, just the normal, work sort of stuff” I say nervously.

“Good” My mom says standing and making her way to the bathroom. But not before she knocks my feet out from under me, catching me by surprise. My father uses this to him advantage and his foot makes contact to the area right below my ribs causing me to wince in pain. “Now, get out of my face” He growls and I quickly get up to my feet, grabbing my bag and run up the stairs, ignoring the sharp pain each breath I take.

That’s going to leave a mark … a big one

My phone bings signaling I have a text

Adrian: Good news, my parents love the idea of getting a dog. Bad news, it has to be small.

Me: Perfect, she’s a shih tzu. Very small dog.

Adrian: Alright, when can we see this angel?

Me: Tomorrow? After school or after my shift I can do.

Adrian: Sounds good, we’ll talk about it tomorrow. Goodnight Celeste.

Me: Night Adrian.

I may feel like I have a broken rib, but I’m not giving up the opportunity to see my favorite puppy and possibly adopt her.

Tomorrows going to be a good day.