Third Person POV:

The last bell of the day finally rang and Max couldn't be happier. At her old school, nobody really paid attention to one another's personal life because….well, they could care less. To say she wasn't used to people being so curious about her would be an understatement. She was glad that she could finally go home with Ella and relax.

Well, she was wrong.

Max's POV:

"Max, guess what? No, don't guess! Angel and Nudge invited us to hang out at the Mall with them today!" Ella exclaimed as soon as she saw me. I barely had a chance to unlock the car door when she ran into me. I stared at her for a moment before giving my Oh, so heart felt answer.

"No." She pouted and decided to be the child she is by crossing her arms and stamping her foot.

"That's not fair! They're the first friends we made and you don't even want to hang out with' em!" She pouted even more when she said this. I knew she was going to start being stubborn so I had to make a quick excuse. Too bad I suck at lying to Ella.

"We...uhh… we have to have family dinner! Yeah… they didn't tell you because it's… a surprise! Yeah, that makes sense. Aunt…. Frieda is coming to visit from… where she lives now." I stumbled out. Yeah, I knew she was going to fall for it by the look on her face. I guess I can lie to Ella.

"Aunt Frieda died two months ago." She deadpanned.

Apparently I can't lie to Ella.

This leads to why Nudge, Angel and Ella are dragging me around the mall, literally…

I'm currently being dragged around the mall by these fashion crazed waakadoons. It's not fun, at all. They forced me into a bunch of 'pinks' and 'pastels' and slapped me into a bunch more face goop than necessary. All I heard from them is stuff like "Oh, that shade of pink looks so good on you!" and "Zomg, you should like, totally get those shoes! They make you look all mature and sexy! I wonder what they look like on me…. OMG! Max, you have to let me get these for myself! Look at them! LOOK AT THEM! Can I get'em? Pleeeeeeeeeeeaseeeeee?" Try to guess which one was Nudge.

Now, around 6:00 p.m. - Which means we spent 3 hours and 45 minutes at the mall- Ella and I are finally on our way home. It was usually a 15 minute drive but since I like to drive fast, It was 7 minutes even.

"You drive like a mad woman on crack that's in search of her baby while being chased by the cops." Ella said while we were walking to the front door. Now I see that being over-dramatic runs in the family. Of course, now my mom proves that theory to be correct.

Before I can even go onto the first step, my mother slams the door open and screeches. "WHAT HAPPENED?! I WAS WORRIED SICK ABOUT YOU GUYS! I THOUGHT YOU WERE DEAD!" Her voice cracked at the last word as she crumpled down onto the porch in a heap and burst out crying. To say I was surprised would be an understatement. Ella and I rushed up to her and helped her into the house. I made sure to shut and lock the door on my way in. It's a habit. We walked her into the living room and I sent Ella to get some hot chocolate while I got mom settled down.

"Mom… what was that about?" I ask her hesitantly, all the while holding her gaze steadily. She gives me a sheepish shrug but before I can protest, she explains, "I…I was scared something might have happened to you guys. I wasn't expecting you guys to come late and you know how it was with your father." I do know. My father had gone out to pick up the groceries that mom needed to get ready for Thanksgiving. He never came back. The next time we heard something of him is when they want mom to identify his body.

I give her a small nod while I think back on the past. Before Valencia and Ella came around, it was just me and my dad. I was like that until I turned five and he remarried. I never knew who my real mom was and I don't plan on finding out, either. If it weren't for Valencia's caring nature and her love for me and my father, I would have been in some foster home or maybe worse.

Just then, Ella walks out of the kitchen, trying to steady three mugs of hot chocolate and some sandwiches on a tray mom got for her birthday. I smile at her fondly while getting up and helping her. We all settle down on the couch and talk about our days since mom wants to know all about it. We settle down some and decide to eat some ice cream from the tube with forks instead on spoons and watch Lifetime.

We're watching our second movie when Jeb comes in from work. He sees the three of us and smiles. I already know what he's thinking when he sets his briefcase down, takes off his shoes and heads into the kitchen. I scoot away from mom and move closer to Ella. She looks her for a second but she then sees Jeb walking in with a fork in his hand and we open up the blanket- that magically landed on us- up to him so he can join us. It's times like this that I love my family the most. Ella and I end up re-telling how our day went for Jeb and before we know it, we all fall asleep on the couch, huddled up together like the happy, loving family that I know we are.

It's times like these that are bittersweet, I don't know whether to be happy with the makeshift family that I have or be sad that I'm not related to them and the fact that my father is gone.

Author's Note: I finally found some time to update. I apologize for making the wait long. I hope this chapter was okay! It was 1,028 words which is pretty good for writing on a whim. Thank you for reading this, I very much would appreciate any feedback, good or bad.