"So you guys are buying a house. And I will live there. With both of you," I say slowly.
"Yes. Only if you're okay with it," Derek responds.
"Well duh I'm okay with it. Jesus, it took you guys long enough. So when will this be happening?" I say with an easy smile. I can feel the relief come off them.
"We've started looking at some houses already. There are two we have in mind. We want you to come and look at both and add your opinion. Also, unfortunately, my mother is coming to look at them too. I'm warning you so you'll be prepared," Emily tells me.
"Oh God. Okay. I think I can handle her now. What about your mom?" I ask Derek.
"My mama's going to come visit as soon as we get the new house going. She's so excited to meet you. Don't be alarmed if she tries to kidnap you and obsessively calls you her granddaughter or buys you tons of things you do not need," he warns with a smile.
"She sounds awesome," I say excitedly.
"That's because she is," Derek replies.
"You're such a mama's boy," Emily teases, gently punching his shoulder. "Don't forget about me."
"I could never forget about you," Derek says, smiling and they lean in to kiss.
"We're still at the dinner table," I remind them, smiling as I do so. They are too damn cute. They continue to kiss, but when I make an "ew" joke sound, Emily flicks me off before they break apart.
"So we're good with the house thing? We can go look at them tomorrow if you want," Emily asks.
"Yeah, sounds good. Can Samantha come?" Samantha was currently at Danny's house, buying weed and giving me family time.
"Of course. Now, what do you think she'll do about her mom? How long do you think she'll be with us?" Emily asks.
"Um, I don't know. She said she was going to call her mom tomorrow if she doesn't call her today, and I guess they'll know things from that point on. It's okay, right, that she's here for a little while?" I ask worriedly.
"Of course. I love Samantha. I just want her to be happy and have a good relationship with her mom. I wish that I did and I hope they don't break theirs apart so early," Emily responds, a kind of far away sadness in her voice.
"I don't even have a biological mother to hate and I love my adoptive mother, so, I'm out of the loop," I respond. Emily looks up and gives me a sort of smile.
"If you don't mind me asking, what happened to your biological mother?" Derek asks.
"My dad said she overdosed on heroin when I was a baby. I got some damn good genes, huh? Junkie mother and serial killer dad just are a great combo," I joke. Emily and Derek exchange glances.
"Well, you're obviously not a psychopathic killer and as long as you don't do hard drugs, you won't get hooked. Susceptibility to addiction is genetic. But other than that, you're good," Emily says, smoothing it over.
"What would you do if I said I wanted to see mi padre in jail?" Now both Emily and Derek's eyes go very, very wide.
"Um, I would let you go. But, I would be there with you the whole time. Do you really want to go?" Emily asks, her voice a little strained.
"I don't know. It would be interesting from a studies point of view, you know? How he interacts with me and tells me. I fucking hate him and wish he was dead, but he is sort of an interesting specimen."
"You sound like Rossi," Derek sighs.
"Has he said something like that?"
"Yes. He was wondering about putting me in there, then you, then himself and seeing how your father reacts with different people. I told him no way," Emily explains, staring intently at me.
"I don't know yet. I was just thinking out loud," I reply honestly.
"This is why she's called Rossi's apprentice," Derek says with a laugh and shake of his head.
"I know. She's going to be a better profiler than all of us by the time she graduates high school," Emily agrees.
"You bet your asses I am," I joke back. "Now, though, I am going to go take a shower and do homework."
I stand and leave the table, smiling at the thought of looking at houses tomorrow.
….
"Fuck off Rache. I don't need you!" Samantha screams in the middle of the room. She was shitfaced beyond belief. Everyone looks at her. Then shake their head and go back to dancing. Sleigh Bells was playing and everyone was raving.
"Have fun getting fucked up without anyone to look after you tonight," I lean in and whisper in her ear before reaching into her pocket and grabbing the bag of three pre-rolled joints. "And these are now mine," I tell her.
Immediately, I go up to Danny and grab his hips and start dancing with him. He opens his mouth to show me a pill. I lean in and take it. I know Samantha is watching. What I didn't know was that she was as pissed as she was.
"Ouch," I exclaim when she grabs my arm and pulls me away. "What was that for?"
"Goddamn it Rachel! I love you. Why the fuck can't you get that?" The pill was hitting and I was feeling loose and her words made me laugh.
"Why the fuck can't I get that, Samantha? Probably because no one should love me. Look at us; I can't fuck you, I can't deal with anything personal. I don't know why you're with me. Go settle down with a nice girl. I'm not exactly relationship material," I tell her, words spilling from my mouth in a stream.
Her eyes have tears in the corners when I look back at her.
"Shit, I'm sorry," I say, backpedalling, "Come on, let's go back to my house and talk. Please," I beg.
"I'm taking you home. That pill was not good for you."
"You're drunk."
"Let's get a cab," she sighs. I nod and take her hand.
…
"What the fuck?" Emily asks as we stumble through the door.
"We had a fight," I offer.
"What did you guys do?"
"I tried to dance with her," Samantha explains.
"So?"
"She doesn't like public displays of affection. Also, she hates herself," Samantha slurs again. Emily rubs her eyes tiredly.
"What are you guys on?"
"I, am just drunk off my ass," Samantha answers. "Your daughter here took a pill. OUT OF A BOYS MOUTH. She be trippin'."
"Fuck you Sam," I say.
"Don't call me Sam. You know I hate that." I glare at her. She glares back. Emily steps in.
"Alright guys. Time to go to bed. I will murder both of you in the morning. For fuck's sake, guys. Stop dicking around. Rache, you're in my room. Samantha, go sleep off your obnoxious anger," Emily says, pinching her nose.
"I'm sorry Em," I say while she leads me to her room.
"You're grounded. For two months. I don't know what the fuck you were doing but it needs to stop. You're fifteen for Christ's sake."
"You were fifteen when you got prego," I point out. Then I realize what an asshole I am. "Oh God, Em, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to say that."
"Well you did. Come on, I'll give you some shorts and shirt to sleep in. Strip."
"Aggressive," I joke, then see her face. "I'm such a fuckwad. Sorry." I take off my clothes and wait for clothes.
She traces a scar on my back, made from my father slamming me into the corner of a counter. It wasn't too deep, but it wouldn't stop bleeding. I remember him telling me to stand up and grow a pair.
Then Emily traces one on my arm, one I made myself.
"Don't hurt yourself. Don't become addicted. Don't become your mother."
"You're my mom. I don't care about who technically is. She doesn't matter."
"She gave you the susceptibility of addiction. You already are addicted to cutting. Let's not add on, okay?"Her voice was hard, and tired.
I nod my head and pull on the clothes offered.
"Alright, get some sleep. I'm going to go call Derek. Goodnight," she says, her voice softening.
"I love you. And I'm sorry for being a fuck up."
"Sweetie, you're not a fuck up. You're just having a hard time. We'll get through it. I love you too."
…
"Please tell me I didn't say that," I mumble under my breath, swinging my legs out from under the sheets.
"You did. Now, get dressed please, and look really nice because the ambassador will be here this time," Emily said, startling me.
"Oh damn. Alright, house time. Mom, I'm so sorry. It's like… I don't know," I start. She cuts me off though.
"We'll discuss it later. Please get dressed though," Emily says again, a bit harsher this time, but there's anxiety behind it. Her mother always stresses her out.
I pull on a nice top and good jeans and cute flats before running a hand through my short hair and rushing down the stairs.
Derek and Emily both looked very nice though both had grimaces on their faces.
"Where's Sam," I ask.
"Asleep," Emily answers, opening the door for us.
