I was in the kitchen with Seth and Kirsten as the former begged her not to cook. Because of the holiday, we would have to wait to get my name changed. I was still going to be an Atwood for a little while longer.
"This is Sammie's first Thanksgiving in the house and we're going to make this meal as a family." Kirsten stated as I sipped my coffee.
"Seriously, where's Rosa?" Seth asked.
"Rosa is spending Thanksgiving with her own family." Kirsten answered. Was her cooking really that bad? I did have to admit this situation was interesting to watch. "I, for one am ready for this challenge."
"Dad, please stop her." Seth requested.
"You sure you wanna do this, Honey?" Sandy asked with a sigh.
"No, we're not ruining Thanksgiving." Seth demanded.
"Who said we are?" Kirsten responded. You know this is still less dysfunctional than any Thanksgiving I've ever had. "Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday."
"My family was never into the holidays." I remarked.
"All the more reason to make this special." Kirsten deduced before Seth threw his hands up. "Are there any pans?"
"You're not inspiring a lot of confidence, Darling." Sandy told her before said something about pigging out.
"We should start with the turkey." Kirsten announced. I then realized that she had no idea what she was doing. I guess she really shouldn't be cooking. We all took turns doing whatever we could to stop her. I felt kind of bad, but I decided that I didn't want to have diarrhea.
"What am I supposed to do?" Kirsten questioned as the phone rang. "I'll get that."
"You own the phone." Sandy told her. "Yes, I'll accept the charges. Yeah, she's right here."
Apparently someone was calling collect for me. She handed me the phone as I nervously blushed.
"It's your brother." She stated. Now I was even more nervous.
"I'll come back when I'm done." I told them as I left the kitchen. "Hey, Trey, I'm okay. Do you really need me to do this today? It's kind of Thanksgiving. I know I haven't seen you. I guess I can come. You too, I love you, bye."
"How's Trey?" Sandy asked as I went back into the kitchen.
"He's okay. He wants me to visit him today. It's the holidays and he doesn't want to be alone." I explained as I hung up the phone.
"Can you blame him?" Sandy retorted.
"Are you gonna go?" Kirsten asked me.
"Is that alright?" I inquired.
"Yeah, you should see your brother." Sandy replied.
Later, it was just me and Seth in the kitchen.
"People actually make stuffing?" He asked in surprise.
"No, it only exists in movies." I quipped.
"You should probably get going soon." Seth told me.
"I have so much more that needs to be done." I replied.
"If you find enough to last 3-5 years, Trey will be out." Seth responded.
"I know he wants something from me and I'm really nervous about going back." I explained.
"Maybe he just wants to see his sister on Thanksgiving?" Seth countered as I cut some veggies.
"You don't know Trey." I pointed out.
"That's because you never talk about him." He countered.
"There's not a lot to talk about." I responded snippily.
"He's your brother." Seth reminded me. "I can go with you if you want. I would like to meet him."
"You really wouldn't." I said.
"Legally, we're like all related now." He explained to me.
"Someone has to keep your mom away from the food." I reminded him. "Besides, you have Anna coming over."
"Yes I do." He repeated. I wasn't sure if I had won the bet. We hadn't decided what the prize would be. At that point, my phone began to ring. It was Kaitlin.
"What's up?" I inquired.
"I'm trying to figure out a way out of spending Thanksgiving with your grandpa." She answered. "What are you doing today?"
"I'm going to see my brother in jail." I told her. "I don't have time to talk now."
I quickly got changed into a yellow pleated dress and a white jacket before going to Seth room's.
"We need to get going." I remarked. "Trey doesn't read comics."
"That's because he has hasn't seen The New Titans." Seth pointed out. I hadn't read that one either. I then noticed a bottle of cologne.
"I didn't take Anna as a girl that likes guys who wear cologne." I stated as I noticed a bottle.
"I wouldn't wear cologne for Anna." He argued.
"He like her, don't you? You like her." I teased him.
"Suddenly, I'm not so thrilled about having a sister." He commented. "The other night, Summer attacked me with her lips. She swore if I told anyone, she would kill me. She's got an interesting take on romance. Basically, the first sixteen years of my life, I have no women, but now I have two."
"I can't say that I feel bad for you right now." I replied. "It's not like there are worse problems you could have."
"I wish I wasn't rubbing off on you." He responded. At that moment, the doorbell rang and there was Jimmy, Marissa, and Kaitlin.
"We wanted to stop by before I went to our mom's." Marissa told me as I gave her a hug and Kaitlin a kiss. "So how has your Thanksgiving been?"
"Can I see your brother with you?" Kaitlin asked out of the blue. "I need an excuse."
"Let's go to the pool house and talk." I suggested.
As soon as we got there, we began to kiss and touch each other.
"So are you sure you wanna come with me?" I asked. "I mean he is in jail."
"I think that you need company." She replied. "Safety in numbers is better. Plus, I really want to see where you grew up."
"Maybe you should be with your mom. I think even with all of her many, many faults, she does love you." I stated.
"I want to know more about you." Kaitlin told me. "If there's anything you want to know about my past, I'll tell you."
"I really don't want to revisit a lot of stuff." I responded. "I'm sorry but when you're dirt poor with abusive parents, all you want is to get out. The only reason I am seeing my brother because he's the one member of my family who was there for me, but if you really want to come, you can come. There's just a reason why I want to change my name because this is like starting over."
"I'll wait outside and meet you at the car." She replied before I went back in the house.
"Are you alright? Do you want anyone to go with you?" Kirsten questioned. I shook my head. "Okay here are the keys and I have something for Trey."
She gave me a pie and I looked at her.
"Don't worry, it's store bought." She assured me.
"Thank you." I replied as I took the pie. I went outside to see that she was already in the car. I guess that can happen when you leave the windows down.
"So we might as well get going." I replied.
"It helps if you turn the car on." She quipped.
"Right." I remarked as I turned the key.
"Do you want me to drive?" She questioned.
"You don't know how to get there." I replied. "It's also not legal."
I put it in drive and we began to head to Chino together. Within an hour, we were at the prison. I had the pie and a comic in my hand and we got some visitors passes.
"You know I hope that I'm not going to have to go to prison again soon." She declared.
"Your dad is going to be fine." I assured her as we continued to walk. We met him outside. He was wearing an orange jumpsuit and a bloody lip.
"Hey Little Sis." He greeted me before giving me a hug.
"This is my girlfriend, Kaitlin." I responded nervously.
"I'll give you two a minute." Kaitlin announced.
"You look really nice." He complimented.
"I'm sorry that I haven't been here." I apologized.
"I heard that you're doing pretty good for yourself. That outfit doesn't look cheap." He commented. I couldn't help but who he got in a fight with.
"You don't look so good." I told him. "Do you need something from me?"
"Can't a guy just see his sister on Thanksgiving?" He asked me. I gave him a look. "Okay, I didn't want to have to call you but I'm in trouble. I kind owe some people like six grand."
"How did lose six grand?" I asked, trying hard not to raise my voice. I was pissed.
"You know that we have bad luck." He pointed out. "People that I owe it to have friends in here that like to remind me about it. It'll keep getting worse."
"I don't have that kind of money." I told him.
"I'm not asking for money." He stated. "I need a favor."
Later, I was back in the car with Kaitlin.
"Where are we going?" She asked me.
"I need you to take you to the bus station because my brother wants me to pick up a stolen car." I responded. "I have to pay back a debt that he owes. I know that this sounds crazy, but he is my brother and I can't let him down."
"There is no way that I'm letting you do this alone." Kaitlin declared. "I love you and if you're doing it, I am doing it too."
"Did you just tell me that you love me?" I questioned. She nodded. "Wow, wow, wow I don't know what to say. I feel very strongly for you. I can say that much. Please don't make me say it back."
"I know how you feel." She stated. "So do you have any good Thanksgiving memories by any chance? My dad and I would always watch football together since I was the only one likes it."
"I'm hoping that I can make some nice memories of not getting arrested." I answered. I couldn't help but wonder how things were going at the house. "So does Seth inviting Anna over for Thanksgiving count as me winning the bet?"
"I think that would depend on how much kissing is involved." She told me. "What does the winner get anyway?"
"Satisfaction of being victorious?" I suggested as we stopped in front of the house before her phone went off.
"Fuck." She cursed. "Marissa just texted me that my mom and Caleb just came over and I didn't exactly tell her that I was going with you. This could not be worse."
"Yeah, it could." I pointed out before I got out of the car and we headed to the door. It was answered by the person that I definitely did not want to answer it.
"Well, Samantha Atwood." My kind of ex Theresa greeted me.
"Hey, Theresa, is Arturo in?" I questioned.
"Are you really going to just ask for my idiot brother and not tell me where you've been for the past 5 months or who this chick is?"
"I'm Kaitlin Cooper, her girlfriend." The brunette declared as she held me possessive. I guess she sensed the stuff with Theresa. "How do you know each other?"
"We were off and on. We grew up together." Theresa explained. "I was the girl next door."
"That's nice." Kaitlin remarked. She was definitely jealous.
"Where's Arturo?" I repeated, wanting to end this awkward situation. Theresa went to get him.
"So she seems nice." Kaitlin commented as we walked into the house.
"Mom, look who I found." Theresa stated as her mother was preparing dinner.
"Samantha, it's good to see you." Eva remarked before she gave me a tight hug. "Where have you been? I have not seen your mom in a while."
"I haven't either." I admitted.
"What about your brother?" She questioned. Did she not know he was in jail?
"That's why I'm here. I need to see Arturo." I replied.
"Are you here for the car?" Arturo questioned before he too hugged me. "Hey Babe, how you been?"
"This is Kaitlin." I introduced.
"Her girlfriend." Theresa added, probably to annoy me.
"Come on, let's go." Arturo instructed. Kaitlin walked with me as we headed to the car.
"So is there any history between the two of you?" Kaitlin questioned.
"Well Arturo helped me realize that I didn't like guys." I answered. "He was the first person I kissed."
"You know it is nice that I'm learning about your past relationships." Kaitlin replied. "You wanna know how I knew that I liked girls. I saw Summer changing one day and I was hooked. I used to have a crush on her."
"What made it go away?" I asked curiously.
"This sexy blonde moved next door." She answered. She was going to make me swoon. I was pretty sure that she was trying to make me swoon. I wondered if Arturo was listening to any of this stuff. I don't know how he felt.
"This car's hot. Your brother must owe a lot of money." Arturo stated as he pulled the tarp off of it. "That dude's crazier than your brother is. So why are you back here doing Trey's bitch work? Look he was my best friend, but the guy's trouble."
"I've noticed." I commented as Arturo got in the front seat.
"You don't have to do this." He told me. "You've got this cushy new life. What's Trey gonna do?"
"I just want to get this over with." I told him. "I want to get it over with so I can get back."
"You're a lot better person than he is." Arturo told me as I received a text from Seth saying that Summer was over. I think I might lose the bet now, if it's possible to win. Arturo got the car running and I got in the driver's seat. I was glad that I was dressed how I was, because I did look like I could afford a car like this. I guess that was the good part. I wish I had some sunglasses with me because they would hide my nervousness.
"So did you do anything with the arts of like school plays when you were younger?" Kaitlin asked me once we were on the road.
"Well I wanted to be in my school musical, but I kind of am…vocally challenged." I answered with a blush.
"We need to talk about how you didn't tell me about your ex-girlfriend." She declared.
"Let's wait to talk until we can head home." I replied. "I don't want to have this car any longer than I need to. You know that your mom is looking for you and she's going to blame me for taking you here. I just want to get you home."
"I don't wanna go home. I wanna stay with you." She told me.
"Kaitlin, we're teenagers. There's no way that we can move in together." I responded. "Seth is two-timing Summer and Anna right now."
"When did Seth become a ladies man?" She asked in confusion before I pulled in.
"Which one of you is Samantha?" The owner asked. He definitely looked shady. I raised my hand before we got out of the car. "It's hard to believe that your brother could pull this off because he's such a stupid son of a bitch you know.
"Do you want the car so Trey can be off the hook?" I questioned.
"There's something called interest, but I know a way we can solve that." He remarked with a perverted grin. I grabbed some pepper spray out of my purse and we ran, seeing Theresa in the car we brought. We got in on the run and dropped her off at home before I got in the driver's seat and I drove as fast as I could to get out of Chino and on the road.
I went to the prison to tell Trey that I was done doing anything for him. He was grateful even after what I went through.
"Now you can see why I didn't want to bring you with me." I told Kaitlin. "I wonder what's happening at home right now?"
"Well my mom and dad are in the same house, there's probably a big happening and Marissa is probably bored of her mind. I bet Seth has sworn her to secrecy now that Summer has arrived. How about we change the bet? If Seth dates Summer, you get 30 bucks and if he dates Anna, you pay me."
"How about loser pays for dinner?" I suggested. "That is if you're ever allowed of the house again. I also need to remind you that what happens in Chino stays in Chino."
"I am so hungry right now." She declared. "Do you think that anyone would mind if we got some Chinese?"
"We might as well do something together before you're locked in a tower." I responded. "I don't even really like turkey anyway."
Suddenly my phone began to ring. It was Sandy.
"Are you nearby?" He asked me.
"Yeah, and yes I have Kaitlin with me." I responded. "I'm sorry we didn't tell anyone about it."
"How do you feel about getting some takeout?" He responded. "The bird is kind of kaput right now and everyone's pissed off and Seth just lost both of his dates."
"You know I want to get this done tomorrow." I told Kaitlin. "I literally want today to be my last day as an Atwood. I don't belong here."
We walked into the house with a bunch of Chinese food. I think they were not only thrilled to see Kaitlin, but also that we had food.
"I've been pretty worried about you." Julie remarked. "Why didn't you tell me you were going?"
"Julie, it's Thanksgiving." Caleb interrupted.
We walked into Seth's room. Apparently Marissa had left with Summer. He was on his bed with his horse.
"What are you doing?" I questioned.
"Not playing with Captain Oats." He denied. "I screwed up."
"Can we sit with you and Captain Oats?" Kaitlin requested before we took a seat.
"You'll figure this out." I told Seth.
In the morning, we went to the court. It cost a few hundred dollars, but when I walked out. I was Samantha Cohen.
So, Sammie is now legally a Cohen. Seth is in the doghouse and things might not turn out how anyone expects them to. Lastly we had our trip to Chino. Please don't forget to review
