With a groan, Katy hauled herself out of bed and rubbed her eyes tiredly. Yawning, she balanced Ruby on her hip and grasped Amy's hand in hers. The little girl had been in and out of her bedroom for the past half hour asking where Roxy was.
"What did Auntie Ronnie say?"
"She said Mummy had to pop to the shop for milk."
"Well there you go, then, honey." Her older cousin said with a smile. "I'm sure she'll be home soon."
"Can we go to Auntie Carol's again? I want to play with Morgan and Tiff."
"Maybe. We'll have to see whether they're busy, babe."
Settling the girls in the living room with the television on and their toys strewn around, the young woman shuffled into the kitchen, stretching up and working out the kinks in her back. Running a hand through her hair, she yawned again and offered her cheek to her mother to kiss.
Ronnie chuckled. "Good morning, sunshine."
"Mornin'. Where's Rox?"
"Out." Her mother replied bluntly. "You got in late last night."
Katy hesitated for a split second and then shrugged. "Lost track of time."
"Where were you?"
"Out!" The young woman answered irritably. "God! Get off my case!"
Ronnie frowned at her, reaching out and grasping her daughter's wrist as she grabbed for a mug on the counter. "Where were you?"
"Just out!"
Wrenching her arm free, she pushed past and went into the living room where she hoped Ronnie would give up on the argument. Carefully throwing a cartoon of juice to Amy, Katy poked the straw into the other she had brought with her and handed it to her daughter.
"Who with?"
"No one important!"
Their argument was prevented from going any further by the sound of the back door opening and Roxy moving around in the room met their ears. The blonde shot her daughter a look, before returning to the kitchen to confront her sister. Unwilling to miss out on that particular conversation, the young woman slid off the arm of the chair and followed her mum to the back of the house.
"Amy's been asking where you were." Ronnie said coldly as Roxy took a long gulp from a bottle of water. Katy slipped past her and pulled herself up to sit on the counter and watch the show. "So I told her that you popped out early."
"That would a lie then, wouldn't it?"
"Can you make sure you pack the nice Roxy before we go to Ibiza, please?"
Roxy huffed irritably. "I dropped my scarf somewhere." She muttered turning and slamming out through the back door just as Phil entered the room.
"Off." He snapped at the brunette, waiting until she reluctantly slid off the counter top and leant against it instead.
"You know she's still sleeping with Carl, don't you?" Ronnie informed her step-brother, nodding after her sister.
"I don't care."
"It's the third night in a row that she hasn't even been home."
"Listen, if she wants to behave like a spoilt cow then it's down to her," Phil said with a shrug, "I ain't looking out for her anymore. Anyway, doing it your way... you're just gonna push her away, ain't ya?"
"So what am I supposed to do? Am I just supposed to pretend–?"
"I've, uh, invited Sharon over." Phil cut across her, evidently not interested in anything else she had to say on the subject. "Denny's been ill all weekend so I haven't had a chance to see her."
"So she's more important now, is she?" Ronnie asked with a scowl. "Sorry, I'm confused. So does that mean you and her are back together, then?"
"Gross." Katy muttered, shaking her head and curling her lip in disdain at the thought of the older blonde.
"Ronnie, it's nothing to do with you, alright? It's nothing to do with either of you, so keep your opinions to yourself, alright, 'cos I don't care what you think."
"Well, I'm surprised," Ronnie said, leaning down to put the water bottle Roxy had left on the table back in the fridge as the back door opened, "I always thought you'd end up with Shirley."
Katy couldn't help a snort of laughter escaping as Sharon walked through the back door and caught her mother's sentence. Ronnie straightened up and met the other woman's eye defiantly, while Sharon looked quickly at Phil.
"I got your text."
Ronnie shot Phil a sarcastic smile, before turning and pulling her still laughing daughter out of the kitchen. They shut the door behind them, leaving Sharon and Phil to their conversation in peace. Neither of the Mitchell women wanted to hear what they were talking about.
Leaving her mother to sort out the two children in the living room Katy went up to her bedroom to get dressed. She quickly sent Max a text as she applied her makeup, but received a message back telling her that he was away at a car auction and wouldn't be back 'til late that evening.
Downstairs, she found Ronnie going through Roxy's bag on the kitchen table. Rising an eyebrow, she leant in the doorway watching for a moment.
"Rox'll kill you, you know that, right?"
"I'm looking for keys, alright?" Her mother replied defensively, glancing up at her. "Unless you know where mine are?"
Katy shook her head. "I have no idea, unless they're in the bowl in the living room."
"I've looked there."
The blonde pulled out Roxy's keys and then paused, her hand stilling inside the bag for a moment, before she drew it out slowly. Her eyes were fixed on whatever was in her hand and Katy moved forward to get a better look at the object.
"Is that...?" Katy asked, furrowing her eyebrows at the little bag containing white powder that Ronnie was holding. She rounded the table and Ronnie moved to the sink. "Mum?"
Watching as her mother emptied the contents of the bag into the sink, Katy's head whipped round as she heard the tell-tale click of Roxy's heels and stared at her wide-eyed as her aunt entered the kitchen. The younger blonde's gaze was fixed on her sister and she scowled furiously at her.
"What the hell d'you think you're doing?" Roxy demanded. Ronnie stared at her defiantly as she turned on the tap, letting the water wash the powder away. "Ronnie? What are you doing?"
"I'm out of here." Katy muttered, sensing the tension rising dramatically and slipped past her aunt.
She hurried down the hall and grabbed her jacket from the hooks, before walking out of the front door. She could hear the shouting from the kitchen, even as the door slammed shut behind her. Briefly she considered going back in and taking Amy and Ruby with her, but then she reasoned that Ronnie and Roxy couldn't murder each other if the two little girls were inside.
On her way to the café, Katy spotted Max and Abi talking to Shirley's brother and his son and her eyes narrowed. Pulling out her mobile, she sent him a quick text.
'Funny looking car auction. If you didn't want to see me, you could have just said. I'm a big girl, I can handle it.'
'Plans changed. The auction was cancelled. Come round later.'
'Don't really fancy it. Maybe tomorrow.'
Stuffing her phone into her pocket, she sped up to catch up with Shirley and Tina who were heading back in the direction of the Vic. She grinned at them as they paused to wait for her and all three started walking slowly towards the pub.
As they reached the doors, Tina excused herself and doubled back, but Shirley and Katy went inside. The brunette took a seat at the bar, while Shirley walked around it and poured them both drinks. Linda frowned in annoyance at the move, but refrained from doing anything more than sniffing disapprovingly and wandering away.
"So, how are things in the magical world of the Mitchells?" The older woman asked, taking a gulp of her drink.
Katy shrugged. "The usual. Mum and Rox are arguing, Phil's a brainless goon, Billy's fucking useless and Lola's a self-absorbed airhead; just another normal day in Mitchell land. How is it being in the Vic?"
"Brilliant. Seeing Sharon's face is just priceless."
"Eurgh." The younger woman pulled a face. "Bitch Barbie was round ours this morning. I think her and Phil are together again. It's sick."
Shirley said nothing, but drained her glass swiftly and moved to pour herself another. She glanced at Katy, who nodded, finished her own drink and passed the glass across the bar.
A/N: Thanks to everyone who is reading this! I hope you're still enjoying it! Leave me a review, maybe? ;)
Special thanks to RHatch89 for your review on the last chapter!