A/N: Okay, this is the shortest chapter yet. Like I said, I think they'll all be really short. But this has like the most exciting event in the whole story. Please review!
Caitlin's Party
"Come on guys, let's go!" Nikki yelled through the house as she slipped her high-heels on, "We're gonna be late!" Jonesy and Cassie came bounding down the stairs dressed up for Caitlin's formal birthday party. Nikki had a deep purple spaghetti strap dress on with black closed-toed heels. Cassie had a velvety black dress on, with black canvas wedges. In addition, the nine year old had four or five layers of thick black eyeliner and mascara on, and dark maroon lip gloss. Sometimes Jonesy had to wonder if his daughter was attempting to go goth. Jonesy had a plain black suit on-quite unusual for him. Not until then did he notice one huge difference Nikki had done for today- she re-dyed her hair purple. It was only amazing though, because she dyed it back to it's natural color- black- eleven years ago. It was strange, but comforting, to see her with the light purple hair and dark purple streaks. "Ok, let's go. Cassie, I have cheese-nips in the car! Let's go, we don't want to be late for Aunt Caitlin's party!" Nikki said, coaxing Cassie away from the kitchen.
They arrived at the Opening Daisy restaurant in twenty minutes. Being five minutes late, they hurried into the building. They headed to the table where the gang was sitting and took the waiting seats for them. Everyone was here- Wyatt, Jessica, and their daughter Bianca. Jen, Jude, and their kid Jenna, Caitlin and her boyfriend Nick. They all switched seats around so the kids could sit by each other and work on the Find Freddie mazes on the back of the kid's menu. They all ordered their food, and started talking. Cassie wasn't especially happy when the adults started talking about her behavior like she wasn't even there, but she ignored it. Oh, but was Cassie happy when the adults started talking about Jenna's behavior. For some reason, the little girl loved the unhappy face on her cousin's face. That is, until Jenna made a smirk and noted, "At least I'm not going goth." That set Cassie off as she pushed the girl next to her out of her seat and into Bianca, who wasn't all that happy about it either. Spaghetti sauce was over all three girls as they scratched and punched at each other. Nikki, Jessica, and Jen all tried to pull the children off of each other without getting too messy. Boy, that didn't work out. When the fight was broken up, all the girls in the group were covered in spaghetti sauce and broccoli. It wasn't a nice thing to see.
After the little "event" that happened, the party was pretty much over. Jonesy drove his girls home without anyone saying a word. Nikki was in too bad a mood to take any chances, especially on a Friday night. When they got home, both girls hopped into the shower, and Jonesy went to wipe the seats of the car off. When they all finished, Cassie was sent straight to bed, because Jonesy and Nikki knew arguing wouldn't help anything. After about an hour watching T.V., Nikki had drifted into sleep lying on Jonesy's chest.
The next morning, Nikki was doing laundry. As she reached to check the pockets in her pants, she pulled out a small card. It said Chandra Middlehelm, Pediactric Counseling. Nikki was reminded of the concerned teacher, Ms. Thompson, who had given her the card. Nikki knew that Cassie was almost over the edge, and she was desperate. She left the laundry room and dialed the number on the card.