AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Fridaynightfinallyshowsits glorious face and I'm ecstatic to get out of the house. I've organised to meet some friends at the college bar, and if I can get my way, I won't have to go home tonight.
Mom and Gareth are staying in tonight. They returned home the morning after Asher's party, and despite the house still being a mess, they laughed it off asboys will be boysand helped call in the cleaners.But I know if I pulled stunts like that, I'd be on my own to do clean up. Asher gets away with everything, and even my mom lets him. I have no idea why they favor him so much. Maybe it's because he was your typical sports god and academic legend, but no one seems to care that there are so many other traits out there that make a person good. But he ticks alltheirspecific boxes while I'm the let down that they can't control. And they hate it.
I quickly throw together an outfit – a short red dress that criss-crosses over my tits and leaves the top of my rib cage visible, and a pair of black heels – and head down the stairs. I've quickly thrown my hair up in a messy banana clip and put on some light makeup. It's not my best look, but I plan on getting messy anyway.
My feet have barely hit the bottom of the staircase when my mom yells out to me.
"Rylee, can you come here please?"
I pause, looking at the front door and honestly, considering making a run for it. But deciding against it, I head towards the sound and go into the dining room.
Mom is sitting at the table, next to Gareth as paperwork is sprawled out in front of them. I stop in the doorway, leaning against the beam as I wait for her to look up.
Her eyes find mine before quickly taking in my outfit. "There you are. Going out tonight?"
"Yes," I say simply.
I can see the disapproval on her face but she says nothing. By now, she has come to realize that I'll do what I want, even if they ask me not to. So, she has just given up.
"Right. Well, tomorrow night we are going to be having a family dinner. Make sure you are home, please."
My nose wrinkles in distain. "A family dinner?"
Gareth watches us, his grey eyes flicking between myself and mom as if he is watching a tennis match. He looks strikingly like an older version of Asher, and it's easy to see why mom fell for him. I have to admit, despite not getting along with anyone, he is a nice guy who treats her well. Before him, she briefly dated a few guys who had seen her as a vixen who could be easily manipulated. It wasn't her finest hour, but we handled the loss of dad as best as we could. Well, some of us handled it better than others.
"Yes, Rylee. All of our schedules have been so cluttered that none of us have had time to catch up as a family. So we're going to order in tomorrow night and have a family night."
I look at her with a partially hurt gaze. "But you haven't asked me what my schedule was like. I'm just expected to drop everything tomorrow?"
Mom sighs, and Gareth reaches out and puts his hand on top of hers before looking at me. "We just figured you might be free, Ry. We know you go out a lot but since it's more socializing, we thought it might be okay with you to have a night in."
I don't want to be mean to her, I really don't. I can see they are trying to be rational about it, but the truth is, they didn't bother asking. They are right – I don't have much planned, but it's the disrespect of it. Like, any plans I could have had, would be so insignificant that it didn't warrant asking the question.
I bite down the acidic taste in my mouth, my eyes locked on mom's pleading ones. "I'll let you know. But if I can't make it, I'm sure you will all be fine andfamily-likewithout me."
A pained expression crosses mom's face, her eyes falling down to the table to avoid looking at me. "Don't say things like that, Rylee. You are as much a part of this family, as everyone else."
My gaze shoots to Gareth, taking in his familiar features. Behind me, I hear footsteps approaching and I can already tell by the sound who they belong to.
"Doesn't seem like it," I quip back, turning and just avoiding Asher as he steps in behind me.
"What's going on?" he asks casually, quickly catching on to the tension in the room.
The asshole actually has the nerve to pretend to care, his face pulling into a curious expression. But from this close proximity, I can see the edges of his lips trying to fight the urge to pull up.
Gareth collects the paperwork, rearranging it back into a neat pile from the table while mom looks on nervously at the impending conflict.
"We were just telling Rylee about tomorrow night," Gareth announces.
I roll my eyes, looking anywhere but Asher as I feel his gaze on me, daring me to look. I can't stop myself from flinching when his hand touches my shoulder in a pretentious gesture.
"Come on, sis. It will be so much fun. We can even wear matching pyjamas."
My nose wrinkles in disgust and I spin around, glaring at him. "I'm out of here. And for the record, I sleep naked."
I storm off towards the front door, not bothering to turn back to look at any of them. But as I pull the door open, I can almost swear that I hear Asher mutter "I know" behind me.
"A family dinner?" Connor says, howling with laughter. "Please tell me they are joking."
