The Streets

10. Family Time

I didn't see my crew sitting at any of the tables. I could see Thayer's Dad working the bar and other people waiting tables. The patio was full and some college kids were nodding their heads to a song over the speakers that I had never heard of. I swept my eyes over the bar and patio once more to make sure I hadn't missed them but they weren't there.

"They ditch us?" Cole asked as his eyes swept the room.

I chuckled. "No, they're upstairs." He raised his eyebrows and looked at the ceiling.

"Didn't know there was an upstairs to this place." He commented.

I gave him a sly smirk. "That's because you have to have special access." I walked towards the side of the bar where it connects to the back, Cole following me. Thayer's Dad nodded to me and we walked through the back into the kitchen and stopped at the bottom of the staircase.

"What's up there?"

I gave him a somewhat attempt of a smile. "Home."

I started climbing the spiral staircase, hearing the sounds of the others as Cole was right on my heels.

I walked into our home to see everyone standing around by the sound set. Thayer and Theo were throwing punches at each other, jokingly. The Twins were trying some dance moves, since it was their turn to lead the first weeks dance. Dakota was sitting on her bunk bed, watching over everything with a smile on her face and her phone in her hand.

" You guys live here?" Cole exclaimed, making everyone notice that we had finally arrived.

"Yes we live here." Theo said with a defensive glare, making Cole's face fall.

"Why?" Cole asked curiously.

"It's be- Jacob started but was cut off by the loud text tone. I glanced in my bag to see it was my IPhone. Meaning it was my Dad.

"You okay?" Dakota asked, seeing me take out my phone.

"Just my Dad." I said as I skimmed over the text message he sent me. He wanted me 'home' with him right now. He doesn't have the best fucking timing, there was work to be done.

"Can I have keys to one of the vehicles? He wants me to meet up with him right now." They all glanced at each other because they knew my story with my family, while Cole looked curious. Thayer broke out of the moment first and tossed me his keys to his Lamborghini.

"Thanks Blades. You guys know what to do right?"

"We know what to do Taze. Go be with your dad." Dakota answered for all of them as she came up and gave me a hug.

I gave them all a wave and headed back down the staircase into the parking lot. Within minutes I was blasting out to Nicki Minaj and driving towards what my dad calls 'home.' It was about a twenty minute drive and even with loud music my mind couldn't help wander to the past.

I had a normal family. A mom and a dad, I went to school, had a bedroom that was a good size, food in the fridge, roof over my head. It sounded and looked picture perfect. Until it wasn't.

My Dad was a big time lawyer when I was younger. We used to celebrate every time he won a case, by going out to dinner or a movie. My Mom was also a lawyer but one for kids. They always brought work home and stayed up late at night but they managed to take care of me. But my Mom and I didn't know was that my Dad started playing dirty. He had been winning a lot of 'high paying' cases lately and that there was more coming. He started working even later and leaving early in the morning.

One day, he won the case defending a man who was claimed a murderer . My Dad was praised and celebrated among his team and co-workers. What they didn't know is that the man's brother, Martinez, bribed my father to make sure his brother didn't go to jail. The prosecuting team asked for a retrial. When the new trial had begun, my Dad wasn't lucky. He lost his case and his client was sent to life in jail. Martinez was furious at my father and disappeared within days. My Father tried to contact him again but with no luck.

Months went by and we all had moved on from the case. We all went back to our lives, until the end of June that year.

I was sitting in art class when I got called out of school and escorted to the courthouses. Cops were everywhere and my father was sitting on the steps, blurry eyed and chest heaving. I had ran over to him and gave him a hug, demanding what was going on. And he told me.

My Mother was walking up to the courthouses when a man had come up behind her and stabbed her thirty six times while she was still alive. The paramedics had done everything they could but her injuries were to extensive and they pronounced her dead on the scene. There was a note left with my mother, explaining why she was killed. Forensics later proved there was prints from Martinez on the paper and he was wanted in all 50 states. It was found out that he was apart of one of the most wanted gangs in America. Ironically. My Father lost his job because Martinez wrote in the note what he had paid my father to do and because of that he had become an alcoholic. I moved out when I turned 18 because it was bad and never been back since, until now.

I pulled up outside the house that my dad now lived in. The house was made of red bricks that had been weathered down by the storms that we had. The steps were crooked, chunks of them were missing and cardboard boarded up the front window.

I walked right in, not bothering to knock. The smell of alcohol and rotting food met my nose as I tried hard not to gag.

"Trish?" My Dad slurred out. Fucking hell. What was the point of calling me over here while he was drunk? It better not be to clean because I would not be having it.

"Yea Dad it's me." I walked to the living room where he was sitting in the recliner. He now had a beer gut and he looked like he was in his pj's.

"How yo do Trish? It been time." I hate that he couldn't talk properly when he drank.

"I'm okay Dad."

He wrinkled his nose at me. " No hug for your old man? I haven't seen you much since your mother died."

"Mom's been dead since I was fourteen. I'm eighteen now."

"We still family Trish."

"Some family. Talk to me when you're sober and does your house really have to be a pigsty inside? Clean the hell up or at least hire someone to do it." I spat, seeing the trip had been pointless.

"Don't have the money to hire someone to do it."

I raised my eyebrows at him. "Doesn't look like you've been starving to death." I gestured to the many takeout boxes. " You're drinking beer from the store, not some non label brand. So don't have the money my ass."

With that I stormed out the door, got in the car and sped my way back to my home.