Vanilla And Cocoa

Chapter 17 "Morning Of The Year"

I woke up feeling like I was in sauna.

It was hot.

Without opening my eyes, I frowned and shifted my back away from the heat but it was still hot. I groaned and tried to move farther but I was restricted by a limb that was not mine.

"Stop moving. You're making it hotter." A familiar voice grumbled.

I huffed and cracked an eye open. "How am I making it hot, you jerk? You're like a furnace."

He opened his eyes, making my heartbeat stutter. "Then move."

"I was but you were stopping me with your arm." I said casually. There was no way I was going to make a fool of myself here.

He moved his arm and smirked. "There you go."

I pursed my lips and turned away from him...right off of the couch. I coughed out a groan as I landed on the ground. I heard Justin cackling from his perch on the couch and I threw a couch pillow at him, causing him to get a face full of fabric.

"Destiny!" I was tackled to the floor by a small body and landed on the ground once again.

Merissa's big brown eyes gazed up at me and I smiled. "Good morning to you, too."

"You stayed!" She shouted. "That means we can have breakfast together!"

"Yeah." Speaking of staying, I needed to let my mom know I stayed overnight and let our friends know that I was also okay.

It really wasn't my intention to stay overnight. It really wasn't. We got to watching the movie, we got tired before I could even voice that I was leaving, and we fell asleep together. I was just so comfy and it's really not safe to drive while you're sleepy. My mom would understand.

"I see all of you are awake, already." I snapped out of my thoughts to see Ms. Delarosa standing in the doorway.

Justin seemed awkward at the idea of seeing his mom so casually but Merissa seemed to forgive her enough and smiled brightly. "Good morning!"

"Uh, I would have cooked but I'm just not that mom. Sorry. I can't cook." She apologized nervously.

Justin shrugged. "It's alright. I wasn't-"

I interrupted him and stood up. "That doesn't mean we still can't cook breakfast."

They all tilted their head at me and I nearly laughed at the resemblance. "I can cook. Just go wash your hands."

"Everybody?" Merissa asked.

"Everybody." I confirmed, ruffling her hair.

Merissa jumped up, tugging Justin and her mom by the hand excitedly. I sighed and walked to the fancy kitchen. I ran my hand along the black marble countertop and my lips twitched into a smile. So many things happened last night that I still can't wrap my head around.

I looked through the fridge and the cabinets, finding everything I needed. I heard footsteps behind me and turned to see the family in the doorway. I waved them in with an exasperated look and Merissa was practically bouncing on her toes.

"Okay, so, all of us are going to cook breakfast. Not just me. Justin, cut the fruit up and try not to injure yourself. Merissa, help me make the pancake batter. Ms. Delarosa-"

"Call me Marie."

"Marie, can you crack the eggs? Make sure there is no shell in the bowl with the eggs." I added, helpfully.

I got nods from each of them and washed my hands before I got started.

Merissa followed my instructions to the T and we made the batter in no time. However, I had to stop Justin from accidentally cutting his finger off and taught him to correctly cut the fruit without a trip to the hospital. Marie just needed help with cracking eggs without dropping pieces of shell in the bowl.

Justin and Merissa poured the fruit into the batter and stirred it up, stealing pieces here and there. I taught Marie how to correctly cook scrambled eggs and then stood back to watch them with a close eye.

Without waiting for me to get up, Justin poured some of the batter into the other pan and started on the pancakes. He looked at me over my shoulder and smiled. "I'm not completely impaired. I know how to make pancakes."

I smirked. "I'll decide that when I see that they aren't burnt."

He rolled his eyes playfully and I hummed in truimph. Making sure Marie was fine with the eggs, I exited the room and pulled out my phone to call my mom.

After the second ring, she picked up.

"Where are you?"

I winced at her tone. "Sorry, I fell asleep at a friends' house. I'll be home in awhile."

She hummed suspiciously. "Are you at that boy house?"

I huffed. "What does that have to do with anything?"

"Yes or no?"

I sighed. "Yes, ma."

"Did y'all use protection?"

I gasped and looked around before answering. "Oh my God, we didn't- Ma, we didn't have sex. I just fell asleep over his house. Could you chill?"

"I'll 'chill' when I'm in the grave. Get your ass back home when you're done over there." She said, sternly.

"Yes, ma'am."

I ended the call and my eyes slid closed with a sigh. Does she seriously have to ask every other time?

"Breakfast is finished."

I jumped out of my skin and spun around to face Marie. "O-oh, I'll be right there."

She stared for a moment before shaking her head. "Is it possible that I could take to you for a minute?"

"Sure."

"Let's take a walk outside." She nodded her head towards the front door and started walking as I followed after her, hesitantly.

We exited the house and I inhaled the morning air as we stood side by side. "I believe I owe you an apology."

I glanced at her from the corner of my eye but said nothing.

She gazed up at the sky and let out a breath. "I'm sorry."

I hummed and walked down the steps slowly. "Apology not accepted."

Her head jerked towards me in disbelief. "What?"

"I could care less about what you did or said to me. I don't need the apology, they do. You owe them everything. Years of apologies and making up to do. You're off to a great start but just waking them up for school and eating breakfast with them ain't going to cut it," I explained, keeping eye contact. She kept quiet and I narrowed my eyes. "Don't give them false hope, Marie. Especially, if you're not going to pull through."

"I know." She whispered.

And I hoped she did. Because playing at being Mom-Of-The-Year would make things worse.

The front door creaked open and Justin poked his head outside, eyebrows furrowed. "Uh, breakfast is getting cold. Are you coming back inside?"

Marie nodded and went inside first while I made my way back up the stairs. Justin grabbed my wrist and tilted his head at me in concern. "Is everything okay?"

I stared down at his hand and my lips twitched into a smile. My other hand covered his and I lifted my head to meet his eyes. "Everything's fine."