CHAPTER 2
Sonnie
Rosie’s alarm had been blaring for far too long for me to stay sane. I kicked my sheet off and swung my legs over the side of the bed. My eyes weren’t open as I tried to shove my feet into my shoes and couldn’t find them. I tapped the floor blindly with my toes until I had to open my eyes and what I saw just made me angrier. My bedroom door was open and I could see one of my shoes just outside of my room. I knew I’d find the other with Monster, my sister’s cat. It thought it was a dog and it’s favorite thing to do was chew on my shoes.
Pissed off and barefoot, I stomped out of my room and down the short hallway to Rosie’s. Her door was locked, of course. She was almost sixteen and privacy was her middle name those days. I knocked on the door hard enough to hurt my knuckles and felt a small ounce of satisfaction when the cheap door rattled under my fist.
“Rosie! Get up!” I banged on the door one more time before finding Monster and my other shoe. The front end of my fuzzy house shoe was wet with the cat’s drool, but it was salvageable. I took it from him and got slapped for my efforts. “Hey! You little shit. No scratching! I feed you. I water you. I provide you with all the things you love to chew on. The least you can do is keep your claws to yourself!”
He glared up at me and then kicked his leg over his head to lick his backside. Doing it right in my face was definitely an insult so I mentally took away one of his kitty treats.
Rosie’s alarm shut off and a few seconds later, her door banged open. “You don’t have to come banging on my door!”
I turned back to glare at my little sister and put my hands on my hips. “Your alarm has been going off for so long, Rosie. How else do you suppose I wake you up?”
She growled and slammed her door shut, cutting off any chance of communication between us. I was awake after everything, despite the late shift I had worked at the bar. The fridge was pathetically empty, except for a bag of extra icing and a jar of pickles.
I scrolled through my phone while eating spoonsful of icing and drinking a flat bottle of Diet Coke which had been in the fridge for too long. I checked the social media pages for my business and gritted my teeth when I saw I had no new orders. Sweets by Sonnie was something I’d been trying desperately to do for so long that the disappointment wasn’t new or unexpected, but it was always the same. I never gave up hope.
“That was my Diet Coke, Sonnie!” Rosie glared at me from the doorway, her backpack slung over one shoulder and a fully black outfit adorning her small body.
I looked down at the bottle and frowned. It’d been in the fridge, half empty, for weeks. Looking back up at her, I pointed at it. “This one? It was half gone and flat.”
“It was still mine.” She opened the fridge and scowled. “Of course, there’s nothing. Are you going to do the shopping?”
I took a deep breath and blew it out slowly. “Yes, Rosie. I was just waiting for my check. Eat breakfast and lunch at school today. I’ll make sure there’s something here for dinner.”
“Breakfast at school sucks. It sucks here, too, though.” She slammed the fridge shut and walked away without saying anything else.
I followed after her for some dumb reason. “Rosie, I’m doing my best.”
“Yeah, well, your best sucks.”
I threw up my hands. “I guess everything sucks.”
“That’s what I’ve been trying to tell you. I’m going to school or do you have a problem with that?” She yanked open the front door and a wave of heat rolled inside. “God, I hate this town.”
I glanced out the door to see that she was glaring at a group of teenagers walking by. Judging by the amount of shiny, happy vibes coming off them, I guessed they were a part of the wealthier crowd. They looked up at us and giggled to each other, making it more than obvious they were laughing at us.
Feeling Rosie shrink beside me, I stepped farther out on the porch and looked the kids over. “Hey, y’all. I know you’re a little young for a Mean Girls reference, but you know how it ended, right? The worst of them got hit by a bus.”
They looked at each other in shock, trying to figure out if I was implying something.
I smiled sweetly. “Y’all be careful, okay? Have a good day and look both ways!”
Rosie snorted from next to me and elbowed me lightly. “You know they’re going to tell everyone you threatened to run them over with a bus, right?”
I shrugged. “Maybe I did.”
She looked up at me and a real smile crossed her face for a split second before she regained her composure and her typical scowl. “I’ll see you later.”
I nodded. “Let me know if they give you shit. Bus rentals aren’t too expensive.”
She shook her head and took off down the steps and towards school. I watched for a few more seconds, feeling the same sense of helplessness I always felt over Rosie. I was twenty-four, trying to raise a fifteen-year-old. I was in over my head in so many ways.
Stepping back inside, I shut and locked the door. I went back to my bed with my phone, ready to spend the morning scrolling mindlessly. There were so many things I needed to do. Cleaning, budgeting, shopping, more cleaning, but I just couldn’t do any of it. I felt too overwhelmed. I considered calling my best friend, Gia, but that even seemed like too much in that moment.
There was just something about arguing with Rosie that exhausted me. Between that and worrying about how other kids treated her, I was tired before I’d even gotten started with my day.
I’d wasted an hour or two looking through recipes for cupcakes when a call came in from a number I didn’t recognize. It was only the hope for a new client that made me answer. I put on my professional voice and answered with a bright hello.
“I had one of your cupcakes last night. You’re talented.”