He just laughs and takes a cookie on his way out.
Khloe and I stuff ourselves with pizza and cookies and watch The Little Mermaid until her stomach settles so I can get her in the tub and ready for bed. By the end of the movie, she is asleep beside me on the couch.
Kirk comes in and offers to carry her upstairs for me. He returns shortly after finding me in the kitchen. I offer him the rest of the pizza from earlier and he gladly takes it with him to his room I assume. I remember what Kai said about staying in his room if Kirk was home so I go up to his room to wait for his mom to come home.
I send Kai a text to tell him I am following his rules.
Me: your brother came home. I am in your room just so you know.
Kai: Are you on my bed?
Me: I am.
Kai: I wish I were there with you.
Me: I do too <3
Kai: <3
Chapter 15
Mrs. Cooper—Kelli arrives home and offers to drive me home. She calls upstairs to Kirk and lets him know to listen for Khloe. I follow her to the garage and get in the passenger seat of her Escalade.
Before we leave, she tells me that she needs to talk to me. I thought she wanted to ask about the beach but she wants to talk about Kai.
“Katie, I know that you and Kai are spending a lot of time together and that your feelings for each other are growing. I don’t mind the two of you dating but please be careful with my son.”
“I am on birth control,” I inform her like an idiot. My cheeks turn crimson and I want to run away and hide.
“Well, I am glad to hear that. But I meant to be careful with his heart. Kai has been through a lot for a young man his age and I won’t see him hurt again is all. I am sure you know there is a history with him and Raven.”
“I know they dated but not much else.”
“Well, Kai can inform you when the time is right.” I nod although on the inside I am becoming more frustrated by the second. What in the hell happened between Kai and Raven that no one will talk about?
We pull in at my house and she stops me before I get out. “I wanted to talk to you about coming to the beach with us for spring break, I am sure Kai has already told you about it. If you want to go¸ I’d like to come in and talk to your mom about it.”
Oh God! I want to go but I figured she would just call my mom not want a face-to-face. “Sure,” I answer timidly and pray that my mom and David are decent.
I unlock the door with my key and it is even worse than I could have imagined. David is sitting on the couch in his underwear drinking beer and smoking a joint. My mom comes from the kitchen and I can tell she is drunk. This is not going to end well. She is wearing one of her short wigs and her real hair is peeking out from under it. Her makeup is smeared and she is wearing a thin white robe and I can see her dark nipples plain as day.
“You need to put that out!” I snap at David and my mother smacks me hard stinging my cheek.
Can I just die now? I want to turn around and tell Kelli to forget it but she has already come in behind me.
She erases the distasteful look from her face and smiles mildly. “Hello, I am Kelli Cooper, your daughter has been babysitting my youngest child and well I have a conference coming up the week of spring break and I will be travelling out of town and I would like to bring Katie with me. All inclusive of course and I will pay her for her time.” She holds her hand out to my mother trying to be polite.
“I know who you are,” my mother says rudely, ignoring her hand, picking her cigarettes up from the table and lighting one. She takes a few puffs and says, “Katie isn’t your charity case. She has obligations here she needs to tend to.” She looks to David and he grins.
“I tried doing this the civil way, but it seems that tact doesn’t suit you. I know who you are Nancy and I know what you do. Your activities don’t go unnoticed. I have looked into you and into Katie. Your daughter is smart, she deserves a chance at a bright future, and she isn’t going to get it in this environment. Your lifestyle isn’t suitable for a child.”
“Who do you think you are coming in here and trying to dictate how I raise my daughter? Katie isn’t going anywhere. She survived this long under my care.” My mother tries to take a step forward and trips over the arm of the recliner.
“The only reason I have survived is because I have always taken care of myself!” I scream at her.
“My husband used to be a judge in this town and he owns the Cooper Energy, I always get my way. Katie will be going on this trip with me and she will finish out her school year living in my home. I will not leave her here to be subjected to abuse. Katie go get your things, you are going back home with me,” Kelli says.
This might be my only chance to get out of here. I dash to my room and grab my clothes, my makeup and my phone charger. I can hear Kelli telling my mother she wants my social security card and my birth certificate. Kai’s mom doesn’t play around.