Chapter Three

“Goliath wake up!" I jumped up out of my sleep, hastily searching around the room to find the idiot that had a death wish. Daniel should have known. I rolled my eyes as I laid back on my pillow.

"Breakfast is ready," he cheekily added then made his way towards the door.

I rolled around, stretching my limbs as I mentally prepared myself to get up. I did not realize I had fallen asleep. I sat up, yawning out a groan as I thought about the killer headache that would accompany me throughout the day because of how he went about waking me up.

I finally made my way off the bed and quickly straightened it up before making my way to the bathroom to get myself cleaned up; I am sure everyone would appreciate not being scared this early in the morning.

"Good morning," I greeted everyone at the table as I took a seat.

"You look well-rested," I heard the smile in Mom's voice as she turned from the stove to sit a plate of steaming food and a cup of tea in front of me.

"I feel that way too," I replied as I took a quick sip, glaring at Daniel over the rim of the cup. His child-ness intent was evident in his smirk.

"How are you two getting along?" Steve questioned, hope filling his eyes as he glanced between the two of us.

"Great-,"

"Not good, -" Daniel and I responded at the same time, shooting each other a look as we realized what had just happened.

"Don't be such a brat," he taunted as he munched on his food.

"Yeah, well don't talk with your mouth full," I retorted as I rolled my eyes.

"Well, I'll take it that you two need a bit more time," Steve mumbled as he took a sip of his coffee.

"Your son is very immature, and I can't with him," I replied, looking in the direction where Steve was sitting.

"And your daughter is very stuck up and I can't with her. She's too prissy," Daniel said, mocking my tone and body language.

My mother chuckled under her breath as she rejoined us at the table. "You two need some time together. Steve and I will be out taking care of some business, so at least try to work out whatever differences you both have."

"I'll be busy. I do not have the time for that all of that," Daniel spoke up as he placed his fork down on his clean plate. I, on the other hand, had lost my appetite.

"Well, I'm telling you now to take Cece out and show her around. Go and introduce her to some of your friends," Steve said firmly.

"I tried that yesterday, but she did not want to meet them," Daniel stated as he made his way to putting his dishes in the sink.

Mom and Steve's heads shot in my direction, waiting to hear what I had to say for myself. I thought the "No Snitching" rule would go both ways but obviously, I thought wrong.

"I just wasn't in the mood, I was too tired," I defended.

It was the truth. After everyone was through, I helped mom with the dishes then went back up to my room. The two suitcases in question were magically resting at the end of my bed. Maybe Steve carried them up. I started unpacking my clothes, transferring them over to the closet, and began organizing them per color and occasion. By the time I finished, it looked like a department store. I would complete the job later by filling in the gaps with some shopping. I got around to unpacking my heels, sandals, and sneakers and, again, began arranging them by style and color. All of the black heels to one side, all of the red heels to one side, and so on. I loved when everything was done orderly; it gave me peace of mind.

My room was equipped with a vanity station, a mirror hung on the wall adorned with lights, a small desk with a simple chair in front of it. I had not even noticed that it was a makeup area. I opened the smallest suitcase and began to unpack my cosmetics. I am not one of those girls who live, breathe, and eat makeup but I still enjoy messing around with them to enhance my beauty.

"My two best friends are here, and they want to meet you. Dad and your mother just left by the way," Daniel barged into my room without even knocking. I looked at the clock noticing it was after 10.

"Please knock and why are they here so early?"

"I don't remember asking any questions, skyscraper, now let's go," he snapped rudely, cutting me off in the process.

"Okay, I'm coming! Just let me shower first," I sighed. 

He walked off leaving me to face myself in the vanity mirror; I was looking rough. I picked out a pair of shorts along with a light pink t-shirt. I took a quick shower and began getting dressed. I ran my comb through my hair several times before catching it into a messy bun. I closed my room door behind me, heading to Daniel so I could get this over with.

"I present to you Goliath," Daniel joked. I just rolled my eyes at his stupidity.

Standing at the end of the staircase I was frozen under their stares. I hated that, I hated this, not knowing what to do in the sight of people. The slightest things made me feel uncomfortable.

A voice later broke the brief silence, "Come on now, she isn't that tall! Well, she is tall, but you keep dragging her for no reason." 

I looked into the brown eyes of the owner. I could not remember his name, but my heart skipped a beat as I remembered our encounter from yesterday. A comforting smile and a warm gaze adorned his face, making me flush.

"Ok. Anyway, these my best friends Joshua and Chris. They both are taken so stay away," Daniel annoyingly introduced, pointing between the two guys. Christopher was his name, I silently remembered.

"Guys this is Cece, the girl that lives with me now," he pointed back in my direction. "Now that that's out of the way, you can go now."

Daniel's directed words bounced right off my feelings. At this point, I just did not care what he had to say or how he said it. Chris looked at him shaking his head in what appeared to be a disappointment. I gave a faint smile then turned to go up the stairs when I heard one of them spoke up. I was guessing it was Joshua since I knew ought too well the tone of Christopher's voice.

"You don't have to be that way with her. Cece, why don't you come and kick it with us," Joshua questioned making me stop in my tracks. To turn around or to make it back to my room? Hmmm.

"Listen, I don't want to be a bother and it's clear that I'm not wanted, so it'll be best if I just go back to my room," I said facing them.

"You going to let this pussy let you feel that way? Ignore Danny," Christopher chuckled laughing as he playfully nudged Daniel.

"The girls will be here soon, c'mon," he added giving me that smile again.

"Okay," I finally gave in. Daniel flashed me a warning look as I took my time coming down the stairs, but why should I care? His friends insisted.