Bill was sitting in his police car eating away. He had a bag of McDonald's in the passenger seat as he was park on side of the road. He read the numbers that flashed on the screen of the detector. The speed limit was fifty. So far the only people that went over were around fifty-five, or fifty eight. Bill was too busy eating his Big Mac to really care.

It wasn't that his job wasn't exciting, it's just when it's a holiday late at night, a lot of people are going to be caught. At the moment though, he didn't really care since his shift was almost up. And it was still too early for the partiers to be out and about with their bottles of beer. There were countless experiences where Bill would have to stop people from mooning stores. Drinking made you go crazy, that's one thing Bill learned in the first year of working as a cop.

It was New Years and Chief had promised him he could go home to his family before the clock struck twelve. It was ten o'clock so the sky was dark and some stars were visible. Half more hour and he's off the hook for the rest of the day. He took a sip from his sprite and finished the fries. When he was done, he sank back in his seat and watched the cars.

Just as he was about to get off work, he saw the speeder. Going fifteen miles over the limit, and swerving. It wasn't that bad, the driver just seemed to move from side to side too often. Bill sighed and took the car off park, turning the lights on and chasing after the driver. Part of him wanted to let this guy slide, but the swerving had him worried. The car in front of him pulled over to the side when he saw the red and blue lights from the police car.

Maybe I could get this DUI before heading home. Bill thought to himself. He grabbed his small flashlight and headed to the car. Slowly, but surely he checked the back of the car with the flashlight before flashing it to the driver. "Blake?" He asked when he saw the driver.

"Oh..." Blake cursed. "What up Bill?"

It was like getting a hard slap across the face. Bill sighed, "Blake could you step out of the car please." Blake pulled the key out of ignition and stepped out of his car leaning against the door. "Do you know you were speeding?" Bill went through protocol.

"No..." Blake buried his face in his hands like he had a headache. "I was just trying to get home before midnight."

"I hardly believe that..." Bill muttered. "Does your mother know you're out?"

He nodded, "Yeah. I went to a friends birthday party."

"Now answer truthfully, ok?" Bill crossed his arms. "Were you drinking?" Blake took a moment to think about it. When Bill figured he might lie he added, "If you say no but you truly have, I could just test you with the tube."

Blake sighed, "I had a couple beers. Yeah."

Bill didn't know how to respond. So he did what he was trained to do, "Don't you know better than to drink and drive?" It was a common phrase he'd use whenever he caught someone driving under the influence of alcohol.

"Like I said," Blake laid back against his car. "They were just a couple beers. I was trying to get home."

"Well I'm headed home now. So come on." Bill led him to the police car and ducked his head under in the back. "Sorry," He said when he placed his hand on Blake's head to push it underneath the car, "It's a habit."

The left Blake's car on the side of the road. "Why can't I ride in the front?" Blake asked.

"Because I have to much stuff in the front." Bill muttered taking a seat behind the wheel. He put his seat belt on, turning the red and blue lights off.

"Are we just going to leave my car there?"

"I'll get Cole or Shawn to come pick it up."

There was silence for a moment. "So am I going to jail?" Blake asked with a smirk on his face.

Bill thought about it for a second. Lilly would be upset if Blake was put in jail for underage and DUI. "No but you're grounded." He finally said, "When we get home you'll be giving me your license."

"What?" Blake asked in disbelief. "For how long? I need my car."

"Looks like you should get used to asking for rides from your brothers." Bill said. "Unless you do want to spend the night in a cell."

Blake groaned, "How long without my license?"

"A couple months seems sufficient."

"Months?" He ran his hands through is hair. His words were slightly slurred. It still wasn't as bad as Bill had expected. At least Blake was still conscious and understanding the conversation they were having. "You can't do that!"

"Let's change perspective shall we?" Bill asked as he started driving towards home. "Don't look at me as your stepfather but as a police officer that just caught a teenager driving under influence. Where would they be?"

"Jail..."

"Now where are you?"

"In the back of police car being told I can't have my car for a couple months!" He threw himself back and crossed his arms.

"Yeah but if a different police officer caught you, you'd spend the night in a cell." Bill took a turn onto a different street. "And then by the time your mother and I were through with you, you wouldn't have your license for months."

"So your saying that I'm just skipping a small part of this? The whole jail part, but you'd have taken my car away anyways?"

"Precisely."

Blake sighed and closes his eyes resting his head against the window. "Didn't you ever drink as a teen?"

"No." Bill answered truthfully. "I waited my twenty-one years. And recently took back to drinking, but I didn't drink anything until the day your mom and I got married."

"Why?" Blake asked tiredly.

"Because it was a boy like yourself," Bill looked in the rear view mirror and came in contact with Blake's eyes, "That thought it was cool to drink and drive afterwards. Then he crashed his car, and my wife died."

Blake looked down at his hands. "I'm sorry...I just..."

"It's fine." Bill sighed deeply. Speaking of his last wife always brought an untold sadness into him. Even with his love towards Lilly, he always had a chamber in his heart that was specially reserved for Melody. "It's one thing to be under aged, but driving afterwards is even worse Blake."

He sighed. "I know. But I can't promise you I'll stop drinking. You already covered the driving part."

Bill chuckled. "I know a lot of kids drink nowadays. It's not good, but there's nothing I can do other than enforce the law."

"Is it illegal your letting me go?" He asked.

"I don't know but it can surely get me fired." Bill sighed, "So let's forget this happened, ok?"

"Does that mean I'll still have my car?"

"No that's taken away." Bill said as he pulled up into the neighborhood. "Lilly and I will discuss it later tonight. Maybe tomorrow. We'll give it back when we feel you've earned it."

Blake sighed, "Having a cop for a dad isn't appealing to me."

Bill grinned, "I'm just doing my job."

******************************

Tori's POV

I thought it was ironic. Last week after dad explained to us that Blake got his license taken away I couldn't help but think, So he gave me a car and got his taken away. Ha! I wish I felt sorry for him but this is too funny.

At first we all laughed at Blake for his stupid mistake. Then we found out how annoying it was that we had to drive him to and from school, sometimes drop him off a 'friends' house and go pick him up a couple hours later. It became a game of torment to Blake. He started enjoying it. We could be lounging the living room and suddenly he wanted to go somewhere. He'd bother and bother and bother until we took him. Did I say it was annoying? More like super annoying.

School had started up a couple days after New Year's and no one was really happy about it. It was still cold outside and everyone would stare at the window at the fluff that was falling from the sky. Sometimes, if our teacher was in a really good mood, they'd let us go in the courtyard and play in the snow. It was rare getting the snow though, one day it was super cold and freezing, the next all the snow would melt because the temperature shot back up.

Soccer practice had started up again. When it was too cold to go practice outside, we'd move into the gym and do warm-ups. I was glad I had a car now, my sore muscles wouldn't be able to pedal back home in the cold. Some days, the Trips and I would ride together to conserve energy and money. Shawn would parade in the parking lot yelling, "Go Green!"

When Mark had seen my car, he was so happy for me. He gave me a hug and told me to drive him around town, which I gladly did. We stopped by a fast food to play our game of Catch the Fry. It was basic, we just threw french fries at each other trying to catch it in our mouths. After that I dropped him off at his house and we played video games until my dad called.

At home, everything was peaceful. Blake and I would have our occasional fights. We'd fight like real siblings. Whining to our parents on how it was my turn to watch TV, or it was his seat on the couch. We'd bicker about stupid things like when I was helping Shawn with his math and Blake said I was doing it wrong. Shawn started to fake cry like a baby because Blake and I started a fighting match, poor kid. Later we found that I was right, of course I was. I was Tori, the smart one, and he was Blake, the one with the blown up ego.

Cole was teaching me how to play the guitar. Cori was getting a lot of work these days while we watched YouTube videos to figure out where to place my fingers and how to move them around while I strummed the chords. We went to a local music shop to buy a few guitar books to teach me the symbols I'd see on sheets. It was harder than I thought, I just wanted to walk down the street singing while playing on Cori but no. I had to learn everything first.

Shawn...well...I don't even know.

It had a been a relaxing weekend. The forecast said it was going to thunderstorm later tonight, yet it already started to snow. It was a light fluff but I knew that in a matter of hours it was going to start snowing down harder. We'd never been in a snow storm. If there was thunder, it was always accompanied by rain, never snow. Like I had said, one day it may be below freezing, then another day it could just be chilly. The weather here was bipolar, always changing and never set on. If I lived more up north or south I could simply say it was cold or hot. Not here. Here we had to check the weather everyday to see what it had in store for us. When Suzie had heard about thunder, we decided to go down to the basement to watch a few movies.

Cole left a couple hours ago to go to his job. We were all proud of him when he said he got a job. Mom and dad said it was good for him, teaches him responsibility. Other than that, Shawn went on a rant about how Cole should, ‘Work it. Work it.’ When he models down an aisle one day. We all laughed when Shawn pretended to model for us. He managed to get a pitcher filled with water and sat on the sink pouring the water onto his body. Mom didn’t even bother scowling at him, like Cole had said, you just go with it when it comes to Shawn.

Speaking of the crazed devil, he had gone out around the same time Cole did. He said he and Emily had a date in the library. Then he had asked where the library was because he'd never gone to it. Poor kid was whipped. His mind was slowly increasing, which I deemed as a bad thing, but his vocabulary was increasing also. He'd be in his room and suddenly I'd hear him scream and start shouting. When I'd enter his room, I'd see him jumping on his bed while reading a book and screaming things like, "You idiot! You love her dammit! Just grow a pair and kiss her!"

While Suzie and I were in the basement, we resolved in having a Disney marathon and grabbed all of our favorite movies. It was hard to choose though, Disney had so many movies and they were all so good. I had heard the doorbell ring but then Blake shouted, "I got it!" So I let the matter go. He probably ordered some pizza since mom and dad left to go on a 'date.'

"Tori I'm hungry," Suzie said about an hour later.

"I think Blake ordered some pizza." I paused the movie. "Go upstairs and see if it's on the counter. I'll wait here." I pulled Cori onto my lap and started plucking the strings while tuning the guitar. Suzie nodded and bounced herself up the stairs while humming to a song.

I got so distracted playing on the guitar. A lot of time had to pass by without Suzie coming down or shouting my name. It caused a crease to appear on my forehead so I stood up and went after her. Sure enough, there wasn't any pizza on the counter. The pantry door was open so I figured Suzie went in there to see if there was snack but the lights were turned off.

I heard a loud thump! upstairs and small patter of feet going up the staircase. "Suzie!" I called running after her.

"I'm going to ask Blake if he got the pizza." I heard her say. My eyes moved to the window that showed the front of the house, there was a blue car parked out in the front. I ran upstairs and saw Suzie calmly walking down the hallways. I heard a grunt come from Blake's room.

Oh my god no!

"What was that?" Suzie asked me. She was at the end of the hallway. I stood at the top of the staircase frozen in place. I don't know why, but a feeling of terror set in. Like I turned into a deer that was staring straight at the headlights of a car. My little sister was so oblivious.

Suzie shrugged it off and stood in front of Blake's door. "Hey Blake did you get any piz-" She opened the door and her eyes went wide a scream looked like it was about to surface from her lips. In a flash I got out of the haze and stood behind her with my hands cupped over her mouth and eyes.

I made sure to squeeze my eyes shut as I turned around with Suzie in front of me and pulled the door close. While I walked downstairs Suzie struggled against the hand that was over her mouth. She licked the palm of my hand, I pushed my natural instinct to let go and kept my hand clamped on her mouth as I took her back to the basement. "If I let go," I said when we were back in the movie room. "Promise not to scream."

She nodded her head and mumbled something against my hands. I sighed and let my hand fall. At first Suzie just stood there. While she was standing there I wiped my hand on my jeans and thought for moment. Of course Blake would have a girl over. Our parents were gone, his brothers were gone, and he knew Suzie and I would be downstairs. "What was that?" Suzie finally asked. When I didn't answer she yelled at me, "Why was Blake doing that Tori? He was under his covers doing...something weird." She frowned then looked up at me and added, "With a girl!"

Well at least she didn't see a lot. That could've scarred her.

"Uh..." When did I have the talk? Fifth grade? Yeah when Mrs. Bennett and dad sat Mark and I down and told us. That day was weird. I remember Mark started pointing his finger and laughing at me. He kept shouting things like, 'Your gonna have blood coming out of you!' So I'd cross my arms and say, 'At least I won't have something poking out of my jeans. You can stab an eye with that thing.' Mrs. Bennett high-fived me for that one.

So I was about ten years old when I learned. Suzie was nine but going on ten. She didn't act immature, maybe she's old enough for me to explain. I just hope what she saw didn't scar her. What am I talking about? It wouldv'e scarred me. Maybe I could invent a lie. Say they were just...doing a science project. Yeah....

That wouldn't even work on Shawn. I groaned inwardly.

"Tori," Suzie said sternly. "Don't lie. I know you want to lie. Please tell me the truth."

I sighed. "Oh boy..." I took a seat on the couch and patted a spot next to me. "What I'm about to tell you Suzie is top secret hush hush." I repeated the words that were used with me the first time. "You can't tell anyone. And the only person you can talk to about it is me, until your in high school. By then everything will change."

Suzie stared at me oddly but got comfortable on the couch. "Ok..."

I sighed again, "This is called...The Talk."

******************************

Cole's POV

"Here," Dalton said handing me a lanyard with a card at the end. It had my name on it and other numbers that made no sense to me. "Jodee will show you around and teach you everything blah blah blah." He rolled his eyes, "I hate these speeches...just don't mess up."

My eyebrows knitted together as I smirked at my manager. How he got the position I had no idea. He was an awful manager to his co-workers. Yet he always plastered that nice smile when he worked with customers. It made we wonder if half the times I went to stores if they were like Dalton or if they really meant their smiles. The only good thing about having a manager that doesn't really care is you get a lot more freedom. It's not always a good thing, but at least I won't have Dalton breathing down my neck.

Today felt right. When I woke up, I was energized and ready to. Usually people don't like their first day at work, I was excited. Maybe it was because it was the first job I got on my own. Sure I've had plenty of jobs, but mom was always the one that talked to the manager or discussed the details. I would be sitting at home and suddenly she'd say I had a job to pass out samples or something really dumb like that. I'd earn pocket money, nothing really special. I was usually too busy to really get a job.

I had made sure to put on the clothing Tori had gotten me on Christmas. The beanie went well with my white tee. My black leather jacket matched the high tops Tori gave me, and I had a set of dark jeans. When I had arrived to work Dalton had told me I had to wear some of the clothing in the store. So I looked around until I found a plaid button down that I liked. It was a combination of different blue and pink, with a little bit of white. The sleeves came up to my elbow, so I took my jacket off replacing it with my newly bought button down. I didn't bothering buttoning it, seeing to I had my tee underneath.

Dalton showed me the small lockers we had in the back of the store where we could place my belongings. It wasn't much, then again it was mostly used for the girls if they had their purses with them. I just bundled my jacket up and placed it in locker ten. The lanyard Dalton handed me was around my neck and I walked out the back and to the lounge room.

Jodee was searching through the fridge probably scavenging for food. "Why are you looking in there?" I asked plopping down on the sofa.

"Because," Jodee rummaged through the drinks. "I have my head in here knowing that in three seconds food will magically appear out the thin air." She gasped loudly like it was obvious. She then turned to face me. Her anger was clearly written across her face and if that didn't show it, then the way she slammed the refrigerator door did. "There's nothing to eat."

I smirked and picked up one of the few magazines on the coffee table. My mind absently skimmed the pictures. "I thought you said it'd magically appear?"

"And I thought you didn't like the Little Mermaid," Jodee crossed her arms over her chest and shot me a glare. "But by the way you were singing Under the Sea the other night I guess we're both wrong."

I tossed the magazine aside and looked at her with an accusing finger. "You swore to never tell anyone."