I woke up on Sunday morning to the message alert of my cell phone going off repetitively. The shrill noise of the beeping brought my body out of its peaceful slumber. I waited for a few minutes under my covers before answering; the message alerts stopped. Although the message alerts stopped, they were replaced by my annoying ringtone. I accepted the fact that the person on the phone didn't plan on giving up anytime soon.

I reached over to the nightstand to glance at the caller id on my phone screen. Valerie's name popped up on the screen next to the time which read '8:00 am'. Nope, it was too early to answer my phone. I turned my phone to silent mode and tried to go back to sleep.

I forgot how hard it was for me to go back to sleep once I woke up. I tossed and turned in my bed for some odd minutes before accepting defeat. I groaned loudly cursing Valerie for waking me up so early this morning. To make myself less irritable I decided to grab a cup of coffee downstairs.

As I walked into the kitchen I noticed I wasn't alone. Aunt Tabby stood over the kitchen sink washing dishes. She appeared to be tapping her foot to an invisible beat as she scrubbed a plate with dish soap. in lieu of last nights explosion it astounded me that Aunt Tabby looked so normal. I decided it was in my best interests to not poke the bear.

I walked over to the coffee pot looking like someone from night of the living dead. In the cupboard above the coffee pot I noticed a tall coffee cup mug. I grabbed the mug knowing that I could use it for what I had in mind.

I needed a cinnamon flavored coffee k-cup, a hot chocolate k-cup, and soy creamer to perfect my special cappuccino. I pressed the coffee maker settings so that six ounces of cinnamon flavored coffee flowed into the mug. I proceeded to add another four ounces of hot chocolate into the concoction. Last, but not least, I poured some soy creamer into my mug. After everything was complete I breathed in the wonderful aroma of my cinnamon hot chocolate cappuccino.

I couldn't drink the coffee alone but didn't know what to eat with it. I checked the pantry and settled on eating a chocolate muffin. Everything made it over to the kitchen table without any trouble. I had only one last step which was to eat the delicious drink..

"Do you think you added enough in there for flavoring", Aunt Tabby interrupted. I felt my cheeks flush a scarlet red under her keen observation. I took a sip of the hot liquid ignoring her sarcasm.

"Its amazing. I have no regrets", I told Aunt Tabby. I sipped on the sweetly flavored mixture with pleasure. It was just the kick in the ass that I needed to start my day.

"I think I might have one myself", Aunt Tabby said happily. Aunt Tabby stepped away from the kitchen sink to grab a coffee mug. I watched in horror as she played around with the coffee maker unsuccessfully. If I wanted to make coffee with the coffee maker ever again I had to intervene now.

"Let me help", I said as I stepped in front of the coffee maker. The coffee maker was my baby that I needed to do everything in my power to protect. Aunt Tabby had the touch of death when it came to food, appliances, technology, etc. Anything that she could break she would break. "I don't want to be the bearer of bad news Aunt Tabby. But everything you make turns out tasting kind of bad", I said.

"Oh really now", Aunt Tabby said. "Have you always felt so dispassionately about my food service skills?", she asked playfully. It was nice to see a new side to Aunt Tabby. Usually she had a stick up her ass in the mornings. I wondered if the situation was different now that Samuel was out of the picture.

"If I'm being honest here", I started to speak. "You might need to take cooking lessons and classes on how to use technology properly", I said timidly. I still felt uncomfortable telling Aunt Tabby my thoughts. She chuckled loudly as she stood next to me. Perhaps my Aunt Tabby truly wanted to develop a better bond with me. Even if it didn't last I embraced this fun loving side of her.

"Alright. I admit defeat but you have to help me make dinner from now on as punishment", Aunt Tabby said. She handed over the coffee cup to me in defeat. I took the coffee mug with a victorious look in my eyes.

"You have a deal", I said to her with a winning smile. I held out my hand to seal the deal with a handshake. "Aunt Tabby take a seat while I make you some amazing coffee", I told her confidently.

"Well, alright then. Let's used if you were just all talk and no action", Aunt Tabby responded. Aunt Tabby sat down at the kitchen table excitedly. I noticed her watch in awe at few minutes it took to blend her cappuccino.

"I hope you like it", I said as I handed her the mug. Her face said it all as she took that first sip. It made me feel confident in myself. Now that I made Aunt Tabby her drink I planned to finish my muffin. We both sat at the table building a rapport with each other.

"I should get dressed", I said when I finished my breakfast. I needed to get into some fresh clothes because they were stained with chocolate chip.

"Alright maybe when you're finished we can watch TV together", Aunt Tabby said. I nodded my head then ran up the stairs to get dressed. I misjudged Aunt Tabby all this time. We both were too trapped in grief to truly get the chance to know each other in those early years. Aunt Tabby was not the hardhearted person I had spent my whole life knowing. Aunt Tabby had been blinded by Samuel but now I could see kindness and love in her gaze. I planned on telling her about it sometime but not until it felt permanent.

I still had no clean laundry because this weekend was busy. I looked into the expanse of my closet hoping to find something comfortable to wear. Unfortunately, the last of my clothes did not cover my skin at all. The clothes were revealing but 'beggars can't be choosers' as the saying goes. I put on the black tank top and the blue Capri pants.

I heard the familiar buzzing of my phone on the nightstand. I looked over at the screen with interest. I had 10 missed calls, 15 text messages and 1 voicemail all from the same number. I felt like a bad for for not responding to any of Valerie's attempts to contact me. All I needed to do was tell Valerie that we couldn't be friends anymore. I also needed to find a way to thank Nixon for coming to my rescue. I opened the phone to dial Valerie's number but I was interrupted by a loud banging noise.

The loud banging noise I heard was someone knocking on the bedroom door. The knocking of the door stopped me from pressing the call button. I guessed Valerie would have to wait for me to call her back later.

"Rowen, your friends are here", Aunt Tabby said. 'Did she just say friends, what friends', I thought to myself. I didn't answer right away because I already knew who might be lurking on the other side. I didn't have the courage to face the people on the other side.

"Rowen, I know you're in there open up", my Aunt Tabby said. I swung the door open to face Valerie who stood behind my Aunt Tabby with her hands on both hips. "I'll be downstairs if you need me", Aunt Tabby said.

I invited her into my room somberly. We were alone in the room with Valerie not saying a single word to me. I waited for Valerie to start screaming at me for being a horrible friend. Instead she pulled me into her arms hugging me tightly. "I'm so sorry", she whispered into my ear. I wondered the reason she felt apologetic because I was the one being a crappy friend.

AN:// I hope you enjoy the update. I think I reached 20,000 words. I've set my goals to completing 70,000 words by The end of July. Hope you enjoyed the chapter. Tell me what you think in the comment section//