Betrayed By Everyone, Loved by Four.

Chapter 8: Self Care

Millie's P.O.V.

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The next day I got to sleep in. Having a family that has money was something that I was very thankful for. I only had to work during the summers.

During the school year, Dad gave Caleb and I an allowance. He said that we should focus on our studies, but he also wanted us to learn the value of money. So, not only does Dad not budge on giving us more money, he also makes us work for the money.

With chores.

Saturdays are meant for chores. If we have plans with friends, we can do our chores before we go, but they are all to be done before the following Monday rolls around.

So, I rolled out of bed, and trudged down the stairs. Mom and Dad are sitting at the table talking over coffee. Their conversation went hushed when I walked into the kitchen.

"Morning." I grumbled as I poured a cup of coffee.

"Good morning sweetheart," Mom said.

I took my coffee to the table, and sat down. Taking my first sip, I sighed, and a smile fell on my lips. When I looked up at my parents, they were both looking at me amused.

"What?" I asked.

"It's 8 a.m. why are you even awake?" Dad asked teasingly.

"I'm an early bird." I defended myself.

Mom chuckled, and patted my arm.

"You should have stayed out like your brother did. He didn't get home until midnight." Mom told me.

"Great for him." I said, and took another sip of my coffee. "So, what's on the list of chores today?"

Since my mother is a stay at home mom, she usually does the cleaning throughout the week. Every weekend she assigns us jobs to do. Most of them involve doing our own laundry, cleaning our rooms, possibly other chores like cleaning the pool, dusting, things like that.

"Oh, no chores today." Mom said as she avoided my eyes.

"No chores?" I asked, narrowing my eyes at them.

"Nope." Dad said as he stared into his coffee cup like it was the most interesting thing in the room.

"Okay." I said, setting my cup on the table. "What is going on? Did someone die? Is it Nana?" I asked as panic hit.

"No, no, no," Mom said as she rested her hand on my arm. "Nothing like that dear. We just... have somewhere to go tonight."

I raised a brow at her.

"Somewhere to go... tonight... that makes it so we can't do chores..." I shook my head. "Am I not getting an allowance? Cause that is totally okay, I can still do chores."

"No honey." Dad said with a chuckle. "We just know that you won't like it so we are giving you a break. And if we give you a break, we have to give Caleb one too."

Fair.

"Okay, so where are we going that I'm not going to like?" I asked.

"We are having dinner at one of my old college friend's place tonight. He has a daughter and a son. It's going to be casual," he said.

My eyes went wide before I groaned, and rested my head on the table.

I hate meeting new people. I've never been a people person, which was why Vanessa was my only friend. I think I might have social anxiety or something. Usually, when our parents went out anywhere with people I didn't know, I was able to stay home.

My parents are very understanding people, and they never push my boundaries.

"Why do I have to go again?" I asked after I lifted my head from the table.

"These are old friends of mine. Important people to me honey. I want them to meet my only daughter, my pride and joy, the light to my life." Dad went on.

"Okay Dad," I said with a bored tone.

Dad beamed at me.

"You're going to love them dear, and they are going to love you." Mom assured me. "Their kids are your age, twins, maybe you can make friends. They'll be starting school with you on Monday."

Great. More people to either tease, or avoid me.

I sighed in defeat. Looks like I have to do this whether I like it or not. I will be taking full advantage of no chores today though, and

doing some self-care.

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After a long day of doing my nails, toes, face masks, exfoliating, and a long bath, I was nearly ready to go.

In fact, I am feeling so relaxed that most of my anxiety is gone. I'm staring at my reflection in my bathroom mirror. Yes, I have my own bathroom off of my bedroom.

I'm wearing a cute little sundress. It's yellow with white daisies all over it. It has buttons down the front of it and it's a thin fabric. I love it though. It looks really cute with my dirty blonde hair that is hanging around me in curls.

The top part of my hair is up in a half pony that has curls hanging on top of the longer curls. I pulled up white see-through thigh highs, and then a white pair of flats.

I went back to my bathroom, and applied mascara and clear lip gloss. Then I gave myself another look over. I look great!

There was a knock on my door just then.

"Come in." I called out.

Caleb opened my door.

"Mom and Dad wanted me to ask if you're-" He stopped once he took in my outfit, and then frowned. "You are not wearing that."

I frowned back.

"Why not?" I asked.

"Because," he stated.

"Wow." I breathed out.

I grabbed my brown leather purse off of my bed, and slung it over my shoulder. Then I pushed past my little brother, and walked down the stairs. Caleb was following behind me complaining about my dress being too short, and how I needed to put on a pair of pants.

"Mom." I said once we reached my parents who were waiting for us at the door.

"Don't ask her!" Caleb yelled. "She's going to agree with you."

I put my hand on my hip, and our parents exchanged a look.

"Mom, tell your son that I look just fine." I said a bit demanding.

"Dad, tell your daughter that she needs to put on a pair of pants," Caleb said with the same tone.

Caleb and I are glaring daggers at each other. Neither of us is willing to back down. I look just fine. My dress is so long that you can't even tell my thigh highs are thigh highs, they look like tights. Caleb is acting like my ass is showing. I know he's just being a protective brother, but come on.

"Firstly, do the two of you want to try that again. I did not appreciate your tone," Mom said.

Caleb and I both gulped, and turned guilty expressions to our mother.

"Sorry Momma." I said quietly.

"Sorry Dad." Caleb said, just as sheepish.

"We accept your apology." Mom said with a satisfied smile. "Now, what is the problem exactly? I think your sister looks fine, Caleb."

Caleb rolled his eyes.

"Her dress is too short." He complained.

"Then don't look at me." I offered, sounding like a brat.

Caleb opened his mouth to make some remark, but Dad cut in.

"Alright, that's enough, you two. Caleb, your sister looks fine. Let's go." He said, and then opened the door for us.

I gave my little brother a cocky grin that said 'ha ha I won', and flipped my hair as I walked out. Caleb grumbled a few things that I chose to ignore. We all piled into the car and began our drive.

"So, did you have fun last night?" I asked my brother.

"It was alright I guess," he said.

I frowned at his words.

"What happened?" I asked.

"Nothing." He answered.

"Liar." I accused.

Caleb rolled his eyes, and blew out a breath. I chose to let it go for now. I'm sure it was difficult for Caleb to be friends with the people who tormented me for a whole year. I felt a bit bad.

If I wasn't such a baby last year, then my little brother wouldn't be feeling this way. He's part of the reason why I decided to be different this year. Caleb shouldn't be worried about protecting me, he should be going to parties and having girlfriends.

Although, I'm not so sure if that's Caleb's scene. I think that he would like to party like a normal teenager, but I don't think he likes the crowd. Even without my involvement. And I don't blame him.

The popular crowd are all mean and fake, even to each other. It would be different if he could genuinely be friends with some of them, but I think that is exactly the problem.

The rest of the drive was decently quiet. Just the sound of the radio as it played 80s rock hits. I rolled my eyes.

Dad and his old-style rock. I must admit, I really like Guns and Roses. Not that I would ever admit that to my brother. Dad knows though.

One time, when I was 13, Dad got us tickets to one of their shows. I couldn't believe they were even touring honestly. Dad and I told Mom and Caleb that we were having a daddy-daughter date, just a movie and dinner. It was a lie. Dad took me to the concert and we had a blast.

Of course, we got caught when we came home close to 1 a.m. with new T-shirts and such. Mom tried to be mad at us, but it only lasted half an hour.

I was lost in the memories when we pulled into a fancy gated community. Dad stopped at a very small office-looking thing. There was a man waiting there in a security guard uniform. His skin was dark, and he had a stoic look on his face as he stared at my dad.

Dad smiled brightly at him.

"Good evening." Dad greeted the security guard.

"What business do you have here?" The man asked.

Oh, straight to the point with him.

"We are here to see Adam Whitlock. I'm an old friend of his." Dad told him.

"One moment please." The security guard said before returning to the small building a foot away.

Mom and Dad shared a look, which caused Caleb and I to share a look. Caleb shrugged at me and I rolled my eyes at him. This place must take their safety seriously. That must be nice. Maybe we should move here too.

"Maybe we should move to a gated community like this." Mom said, voicing my thoughts.

I snorted at the horrified look that Dad gave her.

"My dear, I make a lot of money, but not this kind of money." He told her with a laugh.

Mom gave him a shrug, and Caleb and I struggled to hold in our laughter. Then the security guard came out of the small building, and walked back to the car. He still had the same stoic expression.

"Mr. Whitlock is expecting you. You may go." He said, and then the gates opened up.

Caleb and I shared another look as Dad drove along. All the houses here are huge, like really huge. There are some kids outside playing basketball as the sun sets. Some women and men are outside as well tending to their yards. They all waved at us as we drove through.

"Friendly neighborhood." Caleb mumbled.

"I'll say." I agreed.

Dad drove all the way to the back of the community, and pulled into the driveway of the very last house. No one was outside, but lights were on in all the houses. Dad put the car in park, and we all looked up at the house.

It's modern style, and half brick. This is probably the biggest house I have ever seen, and the biggest one here. It's gorgeous though, I must admit that.

"Alright, let's go in." Dad said, and I could hear the excitement in his voice.

Dad jumped out of the car, and came over to open the door for Mom. I looked at my little brother who was still staring at the house. When he looked at me, he narrowed his eyes.

"Don't think I'll be opening doors for you," he said.

I scoffed and threw my door open.

"Who needs you to, anyway," I said, and then stepped out.

I looked all around me, taking in all the houses. This place is beautiful, even with all the houses that look similar. My eyes caught sight of movement in the house next door. One of the curtains waved as if it had just been shut. I stared at it for a moment.

"Come on, Millie," Mom called.

"Coming."