Page 1 of Britain

Chapter One

Britain

I stare at the ceiling and smile as the pitter patter of little feet, which will soon come racing down the basement stairs to me, pound across the first floor. I moved in with my oldest brother, Keith, and his wife, Beth, two years ago after they bought their house and I found out it had a mini apartment down here. It beats the hell out of living with Mom and Dad.

Don’t get me wrong—I love them, but fuck me, they’re always in my business. They mean well, but I love that Beth and Keith give me my privacy…most of the time.

The familiar squeak of the basement door opening has me throwing my blanket over my head and fake snoring while I wait.

“Shhh. Auntie Bwit is sweeping,” my four-year-old niece, Annie, whispers.

My six-year-old niece, Bridgette, giggles. “She snores like Daddy.”

After throwing back my covers, I grab both girls, pull them onto the bed, and start tickling them; they squeal and giggle. “The tickle monster is going to get you!” I roar. I stop tickling them and grab them, hugging them close to me as we lie in bed. Grabbing the remote off the side table, I turn on my TV and put it on Netflix so the girls and I can watch their favorite movie of the week, Angry Birds.

This is our weekend tradition and pretty much has been since I moved in. I don’t mind and I’m always home, except when I’m at work. I love spending this quality time with my nieces and it always gives my brother and his wife a little quiet time in the morning…nope, not going there.

Both girls settle in beside me and we watch our movie.

By the time the credits are rolling, my sister-in-law comes down and stops next to my bed. “Hey,” I whisper, because Annie is asleep. That girl can fall asleep so quickly it’s scary, but they had tests done and she’s perfectly healthy. She’s just a fan of sleeping. Her caramel curls tickle my chin as she snuggles in closer to me.

“Have they been down here long?” The petite redhead smiles softly at me.

“We watched all of Angry Birds,” I tell her.

“Momma, Annie fell asleep super fast.” Bridgette announces it like we all don’t know how our little Annie is.

“Bridgette, why don’t we let your aunt get some sleep, because I’m sure you woke her up. We’ll make chocolate chip waffles.”

The two of them head upstairs. I told Beth to leave Annie with me and I’d wake her up when breakfast was ready.

While my niece sleeps, I slide out of my bed and jump in the shower. Once I’m done doing all of my business, I throw on cutoff sweatpants, my bra, and tank top. I quickly dry my golden blonde curls and then throw them up into a ponytail. After brushing my teeth, I go into my bedroom and gently wake up Annie.

“Wake up, baby girl. Your momma and sissy are making chocolate chip waffles.” It’s comical how quickly her eyes pop open, and she gives me the biggest smile.

“Waffles!” she cheers, and just like that she’s up and out of bed. I turn around so my back is to her and she climbs on so I can carry her up the stairs. The scent of melted chocolate and syrup hits me and immediately my mouth begins to water.

I squat down so Annie can slide off my back and she runs toward my brother, who just joined us. When he introduces me to people as his sister, they always look at us like we’re crazy. See, my dad was married before and had Keith and Marcus with their mom, Sheila, who’s black. Both guys have brown curly hair—even though they both keep it shaved close to their scalps—and brown eyes, and their skin is the color of caramel.

Our dad was married to my mom, a white, blonde-haired, blue-eyed woman, about a year after my dad got divorced from Sheila. They divorced when I was six and she was serving time in jail.

Stuff happened—stuff that has left long-lasting scars on my soul, and my mom is no longer in my life or my dad’s, but as luck would have it Sheila stepped in to help with me. She and my dad fell back in love, got remarried, and she even adopted me.

I look just like my birth mom, but Sheila’s the only mom I care about, the only one I claim— a mom who loves me and protects me, something my birth mother failed to do. I’m twenty-four and haven’t seen my biological mother since I was seven—when she showed up with the papers my dad had filed to have her parental rights taken away. My dad made sure she knew that she wasn’t allowed to be in my life ever again. To be honest I’m fine with that; I don’t miss her.

Keith walks by me, kissing the top of my head, and I wrap my arms around his waist, giving him a squeeze before letting him go so he can greet his other girls. I watch from the counter as he wraps his arms around Beth’s waist from behind. He pulls her hair away from her neck and places a soft kiss there. I shouldn’t watch because that’s my brother, but I love how sweet he is with his girls.

Once the waffles are done, chaos ensues as we all fill our plates and gather around the table. Bridgette stops showing me her tap routine and hops up into her chair. Annie is spinning in circles singing “You’re Welcome” from Moana and finally sits down as they both begin to shove their waffles into their adorable little mouths. I shove a wad of them into my mouth, moaning around my bite. “These are so good,” I say with my mouth full of food. So unladylike, but I don’t care.

Beth gives me that mom look and I embarrassingly shrug my shoulders. “Sowwy,” is what it sounds like because I’m still chewing my food.

“Britain Michelle. You’re as bad as your brothers.” Oh shit, she’s busting out middle names.

Keith’s no help—he just looks between us and laughs. I crumple up my paper towel and throw it at his head. “Sorry, Beth,” I say with a smile.

We finish breakfast without too much more chaos. I kick Beth out of the kitchen and begin cleaning up. I’m turning on the dishwasher when my brother comes in. I take the hint when he sets his empty coffee cup on the counter next to me; I fill it. “Did you get those rims ordered?”

When I was eighteen, my dad and brothers bought me a ’71 Chevy Chevelle SS. Together we’ve rebuilt it and turned it into the finest piece of machinery I’ve ever seen. This past year I had it painted a sick royal blue with a muted black stripe that runs down the middle of the hood.

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