Casey walked out to the front of the enormous house and sat down in a patch of green grass. She lit up and quietly smoked her five minutes of freedom. That is, until it was interrupted.

"You may feel the need to dump your shitty attitude on me but don't for one second think that you can do that to my parents or siblings. You are our guest here. Remember that."

"Nick, go jump yourself. I'm enjoying myself here, don't ruin it."

Nick leaned down, grabbed her cigarette and snubbed it into the concrete driveway. When he turned around again Casey was up in his face.

"You have a problem Carter and if you don't watch yourself then you're going to have an even bigger problem on your hands, ME! So stay the hell away from me."

"Why don't you go do something productive Casey? Go take a shower. You look like shit. Go drown in the ocean. Hell, go out and screw some stranger for all I care, just stay out of my face and don't bug my family." Nick walked back into the house and slammed the door behind him. Casey just rolled her eyes and fell back down to the patch of grass.

"Well if I look shitty it's because I'm in shitty surroundings with shitty people," she mumbled to herself. After a few minutes of lounging she snuck back into the house and up to her green house of a room. Deciding that there was nothing else to do for the rest of the evening she grabbed some extra clothes and headed into the bathroom for a shower.

The hot water felt good against her sweaty, oily skin. She let the hard torrent of water beat down on her tired shoulders, flooding away all her frustrations and irritations. When she was done, she stepped out, wrapped a towel around her soaked body and looked at herself in the mirror. She never wore any make up, never had a reason to. As she studied her face she noticed how old and tired she looked. "It's this situation that's getting to me, that's all," she told herself.

There was a knock on the bathroom door. Casey slightly opened the door and peeked out. It was Jane.

"Casey, sweetie, can Bob and I have a word with you downstairs please?" she asked.

Casey frowned. "I just got out of the shower."

"I know dear. We'll give you a few minutes. It's important."

"All right. I'll be down after I change."

Jane smiled at her. "Thank you."

"Uh huh." Casey shut the door and cursed under her breath. 'Great, a family talk. Whoopee!' She put on clean underwear, a pair of cotton shorts and a white wife beater. She combed out her long, dark hair and let it rest against her back. She opened the door, turned out the bathroom light and headed downstairs. Bob and Jane were sitting side-by-side on a couch and Nick was sitting on a love seat. This left another couch to Casey. She quietly walked in and sat down. She looked up and saw Nick staring at her with a look of… shock on his face! She rolled her eyes at him and looked at Jane and Bob.

"Thank you for joining us Casey. Bob and I just wanted to have a family talk with you, that's all."

"Then what's Wonder Boy doing here?" she asked in her usual smart ass tone of voice. Jane gave Nick a side glance and sighed. "We know how hard this transition is for you Casey," she began.

"Sure you do," Casey mumbled, cutting her off.

"Would you just shut up and listen for once in your life?" Nick asked her, obviously irritated with her. Just as Casey was about to tell him off Jane cut in.

"And we know that this can't be easy for you so we're going to try our best to make it as easy for you as possible. Right Bob?"

He nodded his head. "Right. We discussed it and we're going to treat you the same way we treat the other kids. You're part of our family now Casey, and we want you to feel at home."

"Why would I want another family? My old one couldn't handle me so why should I expect any different from you guys?" she spat out.

"Because we love you Casey. For eleven years you were a part of this family."

"That was a long time ago Mrs. Carter. Things have changed. People change. Friendships change."

"But family doesn't change Case. And you are a part of our family now whether you like it or not. You're eighteen now and as a maturing adult we expect to see some mature behavior from you."

"Jane and I will get into the house rules with you later on in the week. But for now we want to tell you what we have prepared for you here. You have your own room and are free to go and come during the day as you wish as long as you are back in the house by eleven. No drugs, smoking or drinking are allowed on the property at all. No exceptions. And no talking back to us either. We would never allow our children to speak to us the way you speak to your mom and so we will not tolerate it here. We have a car here you can use. It's nothing flashy, just a Honda Civic. It'll get you around. And we expect you to get a job. Maybe working will give you some responsibility. Any questions?"

Casey looked at Bob and shook her head.

"Good. And Case, we love you. Please don't forget that," concluded Bob.

"Can I go to my room now?"

They both sighed and nodded their heads. Casey got up from the couch and headed upstairs. She locked herself in her room and spent the next two hours strumming along on her guitar when along came a knock at her door. She didn't hear it though because she was too busy getting into her music. When she looked up she found Nick leaning against her door frame, watching her intently.

"Don't you know how to knock?" she asked rudely.

"I did knock."

"What do you want Wonder Boy?"

Nick rolled his eyes and stepped in closer to her. "I was going to offer you a tour of the area tomorrow so you could get used to living here. But stupid me, I must have briefly forgotten what a heinous bitch you are!"

"Wow, I really miss our friendship Nick" she spat sarcastically.

"Oh, and by the way. You almost look like a girl. Almost."

"Get the fuck out of my room Nick!" she screamed. Nick left. She shut her door, turned out the lights and angrily got into her flower bed.