Blame it on the Kids 🏠

Part 8 of Home. It doesn't have anything to do with the prompt. Enjoy!

Daniel yawns, and sits up.

TJ is gone, so he assumes he went to eat breakfast. 

Daniel checks his phone, and sighs when he sees a message from his dad.

Dad:I’m coming to find you.

Daniel sighs again, and tucks the phone in his pocket. It’s too early for that.

He walks downstairs, where he sees Catherine, Angel, and TJ sitting at the table eating bagels and toast.

“Finally.” Angel says, looking up at Daniel. 

He makes a face at her, and sits next to TJ.

“Hey, Daniel. Did you sleep well?” Catherine asks.

He nods, and gets a piece of toast. “Yeah.”

TJ points at Daniel’s food. “Are you going to eat that?”

“Here.” He says, rolling his eyes, ignoring TJ’s plate with bread still on it. He grabs a bagel instead, and takes a bite.

“What are you doing today?” He asks Catherine.

She smiles. “I’m going on a date with Riley.”

“Ooh, where?” Angel asks, propping her chin on her hands.

They start talking about the date, but Daniel isn’t listening. His phone buzzes, and there’s another text from his dad.

Dad: You won’t be able to hide from me.

He swallows, and puts his phone down on the table.

“What are you all doing?” Catherine asks.

“I’ve got work today.” TJ says. 

“Where do you work?” Angel asks him.

“The Golden Biscuit. My parents own the place.”

Her eyes light up. “I love that place! I haven’t been there in years, though.”

At the end of breakfast, Daniel walks with TJ to his car.

“Did you get any more texts from your dad?” He asks.

Daniel hands him the phone, and he sighs. “He’s just trying to scare you.”

“But why? He kicked me out, why would he want me to come back?”

“I think he’s being selfish. Nobody would want to go to talk to him if they find out he kicked his son out.”

Daniel frowns. “But he could just say I ran away.”

“That still looks bad on him.” TJ points out.

Daniel sighs. “Yeah. You’d better go. I don’t want to make you late.”

“Alright. You’ll be okay?” He asks.

Daniel nods, and gives him a smile. “Yeah.” 

“Alright, I’ll call you later.” TJ says, leaning down to plant a kiss on his lips. 

“Love you.” Daniel says. 

“Love you, more.” TJ grins, before getting into the car, and driving away. 

Daniel walks back inside. Catherine is searching for things in the living room, and Angel is sitting on the couch, directing her towards the things. 

“Will you guys be okay on your own for a while?” Catherine asks, hand on the door knob. “Zuri said she’ll be here in half an hour.”

They both nod, and she smiles at them before going out the door.

“Zuri’s coming?” Daniel asks. 

Angel nods. “She’ll probably bring her kids, too.”

Cousins. Daniel thought. I’ve got cousins.

“She says half an hour, but she’s always late, so it’ll probably be over an hour or so. Want to go watch a movie?”

Daniel and Angel both look up when the doorbell rings. Angel grins.

“C’mon, Daniel, they’re here!” She calls, hopping over the couch. 

Daniel follows her to the door, where she unlocks it, and opens it, grinning.

Zuri is shorter than Catherine. Her black hair is in lots of long braids, and she has hazel eyes and light brown skin. She’s wearing a casual red dress, black leggings, and black boots. She’s carrying a big bag. She has sunglasses on top of her head, and she grins back at Angel.

“There’s my favorite niece.” She says, holding an arm out.

Angel hugs her. “You’re my second favorite aunt.”

“Excuse me, has Diamond brought you chocolate chip cookies every time she comes by?” She asks, pulling out a container from the bag.

Angel grins again, and takes it. “Never mind. You’re my favorite.”

“You must be Daniel.” Zuri says, turning, and studying his face. “Wow, you do look just like Catherine. And-wait a minute.”

She turns back to the big car in the driveway, and calls, “You guys have one minute to get inside, then I’m locking you outside!”

The car door opens. “Mom, Timothy kicked me!”

“I did not!” 

“Did too!”

“Did not-ow! Mom, Trey kicked me!”

“Mom, Trey and Timothy are in my space!”

“Are not!” 

“You are!”

“I am- OW! Mom, Chai punched me!”

“Yeah! Get out of my space!”

“I’m not in your space!

“Yes you are!” 

“No I’m- OW!”

Zuri pinches the bridge of her nose, and mutters something under her breath. “I’ll be back in a second.”

She walks over to the car, and says something that stops the arguing. Daniel turns to Angel who is eating one of the cookies already. 

“Are they always like this?” He asks her.

She shakes her head, and laughs. “They’re way worse.”

Two boys hop out of the car. They’re identical, both having frizzy black hair and light brown skin. One of them has a bruise forming on one arm. They start arguing by the car.

A little girl follows them out. She’s wearing bright yellow pants, red pants, and yellow boots. Her frizzy black hair is pulled back into a puff. She smiles when she sees Angel, and runs towards her. 

“Hey, Chai.” She says, holding out her arms for a hug. “Did you punch Trey?” 

She nods. “His foot was in my space.”

Angel sighs, and shakes her head. “You guys are going to hurt him.”

“Who’s that?” She asks, frowning at me. “He looks like Aunt Cathy.”

“This is Daniel, your cousin.” Angel tells her.

Chai looks at Daniel for five seconds, before pushing past them to go inside. 

“How old is she?” Daniel asks.

Angel smiles. “Nine. Don’t mind her, she hates everyone.”

“Angel, Timothy owes me money!” The boy with the bruise says, running towards them. 

The other races after him. “I do not!”

They argue with each other as they walk to the door, but stop when they see Daniel. “Who’s he?”

“Daniel, he’s your cousin.”

Timothy walks inside, but Trey smiles at him. “Hi. I’m Trey.”

“Hey,” Daniel says, smiling at him. “Nice to meet you.”

Trey runs after Timothy, and Daniel turns to Angel.

“He’s sweet.” He says.

Angel nods, biting a piece of a cookie. “He is. They pick on him, though.”

Another boy walks towards them. He looks about their age, and has short black hair and dark brown skin, and glasses.

“Hey, Kaden.” Angel says. 

He smiles at her. “Hey, Angel. How’s Tay?”

“She’s fine. When are you going to ask her out?” 

He lifts a shoulder. “Probably never.”

He turns to Daniel, studying his face. “Who are you?”

“I’m Daniel. Catherine’s son.” 

He nods. “So my cousin. Nice to meet you. I-”

He gets cut off by a loud crash inside the house. He sighs.

“I should probably make sure they don’t completely destroy the house. I’ll talk to you later.”

He jogs into the house, and Daniel turns to Angel. 

“Who’s Tay?”

“My best friend. He’s completely in love with her. What do you think of them?”

“They’re…”

“A lot? Yeah. Mom says they get it from Zuri.”

“Your mother,” Zuri says, walking up to them. “Tends to exaggerate things. I was nowhere near as chaotic when I was their age.”

“Where are Mariana and Preston?” Angel asks.

Zuri pulls out her phone, and glances at the screen. “With Damien.”

"Who are they?" Daniel asks Angel.

"Damien's her husband, and Mariana and Preston are their other kids."

Zuri looks up, and smiles at Daniel. “Come on, let’s go inside. We've got seventeen years of catching up to do.”