Anything but Ordinary

(Aimee's POV)

I had tried very hard to get out of this, but it had all been for nothing. No matter how many times I had told Ape I didn't want to go to New York, she went out of her way to ensure I did. If only she understood why I had stopped talking to my parents.

"Almost in New York! Are you excited?" Someone said it as I stared out the window, but I continued to stare. Maybe if I got Bam to stop at a bar, I could convince everyone to get a couple hotel rooms and- "Ames?... Babe!"

"There's a bar we need to stop at before going to my parents." It blurted out of my mouth so I thought about a better option instead continuing up north. "Lets turn around and go to the city instead."

The Hummer got quiet quickly as I refocused on staring. Apparently I had failed. Carina shifted on the back seat behind me before speaking. "Why do you guys hate the McCluskleys anyways?"

"You are the only one blinded to their bullshit." Kay's voice was a little lower letting me know she wasn't looking forward to this either.

Knowing that the Brannigan sisters were on the verge of a fight, I started tapping my fingers on the armrest.

"They are nice people, Kay. A whole family unit... unlike ours."

"They use people and most importantly their own daughter!" It was a scream from my best friend and it caused a craving I had given up a long time ago. "They only have her come over when they need something!! So how is that better?"

They continued on and on for a few miles. A hand slowly landed on my thigh causing my attention to shift.

"Is that all true? Man- I knew there was a reason you never talked about them."

Before I could look away, I noticed the thing I craved was sitting in a cup holder.

I lit a cigarette up before anyone knew what had happened.

"But I thought they helped her go to college?" Carina's claim caused her older sister to laugh at her.

My way to respond was to take a long drag then blow the smoke into Carina's face. "I paid for college on my own... just like I did with everything else."

Pulling into the driveway, the same one we had picked Megan, Eva, and X-tina up in for our birthdays nearly a year ago, I looked at the house and sighed. This was going to suck.

I climbed out of the massive tank and walked towards the backyard. Not making it very far, my mom came around the corner before pulling each of us, Bam included, into a hug. "How was the trip?"

"Long, but not too bad."

Not as bad as the next few hours were going to be. A truck had pulled in and seeing my father get out, I prepared for him to run his mouth. Instead, he walked right by and ignored us completely. Right there I wanted to just leave.

About an hour had passed and my feelings for leaving grew. My younger brother and his friend had been drinking and after only one shot each both were wasted. Carina already had three and was only a little buzzed. My mom joked with Bam about random topics, but the way she was talking led me to believe something was going on and there was a reason she was acting nice. That and my dad was across the lawn seemingly talking to people, but threw Bam dirty looks every chance he got.

My mom had been rambling about some fake injury she got while working and I was looking for any way out of the conversation. I was tired of nodding as she spoke, so I rubbed my neck.

"Why does your neck hurt?" Looking at her from the corner of my eye, I wondered something. "It's not like you have a reason to be in pain."

Yup, they had NO idea about the whole break in. But why would they? It had nothing to do with them getting money or being the victims.

I didn't even respond because it just wasn't worth my energy. This was one of the main reasons I didn't talk to them. It was the reason I went to NYU then UAlbany. I did everything I could to avoid being around my parents for this very reason.

My brother and his friend were following Bam around the yard and pretty much trying to show off by drunkenly punching each other. Each time they punched, they asked Bam if they could be on the show. It wasn't until they did this near my father that the man said anything towards us. "Being on MTV means you can pay us back for your college loan."

I instantly saw red. It was as if I were watching myself move and hearing myself speak from somewhere else.

"Excuse me?!" I exploded causing everyone to stare. "What did you say to me?"

A lost expression filled my father's face. "Uh- we paid for your books one semester."

I heard Kay laugh, but why she was didn't bother me at that moment. Probably because this wasn't the first time my parents claimed I owed them money that I never borrowed. They did the same with my first car.

"I owe you nothing!" I spat it out shoving my drunk brother to the ground when he tried to stop me from going head to head with our father. "You never paid a dime for my education or anything related to it!"

"Which got you nowhere anyway considering you just sponge off of your boyfriend." My father looked Bam up and down as he spoke.

"Uh- she has a job that pays more than any of you make!" Carina spoke up out of nowhere. I had no idea what she was talking about, but played along while signaling to Kay it was time to leave. "She is the rhythm guitarist for CKY and a personality on the most popular TV series on MTV."

Oh, there was a lot of explaining to be done on the way home.