Nikki hurried out of her room, a night’s clothes tucked into her backpack (a different one than the one she accidentally left at the Anderson’s house the night before). Her mom was in the office working on the computer, and she went to knock on the door before leaving. Technically Nikki was eighteen and could go wherever she wanted, but her parents were still pretty strict since she was living with them for the moment and they still payed all of her bills. Or at least that’s how they put it. Nikki’s hair was perfectly placed over the hickey, so as not to alert her mother of anything out of the ordinary. “I’m heading over to Amanda’s again tonight, but I’ll be back tomorrow,” she explained, hoping her mother wouldn’t ask too many questions. “Right, Henry’s back from school now right? Tell him I say hi,” Evelyn nodded without looking up from the computer screen. It was a good thing she didn’t look up because Nikki’s face turned bright red at the mention of Henry. “Yep, I will!” Nikki exclaimed leaving the room in a rush. “I also filled up your gas tank this morning when I got groceries, so you’re welcome!” Evelyn hollered behind Nikki. It was a small gesture, Nikki’s parents filling up her car with gas ever since the accident, but Nikki was still grateful. Her mom wasn’t very big on saying ‘I love you’ with words, but she knew that statement was pretty close to it. “Thanks Mom, love you!” She called, as she exited the house.
She hopped in her car, plugged in her phone for music, and began to drive to the McDonald’s that was in between her house and the Anderson’s. She placed a drive-thru order for a lot of chicken nuggets, three orders of fries, and a variety of dipping sauces so that they all had options. Before pulling out of the drive-thru, she shot a quick text to Amanda letting her know that she was on her way. Soon enough, she was pulling up to the Anderson house, and felt an unexpected wave of butterflies in her stomach. This is going to be fun, she thought to herself as she got out of the car. The food in one hand, she knocked on the front door with the other, unsure of which sibling she was hoping would answer it.
