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drunk driving. I grab my bag and follow Zali and Cooper into the house.
    “For crying out loud, do you people need to make so much noise?” Our mother’s sitting on the couch painting her toenails as we enter through the internal access door. “My head can’t stand you all traipsing around like a herd of elephants. My pain relief hasn’t kicked in yet.”
    Zali shoots her a hateful look and mutters “stupid cow” under her breath. She stalks off to her bedroom, banging filling the house when her door slams shut seconds later. Cooper makes himself scarce, heading for the kitchen.
    “What did I say about making so much noise?” the whore of Babylon shouts after her.
    “Oh, shut the fuck up,” I snap at her. “Would it hurt you to ask how her day was? She’s had a fucking awesome day, only to come home to a mother who only cares about herself. God, you’re a selfish cow.”
    “Your father’s the most selfish parent in the world, Gabriella, to leave me with his ungrateful offspring so he can go and live his fancy new life with his whore.”
    She pauses her tirade long enough to put the finishing touch on one of her toenails and cap the bottle. Pointing the nail polish at me, she continues. “You and I need to discuss how you are going to contribute financially to this household now that you’ve finished high school and we need to discuss the upkeep of this house. I cancelled the cleaner.”
    My mother turns her back and starts to walk off towards her room. She’s dressed to go out, judging by the tight, short red dress that she has on, her face full of makeup, and her perfectly coiffed hair.
    Fucking wonderful. Zali’s in a snit, so it’s looking like I’m on babysitting duty.
    “You’ve got to be kidding me? I already contribute more than enough to this house and I’m not gonna start cleaning just so you can go and gamble the extra money.” I’m aware of Cooper standing in the kitchen doorway watching our exchange so I try to keep my language clean.
    “What did you say?” Mom spins on her heel and makes her way back to me. Her eyes are filled with loathing, her posture tall and straight with outrage.
    “ I said that I pay more than enough bills for you already and I refuse to clean up after you so you can gamble what you used to pay the cleaner.”
    After my run-in with her this morning, then dealing with my screw-up with Nate, Zali’s bombshell about leaving, Dad trying to worm his way back in, and Mrs. Scott’s veiled threat, her attack is the final straw for the day. My fists ball at my side and I stand on my tiptoes. I didn’t inherit my mother’s height like Zali did so she towers over me when she takes another step toward me, so I have to make do with what I do have.
    I refuse to cower. This has been a long time coming.
    “I do not gamble.”
    “Sure you don’t. You’re at church every night, not the casino. Silly me.” Tilting my head to the side, I narrow my eyes. “Do I look like a fucking idiot. Me and Zali know what you get up to every night. We see the betting slips.”
    Closing the last bit of distance between us, I drop my voice low so Cooper can’t hear, “And who can miss the stray men who wander in and out of here at all hours. How does it feel to barter your pussy for drinks and money? And you call me a slut.”
    Shame briefly reddens her cheeks, followed by hurt, before malice takes over and she rears back and slaps me across the face. My first instinct is to hit her back, and I’m about to, my arm lifting of its own accord, when I glimpse Cooper’s pale face from the corner of my eye. He’s about to cry.
    Mom glances at him, then lifts her hand to smooth her hair. “I’m out of here. Surely, I can rely on you to watch your brother for one night?”
    I refuse to answer her, presenting her with my back, and bending down to Cooper’s height.
    “How about we order some pizza? Put on a movie?” I rub my hands up and down his upper arms and then tickle his tummy. He