two

"So what's the sister like?" Liv asked

"Sam? Oh Sam is so cool." Chad said with a smile.

"Okay you only say that because she let you wear Pokemon onesies to bed for a year." Mindy said before shooting the pool ball.

"True, that's a true statement." Chad said, and everyone laughed.

"No, trust me. Sam is not cool. Her dad left her mom right. Walks right out when Tara's eight, Sam's thirteen. Sam started acting out, getting into trouble with the cops. And then on Sam's 18th birthday she leaves. Ghosts them all." Amber piped up.

"God Amber why do you always have to be such a bitch." Phoebe snapped.

"Look all I'm saying is, maybe Sam has changed, I just don't want to see Tara get hurt again." Amber said.

"So what you're protecting Tara from her own sister now?" Wes asked.

"Wes." Phoebe said softly, shaking her head.

"Well someone has to." Amber said.

"Okay, so no guys are good enough for her, and now her family's off limits too." Wes said.

"Stop." Phoebe warned.

"Mmm. Motive." Mindy said.

"If I can't have her, no one can." Mindy said.

"What?" Wes asked.

"We all know you have a crush on Tara." Mindy said.

"Okay come on Mindy." Wes said.

"But we're all suspects." She said and everyone looked around at each other.

"Except maybe Liv." She added.

"Awe thank you." Liv said.

"You're way too boring to be a psycho." Mindy added.

"Yo Liv. You want a real drink? Or are you happy sitting at the kids table?" The guy from earlier asked.

"Alright hey, listen up uglier Michael Myers. It was a summer fling. Alright it meant nothing." Chad said, walking up to him.

"Was I talking to you?" The guy asked.

"I don't fucking care who you're talking to." Chad.

"Liv let's go." The guy said.

"Don't talk to her. I don't want to hear your voice." Chad yelled and the two started throwing insults.

"Shut the fuck up." The guy said as he flipped open a pocket knife.

"Hey!" The bartender shouted.

"Get out of here or I'm calling the cops." She added.

"Go." Chad shouted.

"I'll see you soon sweetheart." The guy said with a kiss.

"Hey man, fuck you." Chad yelled.

"You kids too, let's go." The Bartender shouted.

"Did you see this shit?" Chad said.

"Yeah, you just got us kicked out dude."Phoebe said, shooting the last bit of the drink that was in her cup.

"You want a ride home Liv?" Chad asked.

"No, I think I'll get one somewhere else." She said angrily.

"Liv come on!" Chad shouted.

"Yikes." Phoebe muttered.

"Shut up." Chad said.

"I'll take a ride home." She told him.

"Why not just get one with your brother?" He asked.

"I don't really feel like listening to him rant on the way home. I'll let my mom take that one." She said.

"Well let's go." He said as they both went to the car and got in to head home.

"I'm sorry you and Liv got into an argument." She said.

"Ah, it's all good. She's a really great girl, seriously. I just don't know if we're on the same wavelength right now." He said.

"And what wavelength are you on? Asshole?" She said, looking at him.

"Haha, you're very funny." He said sarcastically.

"Well since we're on the topic. Why did you get shady when Mindy brought up your new beau today?" He asked her.

"That is complicated." She said.

"Try me." He said, but she didn't say anything.

"I've known Will since like the seventh grade, he's a pretty cool dude." He said.

"I don't want your advice Chad." She said, looking out the window.

"Okay fine." He said and they continued to sit in silence.

"Maybe just talk to him about what you want." He chirped in.

"Chad." Phoebe warned, and the rest of the drive was silent other than the music. Once they reached her house he pulled into the driveway.

"Thank you." Phoebe said before opening the door and getting out.

"Phebes, be careful okay." He said.

"I will, you too Chad." She said before closing the car door and making her way to the front door. Once inside, she locked her door and threw her bag on the couch before letting her body fall back on it.

"Rough day I take it?" Her mom asked, looking up from her book.

"I just don't know what I'm doing anymore mom." She said.

"What do you mean honey?" She asked.

"It's just with everything going on, I feel like I've been wasting my life on pointless stuff. I don't want to die and regret not doing more. I want to be happy with my life." She said, leaning up and looking at her mom.

"Are you not?" She asked.

"No that's not it. I just, I just want to make sure that I'm doing everything I want to do with life. You know what mom, I'm just rambling. How was your day?" She asked.

"It was alright, but sweetie I want to make sure you're happy." She said as she got up and came over to sit next to Phoebe.

"Is something worrying you?" She asked.

"I don't want to die mom." She said.

"You're not going to die honey." Her mom said, placing her hand on her daughter's cheek.

"You don't know that." She said.

"I'm not going to let anything happen to you or your brother. I promise you. I will do everything I possibly can to keep you two safe. Alright?" Her mom said, leaning in and placing a kiss on her forehead. She then wrapped her up in a hug and the two just sat there for a moment in each other's embrace.

Later that evening Wes came home and Phoebe was still on the couch.

"Hey, how was Tara?" She asked.

"Why are you still down here it's like midnight." He asked.

"I was waiting for you to get home." She said.

"Okay." He said, and he sat down on the end of the couch and faced her.

"Wes, I'm really scared." She admitted.

"I know, me too." He said.

"I don't even want to leave the house at this point, because I'm so afraid that if I do, I'm going to die or I'm going to find out you or mom did. I don't know what to do anymore." She said and Wes reached out and grabbed her hand.

"Phoebe, I'm not going anywhere okay." He said.

"I know, mom already gave me this speech because I freaked out on her earlier." She said, sighing and cover her eyes.

"I think I'm going crazy." She said.

"I think you're already there." He said.

"Shut up." She said, hitting him with the pillow and the two of them started laughing.

●・○・●・○・●

"Why are we here?" Phoebe asked as she sat on a couch in Mindy and Chad's house next to her brother along with Amber and Liv.

"Sow how do you know so much about the Stab movies?" Richie asked as he, Sam, Mindy, and Dewey walked in the room.

"It runs in her family." Dewey said as Mindy reached up and kissed a picture of her uncle.

"Randy was our uncle. RIP." She said.

"You said to bring everybody." Mindy added as they all came in.

"Hey." Sam said.

"Ooh, suspects!" Martha, Mindy and Chad's mom said as she brought a tray of fruit into the room.

"My brother would be so proud." She added.

"Hey Martha." Dewey said with a smile.

"Dewey! Hi!" Martha said happily as she embraced him in a hug.

"You look..." Martha started.

"Yeah." Dewey finished.

"How's the wife?" She asked.

"Okay mom, we're good. Thank you." Chad said.

"Alright kids, have fun." Martha said before leaving the room.

"I asked Mindy to call everybody here, because there's something I have to tell you." Sam said.