Cecilia's Pov

"Thank you" I say taking the £10 note off the woman in front of me, in exchange I hand her the packet of cigarettes she just bought.

She happily walks off after tucking them away in to her pocket.

I don't know why people smoked, it was a horrible habit. A habit that is ridiculously hard to get rid of. If people saw what cigarettes were doing to the insides of them surly they would stop. I wonder if Reece smokes?

I roll my eyes to myself. Why did my mind always got to Reece? No matter what the situation was? I was turning crazy, he was on my ind all the bloody time. I wouldn't even get a break from him while sleeping, he was constantly invading my dreams... not that I mind.

Anyway he was a gang leader he's probably around drugs all time. He's obviously dabbled in them and didn't all people in gangs smoke? I couldn't believe I was stereotyping him in my head. Reece has proven to me that he's anything but a normal gang leader after that night a few weeks ago where he admitted to me that he didn't drink.

I'll ask him when I see him later.

I fiddle with the necklace around my neck. I didn't tend to wear jewellery a lot but Calvin gave me this necklace on my sixteenth birthday. After seeing him a few nights ago, I released how much I had missed him but I wasn't going to tell him that so I just wore the necklace. Wearing the necklace was going to be the closest I would get to him.

"What you thinking about?" I turn to my left to see my uncle leaning against a counter.

"Nothing" I say not wanting to tell him about my run in with Calvin. I knew my uncle well enough to be sure that he would see this surprise meeting as a 'sign'. I look away from him and start unpacking a box of cigarette lighters.

"Your mum called yesterday, your family are coming over for dinner tonight and they want too see you" I snap my head to look up at him he had a blank look on his face. He looked completely unbothered by the situation at hand. However I was bothered, very bothered. They couldn't just come back in to my life like this and if they were actually bothered they would come to me directly.

My father had been paying my rent for some time, surly he knew where I lived.

"No" I say carrying on sorting out the lighters.

"I'll see you at 8pm. You better be there" he says walking away from me.

I groan in frustration I can't belief he's making me go to this stupid dinner. Well he wasn't making me. I did know I had to go not for me, not for my family but for my uncle. I knew he wanted me to see them and the least I could do was to actually meet him after all he's done for me over the past two years.

Two years.

Two years since I last saw them.

Well I saw Calvin already.

And that didn't go so well. I had a feeling that a meeting with my parents wouldn't go so well either.

•••

I take a deep breath and walk up the stairs that lead to my aunts and uncles front door.

When I reach the front door I ring the doorbell.

I was so tempted to turn around and go back to my apartment but I couldn't. I had to face this head first. I had to face them after all this time and I was crapping myself. I didn't want to face them, I just wanted to carry on with my life. Just the way it was because the truth was I was more than happy with the way my life was going at the moment.

The creaks door open and there stands my aunt a huge smile on her face.

"Come in honey everyone's already at the dinner table" she says ushering me inside the warm house.

I walk down the hallway and in to the dining room to see my family.

They were laughing, enjoying each other's company. Again, I wanted to turn around and walk away but it was way too late now.

Non of my cousins were here, I guess they've gone to bed. Lucky them, I would rather be in bed than be here. Then again I would rather be in bed than being anywhere.

The first to notice my presence is my lovely mother.

"Cecilia honey come sit down" she says in a sickeningly sweet voice.

My aunt and uncle leave the room.

I guess this was a plan to to get me here and then leave as quick as they could. It worked though.

"How's life?" My dad says with a smug look. He probably thought that I was on the brink of poverty. Well I wasn't thanks to his credit card.

"Amazing" I say giving them a smirk. I can survive without them... well almost without them.

"We've not seen you in so long" Calvin says with a small smile. Why so fake Calvin?

"Calvin I saw you yesterday night, ya know at the street fight that you were fighting at. The masked stranger? Seriously? That name makes you sound like such a loser" I say with a eye role.

"Cecilia what were you doing at a street fight?" My dad says through gritted teeth. Completely ignoring that Calvin was there too.

"Non of your business" I say smirking at him. It was rude to speak to him like that but I liked it, I felt like I was finally standing up for myself after all these years. I didn't need to answer to him.

"She was there with her dumb ass boyfriend Reece Dennings" says Calvin glaring at me. He really did not like Reece.

"She's not dating him Calvin! How dare you" says my mother glaring angrily at Calvin. That was a first usually my mum would be on Calvin's side. Maybe what he had just said was too unbelievable for mother to comprehend.

Calvin scoffs.

"Would I lie about something so ridiculous?" he asks my parents, a very annoyed undertone was set in his voice.

Mum and dad both look at me. I just look away and nod. I felt kind of ashamed to admit I was dating Reece. Maybe it had something to do with him being a gang leader.

I look at my parents to see both of their mouths open in shock.

"Cecilia honey... You can't be with him" my mum says shaking her head. I scoff. She was speaking to me like I was a child.

"I forbid it" dad says.

"You can't forbid anything dad. This isn't the 1800's. I do as I please" I say angrily. I pull my chair out from under the table, with a loud screech and stalk out of the house. Ignoring the shouts for me to stay.

I take my phone out my bag there's only one person I wanna see right now.

I hit the call button and put the phone against my ear.

"Hello?"

"Could you come pick me up. Please" I break out in to a sob.