I pushed open the front door of the house, creeping in and nearly stumbling against the wall. I hadn't managed to get drunk, just buzzed enough to not notice that my idiot friends had left their shoes thrown about the hallway.

I closed the door and walked towards the kitchen, almost expecting Alexis to be there. But of course he wasn't there. He was off in some shitty ass apartment with a five year old kid that wasn't even related to him, fucking his boyfriend and forgetting about the guys he'd called his family for years.

Grabbing myself a glass, I poured water and chugged it. I went upstairs, glaring at Alexis's old bedroom as I passed by it.

I went into my bedroom and stripped down to my boxers, dropping onto my bed. I slung an arm over my eyes, lying in the darkness.

It wouldn't have mattered whether or not I'd come home. The guys here wouldn't notice if I was gone. Hell, I could be dead and they wouldn't even know it.

I wonder if my father knows I'm gone.

I rolled over, pulling a pillow over my head. How stupid. Of course my father would notice that his only child had been missing for five years. After all, he'd noticed when his wife pulled a vanishing act.

There had always been a desire in me, a need to go online and search my own name, to see if anyone had ever tried to find me. But I would never give into that urge. I didn't care about my deadbeat family.

Closing my eyes, I focused on the light buzz from the alcohol, that little pounding in my head that I wished would erupt into a roar. I didn't want to think anymore.

***

"How much money did you waste last night?" Ike asked as I came into the kitchen.

"Can you wait until I've been awake for more than five minutes before you start bitching?" I said, sitting down and rubbing my eyes.

"No. How much?" Ike repeated.

"None. Do you see how good I look? I don't need to buy my own drinks," I said, smirking.

"You're also sleazy as hell," Jer said, entering the kitchen and leaning against the counter. "I bet you're that asshole that tricks drunks into buying you drinks." He snickered. "I'm not surprised though; there's no low you wouldn't drop to just for a few drinks."

"Oh, harsh," I said, propping my elbow up on the table and resting my cheek against the palm of my hand. "It's not my fault you look like a horse stomped on your face when you hit puberty."

"Are they already starting? Didn't they just wake up?" Christian asked as he entered the kitchen.

"Just reminding my friend Jericho here that he looks like roadkill," I said cheerfully. "This is why they warn women not to do all those drugs while pregnant."

"Get your facts straight, kid. My mom wasn't a junkie until I was six," Jer said, sitting on the counter. "Unlike your mother, mine didn't want to fuck me up in the womb."

"Will you both shut up?" Ike said. He poured himself a glass of water and leaned against the counter. "Jer, give me a ride to work. I don't feel like biking."

"Don't tell me what to do," Jer said in annoyance.

I got up and poured myself a bowl of cereal, sitting back down with it. The others moved around the kitchen in search of food.

"Why the fuck do we never have food?" Jer said, looking frustrated as he slammed a cupboard shut.

"Partially because we're embarrassingly broke and partially because Alexis always did the shopping," Ike said. "We need to stop at the store either today or tomorrow. We're too low on food."

"I vote the guy with the car goes," Christian said.

"Fuck you. Fine, give me money and I'll go after work," Jer said.

Ike knelt down, opening one of our cupboards and pushing aside various pots and pans. He pulled out a small baggie and stood up, opening it and handing Jer money from it. He grabbed a pen and scribbled the new amount of money on a piece of paper, tucking it into the baggie and replacing it.

"We'll fill it up with more when we get paid," Ike said, kicking the cupboard shut.

"So don't go wasting money," Christian said, glancing at me.

"I have not wasted any money," I said, folding my hands behind my head and tilting back in my chair. "Unlike you three dead-inside adults, I know how to have some fun without throwing all my money away."

"Us dead-inside adults don't keep pretending that we're carefree teenagers," Ike said. "Grow up, Ace."

"I've got plenty of time to be a boring adult," I said, letting my chair fall back to its normal position. I picked up my spoon and began to eat my cereal.

"Let's go. We're not his fucking babysitters," Jer said, leaving the room. Christian followed after him quickly.

"Don't get too reckless just because Alexis isn't here to get a handle on you," Ike said to me before following them.

I finished my cereal, setting the bowl in the sink. Alexis wasn't my master. I didn't answer to anyone.

I went upstairs and dropped down on my bed, picking up a book and flipping it open. I hated having nothing to do. I never thought I'd actually miss babysitting Micah.

The day passed slowly, with me switching between reading and cleaning the house again. If I didn't find a new way to pass the time, I was going to find myself getting into trouble.

Getting dressed for work, I biked my way down there, chaining up my bike before heading inside. I went back to my usual section and went about taking orders and turning on my charm.

It wasn't as busy as yesterday, so I found myself drifting towards the front. Ryan glanced at me as he arranged a stack of menus.

"You're restless," he said.

"I've got plans after work," I said.

"Get through your shift first," he said, shooing me away.

I sighed and went back to my section, checking on tables and ringing up bills. I almost wished that we were insanely busy so that this shift would pass faster.

I was insanely relieved when my shift finally did end. I left work, biking home and ignoring the voices I could hear in the living room as I ran up the stairs.

I hopped in the shower, washing myself quick before getting out and getting dressed. I fixed my hair and grabbed my wallet, heading downstairs.

"Don't tell me you're going out again," Ike said, noticing me as I entered the kitchen.

"Then I won't tell you," I said, smirking and grabbing some bread. I made myself a sandwich, sitting down and beginning to eat.

"Jer and Christian are going to be pissed," Ike said.

"You say that like I'm supposed to care," I said.

"Don't be stupid and reckless," he said.

The smirk came back to my face. "Now, would I do that?"

"You never do anything else." He left the room, leaving me alone to finish eating.

I stood up when I was done, making sure my wallet was hidden in my pocket this time before slipping out of the house. I started walking down the steps of the porch.

"Where the fuck do you think you're going?"

"Out, mom," I said, glancing over my shoulder at Jer. "Unless you're grounding me."

"When are you going to grow up and quit partying and wasting money? If you get an STD, we're kicking you out. That shit is expensive," he said.

"Good thing I'm safe," I said, winking and heading down the rest of the steps.

"One of these days you're going to go home with the wrong person and they'll find you strangled under a bed a week later!" Jer called after me. "Good fucking riddance to you, moron!"

I pleasantly raised my middle finger as I walked away. It was Jer's own way of saying "be safe", but I wasn't in the mood to hear it right now.

I walked back to the bar I'd been to last night, flashing my I.D. before heading inside. I looked around, wondering if Dex would even show up. If not, that was fine. I'd just find someone else to buy me drinks.

After looking around a little, I leaned against the wall, pulling out my phone. Damn, I should've gotten the guy's number.

Maybe he'd been so drunk that he didn't remember saying he'd meet me tonight. Or maybe his cockblock friend had kept him home.

Regardless, I wouldn't let it bother my night. There were plenty of other people down on the dancefloor, drunk and looking for some drinks and a good time. I stuffed my phone in my pocket and pushed myself off of the wall.

"Hey!"

The voice was less slurred than yesterday, but still recognizable. I smirked as I turned to face Dex.

His face was flushed with intoxication, but he looked a little less drunk than last night. He came over to me, eyeing me carefully.

"You're that guy from yesterday," he said.

"Yea, I am. You wanted me to meet you," I said.

"Right, right!" He clumsily pulled out his wallet. "Let's go get drinks, c'mon!"

"Is your friend here?" I asked, letting Dex lead me to the bar.

He shook his head. "No, I ditched that fun killer."

"Good," I said as we sat at the bar. Dex ordered us drinks and I got to work burying my sober self in the bottom of a shot glass.

"You never told me your name," Dex said. He was drinking much slower than me, already a few drinks deep judging by the way he had trouble focusing on me.

"Ace," I said.

"Have a few more drinks and then come back to my place," he said, the look in his eyes eager and hungry.

I grinned. "Sounds like a plan."

I took several more shots. Dex had a few more drinks as well, paying for us. I found myself getting dangerously tipsy after a while, forcing myself to stop drinking. I wasn't looking to get blackout drunk if I was going home with a guy I barely knew.

"Come on," Dex said, getting up and swaying a little. "I don't live far from here."

We left the bar together, Dex leaning on me for support. He led me a few blocks over and up to a house.

He pushed the door open, revealing that it was an apartment. He led me up the stairs and into a small hallway.

"My room is through the kitchen," he said, pulling me along.

"Anyone home?" I asked.

"Don't know. Don't care," he said as we passed through the kitchen. I heard the door we had just come through downstairs creak open, so I guess we weren't alone. Not that it mattered. As long as his door locked, we were fine.

He led me into a slightly messy bedroom, shutting the door and locking it. He pushed me and we both stumbled onto his bed.

He reached under his bed and pulled out a bottle of liquor, taking the cap off and taking a swig from the bottle. He offered it to me and I copied him.

The alcohol burned as it made its way down my throat, a pleasant sting. I passed the bottle back to Dex after having another swallow of it.

He nearly dropped the bottle but managed to keep his grip on it. Man, I hoped he didn't pass out before things got fun.

After bringing the bottle back to his lips and chugging a little more, he set it down next to his bed. He shifted and accidentally kicked the bottle out, some of it spilling to the floor.

"Ah, damn," he mumbled, picking the bottle up and capping it.

I laughed. "Smooth." I was pleased to hear the slur of my speech. This was where I wanted to be right now. Drunk and it an attractive guy's bedroom.

As if reading my mind, Dex turned to me and made his move. Our lips came together, skipping the gentle stage and quickly easing into something much more intense than that.

This was my life. I wasn't anyone's little bitch. I didn't answer to Alexis or Ike or Jer or Christian or anyone. I did what I wanted to with anyone I wanted to.

I bowed to no rules and no people. My strict father hadn't been able to keep his hold over me. I had my freedom and this was what I chose to do with it.

So I pushed away thoughts of the disapproving look Alexis had always given me when I'd stumble into the house in the early hours of the morning. Instead, I focused on Dex as we sank back against his bed together.

-----------------------------------------

A.N.- Hey everyone, good news! Radish launched in the app store and is now available for iOS! Just search "Radish fiction" in the app store to find it. I know some reviews said it was crashing, but I personally haven't had a problem with it yet and the Radish team seems to be aware of the problem and working on it (if that haven't solved it already).

On Radish right now, you can find the first 4 chapters of Cheating The Deck. So head over there to read early because I won't be posting the next chapter on Wattpad until next week or so.

Also, please be patient with the app. Radish is a small team and they're working so hard to bring more features to it. I know a lot of writers are hoping for a comment section. Right now, it's basic, but it'll grow as it gains more popularity and as the team works on it more. So please, support me and the other writers on there and be patient with this app as it grows! Feel free to message my Wattpad account to let me know what you think of the CTD chapters posted on Radish, or if you have any questions!