"Ryan!" she says, making her sugary voice extra sweet. "What took you so much time? This is an emergency!"
Her concern is funny. One wouldn't expect such cartoonish words from a woman of her reverence. She is the owner of the best-selling fashion magazine in the city. Her blonde hair is cropped short today, a bob-cut look with pink highlights. Dressed in a business suit and high heels, she looks anything but her age of fifty-three.
"We're at work, Mom. How many times do I have to tell you that the only family emergencies I consider are medical or the least..." I turn my eyes to the annoying little girl on the loveseat named after my grandma, Crystal. "...Or when the little maniac goes missing or something."
"That's your sister!" Mom chides me. "And it is regarding her. Crystal got into a fight at her school today. I need you to explain to her, as the oldest in the house, why such behavior is improper for a young lady of her status."
Behind me, Reece bursts into a chuckle. I sigh, glancing at him as my twin tries to control himself. Mom throws him a disapproving glare.
"I'm sorry, Mum..." he laughs. "Did you really call her a young lady?"
"I'm a young lady!" Crystal declares, bringing our focus to her.
The little maniac is currently standing on our expensive sofa with her shoes on and all I want to do is pretend I am a giant and throw her off it. Maybe I could hang her on the highest mountain top where she would dangle forever.
"Crystal, honey..." Mom pinches her forehead in frustration. "You shouldn't pick fights with boys. That's unladylike of you. You need to understand how embarrassing it was for Mommy today. Your principal had quite a lot to say."
"That boy called me a bastard!" Crystal protests.
My fists clench hearing that. Her father is still reading his newspaper but I can find his knuckles turning white as he clutches the paper tightly. Mom has grown white as a sheet while Reece stops laughing immediately.
"What's his name?" Reece demands, stepping towards the Crystal. "Tell me."
"It's Joshua Dally," Crystal replies immediately. "He...he told me my Mommy wasn't a good woman. That...she wasn't loyal...I...I don't know what the word means but I know it's a bad word. He called me a bad word so I punched him!"
"Oh, honey..." Mom sighs. "That's...that was wrong for him to say. But you still shouldn't have hit him, baby."
"Heck, she shouldn't have!" I curse, looking at Mom. "She's a Pierce too, Mom. We don't tolerate such things. If anything, the principal should have let her hit him some more."
"Ryan!"
"What, Mom?" I speak in irritation. "Is this the stupid family emergency you called us in for? This is something that couldn't wait?"
"Ryan..." Mom reaches to lay a hand on my elbow.
"I don't have time for taking care of her shit, Mom," I tell her, pointing a finger at the devil's spawn. "She's not my problem."
It sounds harsh but I know that she needs to hear it. Mom is too dependent on me to raise Crystal because she doesn't trust herself with parenting with her busy job. I can feel her anxiety. I don't have a family of my own at the age of thirty-one and so she tries everything she can to make me feel the loss of not having one. 
It's not like I hate my sister. I just don't love her either. She is an unwarranted responsibility that landed on Mom's lap and along with her, came Winston who I feel has been trying his best to replace Dad in Mom's heart. I don't want that to happen. Dad loved Mom like anything and this man just stormed into her life and changed everything. Paying attention to his daughter is like acknowledging that it didn't take time for Mom to move on from the man who truly loved her.