Once Pepper and all her brothers were inside the house, the smell of baked chicken instantly greets them. They all look at each other, very confused. Before they can do anything else, they see their mother in the kitchen, clearly cooking a big meal.
"Hi kids! Come on, have a seat. Dinner's almost done!"
Pepper looks at her brothers. Her brothers all take a small side step towards the door. Pepper slowly starts walking towards the kitchen table. What was her mother doing here? She's never home and when she is, she certainly isn't cooking! Pepper and her brothers have basically had to raise themselves since they were about four, so this is almost a new experience for them.
"Mama? I thought you had to work late again tonight? What are you doing back so early?" Pepper inquires
"Well I live here don't I? Am I not supposed to be back yet?" Her mother smiles at her daughter.
"But you never cook supper..."
"I thought I'd change things up a bit."
"Okay. Fine." Pepper quietly says and runs up to her bedroom. She puts away her school stuff and flops down on her bed where she begins to cry again. How could Cedric do this to her? 'I thought he... he loved me... Clearly that was a stupid mistake.' Pepper just keeps screaming at herself in her mind.
After another twenty minutes of crying in solitude, there is a light knock at her door.
"Peppy?" It's Matthew. "Do you still want to go to Mrs. R's house for dinner?"
"Yeah." She whispers
"Okay. Then we need to get going. Mom isn't exactly happy about it... but we need to go. Just... prepare yourself. "
Pepper gets up, brushes her hair quickly, wipes her face of the tears, and walks out of her bedroom. Matthew hugs her and asks if she's ready to go. When she replies yes, Matthew starts leading her down the stairs.
"Just brace yourself. Mom's already yelling at Theo and Pax."
Pepper nods and holds on the Matthew's arm tighter. As they go down the stairs, it's more and more clear that their mother is absolutely livid and is screaming at Theo and Paxton.
"We already promised Mrs. R we would be there for dinner!" Paxton yells at his mother. "We can't just cancel now ma! Especially for no reason!"
"I came home early to prepare a lovely and delicious home cooked meal for you all and this is the thanks I get?!" Their mom screams
"Well ya know... we made plans after you said you were working so... you can't blame us."
"I was trying to be a nice mother and surprise you all! You know what? Go to her house! I don't care anymore!" She continues to yell as she storms upstairs
Pepper starts to cry again as she goes to the door with Matthew. At the door Matthew stops and looks at her. He hugs her.
"Don't listen to her. She's just trying to make us upset." Matthew whispers in her ear
"Okay..." Pepper tries to wipe her tears
"It's alright, sissy. Now let's go and have a good time with Daphne and Mrs. R. okay?"
Pepper nods and Matthew releases her as they all walk out the door.