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"Rules are rules and this is my house, so they're my rules!" Victoria Ripley shouted, going nose to nose with her teenage daughter, who was nearly her mirror image.
A few months short of 17, Piper was already as tall as her mother, but had her father's light colored eyes. Eyes that were currently narrowed in a scowl and threatening tears.
"This is so unfair! Who are you to talk about rules? That's so hypocritical! If you and Daddy had followed the rules, we wouldn't be in this mess because I wouldn't even be here!" She yelled with a wave of her arms.
"Gahh, I just can't even with you!" She huffed, rolling her eyes. Spinning on her socked heels to stomp up the stairs, she continued muttering under her breath things that probably would've gotten her grounded even longer if her parents could hear.
The slam of her bedroom door rattled the hinges and reverberated back down the stairs, adding fuel to her mother's ire. Vic started to call after her, but the scuffling of feet behind her had her turning to see her husband, Lucas, standing around the corner, just inside the front door, eyebrows raised.
"Did you just hear your daughter, she yelled at me!" Vic stomped her foot and waved her arms in a manner Lucas couldn't help but note was identical to their daughter's earlier gesture.
Lucas tried valiently, but failed to fully hide a smile before putting on his impassive Chief mask. "Now Eggy, where do you suppose she gets that from?" He asked, somewhat rhetorically.
"Don't you 'Eggy' me, Lucas Ripley! You know I was provoked..."
Lucas just stared back at her calmly, hands on his hips, copying her pose.
Finally, anger dissipating, Vic broke eye contact first, ducking her head and grinning. "Yeah, she probably does get it from me, doesn't she?"
Lucas smiled fondly down at her before pulling her into his arms and pressing a kiss to her temple. "Yeah, well, don't think I didn't hear myself being referred to as Riptide a time or two over the years. She does have a valid point though. Just think... if you hadn't yelled at me, we might not have gotten around to breaking the rules and then where would we be, hmm?"