Felix's pov
The family dinner is arranged in our old house, currently known as my parents' house. It is a simple two-story house filled with the memories of our childhood.
The house I am currently staying in is one of the guest houses that we own in different areas of the continent. Now that may sound like we are super rich and that we own hundreds of houses. Not exactly, we own five, excluding this one. Ryker personally owns two excluding this one and the other five. I personally don't own any here excluding this one and the other five. I own one in Germany where my whole life is arranged.
The driveway is empty meaning Ryker isn't here yet. A sigh of relief leaves my mouth automatically. The hardest thing to do tonight will be to deal with him. And I have absolutely no idea how to do so. We had no encounters after that fight. I don't think our parents know about that fight. Ryker is no snitch. Then again I never thought that he would use me to cover his mistake. But here we are.
Parking my car in the driveway, I kill the engine and look at the house. The turquoise-white building still holds a special place in my heart. Light is coming out from the left side downstairs window. That's the living room. My random guess is that Dad is in there sprawled out on the couch watching some bizarre show on the TV. Mom is in the kitchen preparing for dinner though I can't see the kitchen from here.
Stepping out of the car, I walk up the patio to reach the door and ring the doorbell. Twice. My signature doorbell ringing, if that even makes sense.
"Coming." A gruff voice comes out from the other side of the door followed by heavy footsteps. In the next second, the door is pulled open. Before I get a chance to see anything else, I feel a sudden weight on my chest which results in me falling backwards on the ground. The familiar low growling followed by wet licks makes me chuckle as I wrap my hand around the black Russian Terrier.
"Let him come in first, Chandler," Dad says in his Spanish accent when I get up with the dog on my lap. I look up at my dad with a warm smile. "Hello, dad."
Dad doesn't look anything like his age. He still has a toned body with broad shoulders and a muscled chest, the result of exercising every day. His raven hair has more grey strands now than the last time I saw him. They are tied back into a low ponytail. More than one-third of his olive skin is tainted with ink, tattoos starting from his jaw that run down his neck, disappear beneath his teal t-shirt and reappear on his arm and finally end on his fingers. I don't know how he got under the needles so many times. I can never imagine doing that myself. I have a phobia of needles. Even Mom and Ryker have their own tattoos. I am the only person in this family without a tattoo.
"Long time no see, hijastro." A chuckle escapes my mouth at the mention of his nickname for me. His dark, almost black eyes crinkle around the edge as he gives me a warm smile and pulls me in for a hug. Chandler jumps down from my lap at the right time. I pat Dad on the back before releasing.
"Padrastro." I use my version of nickname for him, flashing him a sly smile. "You haven't died yet, I see."
He narrows his eyes at me and slaps the back of my head earning a yelp from me. "I'm not dying any time soon. I have returned from the face of death thrice and this body-"
"-is made of steel and iron, so death can't take me until I allow it to," I finish it for him rubbing the back of my head where he hit me. "Yeah, got it. You are still immortal."
He flashes me a grin and opens his mouth to say something. But mom shows up at the right time. I mirror Dad's expression to Mom and pull her in for a hug. The right side of her face rests on my chest as she wraps her arms around me. Chandler has come back and is now sitting beside us continuously wiggling his tail and barking his excitement every now and then. We stay like that for a long moment before pulling away.
"You are not late this time," she signs with a teasing grin. I scowl at her, signing back, "It's not like I'm always late. That was a one-time thing."
My mom looks so small and fragile if I compare her to my dad. Mom is 5'5'' while Dad is nearly 6'. Dad looks like he owns some illegal gang while Mom looks like she is a nun from the local church. Dad looks like he will beat the shit out of anybody if they dare to defy him while Mom looks like she can barely even hold a stick. And the look of my mom is the perfect example of deception. It will be a fool's errand to believe in mom's look and act on that.
Mom and Dad may not cause any threat now but anyone with the knowledge of their pasts will be wise enough to stay out of their ways. Unfortunately, that's not many people. Mom and Dad like to keep their past lives a secret. And it makes sense considering how dangerous and messy it was. Messy enough for my dad to cause his left arm and my mom her voice and hearing ability.
"Let's go inside," Dad signs, ushering me inside and moving to close the door. I stop him. "Wait a second. I got something for you guys."
I walk out of the door and pull up the box of chocolate and the bouquet of white tulips from the side of the wall where they dropped when Chandler jumped on me. There is no chance of them getting destroyed. Yet I check them before handing the box to Dad and the bouquet to Mom. Mom instantly gives me a side hug while Dad starts blinking at the box.
"Are you trying to give me diabetes?" Dad squints at me this time. I roll my eyes and Mom scoffs. Chandler moves near my feet and barks at Dad as if taking my side.
"Is this really the first thing you said to him when he gave you a gift?" she signs quickly, a representation of her annoyance.
"That's dark chocolate, old man," I add, smiling at Chandler and rubbing the place behind his ear. He leans his head in my palm and growls in satisfaction.
Dad squints at the box more, probably to clarify whether it's really dark chocolate or not. When he finds it, his eyes widen and he looks back up at me.
"It is. That's so.......considerate of you." I chuckle at the uneasiness of his tone. All these years and he still doesn't know how to say 'thank you'. Mom whacks me behind my head. I scowl at her and she signs, "That's a lot for now. Let's get inside."
Chandler listens to her first and runs inside barking loudly. I shrug following Chandler with mom by my side. Dad catches up with us after closing the door.
Almost half an hour later-
".............. almost had the glass and-"
The doorbell shrieks cutting Mom off harshly. All of us stare at the kitchen door as if someone will emerge from there. Finally, Chandler barks jumping down from my lap and running out of the kitchen probably to get to the door before anyone else. Mom also gets up to her feet and signs, "It's probably Ryker. I'm gonna get him. You keep an eye on the oven."
My heart shrinks hearing his name. I offer her a tight smile with a nod and watch her as she walks away. A sigh escapes my mouth. He's finally here. It's not like I wasn't expecting him to be here or that I didn't know that he would be here. Ryker is family, so, of course, he will be present for a family dinner. But I just didn't want to deal with him any time soon.
"Did you two have a fight?" I turn my head to Dad. His dark eyes are focused on me. Though it seems like he is having a casual conversation with the way his posture is relaxed and he is easily decorating the table, his calculating gaze is saying otherwise. He already has seen and guessed way more than I can think. So there is no use in hiding anything.
It seems that Ryker didn't snitch after all if Dad's asking me that. I shrug, trying to be as nonchalant as Dad. "Something like that."
Dad examines me for a moment too long before turning around to grab the napkins. "Never saw you getting this worked up over a fight with him."
Noises come from the door and I recognize one as Ryker's. It instantly hits me that Ryker didn't come alone. He wouldn't talk if he was alone. Who else is with him? Why would he even bring anyone to a family dinner anyway?
"Well, he is here. Hope the dinner goes well," Dad says in Spanish this time walking around the counter and to the door. He looks back at me and I nod giving me the signal to walk out of here.
When he is out of the kitchen, I let out a loud groan and fall forward on the counter. I already feel exhausted by the pressure and awkwardness. And the dinner hasn't even started yet. How the hell am I even supposed to continue this?
On top of that, I canceled the reading date with Maisara like a dumbass. No matter how the dinner goes, I will be drained by the end of it. And if I don't see her after that, I will be dead.
What do I do now? Do I text her and say that the date isn't canceled? Or do I just show up at her door?
Randomly showing up at her door will be definitely more interesting and book-boyfriend-type, the way she likes. But I already did so this morning and there is no guarantee that she would always like it if I keep doing that. That can also make her uncomfortable.
I should probably wait and see if I can make it out of here and survive without bothering her. That would be the wisest thing to do.
Noises come closer to the kitchen and I sit up straight staring at the door. Of course, Chandler is the first one who enters the kitchen and instantly jumps up on my lap. I wrap my hands around him and watch as four more figures emerge from the kitchen doorway. Mom, Dad, Ryker and-
"Lydia?" I realize I have called her out loud when I hear my own voice. I hold my tongue to refrain myself from saying anything else. Chandler starts barking again but this time, it sounds different. I look down at him to find that he is barking at Lydia. Crap, he doesn't like her.
I start rubbing my hand on his back to calm him down as my confused gaze jumps from Mom to Dad. When I finally see the look on Ryker's face, I realize that he has done it on purpose. I still don't know what it is but he has done something that's about to make me uneasy.
"Yes, she is our family now. Didn't I tell you?" Ryker says, the mocking tone hidden underneath his light voice. He intends to hit me with it and it does the trick. I merely blink at him feeling both dad and mom's gaze on me.
"I may have forgotten. My bad. I apologize." He bows slightly and then turns his body to Lydia a little. He gestures in her direction flipping both of his palms up at her as if she's a prize won in a lottery. He almost yells out cheerfully, "My dear older brother, meet my fiancée aka my wife-to-be, Lydia Reyes. "
So, this is what he has planned. I glance at Mom and Dad. They don't look as surprised as I feel. Rather, they are interested in seeing my expression. That means everyone knows it except me.
For the first time in my life, I try Maisara's method and mask my face hiding my emotions. I don't know how successful I am since I can't see my face. But I don't really need to as Ryker's slightly fallen expression is doing the job.
Chandler decides to jump down from my lap and take some threatening steps towards them all the while barking and growling angrily. Lydia notices that and angles her body behind Ryker as fear crosses her face.
I get up from the seat. "Sorry to break this to you," I say to Ryker, then turn to Lydia, "And I'm not trying to offend you, but-"
I walk over to Chandler and pick him up before crossing the distance between me and them. I'm at least three or four inches taller than Ryker which makes it easier for me to tower over him. I feel the darkness of my negative emotions sipping into my smile as I continue, "You can't really change her last name unless she is married to you."
My words have the exact effect on him as I have intended. His eyebrows furrow almost instantly and the look in his eyes becomes darker. His nostrils flare a little and he opens his mouth to probably yell again. But I beat him to it.
"Congratulations on your new journey, Lydia," I say to her offering a soft smile. She returns a forced one with a fearful glance at Chandler who has calmed down a little but is now sneering and growling lowly at her.
I feel a hand on my arm and turn my head to find Mom looking between me and Ryker with a confused expression. When her gaze meets mine, she signs, "Let's have dinner first. We can talk over the food too."
I nod looking at Ryker again. He's visibly fuming, ready to lash out any moment. My eyes find Dad next but he isn't looking at me. He is staring at Ryker with an unreadable expression. Finally, I turn to look back at Mom and usher her to the counter with a wide smile.
I seriously have to find a way to see Maisara after this dinner. Even if it's for a few seconds, even if it's on FaceTime.
The air of the kitchen is filled with the spicy scent of roasted beef. Fluffy mashed potatoes, buttered peas, and freshly baked pieces of bread have joined it. Glasses are filled with ruby-red wine, which is brought by Ryker and Lydia. Everything is my favorite, except the continuous gibberish that's coming out of Ryker's mouth, and all of us are forced to listen to that shit.
My head is already aching and my ears are ringing. I notice how much Ryker has changed during the past few days. He didn't use to talk nonsense this much before. Or was he always like this and I'm noticing it just now when things are not that good between us? Or is he just showing me that side of him now on purpose?
Whatever it is, I don't give a shit. I just want to have this done and get out of here.
I may have zoned out in the middle because I don't realize how the conversation turns to me. I hear dad suddenly asking, "So, Felix, how is everything going with you?"
I look up to find everyone staring at me. Purposefully skipping past Ryker, I glance at my dad and give him a small nod. "Yeah, everything is good."
Mom leans forward in her seat, her eyes twinkling with eagerness. My heart sinks a little. I know what she is about to ask and I haven't made any progress in that field.
"How is your dating life going? Have you been seeing someone?" Here comes the question. I resist the urge to sigh. My mind instantly takes me to Maisara. The truth is that I haven't been on any date after knowing her existence. I haven't even thought about going on any more dates since she entered my life.
How can I date anyone when the reason for my existence is becoming someone else?
"Oh, Felix." To my dismay, it's Ryker who opens his mouth. Another nonsense is on its way out of his mouth. "Why don't you tell Mom and Dad about the Muslim girl you have been seeing recently?"
I whip my head at Mom and Dad, at once. Both of them are shocked when Mom shows it and Dad doesn't. Mom has a dramatic expression with her eyes wide as far as possible and her mouth hangs open. Dad looks normal but he has stopped eating and is staring at me.
I sigh heavily this time. "I'm not seeing anyone at the moment."
Of course, Ryker doesn't know when to shut up. "But you-"
"For fuck's sake, Ryker," I burst out abruptly cutting him off. "Learn when to shut your fucking mouth. This is my life, so let me talk about it. Your interference is not needed here."
The silence that falls after my outburst feels comforting. I feel Mom and Dad exchanging a look between them but I don't glance in their direction. I feel Lydia squirming in her seat but I don't look in her direction either. I simply get back to picking and eating my beef.
After a few seconds, Dad's voice cuts through the silence. "Who wants more peas?"
I don't say anything in reply. Instead, I pull out my phone and open Maisara's contact. I don't care anymore whether I'm being a bother or not. But I need to see her after the dinner. She can choose where we can meet or how we can see each other. Or she can even choose not to see me. But I need to contact her immediately.
I decide to send her a message that says, "I know I canceled the reading session for tonight. But if you don't mind, can we meet after ten tonight? There is no pressure, of course. I may have a long night and seeing you may keep me sane. You can totally say no, no pressure. It's totally understandable if you don't wanna though. We don't even have to do anything. If possible, please meet me, I just wanna see you. Let me know your answer. I will be waiting."
The message is unnecessarily long and sounds kinda messy too but I'm too desperate to care about things like these now. I press send and start waiting for her response.
A few seconds pass and then my phone vibrates with her reply. "Where do you wanna see me, idiot?"
The relief and happiness I have felt from this one message makes me want to cry. I instantly type back a reply that says, "You pick." and go back to finishing my dinner.
Maisara. My Maisara. I'm going to see her after this fucking dinner. I just have to make it out of here to see her. Everything is gonna be fine when I finally meet her.
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