Chapter 2 - Maeve
1032 Words
After finishing the lasagna, Rylan sighed in satisfaction. Xen frowned at his empty plate.
Dad noticed it.
"What is the matter?, Xen" Dad asked him.
He groaned and looked deep in thought, as if debating with himself whether he should let us know.
He finally turned to us and said "There's this soccer competition that is being held by our school."
He paused for a moment before continuing. "No matter how much practice, we just can't seem to be prepared." He pouted.
"I see" Dad says as he averts his to the ceiling as if he is lost in thought.
After a minute, he turned to Xen. "What if we have a Three on three?". Dad asks, wiggling his eyebrows.
We all looked at each other and burst out laughing.
"A three on three!?" Zane asks in between laughs.
"Yes" dad narrows his eyes before asking
"What is wrong with that?" visibly confused, as we were laughing.
Xen's eyes twinkled as he just realized what dad meant.
"Wait, so you mean you'll help with practice!?" he asked dad expectantly.
"Yes!" Dad exclaimed as he hit the table with excitement.
Suddenly, the dining room was filled with cheerful screaming about sports. They were screaming about practicing and defeating one another.
My mom and I looked at each other, smiled and shook our heads.
I yawned as I was tired and Dad suddenly turned to me.
"Maybe we should have a Four on three" Dad asked me indirectly.
My brothers agreed in unison.
I would love to hang out with them. But the harsh truth was..... I am just not good at sports. Besides, I have a book that requires my attention. A book that I just can't put down. And I was tired.
I turned my focus to dad and smiled apologetically.
"Sorry guys, but I think I'll pass" I said.
The smile faltered on my dad's face.
"Oh,come on! Baby sis" Zack tried to convince me.
I just rolled my eyes and I waved to them. "No, thank you".
"You boys go have fun while my daughter and I have some quality time together" Mom said with a smile and a wink.
I grinned like an i***t from one ear to the other.
My mom is practically my best friend. She listens to my ranting and gives great advice. It has been so long since I had girl's time with my mom. If we wanted to hang out, sometimes she'd be busy with work. Sometimes I'm busy with assignments.
My brothers resigned and left the dining room.
I offered to help mom before taking a stroll in the garden.
A few minutes later.
I was helping my mom with cleaning when my dad entered the kitchen.
He didn't notice me.
He strode towards mom in an attempt to grab her attention. But, she was oblivious to him.
Before he could reach for mom, I cleared my throat.
He snapped his attention at me and cleared his throat.
Mom turned around and faced dad. "Derek, what are you doing here?" she asked.
"Yeah dad, what are you doing here?" I challenged him with a smirk.
My mom raised an eyebrow, curious.
Dad smirked and grasped mom by her waist, making her gasp.
I turned around and pretended to puke. "Bleh!"
Mom narrowed her eyes and whispered to dad "Derek!"
Dad just smirked and kissed mom.
I swear....what did I do to deserve this?.
Mom kissed him back.
My brothers entered the kitchen on the search of dad.
"Ugh!, Dad really?" Zack muttered as he turned to face the wall.
Dad broke the kiss and smiled at mom.
"We need to practice?" Zade reminded him.
He let mom go with a kiss on her forehead. Mom smiled at him lovingly.
He left the kitchen with my brothers trailing behind him.
"Shall we go for a walk?" Mom asked with a grin plastered on her face.
"Sure!"
A few hours later
The walk was great. We spent a lot of time talking about their love story.
Their story made me smile and wish one day, I'd have someone to love and care about.
We went inside the house and headed towards the kitchen to grab some water.
Suddenly, dad came in with sweat dripping off his forehead and chin.
He pressed a kiss on my mother's forehead and smiled at me.
"How was practice?" mom asked him, while scanning him from top to bottom.
"It was great!" Dad laughed.
"I believe you won?" I asked him.
He turned to me with a crooked smile. " Oh, it was a complete failure."
I giggled.
He opened his mouth to say something, but then closed it.
Mom noticed it and became silent.
What is happening?....
"Mae, honey, I need to talk to you" he said carefully.
I never saw my dad this tense before. So, I couldn't help but feel afraid about the 'talk'.
Still, I agreed.
On the way to his office, my mind jumped to all kinds of conclusions about what this talk could be.
Nothing good. That's for sure.
We entered his office. As I looked around the expansive space, I was hit by a wave of anxiety.
His office was huge. It had glass windows and doors. Most of the objects are carefully sculpted by the best carpenter in the city.
His desk is placed in the middle of the room. With a large leather chair that must have cost him a fortune.
He rounded the desk and sat on the chair.
He looked at me with those cold, unflinching eyes, filled with worry. He had never looked at me like that before unless he was really worried.
"Dad, what's wrong?" I asked feeling nervous.
He turned towards the drawer and opened it. He took his tie and stared at it.
"Maeve, you are my only daughter and I want you to be safe and happy." He says putting the tie back in the drawer.
I narrowed my eyes.
Where is this leading to?
He balanced his temple with his thumb and index finger.
"I am safe and happy dad. What is this about?"
"Mi amor, you are getting married to Rhys Luciano"
- Writer
