One Day at a Time

Chapter 6 - "This is Aeson."

          I'm going to be holding that grudge for a long time.   

         We walked into the house again, I was still amazed by the sight. Jeanine was talking to someone in the kitchen. At first, I thought it might've been Trinity, but then the other person spoke, and I came to the conclusion that it was definitely not Trinity, as the other person's voice was deep and heavy. I saw Trinity's rucksack on the floor by the door, and her coat on the hangers. There were little shoes on the first two steps of the left staircase, and I thought that maybe she was in her bedroom. Then, Nessa heard the voice, and knew exactly who it was, because, not taking off her shoes or jacket which her mother would surely scold her for, she ran into the kitchen excitedly, and I had no choice but to follow if I wanted to see who it was.

          Nessa squealed happily, and ran into the arms of the man. He was around the same age as my father, and had the same coloured hair as him. At first, I thought maybe they could be brothers, but then Nessa moved and his face was uncovered from her hair. He did not look like father. He had a slim and defined nose, his eyes were small and sunken and they were hazel. His lips were slim and his smile didn't have the warmness my father's does. His eyebrows weren't as thick as my father's, but they were just as bold. 

          "Hello, poppet," He laughed, when Nessa pulled away. "How are you doing, Vanessa?" 

          I remember, when she told me to call her Nessa, she said that her Uncle Mason calls her Vanessa too. But, surely, he can't be related to them. He doesn't even look like a male version of Jeanine! Maybe he's just close with their family, and they call him their uncle. 

          "I'm alright, Uncle Mason. I just got back from school." She said. Then, she looked at me. "This is dad's other daughter, mine and Trinity's half-sister, Blaire. She's come to stay with us whilst she's doing her studies in university." 

          "Hi." I croaked. It was a short, tense little word. "I'm Blaire." Dang it! Why can't I sound confident?

          He laughed. "Hello, Blaire. You must be Louise's daughter, then. Your father said that he had another daughter," 

          He... he knows my mother's name. I haven't told anyone her name, so dad must've told him. Or maybe he knows her. Who knows? Not me. 

          "You... You know my mother's name?" I said, accidentally. I didn't mean to blurt out what I was thinking, but then again, maybe I wanted to. "Sorry... I didn't mean to-" 

          "Nonsense," he said, walking towards me. "Yes, your father has brought her name up a few times, like when she asked for him to pay your university tuition." he paused. "Your father and I are very good friends, Blaire. We aren't related but we are close, like brothers. I would do anything for him; and as Jeanine is his wife, I'd do anything for her, too." 

          Mason turned around. "Anyway, you can call me Uncle Mason." He walked back towards Jeanine. "Vanessa, poppet, go and talk to Ae. I'm sure he'd love to meet delightful Blaire." 

          I wasn't sure if he had a hint of sarcasm in his voice, but I'm sure he did. I could feel it, I could feel that he didn't like me too much. Obediently, Vanessa dragged me out of the room and into the living area. I had not yet been into the living room, but it was grand alright. 

          It wasn't particularly modern, like the rest of the house, but it had some sections, like the fireplace, that were. This room was more rustic and welcoming than the rest of the house, apart from my lovely bedroom. There was a long, leather sofa facing the fireplace. Next to it, there were two matching leather armchairs, opposite each other, heating up from the ongoing fire. Above the fire was a huge, extravagant television, on the wall. There was another rug in the centre of the floor, touching everything but the bookcases, which were pressed against the wall. There were many books, but there were also photo frames with pictures of the family. 

         On one of the armchairs was a person, facing with his back to us, towards the fire. He was reading a book, which I could tell was from one of the bookcase because there was a gap in between two other books. They had platinum blonde hair, and it looked as though it was in a crew cut. His skin was pale, but not quite as pale as mine; it was tanned, but still pale. he wore black, ripped jeans and a tight, white t-shirt, showing off his bulging muscles. He must've been the same age as Vanessa.

          Nessa sneaked up quietly behind him and pressed her hands to his cheeks, from behind, making him looked like a fish. She laughed, and I joined in.

          "Vanessa Hawford. Get off me this instant." He demanded, unable to speak properly from the position his face was in. She didn't move; instead, she started moving his cheeks up and down in her hands. He sighed, or at least it sounded like it, and grabbed her hands, pulling them away from his face. "Ness, I said get off," he complained, removing one of his hands and clutching both of hers in his other above his head. With his free hand, he place the book on the table next to the arm chair. 

          "Now, you get off." She said, trying to pull away from his grip. He stood up, turning around and towering over her. God, he's tall. "Ae! Get off me!" She yelled, thrashing against his firm grip. She cried out, grumpily, and stomped her foot on the ground. 

          The boy released her hands, rolling his eyes and walked around the chair to her, and rubbed his knuckle on her hair. She complained and smacked his hand. Again, I had been ignored by her friends. 

          His eyes finally caught mine, and a weird rush went through me, like he was admitting energy into my body through his eyes. "Ness, who's that?" 

          "Y'know, I can talk, right? You don't have to ask Nessa." I rolled my eyes, stepping away from the doorway. "I'm Blaire." 

          "Yeah, she's my sister, pretty much. Dad had another daughter he forgot to tell us about until she came at the door. Blaire's really nice though, you two would get along well-" Nessa paused "-apart from you being an asshole, then, Ae." 

           "I don't even know your name," I said. "Care to enlighten me?" 

          Before he could answer, Vanessa chirped in and told me herself. "Blaire," She began. "This is Aeson."

          I was right. His blonde hair was styled in a crew cut, and the lightness of it complimented his deep, ocean blue eyes. His nose was defined but soft, and his lips were full. His beautiful eyes were wide and his smile was warm. He had a very defined, but warm, face and he was ridiculously handsome.