Fighter

Chapter 2

Aunt Mary pulls up to a two-story home in a new construction neighborhood, I can feel my panic set in. I'm about to meet my family. I just hope I don't say anything stupid or disappoint them like I always did with my parents.

Why didn't they tell me I had family here? I would have liked to have been prepared for this, even if they refused to let me see them.

We parked and Mary shut off the car. I heard yelling coming from the front of the house. My Aunt gets out of the car, quickly trying to intercept an older woman with white hair styled in a short bob with a kind face wearing an apron that has a picture of a younger woman's torso wearing a bikini on it.

This made me smile and instead of feeling panic, I started getting excited about meeting everyone. I got out of the car, went around the back and stood a little behind Aunt Mary.

The older woman started to cry, raising her hand to her mouth and stared at me, not saying anything. Then she runs to me, holding me tightly as she cries, saying how much I look like my mother and herself when she was my age.

This is my grandma. I can't believe it. I hugged her back and started laughing. My Aunt Mary joins us, laughing with me. She says, "OK, ma, don't kill her with hugs. She just got here."

"Sorry! I am just so happy we have a baby girl in the family now," Grandma says.

"Well, let's get inside. I don't want to keep anyone waiting. Are you hungry, dear? I made you all my best recipes," Grandma states, excitedly.

"I'm starving thank you, but you didn't have to do all this for me."

I had noticed that there were cars parked all along the curb of the house and the driveway was packed. As we walked toward the house, there was a banner on the front door that said, "Welcome home Hadley" on it.

"Oh, dear, we wanted to," Grandma replied, happily.

Walking through the front door, I heard talking, yelling and kids running. Leading me to the kitchen, I saw it was packed with guys my age or older than me. I look around and see all of them are in really good shape and really tall, but being only five feet three inches tall, everyone is tall to me.

My grandma stopped walking and my hand brushed against someone. As I looked up to see who I looked at, I made eye contact with a guy about six feet six inches tall with dark hair that was a bit long and shaggy. He has the most beautiful blue eyes, so blue that they're almost purple.

Snapping me out of my trance, my grandma says, "Hadley, this is your uncle, John, Mary's husband."

Must be the football player my mom dated before Aunt Mary, I think to myself.

"It's nice to meet you." I said, holding out my hand.

John shakes his head and hugs me, saying, "Welcome to the family sweetheart."

"Thank you." I replied and hugged him back.

As John steps away, another guy, a year or two older than me, handsome with dark brown hair and brown eyes that looks like a younger Uncle John steps in front of me and hugs me.

"Hey, baby cuz! I'm John Jr. but everyone calls me J.J."

"Hi, I'm Hadley." I said, as J.J. stepped back. He was pushed out of the way by one of the other guys.

All of a sudden, I was being hugged and passed around to all the guys in the kitchen with J.. yelling, "Keep your hands to yourself, you assholes." And John yelling, "If you touch my niece, I swear you'll be running laps every day before and after your classes."