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“Um, Knox and Damien, right?” She said politely. I looked over and sure enough, there were Knox, Damien, and Kieran sitting on the loveseat, all squished up together as they tried to be generous and respectful towards my mother. I knew why they were here, but my mum didn’t. So imagine my horror when I saw Knox and Damien shirtless.
I knew for sure that this didn’t look good to my mother.
My eyes opened really wide and it felt like it was going to bulge out of its eye sockets. Afterwards, I was gobsmacked. I was pretty surprised that Mother caught all of them. The other part was me, being the total teenage girl I am, decided to check them out. And wow, speechless doesn’t even cover it. But I couldn’t help comparing them to Kieran.
I quickly stopped talking and watched the awkward situation play out in front of me. “Yeah, that’s right,” Knox replied politely, smiling slightly to try and cheer me up.
“Oh, please call me Serena,” my mum said with a wave of her hand while she showed off her pearly whites. This made my eyes widen again. “Can I ask you two a favour?”
“Anything,” Damien said, standing up and crossing his arms.
“Can you help Miss Mabel with the soup, please? And if you want to, that’s great.” She waved to all the boys. “You can eat too. Mabel’s chicken and corn soup is amazing.”
“Cheers, Serena,” Knox and Damien said, nodding their heads to show they were grateful.
I watched their backs as they disappeared, then I turned to my mum with the best apologetic look I could muster. “Mom, I could explain…” I started looking everywhere but her eyes, before stuttering. “Well, these guys were actually helping me out with some studying.”
After a long moment of silence, I looked at my mother. She raised her eyebrow and would have laughed, but she didn’t want to embarrass me. “Tali, don’t worry, love. I knew why they were really here,” my mum said, smiling lazily.
“What did they tell you?” I said, narrowing my eyes.
“Don’t worry about a thing.”
I said, “Okay, uh, okay,” but it was more like I was asking a question.
“Don’t worry about it, love. I’m just grateful they were here,” she said, glancing at Kieran.
That’s when I really got to know the amazing guy who swept me off my feet. His hair was a mess. His eyes were glazed with uncertainty and it didn’t take me long to notice the golden specks forming, his pupils dilating. He was lost in thought, looking at the far wall behind me as he leaned his chin on his fists, which were resting on his knees.
He looked like a statue. It was so emotionless and still that it scared me. I was worried that if anything dared to make a move on him, he’d probably beat the crap out of it.
“What I want to know,” my mum said, breaking the silence. “That’s why he looks more scared than you do. Why did he seem so overprotective of you? Even when I tried to come near, he kept you all to himself. Why?”
I immediately flushed, trying to hide my face in the couch cushion. I heard my mum’s soft chuckle and she took the cushion off my face. She smiled at me warmly, like a mum does with her child.
“Mom, there’s nothing going on between us,” I said, covering up.
She snorted. My mum actually snorted, and not only that, but she rolled her eyes at me too! “Come on. Even a blind man could see something is going on. He wouldn’t be this way if there was nothing,” she pointed out.
“We were just really good friends, you know.”
“It’s okay, honey, to fall in love,” she said quietly before holding my hand. “Just because your dad and I didn’t work out in the end doesn’t mean it can’t work out for other people. I mean, look at Gram and Gramps. They’ve been married for forty-five years.” She smiled gently at the memory, but then her eyes went all glassy and distant. “I’m sorry, Tali.”
“About what?” I said, barely above a whisper.
“For letting you and Elias down,” she sighed. “For letting you believe those silly things that love isn’t worth it, because it is. It really is a work of art. I mean, look where your dad and I ended up – with my unconditional love for both my kids. I know I let you guys down sometimes, and I’m not always there. Trust me when I say that I’m truly sorry and deeply regret it.
“Mom, please, don’t,” I said, voice wobbly as a tear trickled down my cheek. “Don’t beat yourself up. If anything, you’re the best I could ever ask for.”
I felt her wipe away my tear with the back of my hand as she smiled at me. “Honey, I want you to be happy. This boy,” she started, nodding her head towards Kieran, “is everything I wish my daughter could ever be with.”
“Is it because he was there?”
“Nah, love. It’s because I could see he makes you happy,” she interrupted.
I looked at Kieran again and couldn’t help but smile. I just wished he’d snap out of that daze and look at me, and I wanted him to sweep me off my feet with that amazing smile of his. I was craving the warmth of his lips on mine and the warmth of his body next to mine.
“How long has he been like that?” I asked her, turning back to my mum, who was watching me.
“Oh, about three hours,” she shrugged.
“Three hours!” I said, looking at him again, feeling shocked. “What time is it?”
“Yeah, right after you fainted and the cops came over to inspect that window. It’s about midnight by now.”
When I mentioned my window, I shuddered. I looked at my mum and you could see the fear in my eyes. She patted my leg, telling me that everything was going to be all right. But I knew it wasn’t. Things were getting worse. I was curious if my mum was aware of my previous run-ins with this enigmatic “Iron Justice.”
“Mom,” I watched as her gaze turned to me slowly. Hey, do you know about…
“Hey guys,” I heard someone shout through the house. The deep voice bounced off the walls. “We’re finally home!”
Just as she’d predicted, Aunt Mabel arrived with Knox and Damien right behind her. Aunt Mabel had her hands full with kitchen gloves, holding a pot of soup. Knox had a couple of glass bowls and spoons in the other hand. Damien had a pitcher of what looked like iced tea and some paper cups in his other hand.
I smiled as Aunt Mabel told the boys what to do. Then she looked at me, her face was all lit up and her smile was huge. “Oh dear,” she said, patting her grey hair down. “How are you feeling…? I thought I’d whip up some of my famous chicken and corn soup, just in case it starts raining on your sunny day.
And, of course, Elias chooses to come in at that exact moment – me lying on the sofa with Mum close by, Kieran in a total haze, Aunt Mabel bringing me chicken and corn soup that she always made on our bad days, and the two shirtless boys doing what Aunt Mabel told them.
He stuck his head round the corner, mouth open, before stepping fully into the room. His thick eyebrows scrunched together as he saw the scene in front of him. “I’m not sure I understand. Is there something I’m missing?”
“Hey guys, so we need to – okay, wow. Now, I’m confused,” Tasha said, stepping in next to Elias. He put his arm around her shoulders, and her eyebrows scrunched up.
“We’ll explain later,” my mum said, laughing. “So, how was your movie?”
“Well, it was good. You know, men really enjoy chick flicks,” Elias said sarcastically. “Especially since the whole reason you watched the movie was to impress your girl. Then, she said she had a ‘huge stomach ache’ and took almost an hour in that bathroom,” he said, nudging Tasha’s arm.
She nudged him in the ribs and, amusingly, I watched him flinch from the impact. “Honey, you weren’t supposed to tell anyone about my private time,” she hissed, smiling playfully at him.
“I just wanted to share my story that my girl takes longer than me in the bathroom,” he said with a cheeky smile at her.
“Oh, just pipe down, you two,” Aunt Mabel said, putting her hands on her hips. “Don’t make these two handsome fellows vomit, or you’ll end up smothering them.”
I thought it was funny when the two lovebirds blushed. But I couldn’t help laughing when I heard Damien and Knox’s appreciative moans as they dug their faces into their bowl of steaming soup. Soon, everyone was licking their bowl clean and wanting more. Everyone around me felt so safe and I actually felt like I was in a family for once. It was a full and happy family, though some people, like the rest of the Moonfire and Eclipse pack, were missing.