Rise Against (Book II)

Chapter Three - Family

Chapter Three – Family

I SAT NEXT TO them on the couch awkwardly and waved with a tiny smile.

"Hey Mom, hi Joe," I muttered.

"I'm sorry about earlier Samantha. I was very rude. I was just surprised to see you," Joe said, with a sheepish smile on his face.

"I completely understand." I nodded. "Would you like to meet my... Friends?" I asked.

He froze, but then gave a stiff nod. Mom smiled slightly and nodded for me to get them. The tension in the air was so thick; you could cut it with a spoon. No knives required.

"Jack! Zack! Come here please!" I called. They should hear me. Their hearing is better than mine.

Jack came down the stairs and Zack came up the basement ones. Jack looked his normal self—as if I didn't whack him in the head with mine. I tried not to make eye contact with him because I was still angry with what happened earlier. It was uncalled for and he needs to suffer for it.

Zack walked in with an unsure expression on his face. Joe stood up carefully with almost trembling hands. You could tell he didn't believe my mom.

"This is Zack. And this is Jack," I introduced.

"Err, nice to meet you... I'm Joe," he muttered; not shaking hands. I understood though considering they were strangers.

"Show him I'm not crazy Sam," mom whispered.

I tried not to start laughing. She really wanted to prove him wrong. How could I show him? Would Zack care? My eyes drifted towards Zack as I almost waited for his approval. He wasn’t really looking at me, but at Joe.

"You can show him how you showed your mom last time..." Jack breathed in my ear; making me jump at his closeness.

I winced at the memory and suddenly a thought came to mind.

"Sure." I smiled at him like I had before when we were in my room..

 Jack seemed surprised. I was surprised myself when he didn’t realize the mischievous smile I had. But then he suddenly questioned my statement.

I leaned in so confidently and kissed Zack for a second; feeling his warm lips on my—almost forgetting the audience. He always smiled when I did, but I was watching his eyes. 

Nothing? Aw. I wondered why. But I didn't say anything. Well because that failed utterly, I had another idea.  I gave a hard kick to Jack's leg. He groaned and fell down. Okay, I felt a little sorry for him.  

He looked up at them this eyes shifting from a light green, to a red. Joe gasped, but was frozen where he was.

"Jeez. Did you have to kick me?" Jack grunted, standing up next to me.

"Um... Zack? Why don't you go ahead and start cooking?" I told him.

He nodded then headed through the kitchen door. My face was red from embarrassment of my sudden violent moment. Jack stood there next to me still. His stance was almost threatening. Was he worried that Joe might do something? I gave him a look.

"I'm going to see how Cassie is doing," he murmured and then patted me on the back and went down in the basement.

"Zack is a great cook. I hope you don't mind him cooking…" I was uncomfortable then.

Was that a smart thing to show what they are? As Twiads?  Maybe that was a bad idea. I headed down in the basement to see Cassie. I needed something to hold.  

When I entered the room, I saw Jack bouncing Cassie on his leg. He was sitting in a chair in the corner. I watched him play with her; talking to her sweetly. Then I walked in to see him from a closer view.