Living with the Millers

Chapter 5 - People Surprise You

Chapter 5 - People Surprise You

Walt ran over to us and pulled the net down, making me roll to the edge.  He gave me a look that clearly said he wasn't pleased, and I smiled sheepishly. "What the hell was that?" He hissed, grabbing my hand to help me down.  Hesitantly, I jumped off. "I don't think anyone else noticed that was on purpose, so keep your mouth shut." he gave Ben a look, and he flinched.  Ah, so there was someone who could scare the invincible Benjamin. "We'll talk later."

I bit my lip sheepishly, ducking my head.  At the time, I hadn't even thought through the consequences of my actions; all I had wanted was to make Ben shut up.  Only after, when every inch of my body ached, did I realize we could have been seriously hurt.  I really needed to start thinking things through.

Savanna ran up to Ben and grabbed him by the shoulders, looking him over frantically. "Are you okay?" she gasped, reaching one hand over to me. "What about you, Shiloh, are you okay?" 

"I'm fine," I muttered, wrapping my arms around myself awkwardly.  A second later two sets of small arms engulfed me, and I jumped, surprised.

"Oh my god Shi, what happened?" Zoe gasped, squeezing me tightly. "I looked up and you were falling all of a sudden!  Are you okay?  That's such a big fall."

"I-I'm okay," I stuttered, startled at their sudden concern.  I mean, sure, that was a big fall, but I was fine.  If I was standing here that was obvious, right? 

"I thought you were going to leave me like Gran," Arielle whispered, burying her head in my stomach.  My heart broke when she said that and I sunk to the floor, wrapping her in my arms.  Before I could stop myself I was bawling, rocking back and forth while I clung to her.

The littlest things were setting me off, breaking my soul into a million pieces.  I didn't even care that every single one of the Millers were looking at me like I had lost my mind, I just couldn't pull myself together. "I'm not going anywhere, Ari," I cried, gripping both sides of her face.  Her eyes widened. "I promise."

"I didn't mean to make you cry," she sniffed, wiping her nose.  I shook my head, forcing a smile.  "What did I do wrong?"

"Nothing, Hun," I said, taking a deep breath.  It was shaky, but I was slowly controlling my emotions. "I'm just tired, that's all."  Slowly, I looked up to find all of the Millers looking down at me, with the exception of Ben, who had taken to sulking in the corner. "Sorry, guys, I guess I got overwhelmed," I laughed, wiping the tears away from my eyes.  Even though I still felt like crying, I started to pull myself together piece by piece.

"Oh Shiloh, I'm so sorry," Savanna gushed, collapsing on the ground and wrapping an arm around my shoulder. "I didn't realize how upset you still were over this."

Upset?  The only mother I had ever known had just died.  Upset was an understatement.

I was heartbroken.

But instead of saying this, I forced a smile.  "It's fine, Savanna.  How could you have known?  I'm good at hiding emotions when I want to be."  Cora sat down next to me, joining the small pile of people that was starting to form on the ground.  She grabbed my hand and squeezed, giving me a smile.  All of my sisters were there, except for London, who was looking at me with disgust.  I wasn't sure what was going on with her, but this was not the same girl I had known all her life.

All I knew was that the look she gave me made my stomach sink.  Maybe I was being a drama queen, letting my emotions get the better of me.  I could've held it together, well, probably.  The last thing I wanted was for the Millers to hate me because I seemed like a bitch.  First impressions mattered, and so far, and I had been all about me.