Shot In The Dark [Book 1]

3.4 - A Sore Thumb

"I'll be on my best behaviour, promise." I hold up my pinky and he interlocks his own with it.

The rest of the car ride is silent, other than me getting excited about a few animals we see on our way to his house.

The vibe of this town is nice. Its quiet and small. The type of place you would want to raise your kids.

"We're here, I'll open your door for you." Koleton mumbles as the driver drives down a dirt road, approaching a house.

I sit quietly as Koleton gets out of the car and opens my door. Quite a lot of people run out of the house and up to the car, smiles on all of their faces.

"Koleton! My oh my it's been a while since I've seen you, son." An older man smiles, wrapping Koleton in a hug before turning to me.

His accent is thicker than I would've thought, since Koleton's accent isn't that strong.

"Hey papaw, this is-"

Before he gets the chance to introduce me, a scream is let out as if someone is getting killed.

"Is that Margo Roberts?!" A girl that can't be older than sixteen stares at me in shock. "There's no way she's seeing me like this, I'll be right back!"

She runs up the stairs and back into the house as Koleton turns to me. "That's Stevie, she's a big fan."

An older woman walks up to us and wraps Koleton in a hug, mumbling a few things into his ear before pulling away.

"You didn't tell us you were bringing company, I'm Andrea. I'm Koleton's mother, but you can call me Andrea." She wraps me in a tight hug, one that I definitely needed.

"I'm Margo Roberts. I didn't expect to tag along on his trip, but it's nice to finally meet you. Koleton has told me a lot about you." I smile softly, trying my best to follow each of the rules Koleton informed me about.

"Darling, you don't have to be all formal. We're all family here." She laughs and I immediately relax my shoulders. "You definitely dressed to impress. We'll have to find you different clothes to wear while you're here so you don't mess all of these nice clothes up."

She turns to walk back into the house before speaking again. "Those will definitely be nice church clothes though."

She walks back into the house as a younger boy approaches us, slamming into Koleton and wrapping his arms around his legs.

"You didn't tell me about church." I mumble, opening the trunk of the car.

"I didn't expect us to go." He responds, keeping his voice quiet.

I pull the suitcases out of the trunk and set them on the ground as Koleton says his hellos to the rest of his family. A boy that looks to be around my age comes up to help me with the bags, since I'm clearly struggling.

"I'll grab the heavier ones, you can get the others." He offers and I nod. "Where are you from?"

"Australia." I answer him and he seems taken back by either my answer or my accent.

"Can you say mate? Or kangaroo?" He smirks, clearly amused by his own joke.

"Alright Phoenix, stop flirting and go help dad." Koleton shoves him out of the way and he rolls his eyes.

"Fine, it was nice meeting you." He flashes me a smile before jogging towards the house and I turn to Koleton.

"You have a big family." I smile at the thought that everyone seems so happy to see him.