The Prophecy

14: Meeting the Family

"Ari, this is my little sister, Lizzie," he gestured towards the younger girl seated beside Annie on the couch. She would have been beyond beautiful if it wasn't for the look on her face while she stared back at me. I recognized the look immediately since I'd seen it on River's face for years. Animosity. The girl had obviously already made her mind up about me without even bothering to get to know me.

I figured it was no surprise I'd seen the girl hanging around River since their family came to town. They clearly had the same type of personality. Still, I ignored her look and gave her a friendly smile. She huffed in annoyance and turned to look out the window towards the front yard without a word. Lawrence glared hatefully at his little sister, but I just laid a hand on his side, trying to diffuse the situation.

He glanced down at me, and his face softened instantly. After taking a deep calming breath, he turned towards Annie. "This is my sister-in-law, Annie."

I nodded along since I already knew who she was. In great contrast to Lizzie, Annie gave me a gentle smile in greeting. "It's nice to see you again, Ari."

"Yeah, you too," I responded in a friendly tone. Something about the cute redhead just compelled me to soften my tone when speaking to her.

When I glanced around the room curiously, Lawrence seemed to know what I was looking for without me asking. "Cal isn't here yet. He and our oldest brother had something they needed to do. They'll be here soon."

I couldn't help but glance up at him in confusion. "Oldest brother? I've only ever heard you mention Cal."

He shrugged carelessly, "Yeah, we have another brother too, but we're not exactly close. Not like Cal and me."

The two of us took a seat on one of the couches with me squeezed between Lawrence and Lucien. Lawrence kept his arm wrapped tightly around me while we all sat in awkward silence. It was clear that no one really knew what to say.

My eyes darted to Lucien nervously to find him already watching me with sympathy in his chocolate eyes. That's one of the reasons I loved him. He'd been such a big part of my life for so long that I didn't even have to tell him that I didn't want to do this. He already knew, and he probably completely understood why without even having to ask. The man can read every single one of my expressions.

After a few moments of everyone shifting in their seats uncomfortably, Uncle Ben finally decided to break the silence. "So, I wanted to do this so that I could get to know who Ari is spending time with. Tell me a little about yourself."

"Well, I'm seventeen. I live with my siblings, and I go to school with Ari. I don't have a job because I want to focus on the high school experience for now," Lawrence replied confidently, sounding like he had rehearsed his answer.

"What about college? You plan to go to college?" Uncle Ben asked, barely getting warmed up on his interrogation.

I thought I caught sight of Lucien rolling his eyes, but when I turned to look more closely, he just shot me an innocent look. I tilted my head in silent question, but he just shook his head at me.

Not really caring about Uncle Ben's questions or Lawrence's answers, for that matter, I tuned the conversation out. It didn't take much to get lost in my own thoughts once again. I wasn't even sure what my own answers would be to Uncle Ben's questions.

Did I even want to go to college? I wasn't sure. Spending my life as I had, I'd never really considered it a possibility to even consider.

Annie's soft-spoken voice pulled me from my spiraling thoughts. "I'd really like to get to know you as well, Ari."

I shifted nervously, suddenly unsure about how I would answer any questions she might ask, but I saw only sincerity in her eyes. So, I nodded hesitantly. Lizzie sighed loudly, making her disinterest known to the room as a whole. Thankfully, River stood and waved towards the stairs.