Step of Faith

Chapter XVII: Thigh pincher

But I didn't like visiting my family in Kentucky. Not since Spencer passed, at least. They always bring it up so I've kindly decided to not go there.

This brings me back to the present problem of the guys not knowing my brother is dead. I think if I said his name they would immediately know who he is. But I have to figure out a smarter way of telling them. One that doesn't result in them hating me for making them think he's still alive.

It's not like it's their business to know but we did agree to tell each other the truth so I need to figure out my own shit. I want to be honest with them, I just need to figure out how to drop the bomb that's called crazy life.

I look over at Theo who's nodding his head along to a song and my lips quirk up in a smile. He doesn't even hide the fact that he knows every single word to "Into you" by Ariana Grande. Seeing a jacked hockey player sing along to Ari isn't a sight I thought I'd see any time soon.

He notices me staring but he doesn't stop. Instead, he turns the radio louder and sings along much clearer now. I laugh at him when he starts to tap the steering wheel.

Over the past two days, I've realized he is trying to change and my heart warms at the fact that he's doing it just for me. I've never had anyone care for me this much and it makes me feel all warm and fuzzy.

I look at the cocky hockey player in front of me who isn't as bad as I thought. The beautiful guy who said he wished for me on his birthday. The guy who didn't even hesitate to take pictures of me holding teddy bears and the guy who drops everything to check on me.

His phone lights up with a message and I flit my eyes to the screen noticing that I'm on the wallpaper. The same picture he took of me last night is on his lock screen. My cheeks heat up and I act as if I didn't notice it but a small smile plays on my lips.

Theo picks up the phone and looks at who the message is from. He places it in my hand and my eyebrows furrow at the action.

"It's my sister, can you tell her we'll be there at like 11 am? My passcode is 1517" he mutters.

The fact that he didn't even hesitate to tell me his passcode makes another smile etch its way on my face. I unlock it and text his sister back. Theo tells me how his passcode is like that because his sisters are 15 and 17. The littlest one is only 4.

I can't wait to meet his sisters and family to get all of the dirty details about what Theo did as a teenager. It will be so funny.

-

The next hour and a half passed pretty quickly. Both of us conversed throughout the ride about our studies. Boring, I know. But when we pulled up to a cute house I stared in awe. His house was very homey from the outside.

When he opened the car door for me anxiety finally took over the reins. I was a little terrified to meet his family but he reassured me whilst placing his lower hand on my back which made me relax a little bit.

The door opened before Theo could even knock and two girls flew into his arms. From the color of their hair and eyes, I immediately recognized them as his sisters. Their resemblance was scary, they looked exactly like him.

They pulled back and both of their eyes turned to me noticeably widening.

"This is Blair," Theo introduced me.

"The Blair?" the youngest one grins. And I furrow my eyebrows.

"Iz, shove it," Theo glares at her. And the girls break out into laughter.

"He can't stop talking about you-" the oldest one gets cut off by Theo placing his hand over her mouth.

"I'm sorry, Gemma here doesn't know when to shut up," Theo gives me a tight-lipped smile and I try not to laugh. The sisters introduce themselves while we walk into the house.