Notice me

16 | Help; Part 1

I do a swirling motion with my hand in the air. "The usual... Parking the car." And possibly killing each other. Yeah, the usual.

She nods in understanding. "Come! We just started." I follow her and instantly send a smile at Lili and Kane's dad.

"What took you so long?" Kane shows up out of nowhere beside me. My heart skipped a beat at this.

I take moment to gather myself. I look up at him. "Dom in fact didn't know the directions."

His whole demeanor brightens when he laughs.

Speaking of which... The duo arrives.

"Hey Mrs. and Mr. A!" Dom loudly announces their arrival.

Natalie is fast to greet them warmly.

I feel Kane nudging my arm. I look at him. "Come sit." He motions with his head to a table. I follow him and sit beside him. On the other side of me is Lili.

Cheryl and Dominic follow suit. "Next time I'm not picking either of you." She sits down.

I frown. "What did I do?" I ask in disbelief.

"You should have told me the address from the very beginning."

Dominic sits beside Cheryl. "Then I wouldn't be able to navigate you!"

"That's the point!" She glares at him.

Kane watches in amusement. "That bad?"

Cheryl shakes her head. "You don't want to know."

A voice from beside me interrupts us. "Are you two dating?"

I look at Lili who is watching Cheryl and Dom.

Dom smirks. "She wishes."

That earns him another glare from Cheryl. She turns her head so she could see Lili. "Why would you think that?" Cheryl asks in a much sweeter tone.

I can practically see the wheels in Lili's brain turning, deciding if she should say the reason or not. "Well..." She looks at Dom. "I found it hard you could pull her." She points at Cheryl.

It's Cheryl's time to smirk smugly. I grin and bite my lips to hold back a laugh.

Kane's eyes shine with amusement and pride. That bitch is proud of his sister. Who am I kidding? I'm proud too.

Dom clears his throat while glaring at Lili. "Now that's not a nice way to talk to your guests..."

Lili lifts a bored eyebrow. "You are here more often than Alex."

"True," Kane admits.

"You little shi--"

Lili squeaks and giggles dashing from her seat. Dom sprints after her. Natalie puts tissues on the table. Her eyes followed the two. "I ask for one normal gathering." She mumbles.

We chuckle at her comment.

Ethan, Kane's dad, comes to stand beside his wife. He gives her a loving kiss on her temples. "This is our 'normal'."

Natalie smiles, silently agreeing with him.

Dom nears the table with Lili over his shoulder. He sets her gently down. She gives him a quick glare before running to take a seat next to me. Oh no girl, I am not covering anyone.

He smiles and too takes a seat back beside Cheryl. She sneakily looks at him.

I take it all in. Is this what family feels like?

Ethan takes a look at a table. "Where's Alex?" His eyes travel to Kane.

He only shrugs. "Don't know."

Lili speaks up. "I saw him going out and he told me he's going to meet with his friends from college."

Ethan nods. He looks at the grill and smiles. "Who's ready for Ethan's famous grilled steak kebabs?"

Dom's arm shoots up in the air.

A what?

I look at Kane. He looks at me, reading my mind. "Meat and vegetables on a stick."

Natalie brings salad and bread to the table while Ethan serves everyone his specialty. I look down at my plate. It does look mouth-watering. Dom digs right into his food.

"Don't eat the stick." Ethan jokes and sits down beside his wife when everyone has their plate.

I wait a bit for it to cool down. I hate hot meals from the bottom of my heart. When I think it cooled enough I take a bite. I hum in satisfaction.

Damn. My taste buds are screaming in pleasure.

☆ ☆ ☆

We eat, chat, and play games together.

The sun is already setting.

Dom suddenly calls out. "Dumbest scar stories, go!"

"I burned my tongue once drinking tea." Lili scrunches her nose likely remembering the pain.

Cheryl says next. "I dropped a hair dryer on my leg once and burned it."

"I have a piece of graphite in my leg for accidentally stabbing myself with a pencil in the first grade." Dom proudly says.

I lift my eyebrows. "And you are proud?"

"It looked like a tattoo after," Dom explains.

How the fuck.

Kane tells us next "I was taking a cup of noodles out of the microwave and spilled it on my hand and I got a really bad burn."

They look at me expectedly. "I have emotional scars."

They scowl. "From you," I add.

"Boring." Dom rolls his eyes. "Safe to say mine is the dumbest."

Cheryl chuckles. "How unexpected." She sarcastically retorts.

My phone rings. It stops the others for a second but they go back to their conversation.

I take it from my pocket and look at the screen. Unknown number. I frown slightly.

I rarely pick up unknown numbers. But I have this gut feeling telling me to pick it up. So I do.

I take a deep breath. "Hello?"

The next seconds go painfully slow as I hear the person on the other side. My heartbeat quickens, sweat forming on my palms almost instantly. I remind myself how to breathe.

"Help."