Once a Stranger

Chapter 89: Family time

Pov y/n

"Honey!" My mom exclaims and pulls me into a long hug. I hug her back and enjoy the feeling of her arms around me. Way too much time has passed since I last saw her and I really missed her.

"How are you? How are Scarlett and Rose?" She asks and lets me go to cup my face and look at me from every angle. I smile at that. Since I am Rose's mother, I totally understand Mom's actions.

"I'm really good and so are the girls. We are excited for the wedding and really looking forward to it." I answer and take her hands into mine.

It's true, we are really excited and my nervousness washed away, leaving nothing but joy for the upcoming wedding. Even as a kid I always wanted to get married and have a whole day addressed to the love I feel towards another person and now that day has finally come.
It feels so soon and late at the same time but to be honest, I couldn't be happier with the timing and especially with the person. No one else could have lived up to Scarlett and made me as happy as I am today.

"Oh, I'm so happy to hear that. We're excited for the wedding as well. Marla and Bennett might be very excited about being in LA but they also couldn't stop talking about the wedding." Mom tells me and I smile softly.

I totally understand that the twins are mainly excited about being in LA because the wedding doesn't change anything for them, except being able to call Scarlett Johansson their sister-in-law.
But their excitement about me being with a celebrity calmed down and now they simply think of Scarlett as my fiancée and a part of the family.
I'm glad about that development because it would have been weird if they would go totally crazy every time they see her. It might have awoken their Marvel addiction again but that's all.

"Speaking of the devil, where are they?" I ask and look around. Mom and I met at the promenade and originally the twins were supposed to be here as well but now I can't see them anywhere.

"They saw a store they wanted to check out and promised to come here as soon as they are done." She tells me.
Fair enough, LA really has a lot of stores and if you're here for the first time, it surely is a lot to look at and browse through.

As if they heard us talking about them, they appear on the other side of the road and I can hear Marla squeal when she sees me. They cross the road after looking and then she starts running towards me. I might have hated them a little when they were born but now I love them with my whole heart and couldn't imagine a life without them.

"Y/n!" She yells and nearly runs me over with the speed she tackles me with.
I hug her back and snicker but enjoy seeing her again.

Bennett isn't one to run but as soon as he reaches us, he hugs the two of us and I smile. This feels good, being reunited with my family.
I like living in New York but it sucks that I barely get to see them in real life.

When it gets too warm in the hug, the twins let go of me and I laugh when I see Marla's shirt. Of course she bought an I heart LA t-shirt. It's almost a little cringe but she wears it with such confidence that it's only half as embarrassing as it would be if someone else wore it.

"I see you have been in the sun." I tease and can't help myself but to poke at her shoulder that shows signs of a sunburn. She playfully rolls her eyes and swats my hand away.

"Oh shut up." She grumbles but smiles brightly. Some things never change and I also don't want them to change. Teasing my siblings will always be something I'm gonna do and I'd be offended if they didn't tease me back. Mom starts walking down the promenade, smiling happily to herself because she has all her kids back.

"How is college?" I ask and wrap my arm around Bennett's waist since he is taller than me, which is rude because I'm older but I forgive him.

"It's a lot of work." He answers and I nod.
"We had a couple of exams last semester that were really hard but I only failed one of them and I get to retake it next semester." He tells me, sounding very proud of that. I smile up at him.