Insincere Veneer

|Chapter 26|

Hey, loves! How are you doing? Thank you, once again, for your dedication to this book! I love you. xx

This chapter is dedicated to the beautiful suncloud18 ! :)

Enjoy reading this one! ;)

|Chapter 26|

I don't think it's possible for a pair of eyes to be so widened. Mine could fall out of their sockets in a matter of milliseconds. I was so shocked. I was frozen in my place, and I couldn't bring myself to move a joint. My position was absolutely ridiculous.

Why have I never thought of that before? They're family! They're freaking family. And I thought they were in an eternal love relationship.

Never have I ever felt so stupid before. I felt so embarrassed. I was blushing ever so evidently and I was sweating like a stinky pig. The related pair stared at me like I grew a new head and I couldn't blame them.

I wanted the ground to swallow me as a whole.

They're family. Of course they are. They're together almost all the time. They're closer together than chocolate chips are to cookie dough. That's why I never saw them show any public forms of affection. They barely even hugged in my existence. That's why they drove to and from school together. That's why Justin was invited to the family dinner. It's because he's a close part of the family.

I'm such an idiot.

What a surprise, I was being mocked by my conscience yet again.

"I-I'm so sorry. I d-didn't know," I apologized for my hideous conclusion. That's when I was proved to be even more of a stupid person. They cracked up laughing like the crazy hyenas in "The Lion King". I just sat there, looking at my beautiful fingers as they intertwined together as if holding on to dear life.

"You're such an idiot, I swear. Why are you apologizing? We understand," Eleanor comforted, chuckling at the end. I started blushing again, a lighter shade of pink this time.

"I don't understand. Why on Earth would you think I'd be dating her? That's retarded. Ew," Justin scrunched his nose at the said "retarded" thought, as he spoke. He then pretended to gag right before Eleanor playfully slapped him across the face, which caused him to pinch her cheek, which caused her to punch his arm, which caused him to poke her side, which caused her to jump at the contact and scream "I'm ticklish", which caused him to start tickling her. Let's just say that I witnessed World War III occur right then and there.

"Stop it, both of you. And you say I'm retarded?" I rolled my eyes at the irony. Justin then gave me an evil grin that screamed with the loudest voice "danger!"

A few seconds later, I was the one being tickled from every direction. I was being attacked by the said "tickle monster".

His words, not mine.

   I cried for help with every breath I could muster. Tears fell from my eyes as I screamed. I laughed so hard that the sides Justin was tickling me on were paining me. I laughed like I never have before.

I felt amazing.

I felt joyful.

I felt new.

His tickles stopped, and so did my laughter. We were all lying on the carpeted floor, grinning from ear to ear. However, a few minutes of comfortable silence later, we were sat in a tiny circle once more.

"So, how exactly are you related to her?" I asked Justin in curiosity. He gave me a huge smile before proudly replying to my question.

"She's my sister."

   Justin hugged Eleanor from the side and kissed her forehead. I would have "aw"ed at the sight if I wasn't so shocked.

   They say that every day, we learn something new. I completely agree, but it must be illegal to learn so many shocking things like such in one day. I felt dumbfounded and very, extremely surprised.

They're siblings.

   It made incredible sense. But it was still very shocking to know. They did not resemble each other the least bit. Eleanor was very tan, unlike Justin, who had much lighter skin. Justin's eyes were a very captivating shade of green while Eleanor's were a really dark shade of brown. Not to mention that their facial features had absolutely no similarities. That's why the news was definitely unexpected.

"Oh, I get it now." I nodded, understanding. They smiled at me and I returned the action.

"Yeah, as annoying and too wise she is, I'm very happy to have this moron as a sister," Justin complimented her as he ruffled her hair. She slapped his hand away and stuck her tongue out at him teasingly. I laughed at how ridiculous they both were acting.

"But how come you guys don't resemble each other at all?" My head tilted to my right in question.

   Eleanor's eyes became dark, before sparkling once again when she tried to hide her change in mood. She gave me a small smile, which I returned, slightly. I saw Justin's hand squeezing hers, and I immediately knew something was wrong.

"I'm adopted," Eleanor announced.

Well, this day keeps getting better.