Colliding with Fate (Published under Pop Fiction)

Meet the Family

Stella leads the way to the back of the house, looking like she just heard a bad news. I feel sorry for her. His brother can be so annoying.

My jaw almost drops to the ground when I see a lot of people gathered in their backyard.

“I thought it was just your family,” I hiss under my breath.

“This is my family,” KY states.

We continue to walk, and every now and then there are people stopping us to ask how KY is. He introduces me as his special friend. Yeah, right. As if they buy it.

We’ve been here for a couple of minutes already but we haven’t seen his parents yet.

“Mom,” KY says suddenly.

A woman turns around, and her face lighting up when she sees KY.

The woman wraps him in an embrace, and I can see there are tears in her eyes.

I look away because I feel like intruding in their private moment.

KY has that effect on people. It’s like magic.

A man goes to where we are and claps KY’s shoulder. “I’m glad you made it,” he says.

KY is the spitting image of his father; same dark hair and blue eyes. Now I have an idea what he will look like when he gets older.

“I won’t miss Mom’s birthday,” KY says.

The woman smiles genuinely at him and says, “Welcome home.”

“Kyle didn’t even ring the doorbell,” Stella complains. But I can see that beneath the irritation, she’s happy that her brother is here.

His parents finally remove their gaze from their son and look at me.

“Mom, Dad,” KY says, “This is Brielle. Brielle, this is my Mom, Sophia, and my Dad, Drake.”

His dad, even though he’s in his forties is still handsome. Is that even possible? They said beauty fades with time. Apparently, that didn’t apply to his parents, because even his mom still looks beautiful.

His mother is striking with her pale blue dress that compliments her eyes. Now I know where Stella got her charm.

Mrs. Swift is wearing a single piece of jewelry. It’s a necklace with green pearls that looks like a rosary because of the silver cross pendant.

 “Happy Birthday Ma’am,” I say as I give her my gift.

“Thank you,” she says, smiling at me. “You can call me Sophia.”

“And you can call me Dad.”

“Draky,” Mrs. Swift chastises her husband.

What did she call him again?

Mr. Swift grins. “What, Pie?”

I frown. How did he know that my gift is pie?

Mrs. Swift smiles and says, “Just ignore my husband. He likes teasing people.”

“Mom, guess what her gift for you is,” KY says amusedly.

Mrs. Swift peers inside the bag, and a second later, she’s laughing.

I glance at KY. “Did you change my gift for your mother?”

“Of course not,” he says.

“What is it?” Mr. Swift asks.

Mrs. Swift hands him the bag, and he takes the container from it. “A pie,” he says, grinning. “Does she know?” he asks his son.

“Know about what?” I ask, confused.