Last One Standing (wattys2017) (UNDER CONSTRUCTION)

Women Are From Venus

They eyed me as if I were a piece of furniture rather than a human being.

"Aunt Lili, Aunt Missy, this is Alexis. Alexis, these are my aunts." Toby stretched his hand out in a gesture, lips curving into a forced smile. I bowed my head slightly, my hands too shaky to offer up a wave.

The taller of the two women stepped forward, "It's nice to finally meet you, Alexis. Tobias has spoke of you quite often."

I looked back and forth between the two Singaporean women before turning to Toby with a forced smile, "You talk about me?"

"A lot." Lili responded with a kind smile.

"Good things, I hope." I laughed nervously, wiping my sweaty palm against Toby's tux. He wrapped his arm around my waist and pulled me closer, the smile on his face not meeting his eyes.

"Of course." He smiled, "Do you think I'm some sort of monster or something, Lex?"

The two beautiful women laughed, waving us in after them. I was relieved to have Toby's guidance as we maneuvered around in the crowded building. There was hardly any space between tables, and the same there was, people were lingering in and talking.

I spotted Toby's parents a mile away, much do to the fact that the waiters had pushed two tables together to fit the large family. It helped that they seemed to be in the midst of a fight, waving their hands frantically around in front of them.

We had approached the table when Mr. Fisher suddenly decided it would be a wonderful time to stand up and greet me himself; possibly a distraction from his wife.

"Alexis, it's so nice to see you again!" He pulled me into a hug, his hand resting a little above my bandage.

Mr. Fisher had always had this way of making me feel as if I were another child to him. He always had a warm, comforting smile when I was around, and made sure to scold me just as he does with Toby. When he'd mutter in Spanish under his breath, it was a sure way of knowing he was irritated with someone. As he pulled away and sat back in his seat, I could see his lips moving in distaste of whatever Mrs. Fisher had been at his throat for.

"Toby!" a pint sized pixie threw her arms around Toby's legs when he reached to pull my chair out for me. I smiled, my hand falling over my chest at the adorable sight. She couldn't be much older than five, and had eyes that in the right lighting, I was sure looked like his.

"Hey there, Muni." He ruffled the little girls thick, dark hair.

"Did you bring my present?" she crossed her small arms over her chest and pursed her lips. He pried my seat from where it seemed to be glued to the ground.

"I did, but I have to help my girlfriend before I can give it to you." he explained slowly. I waved him off and sat down beside his empty seat.

"No, you go ahead, Toby." He gave me a thankful look before picking up who I could only guess was his cousin. I stared after him until he had carried her out the front doors, feeling as if every pair of eyes had fallen on me.

Mrs. Fisher clicked her tongue against her teeth, "What happened to your back, dear?"

"Donated blood." I answered, shifting my body toward her. She stared at me skeptically, but didn't push on the topic any further.

"How did you and our lovely boy meet?" Tobias' Aunt Lili asked, setting her fork and spoon on a separate napkin so they wouldn't be near the knife.

"I actually met him through my older brother. I fell on the swing set outside my house and he helped me up." I smiled as the fuzzy memory resurfaced, "He's a really great guy. You all did a wonderful job with him."

They all laughed and a few of his relatives even reached and patted my hand. By the time Toby got back, he looked as if he'd walked through a car wash blow dryer. He threw himself into the seat, unaware that he was currently the center of topic and attention.

"What'd I miss?" he glanced around the table sheepishly, "Hope it wasn't anything too important."

I was starting to lean back in my seat when Mrs. Fisher turned to me with a smile that could be mistake for a grimace.

"Has my son told you about his plans for August?" she arched an eyebrow. I saw a muscle in Toby's jaw twitch as he glared dangerously across the table at his mother.

"Mom, leave it alone." he warned. She flashed him a dark look.

"What? What are your plans, Toby?" I laid a hand on his forearm, chapped lips parted.

His mother jumped back in before he could open his mouth, "He's going back to Singapore with his Aunt to study the language."

Instead of freaking out as I supposed she thought I'd do, I pushed away from the table and excused myself. I sent a quick look over my shoulder on my way to the bathroom to find Mr. Fisher shaking his head at his wife, anger evident in his eyes. I waited until I knew I was alone in the girls bathroom to unstrap my heels and slide down the wall, refusing to let any more tears escape.

When I went back out there, I'd have to face Toby and his family all over again. Now with the knowledge that this was one of last few times I'd be eating dinner out with him again; knowing that he could have told me at any time and he hadn't in fear I'd have a some sort of breakdown.

What he didn't understand was I had reached my breaking point a long time ago; there wasn't anything that could affect me as much anymore. At least that's what I try to force myself to believe.

***AN***

A filler chapter, I know. I PROMISE that the next chapter will definitely be more eventful and there WILL be a double update. Exciting, right? 

Hope you guys enjoyed!

Let me know what you guys thought! I'd love to hear it! 

~ChasingMadness24