I pushed the door of the house open, relieved to have survived my first day back after a week long break. Trust me when I said this was an achievement worth noting.
The first thing my eyes fell upon was the immaculateness of the place, the foreign cleanliness of the hallway strange to the eye. Shoes were laid up neatly against a wall or placed orderly in a cabinet that I hadn't even known existed.
The carpet was smoothened out and there was no clutter littering the table pressed against the far wall. Was there an event that I was missing out on? Shrugging, I made my way up to my room, noting that not only did the hallway look neat, it was the whole house that sparkled, like it just had a long overdue wash.
I felt myself jump slightly when I turned around after shutting my bedroom door to see Izzy lounging on my bed. She had bunked school after lunch and left me her car to drive home, seeing how I still hadn't gotten one of my own.
Next to her sprawled out form was one of my blue dresses, ironed out and for once, not crumpled in the corner of my wardrobe. I hadn't even gotten around to use this outfit and didn't understand why it was taken out.
Were we going out? Was there another gang meeting that was happening in this house with the rest of the gang members that I was unaware of?
Upon seeing my confused expression, Izzy let out one of her tinkling laughs. "You need to dress nice today. My mom is coming for a visit and let me tell you now, she is extremely particular about having a formal and nice dinner. So I took the effort to look through your hella messy closet and pick out something suitable. Go get showered."
I nodded my head, suddenly feeling slightly anxious as I was shooed off to my bathroom. I didn't know this lady and I was sure as hell she didn't know why I was here so I hadn't a clue what I was supposed to answer her questions with.
Deciding to procrastinate like usual and worry later, I took a nice shower and cleaned myself up. No matter who she was, I wanted to put on a good impression. Especially if I was going to be introduced as Blake's girlfriend, that only put more pressure on my shoulders.
Slipping on the blue dress, I was esthetic to see that it fit me perfectly, hugging the right places of my body and it also brought out the blue in my eyes, adding a twinkle to the boring colour.
The minute I had the back zipped up, Izzy re entered with a bag full of makeup that I knew couldn't mean anything good.
"Woah, woah, woah hold up there. I want simple Iz, and not you're simple, my simple," I made it clear and watched her huff in disappointment. If it were up to her, my face would be caked in those dangerous substances.
Now I didn't have a problem with makeup, not at all, but I didn't use it very much. First off using anything in excess wasn't good and I wasn't in the mood to look like a china doll or a fake barbie. Second, I was probably one of the most laziest people on earth who would groan at the prospect of doing this tedious task every morning.
Third, putting makeup meant I had to sacrifice a half an hour of my precious sleep every morning. Who in the right mind would do that?I quickly sat down at my vanity desk and forced myself to stay still as Izzy swatted unfamiliar and probably not very good liquids onto my face. At the rate she was going, it was going to prove to be a difficult task in removing it all in the morning.
"Done," she finally commented after a painstaking half an hour, setting the curler aside and letting me stretch out my legs. I made my way to the mirror, expecting a very smokey eyeshadow and bold lip but was greeted with something much sweeter and it definitely caught me by surprise as I stared at my reflection.
There was a slight bronzer and highlight that added a subtle gleam to my face along with a light peach eyeshadow that complemented my face perfectly. My lip matched my eye makeup and my eyelashes were more prominent, thanks to mascara and eyelash curlers.
Overall, I actually felt decent; like I wasn't an ugly eyesore that I normally was. "It suited you, Izzy shrugged and I gave her a tight hug, thanking her for her time and effort. No matter how much I complained throughout the process, the result had ended up being greater than I would have imagined.
"Iz, mom's here," Chris knocked on the door and Izzy took my hand, leading me out of the door. I avoided eye contact with chris like usual, something about his eyes always captivating me and drawing me in, leaving me unsteady and lightheaded. I hated that he had this effect on me.
I briefly scanned his outfit before forcing my gaze away, sucking in a sharp breath when I felt his hot gaze doing the same. He looked undeniably attractive, like usual, dressed in a black blazer, long pants and a white button down shirt.
His hair was slicked back and that only brought out the extra emphasis on his neck tattoos, something that called out to me to stare at though I resisted the urge. He took a step towards us and I held my breath in anticipation, forgetting that I was supposed to be dating Blake.
Though at that moment, my supposed boyfriend called out and I turned to face him, noting that Chris just brushed past us and walked off. My
stomach twisted with slight disappointment though what was I to expect?
I should have known he was going to ignore me like usual, more so since I was dating his 'brother'. It was a relief to know they were so loyal to one another but even if I wasn't 'dating' Blake, would I want to be with chris?
Probably not, seeing how he could be really cold to me most of the time. Then why was I feeling this pull of attraction whenever he was here? It was absolutely nothing, I denied, shaking my head subtly at my outrageous thoughts.
"You both look beautiful, Blake complimented as he reached us and I gave him a polite smile. "You look very handsome too, I replied because it was an obvious fact that he did, though not as breathtaking as chris was. Why was my mind even drifting to him?
I ignored my thoughts, brushing them aside as I took Blake's outstretched arm and walked down the stairs with him. To say I was nervous was the least because I knew little to none about this woman and especially nothing about what she knew about me.Did she know the real reason why I was here or were we going to use the cover that I was Blake's girlfriend? Did she know what the three boys actually did for a living or did they fool her all along? How was I supposed to greet her and what were we to talk about?
Floods of questions ran through my mind though I suppressed them, taking a deep breath to calm down my racing heart. It didn't matter anyway, I probably wasn't going to see her again...
We reached the hallway where I saw her, her back faced towards me as she talked to her son. She stood tall and straight, carrying the air of a very proud woman. Her hair was pinned neatly into a bun and she wore a beautiful black dress.
"Hello Mrs walter, Blake called and she turned around, a motherly warm smile spread on her face as she opened her arms to embrace him. All the negative opinions and assumptions I had about her vanished as I saw the true joy in her eyes about being here, instead of the stuck-up gleam I thought I would glimpse.
When she released Blake she turned to me and I watched as she assessed me, her smile dimming as she scanned my outfit and polite smile. What if she didn't like me? I wrung my hands nervously behind my back.
I felt like a burden lifted off my shoulders when she nodded to herself, the smile getting brighter as she wrapped me in a hug which I returned almost immediately. It felt good to be deemed worthy and to be liked, seeing as how so few people enjoyed my presence anyway.
"It's very nice to meet you, Hazel," She greeted me and I wasn't even the least surprised that she knew my name. Guess it ran in the family to be know-it-alls.
"The pleasure is all mine, Mrs walter," I smiled, feeling all the nervousness dissipate. "It's good that you like my girlfriend, Blake joked as he came and wrapped his hand around my waist, pulling me closer into him.
I watched as her face transformed into one of surprise and it seemed like it was the first time she had heard this piece of news. Hadn't her children informed her? I saw a glimmer of disappointment in her eyes that made me feel slightly crestfallen, no matter the reason.There was something about her that made me want to make her impressed with me. Maybe it was because she was the first lady I had met in a long time that gave off a motherly vibe, something I lacked and craved desperately.
We made our way to the dining table that had been specially laid out for this occasion and I took a seat next to Blake, Izzy sitting on my other side. Chris sat at the head of the table while his mother sat opposite Blake and Noah opposite me.
It was quite a nice sight,, seeing us all sitting here like a happy family though I knew it was far from true. There were always the risk of secrets and at this moment, I didn't know whether I was keeping a very big one from the guest or not...
"So, hazel, you're living here right?" Mrs walter asked curiously, her hands clasped on the table as we awaited our meal. I hesitated slightly before nodding my head, deciding to piece my words together very carefully.
"Yes, temporarily," Which wasn't a lie because sooner or later, I would move out of here. Sooner or later, the stupid ass deal would run out like
maybe this was just for a few years?
Or I would get my college degree, a good job and pay off the debt that encased me if my family didn't before me.
Speaking of my family, it was like a slight dull throb that started again in my heart every time I thought about them. I knew my father didn't give a flying fuck about me and I didn't wish him to because long gone were the times I wished for a fatherly figure.
The part that hurt was the fact that smith didn't try to contact me, not once. It wasn't this big wound in my heart that I could just slap a plaster on and forget about it, it was a million paper cuts that even I couldn't even save myself from.
And it wasn't like I had forgotten about him the way he forgot about me. I messaged him daily the first two weeks, even twice sometimes, in hopes that he would, one day, message me back.
Those messages went through to his phone, double ticks and all, but no message ever came back, not once. That hurt, more than I wanted to admit. I didn't think it would have been so easy for him to erase my existence from his life.
The contract didn't stop him from contacting me, I knew that for a fact because Noah had walked in on me crying and he had found out for me. It was supposed to be some sort of reassurance if it was forbidden but it wasn't, not one part of the contract stated that he couldn't message me.
Meeting me would have to be under strict circumstances but a text wouldn't harm anyone would it? The clatter of plates being set down on the table interrupted to peaceful silence that had fallen over the table, snapping me out of my thoughts effectively.
I wasn't sure if they were the type of families to do prayers before eating so I waited until someone dug in, which Noah did no more than a second after the plate was placed infront of him. I took that as a sign and began eating mine as well, in reasonable bites at a reasonable pace in an attempt to be polite.
I was glad that everyone didn't talk while eating, saving me from more questions and I had to conciously stop myself from devouring the delicious meal in front of us. The food was impressive, the plating reminding me of a five star restaurant.
It seemed like they preferred to eat fancy and I was totally okay with that, giving me a chance to broaden my palette and experience new dishes that I may choose to re-create one day.
Once we finished our meal, we made our way to the living room, taking our seats on the plush couches. "So, hazel, when chris had told me there was going to be an unfamiliar face today, I had thought he had finally found a girlfriend. I guess that was just wishful thinking on my part, Mrs Walter sighed and I was lucky I wasn't eating anything because I would have definitely chocked with surprise.
It was already embarrassing enough that my cheeks resembled slightly pink I guess , flaming at the mere comment. "I was just teasing you dear," She joked and everyone chuckled at the sign of my discomfort.Everyone but chris who just rolled his eyes and stood up, tucking his phone that had been glued to his hands into his pocket. "I have some work to get to, it was nice seeing you mother," He told her respectfully and politely, two things that I thought was beyond him. It seemed like he admired his mother greatly and that alone astonished me slightly.
"So, how did you and Blake meet? It must be serious if you've chosen to live here," Mrs walter commented after chris left and my cheeks only got even redder. What do I say? How much did she know?
I turned to Blake but he was frowning at something on his phone and it was evident he hadn't heard the question. So much for my prince coming to my rescue...
"Umm, we met at a party actually. Yeah, it was my brother's friends birthday at a club and uh, I was the assigned driver to accompany them. So, um, I was quite bored there because I knew no one until Blake came up to me and introduced himself. It, uh, just hit off from there I guess," I lied shakily, hoping she wouldn't call me out on the obvious false tone.
Instead, her smile just widened still and a twinkle was brought to her eye. She nodded in approval before clapping her hands together. "She's passed the test," she called out and Izzy, Blake and Noah looked up from their phones with grins on their face. It was kind of fishy that they were all drawn to their devices but I hadn't paid heed to it, though now it didn't seem like a mere co-incidence.
And what test was she talking about? I was relieved when she started to speak again to put me out of my jumbled thoughts, my eyebrows furrowing together as I tried to piece the pieces together, almost as if this was a puzzle but was getting nowhere.
"I know about the whole deal and gang and everything," She admitted guilty and I elbowed Blake in the ribs, cheeks on fire once again as the obvious truth dawned upon me.
"It isn't something I am proud about, my son's job that is, but I had no say in it. I was aware this was going to happen when I married his father, the mafia of his time. I guess there was something that just drew me in to him, the fact that he had a heart under all of the cold exterior and after a while, when he decided to show THAT concealed part of him, I knew I was smitten. I couldn't help myself but fall in love with the most dangerous guy and I still have no regrets because I have a handsome son and a beautiful daughter that no matter what they do, will always be by my side in an instant," She continued and I couldn't help my heart from melting at the honest truth.
Not knowing that the words she had said would remain true to my heart, that one day I too might get such a future with happiness and joy, even if it may not be with someone from the gang.
"What she meant by you passed the test was that you were willing to lie to protect the gang from someone who may not have known about it and that shows that your trustworthy and would make an excellent member." Izzy informed me, pausing before asking a question that rendered me speechless
TBC
"Would you like to be a part of the West Side, for real this time?"Do you like Mrs walter?
Why did chris abruptly leave?
What do you think hazel's response to the question might be?
Do vote and comment ✨💝