:) Family time! Also backstory~
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''Damn, Uncle Emory really needs to get better games to play'' One of his Nieces, Lacy, Muttered from where she sat in front of one of the cabinets.
I was sitting on the couch with my hands tightly holding onto the hem of my shirt, Trying to keep calm in a room filled with strangers.
Strangers who Emory seems to care about quite a lot.
''Who the fuck even plays Jenga anymore?'' She continued ranting, Pulling the wooden block based game out of the cabinet as if to punctuate her point.
Her cousin, Robin, Was sitting beside me on the couch, Scrolling through their phone and ignoring their older cousin's dramatics, Which was much better than I could do.
Their parents -Emory's siblings- Had gone to another room with Emory and his parents to talk with each other.
I was quite surprised to learn from Lacy and Robin that their parents had been adopted while Emory was nearing the end of high school, Which kind of explained why they weren't included in the picture above Emory's fireplace seeing as he appeared much younger in the picture.
''To hell with it, This seems to be the least boring game he has'' Lacy eventually said, Standing up with the game of Jenga held in her hands.
Robin and I carefully cleared off a small spot on the coffee table for the tower of blocks while Lacy loudly read out the instructions.
I sat as still as I could, A tense smile on my face as I waited for the game to start.
''For crying out loud. . .Aspen, You're going to be our uncle eventually right?'' Lacy asked suddenly out of the blue, Stopping mid sentence to ask said question.
I blinked dumbly a few times, My brain short circuiting at that.
What. . .
Thankfully, Lacy didn't expect an answer to her question and continued on with what she was saying.
''You really need to bring uncle Emory into the twenty first century with the rest of us, He barely has any technology in his home, It's like he's stuck in the dark ages or some shit'' Lacy continued dramatically.
''Just because he doesn't buy every new device that comes out doesn't mean he's stuck in the dark ages.'' Robin chided before I could even finish processing what Lacy just said.
''He has a smart phone. . .And there's a Tv in another room. . .Just not this one. . .'Cause of the fireplace'' I muttered meekly in hopes of defending Emory as well.
Lacy hummed slightly at that before loudly setting the Jenga game down on the coffee table.
''Alright losers, Let's play'' She said happily before her phone buzzed, Distracting her.
With a eager little squeal, She darted out of the room to answer her phone.
Okay then. . .
Nervously, I scratched lightly at the pale scars on my wrists as Robin and I were left alone together.
We both were quiet for a while before Robin put down their phone, Turning to look at me.
''So. . .How old are you? You don't seem much older than Lacy and I'' They started, Looking me up and down as they spoke.
''I-I'm seventeen. . .But I'll be eighteen on the twenty second. . .'' I answered, Hurriedly adding on the second part when they just stared at me, Waiting.
''The. . .Twenty second of this month?'' They asked slowly, Tilting their head to the side slightly as they spoke.
''Yes. . .Why?'' I questioned back, A nervous feeling starting to coil in my chest at the slightly concerned look on Robin's face.
''It's the twenty fifth today'' They stated bluntly, Looking down at their phone to be sure.
Oh. . .Whoops. . .
We both fell silent after that, The quiet sounds of muffled talking the only sound in the room.
After a moment though, Robin reached down under the couch.
I blinked in confusion before much to my surprise, They pulled out a bag of chocolate.
''I stashed candy all throughout this house when Emory was watching over me a few years back'' They explained, Holding out one of the chocolate bars in an offering for me.
''Oh. . .Thank you'' I murmured, Gratefully accepting the offered treat.
''Emory's a very nice guy you know. . .Hell. . .I even potentially owe him my life. . .But he can be pretty shit at talking about himself, So. . .I might be able to answers some of your questions that he might not'' Robin offered, pausing every now and then to take small bites of the bar of chocolate they had picked out.
I nodded slightly before inhaling slowly.
''Actually there is something I want to know about. . .'' I started, Going back to nervously fiddling with the chocolate bar Robin had given me.
''You want to know about the whole 'Jay and Alex situation' don't you?'' They guessed accurately.
Meekly, I kept my gaze on the ground, Giving a sheepish nod anyways.
''When Emory went to college. . .He met up with two soulmates, Jay and Alex, Who were looking for a third to replace their supposedly homophobic third soulmate'' Robin started, Keeping their voice hushed as they spoke.
''Emory felt sympathy for them and was more than happy to join as a replacement. . .Turns out their third's issue wasn't that he was homophobic. . .But that Jay and Alex were abusive people who liked to gaslight'' Robin continued, Pausing once to make sure Lacy wasn't coming back before continuing.
''They convinced him to completely cut his entire family off, Only interacting with those two and the ones they approve of. . .Taking their anger out on him in violent ways. . .Honestly they would still be getting away with all of this had Great uncle Samuel not been helping out with the theatre crowd at Emory's college'' Robin paused again to take a bite of chocolate.
''Anyways, Long story short, Great uncle Samuel told Grandpa and Grandmas and working together, They gathered everyone together and had an 'intervention' that ended in Jay having a broken nose and Alex a nice good old black eye'' They finished, Offering me another bit of chocolate which I refused.
I was feeling a bit sick with all this new information.
How could someone hurt a person as nice as Emory?
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:T Like I said. . .His family means well. . .They just don't want Emory to be hurt again. . .
Anyways! Like always, Have a good day/night and find a better book! - fallen