'The more actions you take the more progress you make'
Enrique gradually drops the topic of the debate and we settle into silence, the low humming of the radio being the only audible sound in the car.
I have no idea when we are headed to, the turns he chooses leads me from my familiar route to a complete estrange one.
"Where are we going?" I finally ask, only to be met with momentary silence.
"Your mum thought it would be a good time for you to meet the rest of your new family," he replies vaguely.
"Why now?" I frown.
"You're going to be in the wedding," he replies.
"And?" I urge for a clearer reasoning.
"And so are they," he adds.
"It's not my wedding, I know you three that's enough," I protest, the very thought of meeting more people sets a cast of daunting clouds over me.
From my peripheral vision, I catch a glimpse of his lips inching upwards--not a complete smile or even a smirk--amusement being hinted from this eyes.
"You're just going to be meeting two of our cousins and their partners, you'll be acquainted with the rest of the family at the wedding itself," he inform me, not helping my building anxiety at all.
I refrain from asking any more questions having somewhat of a vague idea what the response might be and rather focus on calming my racing mine down.
It isn't long before I find us pulling into a driveway leading to a modern two-story house. It's white colour reflecting the sunlight giving it an appearance to bigger than it actually is.
Colour-coordinated flower beds line the perimeter of the house while the metal gates we just entered through shut behind us automatically and with minimum noise.
"Everyones' already here," Enrique says after a quick glance at his phone that he then deposits onto the dashboard before driving down the driveway and following the path until he reaches a garage.
The garage door collapses sideways granting us access before regaining its place and shutting after we enter.
'Does everything have a motion detector here?' I wonder eyeing the garage door and the red line of light stretching across a few feet ahead of the door.
Wordlessly slouching out of the car, I maneuver my way around to the other side of the vehicle and follow closely behind Enrique as he makes his way across the garage that I now notice is littered with numerous cars.
Entering the house through the garage access, my eyes wonder around on their own accord taking in the ambiance.
Neutral colors, no decorations up, three frame along the hallway--all group pictures--the fragrance permeating the air is undoubtedly the remanence of a musky perfume.
'An unmarried guy lives here' I conclude, just as the faint crackles of lively laughter hits in my ears.
"Finally! Took you guys long enough!" Exclaims a green-eyed dark-haired guy sitting on the sofa, beside a tanned dark-haired girl whose lips curve into a bright smile as soon as she spots us--or Enrique.
"Somone's in a grumpy mood." A voice behind me remarks right before Wesley wraps his arm around my should coming into my peripheral sight.
My body stiffens on its own accord at the foreign touch, but I force myself I relax, focusing my mind on observing the people around me.
"She's always in a grumpy mood," Kayden makes his presence known with his comment and his signature eye roll that follows.
"Good to see you too, Kayden," I reply sarcastically, Kayden just rolls his eyes again and settles himself on the other sofa opposite to the green-eyed guy.
Another guy enters the room sporting a blank expression and a cigarette between his index and forefinger.
"Cancer on a stick, nice," I blurt out under my breadth without thinking, eyeing the cigarette in his hand.
By his reaction to my comment, his stance and the faded fine creases on his forehead barely visible, but still, there, he doesn't seem like a regular smoker more like a stress smoker.
'What is he stressed about?'
'Doesn't matter, it's none of my business' I mentally reprimand myself before shifting my attention back to the present exchange.
"Liv, how about you and Enrique make yourselves comfortable while I go fetch you something to drink?" Wesley asks, undoubtedly reading my unvoiced discomfort.
I shrug in response. "So what would you like, we have Mountaindew, Capri Sun--"
"Water is fine," I reply in a soft tone interrupting him.
"Water it is then," he replies, his eyes momentarily drifting to meet Enrique's before returning to mine.
I spot the cryptic nod Enrique gives Wesley before Wesely leaves the room and Enrique guides me towards a vacant seat on one of the sofas and settles down himself beside me.
Soon enough introductions start to roll in and my mind starts to tune off. Except for the cigarette guy--Jenson--who was quick to douse off his cancer stick after entering the room, everyone in here seems to be only interested in conversing with Enrique.
"So you choose Salicylic acid over Glycolic acid?" Jenson asks with a raised brows.
"I find it works better on my skin, so yes," I shrug.
How did I find myself in this conversation? I don't know but within the first few sentences we exchanged with one another I learned that Jenson here owns a skincare brand and is himself quite passionate about it, much like myself.
"Fair enough," he agrees. "So if given a choice, would you choose Niacinamide or Alpha Arbutin?" He asks with evident curiosity to know my pick.
"Alpha Arbutin," I reply without a second thought, "it's more potent," I add.
"I'll have to agree with that," he laughs.
"But then again, it's all in the formulation and percentage," I remark and he nods in agreement, just as I catch the rest of the room now having their attention pinned on us with unreadable expressions.
"What?" I mumble under my breathe, hating the amount of attention thrown my way.
"That's the most we have heard you speak since we met you." Wesley is the first to speak, visible shocked at his own findings.
"And they aren't one-word answers either," Kayden adds mirroring Wesley's expression.
"I think you guys are overreacting," Jenson rolls his eyes, attempting to laugh it off.
"Nope," both guys reply in unions.
Jenson turns his attention towards me, now with a raised brow and humorous eyes. "Guess she likes me more than you three dumbasses," he concludes arrogantly and I refrain from my eye roll.
This causes Kayden and Wesley to both shift their attention towards me, with that 'is that true?' look on their faces, but my attention is fix on Enrique who's changed in demeanor hasn't skipped my attention.
From my peripheral vision, I take notice of his impassive gaze that was ones directed towards our direction is now locked on his watch--a smartwatch.
Just as I force myself to ignore my observation and return my attention to the three guys who have busied themselves in putting up a bickering show for the other two in the room, while they argue who I like more amongst them.
'Why is Kayden even part of this argument? I thought he hates my very existence'
"We have to leave," Enrique's authoritative voice brings all conversation in the room to an immediate and abrupt stop.
Kayden and Wesley both share a glance, before they nod in agreement with Enrique, while the others still appear as confused as I.
"C'mon Liv," Wesley whispers to me, pulling me out of my thoughts.
"Why?" I can't help but ask.
"Explanations can wait for a better time," Enrique replies before Wesley can. I bite my tongue from letting out a snarky remark in response, only to be pulled away and out of the house by Wesley.
'What's going on?'
'And why the hurry?'
Author's Note:
Hey guys I'm back, with another update and late as usual.
Hope this chapter was worth the wait and that you enjoy it.
Comment &vote
~Kia