I think you should check the tws for this chapter <3
Nash
After Octavia bought whatever she wanted from the bookstore or more like I persuaded her to buy because she said it was "too expensive" her words not mine , I decided we should do something that's long overdue.
***
"Where are we?" She asks scanning her surroundings, "we're meeting my family , they've been dying to meet you since the news of me having a girlfriend came out." I say and her eyes widen , "no , um I'm not...good with that family thing , Nash." She says suddenly seeming nervous.
"It's okay , mom is the sweetest and she's also a writer since you love books and all that , and um look my uncle isn't the best but he isn't bad either, and my sister-she's perfect you'll love her." I try to reassure her and she clears her throat a little , "what about your dad?" She asks her brows furrowed together while mine hit my hairline "you don't search about me, lenochka?" I ask clutching my heart dramatically.
Her lips thin in a line and she shakes her head "not really , why would I search about you when I see you everyday?" She asks raising a brow , "not even out of curiosity?" I ask , "nah." She says still sounding nervous as she keeps touching the necklace around her neck, the necklace, I've noticed that whenever she's nervous she keeps touching it.
I grit my teeth but force myself to push it away , I'll ask her about it later or better yet not on her birthday , "fine.." she says still anxious "it'll be okay I promise , and I'm right here tho nothing will happen and if you want to leave just tell me and we'll go have some ice cream." I give her a wink and she smiles like she's relieved.
***
"Hey mom." I say and hug the tall blond woman in-front of me , at 40 years old , Helen Spencer is still a gorgeous woman with a model-like body and blue eyes , "hey, honey." She says while hugging me back , when we pull away I attempt to introduce mom and Octavia but she has already pulled Octavia in a warm hug.
"So you're the girl who stole my boy's heart." She says smiling when she pulls away , Octavia smiles awkwardly while glancing at me , "so um he told me that you love reading books." My mom immediately says and I groan.
She's basically telling Octavia that I've been talking about her , god help me "I write them , so we're going to make a great duo." She winks at Octavia and she break out laughing ,I relax a little.
Mom leads Octavia in , considering me completely invisible , thanks mom "oh my god." Octavia mutters under her breath causing me to focus on her , she's staring at Layla's pets , I roll my eyes because those cats hate me I swear to god.
One of them is immediately licking Octavia's feet and the other one is just staring at her as if it's waiting for her to do anything, "is it okay if I-touch them?" She asks politely and my mother nods still genuinely smiling at her , and then Octavia crouches in front of the cat then starts caressing it's fur.
I watch the adorable scene In front of me with amusement , but then I'm distracted with my mom who's now giving me two thumbs in the air as an approval and whisper yells "SHE LOVES CAT , SHE'S THE ONE." She motions at her and Octavia laugh obviously hearing us, and I laugh too.
"Nashhh!!" I hear her yell before I turn , Layla I take her in a hug and she smiles up at me , slowly noticing the changes in her appearance, she's thinner , her face paler , and her smile looks...forced , yep I'm killing her agent, tonight, "I have some unfortunate news." She whispers to me so no one can hear , I raise a brow "what?" I ask her.
"Uncle wants to have a meeting with my agent , and you should be there too." She says sounding-sad? "Why the hell does he want that?" I ask her confused , "because you know, he wants to know about my whole modeling career and all that , he loves it more than me." She laughs bitterly.
I put my hand around her shoulder "no sister , he loves money more than us." I tell her quietly , "anyway , will you come?" She asks softly , but before I can answer she adds "it's okay if you can't tho , I understand you need to train and all that , also you have a girlfriend now." She smiles sadly , "what's wrong?what does that mean?" I ask my brows furrowed in worry , "just , don't stop being close to me because of that." She says quietly shocking me.
She thinks I'll stop being close to her because I got a girlfriend, fuck "how could you think that, Layla?" I ask on a broken whisper , she smiles "what I mean is that , I want you to be happy and everything I swear I don't mean anything , god I didn't mean for it to come out like that , just...ugh." She huffs a breath obviously frustrated that she can't put what she feels in words but I understand her.
"I get it , and don't worry about that , never worry about that, you're part of me Layla , you're my family." I tell her quietly and she smiles up at me , knowing that's the truth , yes I love my mother and she has the purest heart , but Layla has always been my number one in this fucked up family , dad , Rest In Peace dear daddy , was a man who didn't care about anything but his job and money, so obviously he wasn't my favorite.
Not that his death doesn't hunt me till today , he died when I was five years old , a five years old watching his father die right in-front of his eyes ,what an experience , I remember the images perfectly as if it was yesterday , his body floating on the surface of our pool , the clear water turning red , red , red, that's all I can see.
I realize I'm choking on my breath when I find Octavia and Layla shaking my hands rapidly , "breathe." Octavia's soft voice help me regain my breath again , "yes , just like that." She whispers again, "honey, oh my god." My mom panics and then pulls me into a hug , I hug her back but the only scene I focus on is what's in-front of me right now.
Layla is smiling at my girl , and nodding slightly to me like she's approving then hugs her , both of us hugging different people , facing each other when she whispers in my face the same words as my mother "she's the one." She says smiling genuinely, she's the one.
***
After we ate dinner together and Octavia and my uncle had a not-so lovely first meeting , mom insisted that she was going to make us a "homemade" ice cream instead of buying one , so here we are , me and Octavia sitting on a swing with ice creams in our hands , everyone here has a spoonful of vanilla ice cream with a chocolate one beside it.
Because mom said that "us women" (referring to her and Octavia ) should have their own opinions and not change it for anyone , I internally rolled my eyes at that , not that I'd ever confess that tho , Octavia was going to like vanilla one way or another.
I really didn't listen to what mom and uncle were saying because I was still staring at my sister who had her spoon halfway in the bowl , looking at the food in her hand with so much guilt in her eyes , it tore me into pieces, I don't know how to help her, I really don't , and I hate feeling that fucking helpless when it comes to her.
Octavia must've noticed too because she looks at her a little before standing up and going to sit right beside her , Layla looks up at her "I know what's going on inside your head , Layla." Octavia mutteres
Layla's eyes widen a little before she asks "what do you mean?" Octavia looks down at her ice cream that is melting right now.
"You think you don't deserve to eat those two spoons of ice cream , don't you?" She whispers quietly for just the three of us to hear , Layla nods slightly and it's like someone is driving a stake right into my heart , "you're wondering how many calories could possibly be in this but you don't know because it's homemade , and that's triggering you even more , what if it's a lot of calories? That'll make me gain weight?I'll have to do some cardio huh?" She says quietly but her eyes hold no pity as I expected.
Layla nods over again , tears forming in her eyes , I look over at mom who obviously noticed that she's crying but she continues to talk to my fucking uncle like it's nothing , see that's another thing I hate about my mom, and how the hell does Octavia knows all that? She's talking like she experienced it.
"I know I can't change your whole mindset right now , but I just want to tell you something that stuck with me till now, Is this all really worth it? Is it really worth the amount of this gorgeous hair that's falling , is it really worth losing your period? Is it really worth having problems with fertility when you're older or even now? Is it worth the fainting? Or feeling dizzy all day? Is it really worth all the days you couldn't have fun in because you were busy starving yourself or wondering what people thought about your body? And the most important thing here is , is it really worth the pain in your heart? The pain in your mind? The pain you feel when you decide either you'll eat today or not depending on the number on the scale? Is it really worth it?" She asks and my sister is now a sobbing mess , I pull her to me while mum and uncle leave without another word, Layla sobs silently while clutching my shirt.
She pulls up to look at me sniffling , "i wanted to tell you for a while but I couldn't , I want to quit , Nash." She says on a broken promise , "I just can't do this anymore, she's right-it's not worth it , I knew that but I just couldn't do anything about it." She says motioning to Octavia whose expression is the softest I've ever seen , like she knows exactly what my sister is feeling.
"I don't even like modeling , I never did but uncle will kill me if I stop , I don't know what to do." She says softly wiping her eyes with her sleeve , i nod at her "I'll take care of it , now let's just eat our melted ice creams ." I tell her and kiss her forehead , she smiles at Octavia then releases a breath, "she's right by the way , chocolate tastes soo much better." The traitor says while grinning at me , "you're no longer my sister." I say and she bursts out laughing , and I can't help but smile at her while rolling my eyes.
Wanted to go a little deeper into Nash's past without making it too dark 🤭🤭🤭
I hope you like the chapter and If u did , a vote would be appreciated <33