When we got home, the three of us were surprised to see Kayla and Lexi playing Mario Kart along with my dad who was beating their asses. I figured that mom invited them as well for dinner, that's why she's making extra garlic bread for Lexi. Whenever my best friend is here we always make extra for her or else she won't save us some. She can be a little greedy when it comes to mom's cooking. Dad and I complain all the time, but mom wasn't bothered because it just means she gets to cook for more people.
Lena joined my dad and the couple while Lucy helped my mom in the kitchen. I went to my room, getting the bouquet and flowers I bought this morning before I went to the Halliwells.
Every Valentine's day, I would always buy flowers for the ladies. Valentine's isn't just for couples. Valentine's day is for all kinds of love in this world, and people tend to forget it. But this year, I bought two more flowers for my Lucy and her little sister.
I jogged down the stairs with the flowers in my hands. I went to the living room, the four of them were still playing and dad was showing no mercy to the girls. It was funny to see the girls squirming in their seats and trying their best to beat my dad.
I grabbed the remote and paused the game, receiving groans from them. "Alright you guys, stop playing for a second and no matter what you guys do, dad will always win,"
Dad flashed them a sheepish smile. Lexi knew that I was gonna give them flowers and didn't mind me pausing their game, "Just give me mine!"
I handed her a bird of paradise, which was her favourite. She smiled widely at me, thanking me and planting a kiss on my cheek, "You really are the best, Ambs!"
"I know," I grinned.
Next, I took the sunflower and handed it to Kayla as she thanked me, "I'm glad you picked the sunflower for me. Lexi gave me dried flowers-"
"They were for your scrapbooks!"
"I wanted real flowers, Lex!"
"They're real-"
"Real dead,"
I clapped my hands to stop the annoying couple, "It's the thought that counts, Kayla,"
"Bu-"
"She has a surprise for you later, so shut your pie hole," I whispered in her ear, making her shut up. I went to Lena who continued the game and was now in 1st place. A cheater is what she is. I dropped her lily on her lap. She looked so surprised that she also received a flower from me.
"Oh, thank you, Amber. I wasn't expecting to get anything today," She smiled.
"You're welcome! And start expecting every year from now on since I'm dating your sister," I winked.
"Sorry I didn't get anything for you,"
"No worries. Everyone here knows I hate receiving things,"
She frowned like it was unfair for me to get nothing in return, "I'll make sure to give you something in return. No buts!"
With the two last flowers in my hand, I started to feel nervous. I wasn't used to romantic love and it was hard to have expectations when I'm in love. I wanted everything to be perfect when it comes to her. I wanted her to appreciate everything and to make sure that she loves it.
"I wanna see this," Kayla whispered to Lexi who then followed me to the kitchen where Lucy and mom were.
Lucy was so caught up with cutting onions to even notice me, while my mom was giggling when she saw what I was going to do. I handed her flower, giving her a kiss as she thanked me quietly.
"Mom," I pleaded, asking for a little privacy cause I was embarrassed to see them staring at me.
"Come on, girls, give them some privacy," She tugged the lovebirds along with her, exiting the kitchen, but stopped by the corner to take a glimpse. Great. She wanted to watch it too.
An idea popped in my mind on how to surprise Lucy. I threw the hibiscus flower which landed in front of her, causing her to jump a bit.
"Oh my god, Amber!" Kayla exclaimed.
"Happy Valentine's day," I said to Lucy whose eyes were widened in shock.
"What the hell, Ambs?! Give it to her nicely like putting the flower behind your back before giving it to her. It's so sweet if you did that, Luce would have been surprised,"
"No, she wouldn't be surprised," I pointed out.
"What do you mean?"
"Because she'll already know what's behind my back and that's not a surprise anymore. So, I threw it, and look! She's surprised cause she didn't know where it came from," I explained.
Kayla's jaw dropped, "That's... That's stupid,"
"Thank you, Amber," Lucy said quietly, staring at the hibiscus in her hands with a blush on her cheeks.
"Anytime," I couldn't help but smile as I saw her smiling to herself.
For the next couple of minutes, the food finished cooking and we all helped mom and Lucy to place the food on the table. Dad got an extra chair for one of the sisters, due to the fact that our dining table only had six seats.
It was so amazing to see all the people who were important to me having dinner together. It was something I've always looked forward to; eating together with the people I love. There was always a time when we have ups and downs in life, and today, it was definitely a reason to keep moving.
"Okay, who will say grace?" My mom announced, hands were clasped together while looking at each one of us.
Lena raised her hand happily. Mom nodded her head signalling that she can start, and then she said, "Grace."
There was a moment of silence before everyone started to laugh their guts out. My eyes began to water as I clutched my stomach. What's even funnier was Lena had this innocent smile on her face when she said 'grace'.
She had this puzzled look on her face, clearly didn't know what's going on. "What's funny?"
"You stupid ass. You're supposed to pray, Lena! Pray!" Lucy said, still laughing.
"What? I didn't know, okay?" Lena huffed.
"So stupid,"
"You're stupid," The younger sister shot back.
"What you say is what you are, stupid!" Lucy threw a tissue at Lena.
Lena threw the tissue back, whacking Lucy on the face. "It's obvious who's the stupid one!"
"And it's you," Lucy retorted.
Dad leaned in closer to mom, "Thank goodness we only have one kid," Mom agreed by nodding slowly.
"Lena, darling, will you do the honours?" My mom smiled, making the sisters stop.
Everyone closed their eyes as Lena started to pray. "Dear God, thank you for all the food we have tonight; thank you that we'll all be sharing it together-"
A hand toppled over my hand. I opened an eye to see Lucy's hand on mine, smiling as she could feel my stare.
"-Today would be amazing, but my sister ruined it. Bless the food and bless us, God. Amen." We all said 'amen' in unison. Lucy sent a glare to her sister while her little sister was smiling sweetly at her.
I started cutting a piece of lasagna for me, passing it to the girl beside me. I watched my mom watching the sisters as they quietly munched on their food, "Mom."
Mom snapped out of it and looked at me, sheepishly, "Sorry, honey."
I nudged Lucy with my elbow, "Mom is curious about your thoughts on her food,"
"It's so delicious!" Lena said while chewing her food.
Lucy rolled her eyes at her sister, muttering 'gross' under her breath, "I love every one of them, Anna." She smiled.
"Oh, thank you, Lucy. You have good taste," She grinned then snapped her eyes to me. "You, also have a good taste," She winked at me.
I sighed. "Mom,"
Mom giggled, "Please take care of my daughter, okay?"
Lucy chuckled, "I always do. But she takes care of me more,"
"Does she take care of you properly?"
"Very much so,"
Mom continued interrogating her, "Lucy, how long have you known my daughter?"
Lucy wiped her mouth with a tissue, then looked at me with an embarrassed look, "To be honest, I don't remember,"
"We've known each other since freshman year, but we only started talking last year," I answered for her.
"Wait, how come you don't remember?" My mom questioned Lucy.
"We weren't close that time, so I barely remember her,"
"How'd you guys started being friends?"
"We met at my par-"
I cut her off by stomping on her feet, "We met at the library. She told me I was interesting, I mean, who wouldn't think I am?"
"Me." Lexi, Kayla, and Lena said in unison while I shot daggers at them.
"Then I started hanging out with them until I started liking Amber. From then on, I wanted to be with her all the time,"
"Cree-py," I muttered. A pain shot through my side, making me yelp. Lucy has her fingers on my side, giving it another squeeze. This time, it was more painful.
"Do you always have to torture me?" I cried.
"Only when you're annoying," She flashed me a grin.
"I call that love," My mom spoke.
Giving my mom a look, she replied with a sheepish smile. Dad was looking at us back and forth, while those lovebirds were minding their own business.
"Love? She's hurting me and you call that love, woman?" My mouth hung open, taking a bite from my chicken, chewing grumpily.
"Love is pain, darling."
"You, you need help," I grabbed my drink and chugged it all.
"That's what I've been telling your mom!" My dad exclaimed, jokingly.
Mom had this betrayed look, gasping out loud, "Channing!"
Dad chuckled, "What? You really do need it,"
"Dad, let's take Lex with her. Lex needs it too,"
"Amber! I am minding my own business here," She dropped her fork, now interested in our conversation.
"It's true," I shrugged.
"Why me? Lucy's the one torturing you, right?"
"Why are you bringing me into this mess? I'm not the one who said 'love is pain'" The girl beside me said.
"Cause it is," Mom defended herself.
"Anna,"
"Channing," My mom mocked.
"Amber," Dad begged for my help.
"Donke-" Lena was about to cut in, but her sister cut her off.
"Finish it and I will end you," Lucy gritted her teeth, holding her knife tighter, annoyed at the Shrek reference.
"Hey guys, might as well bring Lucy with you. She needs help too, " Lena butted in.
This dinner isn't going well.
And that's what's happening right now. A simple joke turned into a useless argument that was started by my parents. Lexi and I were bickering, dad was convincing mom that everything he said was a joke, the sisters, well... They looked like they're about to rip each other's heads off. They've lost their sanity. And oh my god, I was about to lose mine too. The only sane person here was Kayla.
Kayla stood up, taking her plate with her before muttering, "Unbelievable. I should've stayed at home."
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Happy Halloween guys! Hope you have a great day/night and always stay safe!