Chapter 4 The family Dinner

The family of five was seated at the dining table, but one was a few minutes late. Collins breathed a sigh of relief the moment he heard his daughter coming down the stairs. He knew she'd come down-or maybe not. His daughter had been unpredictable in the past few days; she was usually the opposite.

Adria wore a short, flowery dress that stopped at her thigh. She came down, looking down at herself weirdly. Fortunately, she had guessed right. All of them wore something presentable for dinner and movie night-not anything too serious, just not her usual baggy pants and shirt.

Claire's worried face turned into a bright smile as she watched Adria walk towards them. Claire genuinely thought Adria was the most beautiful girl she had ever seen. The girl was so pretty and looked just like her mother.

"You look beautiful, Adria. Come sit," Claire said with a big smile.

Lily was seated close to her brother, digging into her food and oblivious to what was happening. Her father looked at her too with an appraising smile. Surprisingly, the seat closest to her dad on his left side was empty; Nathan sat in the one next to it.

"Sit close to me," Collins said as he gestured to the seat next to him.

She wondered if there had been a discussion about where each person would sit. Honestly, it was the last thing she minded.

Her eyes darted towards Nathan, who was using his fork to cycle through his empty plate, pretending not to notice her or hear the conversation.

She would have sneered at him, but both her parents' eyes were on her.

She didn't want to sit next to him, but disagreeing would be plain dramatic.

She nodded at both parents before pulling the chair back and sitting down.

She glanced sideways at Nathan and then smiled awkwardly at the others.

Nathan would have feigned her nonexistence in his world if not for the sweet scent that brushed his nose.

The intoxicating smell of strawberries and coconut hit him hard, and he turned to look at where it was coming from.

He winced.

Was that how she smelled? He had never been so close to her for more than a few seconds since the first day they met.

Nathan thought she was getting all the attention, and more from him would only make her feel full of herself.

So when his mother complimented her beauty, he literally wanted to jolt his head up to look at her. But he didn't.

It was no news that his step-sister was beautiful-too beautiful, attention-drawing beautiful. He knew that; he wasn't blind.

And now, with her hair pulled up in a ponytail, she looked divine.

"Hi, Dad, hi... Claire," Adria's words came out slowly.

She knew she could say "Claire" without feeling a pang of guilt, but today? She saw a glint of disappointment on her stepmother's face, but it was soon replaced with a hopeful smile.

"Here," Claire handed Adria the plate of broccoli.

"Thank you," Adria smiled and took it.

A deafening silence followed, and it took Adria and Nathan a while to notice their parents watching them closely, waiting for interaction. They suddenly looked at each other; Adria's eyes held a glint of repulse, Nathan's eyes totally neutral.

She swallowed the vegetable she'd been chewing. "Hi, Nathan," she said, realizing she had to be the bigger person.

"Hi," Nathan replied, his voice husky and deep.

Maybe it was the food he'd been eating, but his voice made Adria's blue eyes flutter as she searched his eyes, as if searching for where that voice had come from.

Collins and Claire looked at each other, their eyes holding slight approval, as if saying, "That would do."

Adria looked away, pushing food into her mouth forcefully. She wondered what Nathan's expression meant...it was the first time he wasn't scowling or wearing his usual confident smirk.

And it was also the first time he kept turning to look at her...like that.

She wondered if she had something on her face and when he would tell her.

"Adria!" Lily called from her mother's side, suddenly aware.

Adria looked up, and the girl's happy expression made her smile back genuinely. "Mom makes the best steak. Have you had a taste yet?" Lily asked, straining her neck to see Adria eye-to-eye.

"Not yet, now I need to have some," Adria replied with a playful smile.

Again, Nathan turned to look at her, his expression smug and unreadable.

She had a smile on; he just wanted to see it.

Lily handed the plate to Nathan to give to Adria. "Thanks," Adria said without looking at him, collecting the plate.

The rest of dinner was quiet, with their parents talking occasionally, while the children endured awkward silence and hidden tension.

Or maybe not. But certainly not for Lily, who had a great appetite.

***************************************

Apparently, Claire was good at everything. No one could keep their hands off the cups of popcorn she had made earlier for movie night.

Lily sat with Adria, Collins and his wife cuddled up on the middle couch.

Nathan sat alone opposite them, legs crossed, resting on the bed, indicating he didn't mind the solitude.

Jumanji played on the screen, but Adria couldn't care less.

She yawned for the third time, staying awake only due to the popcorn, now halfway gone. Maybe it was because she'd already binged the whole movie the day it was released.

Lily snuggled closer to Adria, getting comfortable as Adria grew more uncomfortable.

Thankfully, the lights were off, hiding her exhaustion and boredom.

Meanwhile, Nathan's attention wasn't focused on the show. He glanced at the screen occasionally, then back to his phone.

All Adria could see was Nathan looking at his phone whenever she glanced his way, annoying her.

She thought he couldn't respect everyone else and put his phone aside.

Did he think he was the only one who didn't want to be there?

What she didn't know was that most of the time, his gaze was on her whenever she wasn't looking.

He had many questions, and his brows creased with confusion every time he looked at her.

Questions like, why was her waist so slender? Why were her eyes so green?

And her lips plump, just right for her face and dimples?

Every move she made drew his attention.

He could see her, almost too clearly. The way she adjusted with discomfort as his sister snuggled into her.

He almost smiled, wondering why she had a soft spot for Lily.

She couldn't say no to her, couldn't be mean to her. But she seemed to easily hate him.

"Lily?" she called softly after a few minutes passed and she didn't hear her move. The silent breathing told her she was asleep.

Her phone vibrated beside her. She looked at the ID; it wasn't familiar.

She tapped on the message: "Do your eyes always flutter, or are you just sleepy at the moment?"

Adria's gaze widened. What was the possibility it was who she thought?

Slowly, her gaze turned toward him; his glistening eyes were already on her, with a smirk.

"How did you get my number?" she replied, then returned her gaze to him.

"I have my ways, nut," he said, dropping his phone to the bed, ending the conversation.

She scowled. Now he had her attention, but his gaze was fixed on the TV.

He didn't turn once.

She was pissed. She almost blocked his line but thought against it. He was her stepbrother after all, she would need his number consequently.

She watched his tall frame until she dozed off.

But not for long, The sound of someone's phone ringing woke her up from her sleep.

She almost jumped up. She looked around, almost everyone was gone.

Her step mom and her dad were gone. But Lily was still beside her.

Adria groaned when she saw that it was Nathan's phone that had rung.

Her sleepy and confused eyes met his, his smiling eyes met hers.

He stood and began to walk away, pressing the phone to his ear. "Hey baby," he said.

"Hey baby?" Nathan had a girlfriend? She knew he wasn't bad-looking, she hated him not for his looks but his very annoying personality.

But she bet his girlfriend was pretty...

Adria suddenly remembered that Lily was lying on her lap. "Hey Lily" she called out gently, not wanting to scare her awake.

Lily didn't budge, so she tapped her gently on the arm.

"Mmmm" she answered sleepily while adjusting on Adria.

"Let's go in, it's late" she whispered to her again.

After a few seconds, she sat up with sleepy eyes. "Let's go" Lily held onto her step-sister's arm, slightly leaning against her as they walked towards the stairs.

"Can I sleep in your room?" Lily said in her tiny voice.

Adria sighed. Sleep in her room? She absolutely did not want that.

But how could she possibly tell the girl no? And why the hell did her mother leave her and go to sleep.

"Okay. Just for tonight"

She turned back, to see if Nathan was back, but he wasn't.