101 | newcomer-2

I'll do this step by step, cautiously, safely. I'll do this the right way. I glance at Nevaeh, who stands like a statue, and press the doorbell. Not long after that, a man who looks like he's in his mid-40s and has blonde hair -- no doubt the owner of this house -- opens the door. His eyes instantly dart to her. "Nevaeh!" His grin is so big, from ear to ear. I don't even have time to worry about how I should greet him because the next thing I know is that he pulls Nevaeh into a tight bear hug. When he pulls away, he holds her shoulders with his palms. "You're finally here. I've been waiting for hours. How was the flight? You could have had my driver pick you up." Nevaeh is still silent, and I bet that her mind is in chaos right now. Her father turns his head toward me, finally spotting me. He instantly frowns. "Baby, is that Nevaeh?" a woman appears beside him, disrupting whatever is going on between us. She has wavy brown hair and eyes exactly the same as Nevaeh's, sky blue. Her mother. When she sees me, she stops her movement, startled. OK. What is the best thing to say right now? Before I can fix this awkward moment, another voice echoes from inside the house, this time the tone is cheerful and filled with excitement. "Nevaeh?" And it sounds oddly familiar. My eyes widen in utter disbelief as I see my little sister, Luna, standing in the foyer. Her shocked expression mirrors mine. "What are you doing here?" we ask each other at the same time. Another moment of awkward silence passes. Everybody seems to have lost their mind. That's when Max Cooper enters the site. He stops in his track when his eyes find me. Then he squints, as though he's trying to make sure that his eyesight is still intact. Whatever is going on in his head, he heard my question because the next thing he says is, "Well, since my uncle invited me to celebrate his birthday, I didn't see why I shouldn't bring my fiancee with me. She can be wherever I am," he says cockily, slinging his arm around Luna's shoulder. Then he squints at me again. Confusion crosses his expression. "What are you doing here?" All the colors drain from Luna's face. She gulps. She hasn't told Max about what is happening between me and Nevaeh. The look on her face tells me that she's terrified of what his reaction would be if he found out that she hid the truth from him. Max notices her swaying. "Are you alright?" His voice is suddenly filled with concern. "You look pale." Luna touches her temple, looking down as she grips Max's arm for support. "I think I need to sit down." With that said, she lets Max help her walk back into the living room and sit on the couch. "Nevaeh?" another voice calling my woman's name rings in the air. Sienna -- Max's younger sister -- steps into the foyer. The same confusion skates on her face. She stares at Nevaeh before switching her gaze to me then do it all over again. "Aiden?" another voice calls, this time my name. My gaze shifts as I find Melanie -- Max's mother -- coming into the foyer too. Her husband, Vaughn, follows behind her. Shit. This house is full. I didn't know what I was walking into. Silence falls again, a gripping one. I can even hear the clock ticking. "Oh my, it's been so long since I last saw you." Melanie claps her hands in front of her, the first one to break the tense atmosphere. She rushes to me and hugs me. The Coopers are family to the Kleins and vice versa. At least, I'm grateful that someone actually welcomes me. When Melanie pulls away, she smiles. "How are you doing? It's so good to see you again." I can only nod. I'm racking my brain. "Are you here to see Luna?" she points out. "Wait. You're here to join the celebration too, aren't you?" Melanie steps away with a warm smile still lingering on her face, and Vaughn gives me a hug too. He claps my shoulder twice and gives me a small smile before throwing a glance at Nevaeh's father, who still has his attention focused on me. Somehow, I have a feeling that Vaughn senses something but isn't sure about it yet. "Aiden?" Mr. Spencer finally speaks, looking at Melanie, who nods, and then at me again. "Ah, yes, Luna's brother." Realization hits his face. That is correct even though it's not what I was planning to introduce myself as. I don't think that he got it, but…okay. "Max's future brother-in-law," he exclaims with a wide grin, suddenly opening his arms to hug me. Of course, I hug him back. "Thank you. Thank you for coming to join my birthday celebration. That's very kind of you." He laughs and claps my back before pulling away. "You arrived at the same time Nevaeh did, huh? Please, welcome. Welcome to our house." He happily ushers us in and closes the door behind us. I don't think that his nephew's future brother-in-law suddenly joining his birthday celebration is relevant, but the man looks so happy I don't have the heart to correct him. I'm still alive, for now. The right thing to do is to approach him at the right moment. First of all, I need to congratulate him on his birthday properly, then have a genuine conversation with him -- it can start from knowing each other first. Then we should have a private talk somewhere in this house, probably in the backyard with beer or whiskey in our hands. Yeah. That's the way. I have to do this carefully to win. We enter the living room. Luna and Max are already sitting on a couch. He hands her a cup of hot tea, thinking that she's dizzy. Sienna links her arm with Nevaeh's and pulls her toward another couch, probably to catch up with college gossip. Nevaeh's mother continues preparing the food for dinner while Melanie and Vaughn help her in the kitchen. Nevaeh's father switches the TV channel to a football game. Sienna flops on the couch, but Nevaeh doesn't follow suit. Instead, she just stands still and stares at the floor with a stressed look. "Nevaeh? What's wrong?" Sienna's question catches the attention of everybody else in the house. Nevaeh clenches her fists, and there's a fire in her eyes. She looks like a woman on a mission. Oh, no. Everything seems to happen in slow motion when Nevaeh walks in my direction. She suddenly grips my hand so hard that I almost feel like my fingers break. She zeroes in on her father, whose eyes fall on our connected hands. "Dad, I wanted you to meet Aiden." Her voice is loud and clear, like she'd been mustering it the entire time she was silent. "He's the man I love, and we've been living together for almost half a year. He's the one I want to marry." Oh fuck. I'm dead