Chapter 11: 06|Mystery boy!-2

"Thank the heavens!" I gave myself a once over in Asher's mirror. I was wearing my mom's black skater dress with a pair of black converse (I may feel like a girl but I don't have a death wish.) I had some mascara on and Asher combed my hair into a ponytail with a puff. Where he learned this from, is a mystery to me. I sprayed some perfume on me and I was good to go. Aiden was already in kitchen, helping dad with meal and Asher was already gone when I turned, that left me in spotlight as I walked down the stairs. Traitors. It was a family of 4, like dad said- 2 moms, an 8-9 year old girl and the mystery boy. They were all seated in living room but stood up when they saw me. Everyone was looking at me and I discreetly saw dad rub his eyes. I resisted the urge to blush furiously as Asher and Aiden beamed proudly while the two ladies sighed and cooed. The little girl looked at me in awe. The only one who seemed out of the place was the mystery boy who had a bored look on face as he scrolled his phone. Rude. "Hi. I am Astrid." I offered my hand but the first lady caught me off guard by engulfing me into a hug. "Beautiful name for a beautiful girl." And just like that, the conviction to not blush, was out of window. "Thanks, uh-?" "Janet." I nodded and turned my head to the next lady. "You've a beautiful daughter, Henry." I smiled shyly. "I am Samantha." "Pleasure to meet you." She smiled back. I felt a tug at my hand and I looked down. "Hey! I am Kimberly. You can call me Kim." "Hi! Kim." "Your brother said that that's your soccer ball. Do you play soccer?" "Yup, I do." "She is captain of our school team." Aiden piped, proudly. "Wow!" Kim breathed out in awe as if she was standing in front of her idol. "Will you play with me? I love soccer but Liam doesn't play with me." I glanced at Myst-Liam out of corner of eyes and saw him averting his gaze. "Sure!" "Yay!" she cheered and I smiled. I caught dad's eye and gave him a telepathic message- 'need to talk.' He nodded and excused himself. I followed. "Hey! What happened?" "Nothing." He sighed "Your mom wore this on our first date and seeing you come down the stairs just like her, made me emotional. Can't believe you're already 17. You grew up so gracefully. I am so proud of you princess." I felt my eyes moisten as I hugged my dad tightly. "I love you, dad." "I love you too, princess." We pulled away after a few seconds and smiled. "Let me help you serve, okay?" Dad nodded as I picked chicken parmesan and started walking towards dining room where Aiden was in a serious soccer related discussion with Kim and Asher was making Janet and Samantha laugh. Liam was still glued to his phone. I placed the dish on the table, just in time to see dad place the rest. He sat on the head chair with Samantha, Janet and Liam on one side and Asher, Kim, Aiden and me on other. Thank god for extra chairs. "Dig in!" dad exclaimed, cheerfully and everybody followed. Dad has culinary skills to die for. Unfortunately, only Aiden inherited them. Asher is a decent cook but the mess he leaves every time, made dad ban him from cooking. On the other hand, I am completely hopeless when it comes to kitchen. Once, I was home alone and determined to cook, needless to say there were 2 fire trucks outside our house as Mr Martin who was on maintenance visit, saw smoke coming out of kitchen that was actually a chicken on fire not kitchen on fire. I still shudder at the memory. Thank god, mom's apparent terrible cooking taught dad to cook or we would have been living on take outs. Everyone else was engrossed in their own conversations, dad was explaining his business ventures to Samantha, who looked like the bread winner of family while Asher was making Janet laugh by telling her embarrassing boys' locker room stories. Aiden was still talking to Kim about soccer and that left Liam and me in uncomfortable silence. I cleared my throat. "About earlier-" "Did I anyhow gave the vibes that I want to talk to you?" I did a double take at the cold hiss in his tone. I discreetly stole glance at Aiden who was sitting beside me but was completely engrossed in conversation with Kim. I looked back at Liam in irritation. This boy has serious issues. "You know what? Fine! I won't even try now." I hissed back in an irritated, defeated whisper. For the rest of dinner, I ignored Liam and answered every question Janet or Samantha asked me. I really pondered over the fact that even though Janet and Samantha were sweeter than fructose, Liam was colder than liquid nitrogen (Excuse my inner nerd!) I pushed the thought to back of my mind. Turns out, Williams's used to live a few streets over but due to a few issues, they shifted next to us. Liam is in same grade and school as us. I was horrified and shocked to hear this because I never noticed him in school. The look I got from Liam when I said this aloud, made me tad bit guilty. Was I really a snob? I didn't even notice my classmate for so many years! They left at about 9 o' clock and by 10, we 4 were done with dishes and cleaning. I quickly changed into PJs and skipped downstairs for our movie night. Aiden made a comfy makeshift pillow and blanket couch on the floor while Asher sorted DVD collection and TV out. Dad was preparing popcorns and coke while I awkwardly dolphin dived into my position and curled into a ball next to Aiden. "Hey." "Hey, squirt." I smiled. "Now you see me?" Asher asked, hopefully. I nodded my head as dad settled beside me and grunted in approval. All eyes fixed on Aiden who begrudgingly muttered. "Now you see me, it is." This is how Parker clan spent the night before jail time.