The Survivor (Book #2)

Chapter 18

The other guests arrived only a couple of minutes later and greeted Charlotte by the door before trickling in. The atmosphere was much more relaxed than I had imagined, and I was actually starting to calm down. I stayed seated beside Mimi until she left to say hello to her son, and then Caleb and Kathy joined me on the couch.

Kathy asked me a lot about my life and how I felt living with the Anders. I answered truthfully and kindly, nudging Caleb to jump into the conversation so he wouldn't feel excluded. He was just as eager to compliment me and let me know how much they loved me being a part of their family. Kathy almost teared up at that, and Caleb and I exchanged faces as if we thought she was crazy, which made her smack both of us with a pillow. Damon jumped in to mention that he wasn't too fond of me, which earned him a hit to the side of the face with the cushion as well. Overall, there was a lot of laughter and fun, and I hadn't even met everybody yet!

As the smell of food wafted through the house, my stomach began growling. It appeared I wasn't the only one, because soon Charlotte called that dinner was ready and we all piled into the kitchen to load our plates. We ate in the dining room like usual, but that was the only normal thing about this meal. Instead of our normal 6 chairs, there were a bunch of them crammed into empty spots around the table that narrowly avoided the table legs. There was a small plastic foldable table placed on the end of our regular dining table that I supposed was for children or those of us who were under 6 feet tall. The little foldable chairs seemed so small in comparison to the traditional mahogany ones. The boy's little cousin Ezekiel ran over to the little table eagerly, but his older brother Liam sat down on that end of the table with evident disdain.

 By happenstance, I was seated next to Liam at the "kids table", with Dominic on my other side at the regular table. I leaned over to him and glared playfully which he returned by pretending to flip his hair behind his shoulder and face the adults. I turned to my table nervously.

"Hi, I'm Maya." I introduced myself shyly to the guy named Liam. We hadn't met, but his dad was very nice and had pointed out his children to me proudly earlier. 

He seemed to scoff underneath his breath and I immediately grew defensive. I supposed it would be too much to hope that every member of this gathering was nice.

"I'm Liam," he said back, with clear boredom in his tone. I wondered if he was forced to be here. It really seemed like the last place on Earth that he wanted to be.

"That's my little brother over there, Zeke," he said, nodding to a boy who had his chubby fist squeezed around a toy plane. He was showing Damon how high he could make it go, and Damon was nodding as if he cared but looked deeply bored to me. Brooks, on the other hand, had his hands on his face and mouth open in shock, making the little boy gurgle a loud laugh in response.

"He's so cute," I fawned. 

"Gets it from his brother," Liam replied sarcastically. I smiled and began shoveling food in my mouth so we wouldn't have to talk. It was the perfect distraction.

The food was incredible. It was better than any meal I had eaten here. Hell, it was better than any meal I'd eaten in my life. I had a large serving of turkey and mashed potatoes slathered in a thick gravy, a side of buttered corn, green bean casserole covered in fried onions, and two rolls. I got seconds but began slowing down when I realized my dress looked a little tighter and my stomach was starting to show. 

Conversations roseamong the group in little crests and dips, with each person doing their bestnot to speak over the conversation next to them. Sometimes loud laughter interruptedthe punchlines of other jokes, and other times I would see someone with a sadexpression beside someone who was crying with joy. I mostly talked to Caleb as Liam didn't seem amenable to the conversation.

But despite my best efforts to compare theories about the new Marvel show he was obsessed with (A/N Wandavision), Liam wouldn't shut up. He would perform overdramatic sighs at the answers that Caleb and I gave each other and would re-form his heavily gelled blonde hair if anyone walked by too close or tried to give him a hug. (I don't know why Kathy bothered).

He then started to join our conversation but would reply only sarcastically. Finally, I gave him the attention I think he secretly desired.

"Tell me about you, Liam," I said tiredly, praying that the magnificent dinner would be over soon, and I could find another seat for dessert. 

He smirked at that and laughed like he expected I would ask.

"Well, I go to the local college and study philosophy," he began. He continued talking about philosophers I had never heard of, diving into excruciating details about their lives and beliefs.

"Hmm," I replied periodically, though it was clear he didn't require an answer to continue speaking. "Philosophers seem so pretentious to me," I replied when he finally paused to take a breath. "They act like they know the answers to all of life's problems when ultimately their philosophy is 'I'm not sure'."

"There's a bit more to it than that," he chuckled. "But anyway, let's talk about you now." I was genuinely taken aback at his consideration. Had I underestimated him? 

"Charlotte adopted you because of the Bella thing, right?" he asked. I froze in my seat and looked to see if any of the boys had noticed. None of them had. They were all finishing up dinner and their conversations. Brooks and Caleb had even left the table to help remove some dishes and begin cleaning them. I could hear the water running from the other room behind the babble of the family talking. They wouldn't be gone for long.

"I don't know," I replied carefully. "Why do you think that?" Damon's eyes flickered to us and I smiled reassuringly at him. Zeke grabbed Damon's arm and began shaking it in an effort to describe some story and relief flooded me. Maybe this wasn't the best idea, but it might be my only chance.

Liam began to speak but I interrupted him, grabbing his arm and giving it a squeeze before letting go. "Do you want to see my room?" I asked, shooting him what I hoped was an encouraging smile. I didn't know why an adult male would have any desire to see my bedroom, but it was as good an excuse as any to get out of the room and finally know the truth about Bella. 

He hesitated and then cocked his head to the side with a smile.

"Let's do it." He said, rising to his feet and setting his napkin on the table. I trailed out behind him and up the stairs as quietly as I could. Nobody noticed us leaving except for Charlotte, who shot me a look.

Are you okay? she mouthed. I gave her a thumbs up and held up one finger to indicate that I was just fine.

And I would be, once I figured out the answer to the Bella question. I raced up the stairs behind Liam eagerly.