The One That Matters (complete)

Chapter 25

  The rest of the week went by fast. Me going on dates, almost finishing the list. Lucy and Adam are happy together. You can’t even tear them apart from each other. I almost vomited once when I caught them kissing in the living room. Gosh, I miss my best friend and my brother individually.

  Then comes Saturday. The day I’m having dinner with the Wyatts. It was six in the evening. Daniel said he was going to pick me up at seven.     I took a shower; blow dried my hair and applied some make up. I head into my walk-in closet and went blank. What am I going to wear? Should I go as casual? Elegant? Conservative? Eventually, I picked a yellow dress. It’s casual yet elegant. I tied my hair into a bun and checked the time. 7 o’clock on the dot. Then I heard the doorbell. Just on time.

  “Amelia! Your friend is here.” Mum entered my room. “He’s waiting in the living room. He’s handsome.” Mum winked at me.

  I went down the stairs and greeted Daniel. “Hey Daniel.” I smiled.

  “Hi. You look great by the way.” He showed off his dimples.

  “Thanks. Here, I bought this for your Mum.” I handed him a box of chocolate cake.

  “My Mum would definitely love it. Come on, everybody is waiting for us at home. Especially Darcy.” He grinned. He turned to my mum. “Nice meeting you Mrs Leonardo. I promise I’ll bring back Amy by eleven.”

  Mum blushed because of Daniel’s politeness. “Please just call me Anna. Now hurry along you two.” She motioned us towards the door. “It’s not nice making people wait.”

  “Your mum seems nice.” Daniel said once we’re in his car.

  “I hope your mum is nice too.” I joked.

  Daniel laughed. “Don’t worry Amy.” He squeezed my hand. “Just be yourself.”

  Once his car was parked outside his house, Daniel turned off the engine. But I didn’t move a muscle. I have no idea why I’m nervous!

  “Are you okay?” Daniel asked.

  “To be honest, I’m terrified.” I gave out a nervous laugh. “Do you mind telling me a bit of your family? So that I know who I’m dealing with.”

  Daniel chuckled. “Okay. My dad is someone who loves to joke around. If he tells you a joke, just laugh at it even if it’s lame. He loves it when his jokes get the attention he wanted.” He rolled his eyes. “My mum is precious. But she loves to talk and ask random questions. I suggest you answer them because she won’t drop it until you answer it. And well...you know my little sister right?” He laughed.

  Okay, his family seems decent. But he didn’t mention anything about his brother. Didn’t Jason Morris said he has a brother? “Errmm...Daniel? I thought you have a brother.” I said.

  Daniel stiffened. “Uh...yeah. But he doesn’t usually join us for dinner. He loves to spend all his time in his room.” Daniel forced out a stiff smile.

  I muster all my confidence and stepped out of Daniel’s car. We walked towards the front door together. Once inside, I was immediately greeted by Darcy.

  “Pretty princess!” She squealed and hugged my legs.

  I laughed and carried her up. “Hello there.” I smiled

  “So this is the princess.” A female voice was heard.

  “Mum!” Daniel greeted Mrs Wyatt. “Let me introduce you to Amelia.” He turned to me. “Amelia, this is my mum.”

  “Just call me Amy.” I smiled at Mrs Wyatt and handed her the chocolate cake.

  “Thank you sweetie. And you can call me Denise.” She hugged me. “Now let’s go eat. Your father is already waiting at the dining table.”

   Atlast everyone was seated, Mr Wyatt made up jokes that weren’t really that bad. And Denise asked me weird questions.

  “How many siblings do you have?” She asked.

 “Just two, including me.”

 “Do you have a boyfriend?” She cocked up an eyebrow.

  Daniel choked. “Mum, what are you doing? Stop.” Daniel grumbled.

  “It’s okay.” I laughed. “No, Denise. I’m single.”

  “Is your sibling a girl or a boy?” She asked

  “Boy. He’s name is Adam. We’re twins actually.” I answered.

  “Twins? Interesting.” She nodded and continued eating. Thank God that was over.

   We were enjoying our food and laughing at Darcy’s silly antics. But the noisy chattering stopped when an unfamiliar voice was heard.

  “Well, who do we have here?” An older-looking Daniel joined us and sat at an empty chair.

  I heard Daniel cursed softly under his breath. What is going on here? I could definitely feel the tension in the atmosphere.

  “Aren’t you going to introduce me to your pretty friend, Danny?” Daniel’s brother looked at me mischievously.

 “Amy, this is my brother, Damien.” Daniel‘s voice sounded forced.

  Damien extended his hand and I shook it. “Nice meeting you, Amy.”

  “Nice to meet you too.” I smiled. He held on to my hand a second longer. I literally had to pull my hand away from him. What’s his problem?

  “So you finally decided to join us huh?” Daniel voice was dripping with sarcasm.

  Damien smirked. “Of course. I wouldn’t want to miss the opportunity to meet our lovely guest.” He winked at me.

 

  After dinner, Denise served my chocolate cake. But everything was awkward ever since Damien joined us. Damien and Daniel kept staring each other down. Sibling rivalry I guess. Even Denise could sense the tension.

  “Errmm...Daniel! Why don’t you bring Amy to the living room?” Denise tried to control the situation.

Daniel stood up and grabbed my hand. “Good idea.”

  “What is going on between you and Damien?” I asked him when we were alone in the living room.

  “Trust me, you do not want to know.” He said.

  “Know what, Danny?” Damien asked as he enters the living room.

   “Nothing. Shouldn’t you go back to your room? Why even bother to go out?” Daniel hissed.

   Damien ignored Daniel. He approached me and caressed my cheeks. “You’re really pretty, Amy. Have you ever dated someone who’s older?” He grinned.

  “Don’t touch her.” Daniel warned and pushed Damien’s hand away from my cheek.

   “Someone’s grouchy.” Damien smirked. “I was just being friendly, Danny.” He shrugged.

  “That’s it! We’re leaving.” Daniel growled and pulled my hand. “Come on, Amy.”