Unseen

Chapter 26

"My babies!" I laugh as my grandma pulls Maddie and I into a hug while Dad and Pop finish hauling our luggage from the rental car into her house.

"Hey, Grandma. I've missed you," I say once we finally pull away. She rests a hand on our cheeks as her eyes water, but she still has a beaming smile so thankfully they're happy tears.

"I can't believe you two are eighteen already. You're both so big! You need to come visit me more," she scolds lightly while pulling us into the living room.

"Sorry, Mum," Dad says before kissing her cheek. "At least we were able to come down for Christmas though."

"So what exactly is the plan, my loves?" she asks as she sits down in an armchair and the four of us spread out on the two couches.

"Well, we're staying here for a week which lands us on Christmas day, we'll all head to Luke's parents place for Christmas dinner, and then we're staying with them for a week before we head back to Los Angeles."

"You should just stay here," she states with a firm nod of her head. I chuckle and shake my head as Dad sighs and leans back against the couch, closing his eyes.

"LA is our home now, Mum. We've built a life there, and we have to plans to leave it all behind to come back to Sydney for anything more than the occasional visit." She pouts and looks over at Pop.

"Sorry, Mum. I have absolutely no desire to move back here, you know that." She sighs and smiles sadly before nodding and turning her attention to Maddie and I.

"How's school going?"

"Good! I'm cheer captain this year, I was crowned homecoming queen, and I'm planning on going to school for cosmetology in the fall," Maddie beams while Grandma nods along with a proud smile.

"That's fantastic, Madison. You're going to do makeup for the stars one day?" she asks with a wink and Maddie giggles while nodding her head.

"Hopefully! Keeping my fingers crossed."

"And you, Dalton?"

"I've applied for a couple schools, but my main focus has been on this writing competition that I entered. I've made it through the first round and submitted my second piece last week, so I'll know the results of that when we get back. The winner gets a full scholarship to a university of their choosing as well as a publishing deal, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed for that. I was debating taking a year off, but I've decided that even if I don't win, I want to go to UCLA in the fall."

"I'm so proud of you – both of you. Between my little famous makeup artist and my New York Times Best Selling Author, my retirement is set," she teases, making all of us laugh. "Any significant others?" she asks once our chuckles die down, glancing between Maddie and I with a raised eyebrow. Maddie rolls her eyes and gives me a pointed look while I fidget in my seat, avoiding everyone's stares.

"Not me, but Dalton has a boyfriend," she finally says when I don't say anything.

"Oh, honey, what happened to that young man you were dating?"

"That young man decided he likes other young men, particularly this one." I feel my cheeks heat up and I close my eyes as Grandma gasps.

"Dalton, you're dating Maddie's ex-boyfriend?" Taking a deep breath, I peak one eye own to see her staring at me in shock.

"Guilty," I mumble as my whole face starts burning from all the attention. She looks between the two of us as her brows draw together and she tilts her head to the side as though she's trying to solve a complicated equation. "It's a long story, but Flynn and I were best friends before I told him I liked him a couple years ago, but he said he was straight and starting dating Maddie. Turns out he wasn't that straight, they broke up, and he and I started hanging out again. One thing lead to another, and... here we are." I shrug as I spin a ring around my index finger, waiting for someone to break the silence that follows.