A Twist of Fate (Complete)

Ch. 37 - Meeting the Parents

"Look! Here's one from Everly's ballet recital when she was little," Finn pointed and him and Keaton both busted out laughing really hard. She had really skinny, knobby arms and legs and crazy stage makeup on with frizzy hair.

"Finn! I'm gonna kill you!" Everly shouted, lunging for the album but Finn pulled it away just before she could reach it and hopped up off the couch, running across the room and howling in laughter. She chased after him and tried grabbing for it again but he held her back with one hand on her forehead, holding the album up high out of her reach with the other because he was quite a bit taller than her. Finn was laughing hysterically while she jumped and tried to reach it with no luck. Keaton sat back and watched the two of them with an amused smile on his face. He wished he had had siblings to harass like that.

"Finn! Give it to me!" she screamed, jumping again and grabbing for it, but he kept it just out of her reach with a huge smile on his face.

A middle-aged woman came upstairs from the basement with a laundry basket on her hip. 

"Finn I've got your baseball uniform washed for tomorrow. I actually got all the grass stains out of the knees. It looks like new," she said looking down at the basket while walking into the living room. When she looked up and saw Keaton she screamed "Ahhh!" and threw the basket in the air with clothes going everywhere and her feet slipping out from under her, landing right on her butt with clothes falling onto her head.

Finn laughed and Keaton jumped up. "Are you alright?" he asked, holding out a hand to help her up.

"Oh my gosh! I'm so sorry! You scared me!" she said, breathlessly as she got to her feet, looking down at her clothes and trying to smooth out her hair. She looked at him and said, "I'm sorry. I'm a mess. We weren't expecting you guys to be here so early."

She bent down and quickly threw all the clothes back into the laundry basket and then looked over and saw Everly and Finn fighting for the photo album. She walked over and said, "Hey you two! This is NO WAY to act when we have company. Give me that!" snatching the album from them and shaking her head, with a hint of a smile. Then she pulled Everly into a tight hug and said, "I've missed you!", kissing the side of her head.

"I was showing her boyfriend some funny old pictures of Everly. She's just mad because now he'll never find her attractive again," Finn said, throwing his head back with a deep laugh.

"Very funny Finn," Everly grumbled, narrowing her eyes at him and smacking his arm. "Just remember, payback is hell. Wait and see what happens when you finally bring a girl around here. Oh wait. That would require a girl to actually like you," she said, throwing her head back and laughing.

"That's it! You're gettin' it!" he shouted, wrapping his arms around her waist and wrestling her to the ground, tickling her sides and making her squeal and scream.

"Stop! I'm gonna pee my pants!" she begged, finally pushing him away from her and they both sat on the floor laughing with smiles on their faces.

He could tell that even though they gave each other a hard time, Everly and Finn were close. 

"Let me go see what your Dad's doing. I'll be right back," their Mom said, leaving the room.

She reappeared a short time later and it was obvious that she had changed, fixed her hair and put on some makeup. Everly's Mom was short and curvy with wavy dark hair that came to her shoulders and was lightly peppered on the sides with grey. She was pretty and had a warm, friendly smile and gave off a sweet, nurturing vibe just like her daughter. 

Standing next to her was a man he assumed was Everly's Dad. He was about 6 feet tall with broad shoulders and he was slim except for the hint of a round belly. He had short dark brown hair that was clean cut and a little bit of stubble on his face where he hadn't shaved in a couple days. He was wearing an Illinois University Baseball t-shirt and a pair of jeans with tennis shoes. He was smiling at his wife but when he turned to look at Keaton his smile faded and he narrowed his eyes and clenched his jaw, instantly giving off a vibe that he wasn't welcome.