Moved In

Chapter 2 : The dinner at Stormie's house

Chapter 2

The next day...

Riker POV

I was pretty nervous for the dinner at Stormie's house. Dad told me to be on my best behavior.

When we got to their house, I followed dad up to the front door. He knocked and a minute later, the door was opened by a boy who looked a few years younger than me.

"Come in. Mom's in the kitchen," he said, leading us inside.

I followed dad into the kitchen.

"Thank you for letting them in, Rocky. How are you guys?" Stormie asked.

"We're good," dad said.

"Riker, why don't you go hang out with Rocky? He can show you around," Stormie said.

I followed Rocky up the stairs to a room that I assumed was their playroom because they had a bunch of toys, some couches, and a TV. And the rest of his siblings with R names were in there too. 

"Guys, Riker is here," Rocky said, leading me in.

"Hi, Riker!" The girl said.

"Hi," I said, quietly.

"I'm Rydel. You already met Rocky. And this is Ross and Ryland," she said, motioning to her other brothers.

I nodded. Rydel patted a seat on one of the couches next to her, so I went over and sat down. I felt awkward because I don't know them and I'm being forced to be alone with them without dad.

"So what do you like to do for fun?" Rydel asked.

"Uh... I like watching movies, playing video games, I started learning guitar the other day... I don't know," I said, staring down at the floor.

"That's cool. Do you like guitar?"

"I'm not sure. It's kind of hard and hurts my fingers. My dad suggested that maybe I want to try playing bass instead because it's less strings than guitar."

"Nice. I just started taking piano lessons. I told my brothers they should take lessons too, but they don't seem too crazy about it."

"I'm not crazy about it because I'd rather learn something cooler, like guitar," Rocky said.

Rydel rolled her eyes.

"Did Rocky show you around?" She asked.

"Not really," I mumbled.

"Let me show you around then," she said, standing up.

I got up too and followed her out of the room. She showed me around her house, and then we went outside because her mom asked her to get the mail.

"So what do you think about our parents dating?" She asked.

"Uh... I'm not really sure. It's kind of weird," I said.

"I think it's cute. So what exactly happened to your mom?"

"She left us a while ago. I'm not really sure why or what happened. I was really young, so I don't really remember."

"Oh..."

"What about you? What happened to your dad?"

"He died in a car crash. It was a drunk driver that hit him. It was really sad."

I followed her back inside and she gave the mail to her mom.

"Thank you, Rydel. Could you set the table for me, please?"

"Sure. Riker, come help me," she said, grabbing my hand.

She gave me some plates, so I put them around the table. She put out the silverware and the cups. And then we sat down in the living room next to each other on the couch.

"So you said your mom left. Have you spoken to her since then?" Rydel asked.

"No. I have her phone number written down somewhere. But I don't know where it is."

"Oh... Well I'm sure you'll find it. I guess it is kind of weird that our parents are dating. But I know my mom really wants another husband. There are things that are hard for her to do on her own. My dad used to take care of any care troubles, he'd mow the lawn, go to work and make money... And mom could just stay home and take care of all of us. Things have been really rough since dad died. It's only been about a year, but I think we're all just trying to move on."

"Yeah... I don't really know why my dad wants to date. Like it's been years since my mom left."

"Maybe he just needed some time before he was ready to date someone again."

"Yeah, maybe..."

"Kids! Time for dinner!" Stormie called.

I followed Rydel into the kitchen and took a seat next to her at the table. 

"Why don't we all go around the table and say a little bit about ourselves so we can get to know each other?" Stormie asked.

I fidgeted in my seat a little. I don't want to talk about myself. I don't even really want to be here. I don't want them to be dating. I don't want to get to know these people. I want no part of this.