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Norman Rockwell 1941 ____
"WAIT, Alice? The Alice from the cereals section and pottery class?" He grinned pointing to her. "No way, Colin's your brother?"
She was frozen. Couldn't even look at Hannibal, and neither dared to. Didn't want to imagine his expression.
"So Nadira's the cousin you talked about..." She mumbled still in shock.
"Wait, you two know each other?" Colin exchanged glances between them both.
"Yeah, we bumped into each other a few times." He smiled charmingly locking glances with her "What a small world, isn't it?"
"Yeah..." she nodded still not believing the current situation.
"Well, couldn't be happier for Nadira now, a good boyfriend from a good family. We should celebrate." He said friendly. "Lunch at my house!"
"Yeah!!" Nadira standed her hands in the air and high-fived her cousin.
"Oh, I don't know..." Alice tried to escape the awkward situation.
"That's a great idea." Hannibal suddenly surprised her. She looked at him, he had a calm expression, but his eyes...there was a terrifying shimmer about them. "You and Colin have a lot to talk about, you shouldn't waste any time."
A lot to talk about. Indeed a lot. How would she be able to explain everything? How would she even be able to have lunch with Hannibal staring at Taye that way? Or with Colin throwing his passive-aggressive attacks at her boyfriend all the time? Alice wanted to disappear at that moment, bury herself in the ground.
For a small moment, she could almost listen to Bree's ghost, who was long gone but never forgotten "you're fucked."
▫️
Nadira tried to chat with Alice, maybe to cheer up the awkward aesthetic. Colin was impassive sitting by her side and looking at his sister by Hannibal's side. Taye had a smile on his face but tried his best not to annoy Hannibal, who sometimes eye-cornered him with a mortal glance. In addition to his jealousy, he discovered that Taye was also a vegan. Another reason in his list to despise him.
"Colin told me you are an artist, is that true?" Nadira asked her boyfriend's sister as she cut the omelet into her dish. "I've always liked to draw as a kid, but never had a talent for it." She chuckled.
"I wouldn't say I'm so talented." Alice tilted her head.
"Stop being so humble Alice, you rock when it comes to paintings." Colin pointed to her. "When I was young, we went to this amusement park, and in just two days she painted it exactly how it was, with also me and Bree walking in the picture."
"That sounds amazing." Nadira lifted her eyebrows impressed.
"Your favorite painting..." Alice smiled sweetly at her brother "So, Colin told me you're a journalism student. That's really cool. Is it hard to keep up?" She changed the subject while smiling at the food. "Wow Taye, this omelet is divine!"
