The 18th Floor

Chapter Sixty Six

Saturday morning, we wake to someone ringing the door. Lucien gets out of bed to answer it and I complain for him to come back.

"What did you order now?", he asks running out to answer it.

"Nothing!" I shout back, but as soon as the answer leaves my mouth I doubt myself. There could very well be a chance that I pressed check out on multiple items.

I check the time and it's still early morning, but I'm awake now so I may as well start the day. I get into my wheelchair and I realise I heard the door open, but never heard it close. There's an almost silent conversation. I leave the bedroom and find Lucien rooted in front of the door, tension rolling off his body.

"What? You're not going to let your sister in?"

Oh my god, this isn't happening. I feel rooted in my spot.

I haven't even spoken to Adara yet despite Lucien having semi regular calls with his older sister. I feel like everything is happening in slow motion but also too quickly. I watch from away the door, seeing Lucien frozen in his place as his sister brushes past him and into the house.

Like Lucien, she has the dark, Greek features. Beautiful and full, long black hair. A chiselled jawline and slender nose. She's taller than what I thought she would be, potentially 5'8 and the way her skin is glowing lets me know that the sun is especially hot in Greece right now. She's beautiful, absolutely devasting. Oh gods, the genes in the family are truly strong.

This is not how I envisioned I would meet Adara. Her in her beautifully fitted jeans and light jumper; me freshly rolled out of bed, hair a mess and still in my pyjamas.

As she steps foot into the house, her eyes do a sweep around before they find mine. I feel just as locked in panic as Lucien right now, who's still holding the door open.

"You must be Cyrene!", she squeals and then runs over to give me a hug. I hug her back, taken a back. She smells like the beach and olive trees.

"Oh, you're absolutely stunning. He does not shut up about you and I was so excited to meet you, but then he cancelled the trip and I thought, hey, I can't sit here whilst my silly, little brother goes on about finding the love of his life", she smiles projecting an infectious smile.

I'm still so taken aback by all this I realise I still haven't said a word to her.

"It's great to meet you too", I say and then I hear the door slam. We both turn to face Lucien, his fists clenched.

"What are you doing here Adara?", Lucien says taking a step next to us.

"And here I thought you would be happy to see me", she huffs.

"You couldn't let me know you were coming?"

"Where would be the fun in that?", she laughs.

"Den boreís na eísai edo." (You can't be here)

"Kai giati eínai aftó?" (And why is that?) she says back, face stern as Lucien's. He breathes a frustrated sigh, ruffling his hair with his hand.

"Adara", he says.

"Why don't we go and freshen up, change out of our PJs and we'll be right back", I say to Adara, pulling Lucien by the hand to ease the rising tension.

"Great idea, I'll go make myself a coffee", she smiles at me.

I pull Lucien into our bedroom. "She can't be here", he says as soon as the door is closed.

"Why Lucien? We were going to go see them anyway in Greece, is it not good that she's here?", I whisper conscious of the fact that Adara is only a door away. He just huffs. "Hey. Hey, look at me. What is all of this about?", I ask getting close to him and holding his hand. He sits on the corner of the bed as I face him.

"I know what my sisters like. You know, I've told you. I love her but she's not a great person at times. I don't want her coming in and ruining all of this", he says, hands motioning in the air.

I hold his face in the palm of my hand, making his eyes reach mine. "No one is going to ruin anything" I say. "We were going to go to them, but now she's come to us. We're in our home, our safe space. Nothing is going to happen here, ok?", I say offering the reassurance to Lucien that he has offered me multiple times. "She'll be here a few days and then she'll be gone. She clearly just wants to spend some time with you and meet me... but that's ok, we'll get through this", I nod.

He sighs and gives me a kiss. "Did you just say our home?"

"I did", I smile back.

"I like the way it sounds from your mouth", he says and I roll my eyes at the fact we've been living together for close to two months now.

"I don't want you to take anything she says to heart", he warns. I nod. I know he loves her, but he's told me enough about both sides of her to be cautious but also to hope she welcomes me with open arms.

"We'll be fine", I tell him.

"I hope so Cyrene."

"I love you."

"S'agapó." (I love you) "Maybe if we speak enough Greek, you can improve this weekend", he jokes and I roll my eyes again; him completely oblivious of the online lessons I sneak in every now and again. "Yes, let's do this, get this over with. Time for you to meet Adara."

--

We get dressed and find Adara leaning on the kitchen island on her phone.

"You couldn't bring my nephews with you?"

She looks up from her phone, "they have school. I've left them with Alex's parents. They love being there anyway, it will do us both some good to have some rest."

Alex is Adara's husband. Lucien said they got married at 19 and had their first kid, Adrian, three years later and then Jace three years after that. Adara is five years older than Lucien.

"How are they?", he asks making himself and me a cup of coffee.

A silence passes. "They miss you." The guilt trip that Lucien warned me about.

"Me too. But you know how I feel about going out there Adara", he says and she nods, drinking her coffee.

"Cyrene, so beautiful. How did he ever manage to pull you?", she asks. Despite growing up in London, her spending close to the last 15 years in Greece, her accent now has slight Greek undertones.

"I ask the opposite of that question to myself everyday", I laugh slightly, meeting eyes with Lucien.

"She had me wrapped around her finger the minute I met her", he says to Adara but looking to me.

"I can tell", Adara says putting down her coffee mug. "I have some things for you from back home", she says turning to Lucien, "and for you too", she notions to me.

"For me?", I ask as I watch her go over to her suitcase next to the door. She pulls out a few bags from amongst her clothes in her small cabin bag. She brings one over to me and then one over to Lucien.

"You open yours later", she says to him quietly and he doesn't question her, simply putting his to the side on a shelf high up.

She turns back to me, "I brought you some things from back home. To keep you happy until you guys can come back out again", she smiles. I open the bag and I find an array of snacks and different types of food. She's also put in a few little magnets and different trinkets of Greece, my heart warms at the gesture.

"Thank you", I say, "it's a lovely thought." She smiles.

"We were all ecstatic when Lucien said you were Greek too."

"Half", I correct her and she waves her hand.

"Still, Greek babies am I right?", she says and I hear Lucien choke on his coffee and my cheeks go red. I know we had discussed this a couple nights prior, but hearing it come from Adara's mouth took me by surprise.

"Oh shit, sorry... can you not...", she says.

"Adara", Lucien warns.

"Er, no it's fine. I can", I say nodding to her and her fallen face lights up again.

"Oh brilliant", she says, "then all you're waiting for is Lucien to propose", she squeals, coming back down again to give me a hug. I watch Lucien over her shoulder, to find him praying for the next few days to go by quickly.