Always

Chapter 4

 Lisa and Dinah came down the stairs first, Rachel bringing up the rear. She was further up the stairs near Kristin, who felt a little nervous. 

 "Presenting, the new and beautiful Kristin!" Lisa announced to the four guys. 

 They looked up at the stairs and Rachel moved out of the way to reveal Kristin. She smiled shyly and waved before slowly walking down the stairs. Dennis, Rory, and Don smiled up at her. Daniel's eyes were wide as he stared at her. She certainly was beautiful. She stopped at the bottom of the stairs. 

 "Kristin, you look lovely. The girls did a good job." Don complemented. Dennis and Rory agreed. The girl just smiled shyly, looking down. 

 Daniel approached her and took her hand. "You look beautiful, Kristin." he smiled at her. She looked up and him and smiled at him. Somehow, she felt more comfortable with him by her side.

 "Shall we go for dinner?" Dennis suggested. 

 "Lets." Daniel nodded, offering his arm to Kristin. The girl smiled and linked her arm with his. 

 With that, they all went to the dining room for dinner. Rachel excused herself and went to the kitchen.

 "Rachel will be back. She's just helping Leena, one of our servants." Dennis reassured his guests. Daniel and Kristin nodded. Rory, Don, Lisa, and Dinah were used to this from Rachel. She often would help Leena serve meals, especially when they had guests. 

 It wasn't long before Rachel came back with a platinum blond haired young woman. "Here we are. Barbeque spareribs, macaroni & cheese, and applesauce." Rachel smiled, setting two big bowls on the table. The young woman beside her set the platter of ribs in the center. 

 "This looks great! Thanks, Rachel," Daniel smiled. 

 "Oh, don't thank me. Our cook, Tiana, did most of it." Rachel smiled. "Leena, thank you," she turned to the girl beside her.

 "No, ma'am, thank you." Leena smiled and nodded, before leaving the room. 

 Rachel sat down beside Dennis, her husband. 

 Dennis smiled at her and then suggested they pray and thank God for the food. His guests and wife nodded and joined hands. Dennis took Rachel's hand with his left hand and took Kristin's hand in his right. "Dear Lord, we thank you for this food and your blessings. And we thank you for our new friend, Kristin. We pray that you would bless her and her brother. Make her brother see how wrong he was. So one day, she can have the big brother she always wanted. And in your son's name we pray, Amen."

 Dennis ended the prayer and Kristin gave him a small smile of thanks. "I don't know why you didn't pray he would fall off a cliff, but whatever." Rory remarked. Lisa elbowed him and gave him a look. "What? It's true!" 

 "I'm sorry, but I agree with Rory. But I do disagree with one thing. He needs to die a slow and painful death. I say, we get a bunch of lions and sick them on him." 

 "Don!" Dinah scolded. 

 Kristin looked down and picked at her food with a frown. Daniel shot Rory and Don a death glare for making her upset. "One, Don, if we sicked lions on.........that man.....They would kill us first and probably the whole town. Not just him," Daniel began. "Though I do agree he should be taught a lesson. And I will happily volunteer to beat his brains out."

 "Dan, Rory, Don, I know how horrible he is. And I know we all want to give him a piece of out minds, but we shouldn't hate him or wish death upon him. We should love him and pray for him. That's what God commands. Love your enemies. And, I must say, Kristin is doing very well at that." Dennis told his friends.

 "Dennis is right. God wants us to love, forgive, and pray for Tyler." Lisa said softly.

 "Fine....I'm sorry...I'll lay off my plans for murder....For a while." Don said, making the others stare at him. "I'm kidding! What? You never heard a joke before?" 

 "Oh, Don," Lisa smiled as they all laughed. Kristin just gave a small smile. 

The friends talked and laughed. Kristin smiled but honestly wished she could take part in the conversation. All she could do was shake her head no or nod her head yes. She wanted to speak. She tried a few times, but nothing came out. The poor girl hated being mute. She wanted to talk, laugh, cry. She wanted to scream. But all that came out of her mouth was silence.

 You see, after her mother and father died, she developed Selective Mutism. Selective Mutism is a condition where you can't speak when you feel uncomfortable. Often due to anxiety. She was able to speak when she was alone. But soon, she lost that ability all together. Kristin was completely mute.

 When her brother discovered she couldn't talk, he showed no sign of concern or care at all. And, because he hated talking about her, therefore never doing so, Charlotte never knew that his sister was mute.

 Daniel often looked over at Kristin during the meal. He could see past her smile. She was sad. He wasn't sure why but wondered if perhaps, she was sad because she was mute and unable to join the conversation and fun. She could listen in, but never comment. "I have to help her. Somehow, some way, maybe I can help her get her voice back. I bet her laugh is just as beautiful as she is..." he thought before realizing what his last thought was. "Wait what?? No, no, no! I just met her! I don't have feelings for her...Do I? Oh....Dear God, help me..." He gave a low groan and shook his head. Luckily for him, no one noticed. Daniel pushed his thoughts down and smiled, joining the conversation once more.