Toxic Truth

11

ZELLA

Am I at the wrong house?

I think Liam once mentioned that he had an apartment. Did I actually come to the wrong house? But this is the address Liam gave me.

The boy keeps his patience as he watches me mentally debating over if I should walk away or say something.

Wait. Now that I'm looking at him closely, he looks like a younger version of Liam. Is that his brother?

"Hi, is Liam here?" I ask awkwardly.

He nods and finally decides to move aside to let me in. "You must be his friend, I'm Amo."

"I'm Zella, it's so nice to meet you," I smile.

Even though this guy is way younger than me, possibly a teenager, he still towers over me. Whats up the with the height genetics of these brothers?

"Did you get the door?" Liam's voice rings out from the next room and then he enters the living room, stopping when he sees me there.

This is the first time I'm seeing him in casual clothes, something other than a suit. He's wearing a simple black t-shirt with black pants, and his strong, muscular arms are on display.

Amo leaves us, and he walks closer to me, "Hey."

"Hi, am I late?"

"Not really, Matteo is here though." He puts a hand on my back and leads me towards the dining room.

His living room is so finely decorated, the furniture is white and there is a rich, dark blue carpet on the floor. There is a huge chandelier hanging on the ceiling, making the room glow.

I come to a halt when I see Matteo and a young girl sitting next to him.

"My siblings," Liam whispers in my ear. "Grace has never been here or seen them."

I smile, understanding what he's telling me. Liam is protective of his family, he doesn't talk about them ever, neither does he bring them in limelight. Yes, I searched him up.

The fact that he's bringing me here to have dinner with them means that he trusts me.

"You're important to me Zella, and I want you to meet my family."

I am so lost at words that I just nod. He squeezes my waist once and then lets me go.

Matteo notices me and comes forward to hug me. He has a huge grin on his face as he whispers, "Family dinners, huh?"

"It's nothing, he just invited me over because you're here as well."

"I'm here every weekend Zella," he smirks, giving me a knowing look.

I'm so flustered by the fact that Liam invited me to his house and wants me to meet his siblings that I don't even know how to respond.

Liam, not so subtly, pushes Matteo away from me and his sister, who looks about thirteen or fourteen years old, comes forward to greet me. "Hi, I'm Isabella."