All I hide

Chapter 18

Reading the text again to make sure I'm at the right place, I grab Alex's wrist to usher him along. We enter the diner and look for John, finding him in a booth near the back.

"You guys made it!" he grins at us and stands to give us both hugs. "Alex, it's been a while."

"Last time we saw each other, we found out we're brothers." His tone is casual, causing John to chuckle and ruffle his hair.

We all sit down and they talk away, filling each other in on everything and joking like old friends. A waiter comes to take our orders.

"Hey guys, what shall you be having today?" Elijah says with a cheeky smile.

"You work here?" I ask dumbfoundedly.

"My parents own the place," he answers proudly, holding a fist to his chest. "I like to help out sometimes."

"Is this your friend?" Alex looks between the three of us.

Elijah turns to him. "And who might you be?"

"Alex. I'm Sam's brother." His eyes flicker to John briefly but he doesn't say anything further.

If Elijah notices, he doesn't comment. "Ah that explains the striking resemblance, though if you ask me, you're definitely the better looking one. I can just imagine all the hearts you'll break when you're older. I'm Elijah by the way."

"Eli," John cuts in, a subtle warning in his eyes that I don't understand but the other boy does. "You know my order. Can you get us three of them?"

"Sure. Dessert will be on the house." He walks off, taking the cheery mood with him.

"So what's your usual order?" I need to break the tension before it can build or this whole meeting will be awkward.

"Oh, only the best steak and chips I've ever eaten. Eli tells me it's a secret family recipe so I'll never how how they make it." His eyes light up excitedly as he tells us about the first time he came here and how Elijah's parents were so ecstatic that their son brought a friend around, they offered him all the food for free. "They'll still happily let me eat here for free but I don't want to take advantage. They put their heart and soul into this place and I don't want to feel like I'm stealing."

"Well if you say it's the best, I'll trust your judgement." Something brushes against my hand and I look down to see Alex's fingers trying to intertwine with mine. "You okay?"

He nods then pauses and shakes his head.

"What's wrong?" John turns all his focus to him, tuning out all the other noises around us.

"Can I introduce myself as your brother or will I always just be Sam's brother?" There's nothing malicious in his tone, nothing to imply that just being my brother is disappointing. He just wants to know where we all stand, what's okay to reveal and what's not.

"Whatever you feel comfortable with." A smile tugs at his lips. "If you want to tell people I'm your butler, that's fine too. Or we can be shark cage diving buddies. Whatever you want."

I think back to the first time I met John's friends and how he kept referring to me as his sister so easily and how none of them seemed phased by it. "Do they know?" The question escapes me before I can stop it.

His gaze shifts to me, his expression becoming solemn. "Yes but not everything. I told them that we have the same father and that he left us when we found out. That's all."

At that moment, Elijah returns with three plates in hand. "Here you go guys. This dish has been in my family for generations so I'm hoping you like it."