Your Choice (Book Three)

A Family Dinner

Emmeline continues to laugh at Max's frankly pathetic joke as they both reach the front door of the Hiddleston-Cumberbatch household. She fumbles in her pocket and removes her house key and sticks it into the lock before unlocking the door while chattering to her best friend. She steps inside and dumps her rucksack onto the floor as Max shuts the door behind them. He comes home with Emmy regularly so it should be fine that he is visiting - once again - unannounced. They both stop in their tracks when they see the amount of people sitting in the living room: Tom, Ben, Vanessa, Benedict's parents (Tim and Wanda) and Tom's mum (Diana). "What's going on?" The young girl asks uneasily.

"We are having a family meal." Benedict announces while clasping his hands together. Emmeline scans the room and notices the tension. The three elders are all squeezed on one sofa so they do not have to sit next to Vanessa. Max noticeably tenses up behind her showing he has felt the tension also.

"Can Max stay?" Tom sighs before answering his daughter's question.

"Not tonight darling. Sorry Max." It pains him to be so dismissive to someone but tonight is an important night. "It is a family night."

"But Maxie IS family." She stresses.

"I am?!" Max exclaims with a cheesy grin.

"Of course you are." Emmy scoffs, "You are like my brother."

"Thanks." The boy grimaces. This is obviously the response that he did not want but Emmy is too blind to see this. "I will go then." He shrugs his rucksack back on his back comfortably and prepares to leave with a polite smile. "See you another time then. Bye Em." He then trudges out of the house leaving 'Em' to this uncomfortable situation.

"He has a thing for you that boy." Vanessa teases and Emmeline shakes her head frantically not wanting to have this conversation.

"He is a very polite young man." Diana inputs.

"And he is quite cute." Wanda agrees.

"Mum!" Benedict shouts in dismay earning a chuckle from Tom. Emmeline is still standing in the doorway completely confused about why she wasn't told about this sudden family reunion. It is not that she does not love these little gatherings but she does not love them. She has a bit of a love hate relationship with any social event. She decides to walk into the kitchen/dining area of the house to grab a glass of water and to avoid any awkward conversation. Luckily her grandparents are already quite aware of her socially awkward behaviour. When she walks into the room she realises that there isn't just seven places set at the long dining table but ten making her furrow her brow.

"Which one of you cannot count?" She jokes to her fathers when she wanders back into the lounge. Neither of them speak. "There are only seven of us here eating but there are ten places set."

"My parents are coming around." Her mother explains. It didn't even occur to Emmy that she has three sets of grandparents and now she is being forced to meet them like she is under duress or something.

"You don't have three parents...who is the third person then? Is Uncle Darren coming around?!" She suddenly becomes excited. She hasn't seen Darren for months.

"No." Vanessa giggles, "He is still on his incredibly long honeymoon."

"Then who?" Emmeline ponders just as the doorbell rings.

"Ooh they're here!" Her mother claps her hands excitably as Tom walks over to answer the door. Emmeline Rose feels so small; she hates being out of loop with what's going on so much. The door is opened revealing an elderly couple with friendly faces accompanying a boy. The boy looks about sixteen or seventeen with dark hair cut short and bright blue eyes. Everyone begins to chatter but Emmy just studies the strange boy who has seemed to have entered her personal space. "Emmy, this is my mum and dad." She signals to the couple who smile. "And this is Harry...your brother." Everyone turns to the teenage girl to study her reaction who just stands still with her mouth gaping open.

"Hi." He squeaks and kind of waves, "You must be Emmeline. I have been very excited about meeting you." She cannot take it. Emmy turns on her heels and bolts up the stairs and slams her bedroom door shut behind her.

"Don't worry." Tom tries to assure Harry who looks slightly baffled, "She gets a bit anxious sometimes."

Emmeline curls up into a ball on her soft bed and manages to fend off an anxiety attack. She doesn't know how to react; she feels like she cannot trust anyone anymore except Max. There is a knock on the door, a very light and delicate knock. "Who is it?" She mumbles against her knees.

"It's me...Harry." He replies shocking Emmy. He came to see if she was okay...maybe he is alright. "Can I come in?" He asks cautiously and she wants to respond with a refusal but for some reason she doesn't.

"Sure." She states which is followed by the door gently being pushed open. Emmy sits up straight on her mattress while Harry pulls out her desk chair so he can also sit down.

"My best friend had anxiety." He starts off by saying hoping it would make his sister trust him.

"Had?" She questions.

"He...you know..." He grimaces at the thought.

"Oh." Emmy taps her fingers on her knee nervously, "Sorry..."

"No it's fine." A slightly uncomfortable silence follows. "I didn't imagine our first meeting to be like this. I didn't want to spring it on you like that but I didn't have a choice." He loosely explains.

"How long have you known about me? And how have I not known about you?" Emmeline continues to stress and fires question at the boy who claims to be her brother.

"Five years or so...I wanted to see you then! I really did but I wasn't allowed to meet you until mum was out of prison. I have never really lived with her, always lived with my grandparents but I am going to move in with her." He looks thankful about this which indicates to Emmy that he does not enjoy living where he is at the moment.

"Why didn't you live with her?" Although there is the obvious reason that Vanessa was imprisoned for over ten years but this kid is definitely older than Emmy.

"My dad was a soldier in the army. Him and my mum were so close, they were going to get married. When he was away in the Middle East, mum realised she was pregnant with me or something... He was ecstatic." Emmeline watches Harry rub his palms together in a nervous fashion. He does not look up. "When the news got to him that mum was in labour he was allowed to go home." Harry takes a sharp intake of breath, "His plane was shot down. He was killed. Mum seemed dead inside because of it and I was sent to live with my grandparents..."

"I'm sorry about that." Emmeline smiles a sad smile in his direction which he returns.

"Your dad made her feel better a few years later and then... Shit went down. But I am glad that I am finally building bridges with you and mum. We could have a laugh." Emmy decides that Harry is actually alright and that they could indeed 'have a laugh' so she doesn't try and cut him loose. The pair of them eventually go downstairs to sit at the table with the other family members as Tom has cooked a delicious stew. Tom, Benedict and Vanessa all feel proud of their daughter and Emmy reminds herself to message Max later about the major debacle.

The evening wasn't actually too bad.