𝐌𝐀𝐑𝐂𝐄𝐋𝐋𝐀 𝐂𝐑𝐈𝐒𝐓 (ANGEL)
Older. Scary. Silent.
Damon Lars was always lurking in the shadows, a sinister presence that scared me. It would be oblivious for me not to notice him even in the darkest areas. He was there. Maybe invisible to ot...
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LILIANA ROSELINE
Jaxon stood abruptly from the dining table, his chair scraping against the polished floor. "I'm going to play pool," he muttered, directing the statement more to his parents than anyone else. Normally, I only came over to the Crist household because of my boyfriend, but now? Now I was coming back more often than I cared to admit, and only for Marcella. Deep down, I knew I was curious about Jaxon—what he was doing during this break we had in between us.
Grayson smirked, leaning back in his chair with a mischievous glint in his eye. "You and Lily should play pool together. Right, Mama Crist?" Of course, Gray would be the instigator. He always thrived on chasing chaos, stirring the pot just enough to watch the fallout with a smug grin. It was practically a sport to him, and tonight was no different. Him and Stella had causing trouble in common.
I could feel his eyes on us as Jaxon and I stood across from each other, the tension crackling in the air like static. Gray leaned casually against the chair, arms crossed and a smirk playing on his lips, clearly enjoying the show he had set in motion.
Jaxon froze mid-step, his jaw tightening as he turned to glare at Grayson. "Don't start," he warned, his voice sharp.
But Mama Crist's face lit up, her optimism cutting through the brewing tension. "Oh, that's a wonderful idea!" she exclaimed, her hands clasping together. "Go teach her, Jaxon. It's a Crist tradition to pass down pool. We even taught Marcella, remember?"
"Mama—" Jaxon began, but she cut him off with a raised finger.
"No arguments," she said firmly, her tone brooking no refusal. "You have to teach her. It's family tradition. And you know how I feel about family traditions." She turned to me with a warm smile, motioning for me to stand. "Come, Lily, you'll have so much fun!"
I returned the smile, though it felt a little forced, and stood from my seat. Jaxon looked like he was about to protest again but clearly thought better of it. One thing I'd learned quickly about Mama Crist was that her word was law in this household. And if anyone went against her rules, her husband would just ruin anyone who went against his wife.
Jaxon shot Grayson a murderous look as he grabbed his cue stick from the rack by the wall. "Let's get this over with," he muttered under his breath, leading the way downstairs to Papa Crist's office where the pool table was.
The basement was as extravagant as the rest of the Crist estate—with sleek, dark wood paneling, and a massive pool table taking center stage. Jaxon walked straight to the rack, grabbing two cue sticks. Without looking at me, he tossed one in my direction. Jaxon stormed in without a word, his frustration evident in every tense movement. I followed cautiously, clutching the cue stick that Mama Crist had all but forced into my hands. The heavy silence between us was suffocating, and I regretted letting Grayson bait him into this.
Jaxon didn't look at me as he grabbed a cue ball from the rack on the wall. His jaw was tight, and his gray eyes were dark with irritation. "Let's get this over with," he muttered, positioning the balls on the table with sharp, precise movements.
