It Takes a Family Reunion

Chapter 6

Amira

Eira and I were busy as soon as I got up. We had a lot of stuff to prepare and pack before leaving for the pride event. We couldn't wear much of what we wanted in the house, so we had to stuff a lot of it in a bag to take with us.

"Paint, brushes, hats, a change of clothes. Do we need anything else, Eira?" I asked after double-checking the bag for the third time. Eira opened her own suitcase and double-checked hers. "No, I think we're good." She replied. I nodded and closed my bag.

"Alright then, let's meet the boys then," I said. Eira's face flushed slightly and nodded. I decided not to ask about the robe she had draped around her this morning. I felt I knew at least one of the people who gave it to her.

Eira followed me out of the room and into the hallway. Matthew practically begged us to let them take us to the place we lied about going. I told them we could quickly get there from here, but they were having none. When we approached, Matthee, Luke, and Erik were standing in the walkway by the front door. Matthew approached us first.

"I hope you two had a good night's sleep." He asked as he patted our heads. I swatted his hand away, not wanting him to mess my hair up. Eira, on the other hand, let him continue. "You two ready to go?" Luke asked from where he was leaning on a cabinet. He swung the car keys in his hand.

"Yep!" I saluted. The closer we got to the pride event, I was more excited.

"That's an awful lot of stuff to take with you." Matthew mused as he walked around us to stare at our bags. Erik walked up to Eira and me and motioned to take our bags. I almost argued about being able to carry my own bags. Still, when Eira gave hers up without any trouble, I relented. "Camilia asked us to bring a few things," I said simply. Luke narrowed his eyes, but I wouldn't explain my lie more.

"Let's start heading that way then." Luke declared. All four of us followed after him. The car we were taking now differed from the one we arrived in. I had a feeling Luke's parents had a couple more hidden away. It was a very expensive-looking one. I was worried that I might get the car dirty or tear something if I wasn't careful. Erik put our bags in the trunk.

Eira decided to sit in the passenger seat this time while I sat in the back. I was squeezed in between Erik and Matthew. I spent most of the ride looking out the window and looking at the city as we passed. Eira and I had visited this city a few times when we were younger to visit Camilia and Blaze. Still, we have yet to explore the town and see what it offered. The drive was around 20 minutes before we parked in front of the restaurant. Matthew, Eira, and I got out.

"Text us when you're done, alright," Luke asked as he rolled down the passenger window to speak to us. Eira and I nodded.

"We will, I promise," I replied.

"Do you need me to walk you in?" Matthew asked. Eira and I shook our heads. If he walked us in, he'd immediately noticed Blaze and Camilia weren't in the building.

"No, it's alright. Just watch us go into the building," I answered. Matthew didn't look happy at my suggestion, but he agreed anyway. He headed around the back of the car and retrieved our bags, one for each of us.

"Alright, if that's what you want." He relented.

"Thanks, I appreciate it." I patted him on the chest. My hand remained on him for a few seconds longer than I wanted before I tried pulling back. Matthew caught my hand and placed a light kiss on my fingertips.

"Have fun," Matthew said against my fingers. His breath made the skin on my fingers tingle, but I did my best to keep my face neutral.

"It's family. I'm sure it will be a great many things besides fun." I answered honestly. Outside of Camilia, Blaze, and their parents, no one in our family really likes us. It's one of the upsides to being children of parents who married each other for love, not monetary gain. Matthew nodded in understanding. He held my hand a few moments longer before letting go and returning to the car. Eira and I entered the restaurant and waited for the boys to leave. We were lucky, and the restaurant had a couple of windows we could use to see out. It took a minute or two before the boys finally started driving away. Not wanting to take any chances, we waited at least 5 minutes before exiting the restaurant. Eira and I looked down both ends of the street, relieved we hadn't seen their car.