Leaving Home (On Hold)

Chapter 4

“When are my boys getting here?” I heard a voice demand loudly, her voice carrying over the crowd of people in the house.

Looking up, I saw that it was Grandma Emily, Dad’s mom, which had asked the question. She was currently standing on her toes, her eyes scanning the room to catch a glimpse of the twins. I laughed to myself. She and Grandpa Trent had just arrived at the house and she was already demanding where the twins were. It was understandable seeing as how she hadn’t seen them in a few weeks and was going through, as she liked to put it, “Cain and Asher withdrawals”.

“They’re on their way Nana,” I answered, adjusting Kodi on my back.

“Have you talked to them?” she demanded, turning her gaze to me.

“I just got off the phone with Austin about ten minutes ago. He said that they should be here in about half an hour,” I replied.

“Good. Now where’s my Emery? I haven’t seen him in ages either,” she asked, her eyes once again scanning the crowd.

“Last I saw, he was in the kitchen with Aubree, Ryder, and Cameron,” I answered with a smile.

She gave me and Kodi a hug before walking past us towards the kitchen.

                I watched her walk away with a smile on my face, once again amazed at my family. Even though Austin and Emery weren’t technically members of the family, they were still treated like they were. My grandparents referred to them as their grandsons and my aunts and uncles called them their nephews. Even my parents referred to them as their unofficially adopted sons. It was like my family was trying to make up for the fact that their family just didn’t care and I loved them even more for that.

“Are they really on their way?” Kodi asked from her perch on my back.

“You’re the one that answered the phone squirt. You talked to Austin before I did. So what do you think?” I asked with a laugh, tickling the backs of her knees, making her squeal.

“What’s going on over here?” Grandpa Trent asked as he stopped beside me.

“Laughing at Grandma,” Kodi responded, causing Papa to laugh, too.

“Come here,” he said, reaching his arms out for Kodi. She went to him eagerly and I stretched, getting used to the absence of her weight.

“I hear you’re not going with your parents,” Papa said as trained his gaze on me.

“No, I’m not. I’m moving in with Cain, Asher, and Austin,” I answered.

“Well I know your parents aren’t thrilled with the idea but, personally, I’m glad. It’ll be nice to know you’re only a few hours away,” Papa replied as he leaned down to kiss the top of my head before walking away with Kodi still perched on his hip.

                I spent the next few minutes walking around the house talking to my family members. My entire family was crowded into my house, plus friends of my parents that we all consider family. It was great to see everyone, even if we were kind of crowded. With two sets of grandparents, five uncles, five aunts, thirteen cousins, plus Tegan and Liam and their kids, Tegan’s three brothers and their families, Dad’s friend Kasper, his wife, and their triplets, Mom’s friend James, his wife, and their two kids, plus me, my siblings, my parents, and Emery it was a full house. That didn’t even include Cain, Asher, and Austin.

“I will never get over how big your family is,” Emery said as he popped up beside me.

“Tell me about it. The only person we’re missing is Luka,” I responded, referring to Liam’s older brother. Luka was currently in China, overseeing the company’s expansion there.