The Runaway Teenager

Chapter 10

Amber stood still in her spot and eyed us all weirdly while flashing an awkward smile to my family members. To say she was embarrassed would be the understatement of the century.

I was currently standing behind one of the sofas in the living room and I smiled back at Amber , trying to make her feel more comfortable.

I could even notice her cheeks blushing due to the tension in the air and her grip on my brother's arm tightened even more.

"Amber ?" My mother finally asked , breaking the thick ice.

"Y-yeah ," the latter stuttered and looked at her own feet. I guessed she was just feeling shy , which was quite obvious.

"Oh my god , why are you even standing ? Come , have a seat !" My mother exclaimed abruptly , her voice cracking at the last spoken works.

Amber slowly made her way towards the L-shaped sofa and took a seat a few inches away from my mother , but not too far. She clasped both of her hands together and smiled awkwardly at my mother , who was just grinning at her.

I decided to be more kind and friendly towards Amber. Thus , I approached her with slow and quiet steps and bore my eyes into hers reassuringly.

"Do you like lemonade ?" I suddenly asked , not finding the proper words to form my sentence.

"Uh yeah s-sure ," she replied while nodding her head in approval and smiled at me whole-heartedly.

I rushed towards the kitchen and prepared a jug of lemonade as quickly as I could. I then poured some in small cups and placed them on a tray.

Around five minutes later , all the cups were filled and I eventually made my way towards the living room to serve the beverage.

Amber thanked me with her bright eyes twinkling.

"So you're from Australia , huh ?" My dad finally asked for the first time since Amber came in.

"Yes , I'm from Perth ," she uttered sweetly.

"Cool !" My mother commented. "So do you have any siblings ?" She asked further.

"I have only an elder sister."

"How old is she ?" Mom enquired and smiled again. What's the thing with smiling and all today !?

"She's twenty-two ," Amber replied and grinned.

Throughout the whole conversation between Amber and my mother , Ashton has remained unexpectedly quiet and it quite scared me.

Some minutes after their conversation of which I did not pay too much heed , Amber finally turned to look at me and I just smiled at her awkwardly , trying to figure out what was actually happening.

"So you're Alexa ?" She asked.

"Yeah ," I simply replied non-chalantly.

"Ashton told me so much about you !" She beamed and I just sent a glare at my brother , who was scratching the back of his neck , feeling a tad bit embarrassed.

"Oh so he talked about me ," I trailed off and smirked.

"Yeah , only the good things about you though , don't worry ," Amber uttered and chuckled.

We chatted for what seemed like half an hour until my father eventually made up his mind to bring us all to the restaurant.

The clock indicated five thirty when my father announced the sudden change of plans.

I scurried towards my room and nearly fell on the stairs while running. Once I was in there , I heard my phone beeping in my drawer. Yeah , it actually remained in the drawer throughout the gathering in the living room.