Long Lost Brother

Chapter 3 : Meeting Jeff

Chapter 3

Riker POV

"Come on. Let's go meet him!" Rocky said, pulling my hand.

I followed him down the stairs, starting to feel kind of dizzy. I was just so nervous!

When I got to the kitchen, there was literally another me in there. Same hair, same style of clothes, same eyes, nose, mouth...

"Whoa..." Rocky said, freezing in his spot.

I just stared at Jeff, who was looking at my mom.

"It's a second Riker!" Rocky yelled.

Rydel facepalmed. I'll admit, what Rocky said was true, but it did sound kind of stupid and weird.

Jeff was looking at us now. Actually, he was looking at me. I felt shy under his stare. I looked down at the floor, not sure what to do.

"Guys, this is Jeffery," mom said, smiling.

"Hi! You look just like Riker!" Rocky said.

I sighed, not daring to look up.

"Hey mom, is- Oh my gosh! It's a second Riker!" Ross shouted.

And here we go again...

I covered my face with my hands, wishing I could disappear.

Ryland came down the stairs, luckily not saying anything. But he had his mouth hanging open, and he kept looking back and forth between me and Jeff.

I reached over and shut his mouth. He looked up at me, annoyed.

"Didn't want you to catch flies," I said, trying not to laugh.

"Alright. Your father will be home any minute. Riker, come set the table."

I sighed. How fun...

By the time I'd finished setting the table, my dad was home, and my mom was bringing the food, which she'd made earlier, to the table. Mom sat at one end, and dad sat at the other. My siblings, minus Jeff were in the living room, talking about school or something like that.

I sat down next to my dad, and then nudged Jeff's arm softly.

"You can sit next to me if you want," I said, quietly.

Jeff nodded, and pulled out the chair. He went to sit, but missed the chair somehow, and ended up falling on his butt. My siblings had come in the kitchen now.

"Are you ok?" I asked, quietly.

Jeff looked at me and nodded quickly. His face was red. I sighed, and reached my hand out to him, helping him up.

Later...

Riker POV

Dinner was basically my mom explaining how the family worked, and going over names, and all that boring junk. Nobody really spoke besides mom, except Rydel a few times.

When dinner was over, all my siblings went into the living room. They usually played videogames after dinner. But I didn't go with them since I was supposed to clear the table and do the dishes and stuff.

Jeff started helping me. It was weird to see myself doing things. I wasn't used to having a twin. Of course, there were a few differences, like he was slightly shorter than me. And his hair was a little shorter too. But that was about it, physically. I didn't really know his personality yet. He seemed shy now, but that could change once he got to know us.

I pretty much stood still at the dishwasher, and let Jeff bring me the dishes. My mom and dad were in the living room, and I knew I'd probably get in trouble for having Jeff help me with my chores, but mom and dad weren't in here. And I was taking the help while I had it!

I'd finally finished. And I realized Jeff was standing awkwardly off to the side. Everyone else was still in the living room. I could hear they were talking about me and Jeff. I turned to Jeff.

"So um... In case you couldn't keep all those names straight, I'm Riker," I said, sticking out my hand.

He shook it gently, nodding slightly.

"Um... Mom didn't mention this, but um... We're going to be sharing a room. My brother hasn't moved out yet. He was supposed to, but he didn't. So I'm not sure where you'll sleep tonight," I said, realizing I probably just scared him a little more.

He looked up at me, and I could tell, yes, I scared him a little.

"But um... you won't have to sleep in the basement or anything like that. You'll probably sleep in my room or something..."

I could see the relief on his face.

Everyone suddenly came back into the kitchen.

"So, since Rocky hasn't moved out yet, you guys need to figure out sleeping arrangements," my dad said, giving Rocky a look.

"He can sleep in our room," I said, immediately.

"Great," my mom said.

"Why don't you go help Jeff get settled?" My dad said, looking at me.

"Sure..." I said, motioning for Jeff to follow me.

We walked to the steps, which were by the front door.

"Are these yours?" I asked, motioning to the 2 suitcases and backpack on the floor.

He nodded.

"Alright."

I grabbed both suitcases, and dragged them up the stairs. When we got to my room, I put them down.

"So... This is my bed. This is Rocky's. But you'll be moving in, and Rocky will be moving out, so this'll be you'll bed soon... Probably tomorrow..."

Jeff just nodded slowly.

"Alright, so..."

I felt awkward. He barely talked.

"Um... I don't know where you want to sleep. I suppose you could sleep in my bed with me. I mean, we're brothers, I guess, so it wouldn't exactly be weird. Well, considering we've never met, it might be. But I just mean it'd be ok if we did that. Um... I'm not sure where else you would sleep.

Jeff nodded.

"Ok, so um... you can't really unpack until Rocky gets out of here. And since he's downstairs playing videogames, I'm assuming that won't be tonight..."

I sat down on my bed.

"So, we're twins. Tell me something about yourself."

Jeff stared at the floor.

"Like what?" He asked, really quietly.

"Like... what do you like to do?"

"I like to sing and dance. I was in my school's glee club."

"Oh, that's cool..."

Rocky came bursting through the door.

"Mom says we're having a game night!" Rocky shouted.

"Alright. We'll be down in a minute."

Rocky left, and I was alone with Jeff.

"So um... On game nights, since there's so many of us, we usually play in pairs. Do you want to be my partner?"

Jeff nodded.

"Cool."

If he wasn't here, I would've been without a partner. Ryland always chooses Ross, mom chooses dad, and Rocky chooses Rydel. So in a weird way, I was glad he was here.

"Alright, well let's go."