Seeing Hearts and Sorrows

part 5

Mrs. Roquin and Ebony were already finished setting up the dining table just as Zach entered the room.

"You can sit over here Zach," Mrs. Roquin said, gesturing him to a seat.

He quietly did as he was told and sat down, waiting as he was looking over at the food. It looked simple but tasty enough to feed an average class family.

Thin slices of ham, peas and corn, and mashed potatoes with gravy were waiting patiently on the plates to be eaten.

Soon, another unfamiliar face walked into the dining room, taking a seat on the right of Zach. It was a girl who looked right about his age, with delicate shaped face, long wavy golden blonde hair, baby blue eyes, and bright rosy cheeks --- totally pretty enough to become a beauty pageant queen.

The girl turned her attention towards Zach, her blue eyes blinked in childish curiosity. She slightly cocked her head to one side, and then smiled sweetly.

"Are you the guy who's gonna marry my brother?" she asked.

"Um...yeah...," he replied sheepishly.

The girl's smile grew a little broader. "Ah~you're really cute! Eran's a very lucky guy~!" When she giggled, it's like listening to tiny bells ringing playfully on the first day of spring.

"Oh...thanks." Zach couldn't help think, damn, she's really cute and pretty...why couldn't I marry to her instead?

Then he noticed that the blonde girl leaned closer to him, close enough that their noses were barely a couple inches from each other. She whispered, "Just so you know, if he doesn't satisfy you, you can always come to me in my room...it'll be our little secret~"

A small thread of guilt began to squeeze his heart. Without realizing it, his cheeks were flushing bright pink, not daring to think of what she was talking about, although deep inside his head, he knows it perfectly.

"Forget it Sarai! You're not gonna steal my fiancé," a stern voice said behind Zach's back. "Not like you're stealing other girls' boyfriends."

The blonde boy turned around to see a tall, red haired guy sitting on the left of him, whose suspicious eyes kept in hard contact at his sister.

Sarai just shrugged as she backed off and said, "Whatever. It's not like your so called marriage is gonna be a happy one anyway."

Eran still gave her a small glare of contempt before he finally looked away. Zach was shifting uncomfortably in his seat, not wanting to make the tension in the air getting worse than it already has.

When all the family members settled in the dining room, the plates of food were passed around the table, getting ready to eat. As they were helping themselves, Mrs. Roquin would ask how everyone's day went, then a couple of people would murmured, "It was okay." Mr. Roquin was busy talking to Ebony's husband, Hiller, talking eagerly about some technology business that was going to be up in stock soon.

Zach could only chew his food quietly, not speaking a word throughout the whole meal. Eran then stood up to put his dish in the sink as soon as he was done, then walked out of the dining room and up the stairs. A few seconds later, Zach did the same, thanked Mrs. Roquin for the food, and then tagged right behind him. Eran trudged up the stairs and went to the door that was across Zach's guest room. Just as he opened the door, Zach got a glimpse of gleaming light of white and blue. But before Eran stepped into his room, he turned around just in time to see his younger fiancé looked up in surprise.

Zach stammered. "Oh...ah...I..."

The red head smiled. "You wanna see what's in my room?"

"...Can I?" Zach asked.