Saving Andromeda

Chapter 4: Welcome to the Underworld

Dinner at my Aunt Michelle's was... well much different than I was expecting. The food was fantastic! The company... not so much.

My Aunt Michelle was an amazing cook. She made all my favorite foods: garlic mash potatoes with gravy, red rice, barbeque chicken and pork, and even cucumber salad. Every bite of her food made my mouth water. It was even better than the food that they served at Asphodel (which made me very proud; we don't need 100 dollars to have fantastic food!).

Nathaniel was the only part of this dinner that left a bad taste in my mouth. He wasn't rude (surprisingly), he was just... cocky (unsurprisingly). He didn't really tease me as much as he did during Algebra, but he did wiggle his eyebrows at me once or twice during the meal. My first impression of him was that he was full of himself. And he definitely met this expectation. Everytime he opened his mouth, it was to talk about himself.

During that meal, I finally found out how I'm related to Nathaniel: Aunt Michelle. I knew that she remarried after her first husband died. However, I did not know that he had a son around my age. Or that his son was living with them. They explained to me that he was originally in the custody of his mother, and that was why I'd never heard of him. But recently, he was transferred into the custody of his father. So, Nathaniel is Alex's step-brother. And apparently, my step-cousin?

I didn't even get to see Alex; he went out to dinner with his teammates. So, I had an awkward meal with Aunt Michelle and the narcissistic Nathaniel. I was mostly silent, given that I'd already said everything my aunt wanted to know when I'd first gotten here. Any conversation at the table was between Nathaniel and my Aunt Michelle. Uncle David, my aunt's new husband and Nathaniel's father, was working late, so I still haven't met him.

"So, Nathan, how was school?" my aunt asked trying to lessen the awkwardness.

He shrugged. "Nothing new."

One side of her mouth quirked up, a knowing smile. She proceeded, "I hope you didn't hurt anyone today?"

He smirked, a mischievious glint in his eyes. "Absolutely no one. Well, if you count this one kid that I pushed to the side because she was blocking traffic."

"That was you?!" I exclaimed dropping my fork. I stood up when I said this, so I didn't know what to do with myself. I sat down awkwardly and just glared at Nathan. (Leave it to me to make an already awkward meal more awkward.)

Aunt Michelle cleared her throat. "Well, I've finished eating so I am going to go to bed now. Wash your own dishes." she said as she picked up her plate to wash in the kitchen sink.

Leaving me alone with Nathaniel may not have been her intention, but she didn't seem to notice my pleading eyes begging her to stay. Nathaniel and I still had half of our plates to finish (Come on! He should eat faster than that!) so neither of us were going to be getting up any time soon. I put up an act of calm, (who am I kidding? I'm a terrible actor) and kept eating. He started eating as well (at the freaking same pace as me) and we lapsed into another awkward silence.

"When you're done, I'll wash your plate," he'd said when both of us were almost finished with our meals.

I just stared at him as he stacked my plate on top of his and walked toward the kitchen. Did he just- What?

I slowly stood up and trailed behind and followed him. The kitchen was just as nice as the rest of the house. From the stainless steel five star appliances to the marble countertops, this kitchen was straight from a catalog. I leaned against the island and watched as did the dishes (not creepy at all). When he finished washing both his and my dishes and said shyly, "Thanks."

He smiled and replied, "No problem."

I turned and was about to head back to my bedroom when he stopped me.