Nentarli [COMPLETE]

~ Sixteen ~

We turned as a group and saw four figures standing in the doorway, their expressions unreadable as they looked back at us. My heart was beating loudly in my ears, I barely recognised them in the strange, almost medieval looking clothes and the change in their demeanour but there was no question that it was mine and Emy's parents.

The faces hadn't changed, our mum's looked more and more worried as the seconds ticked by and nobody moved or spoke. I wasn't sure how to react, I couldn't gather my thoughts up enough to speak now that we were finally here. Suddenly, my feet were moving but instead of running to my parents for a hug, which I had wanted to do for days, I strode over to Emy. I linked her arm in mine, watching sternly as both of our parents made their way into the room.

I knew how I felt now and I was angry, no I was furious. Even before all of this they had decided to keep everything from us, no fail safe to tell us when we were of age or something like that, they took us away and made our whole life a lie. Being next to the only other person who understood that stopped me from running straight back out of the door.

I looked my mum in the face and I could see a strange emotion in her deep, brown eyes, was that understanding? Or empathy? She thought she understood what we were feeling? This only served to make me angrier, there was no apology in her expression, just a look that said she'd expected this. Merkell stepped forward just as I was about to explode and gestured to both sides of the room.

"Maybe we should all sit down and discuss this. It is a sensitive issue and I sense a lot of emotions running high at the moment... not all of them positive."

He looked pointedly in my direction but I stared him down, I wasn't going to subdue my frustrations this time. I moved to the nearest sofa with Emy and sat down, seething while I watched everyone except Blaike and Kaleb sit down. They chose to stand behind the chair Kayle was slumped in. He was watching the situation closely and his earlier smile was slowly fading from his face.

Emy and I set our bags down on the floor, she stretched her shoulders out but I was coiled tightly, I sat still and we waited for someone to speak. Both mine and Emy's dads seemed to be assessing the room and the people in it, their expressions still unreadable and it all felt wrong.

My dad was a very expressive man, everything he did or experienced made him react; good or bad, happy or sad, work or home. He always had such an easy face to read but now I couldn't get anything, his green eyes portrayed nothing I could discern. I looked back at my mum and her expression had changed to concern, probably checking me over to see if I was hurt- the trouble was the hurt was internal.

Emy's mum had a similar expression, except she seemed to be resisting the urge to do something, she was fidgeting with the pleats in her dress while staring at Emy. They shared the same light brown hair that was perfectly styled despite how tired she looked. Emy got her eyes from her dad, the same hazel colour and horizontal teardrop shape.

"Why are you all dressed at this time?" Emy blurted out, taking my thoughts in a different direction.

Everyone turned to look at her, most likely wondering of all the questions she could be asking, why that one? But I smirked inside, Emy was the world's greatest ice breaker and even though she was partially scowling, I could see under it that she knew exactly what she was doing.

All four parents looked down at their clothes, as though they had forgotten what they were wearing.

My dad spoke again in that same, uncertain voice he had in the doorway. "We have been awaiting your arrival ever since we got here, sleep has not really been an option, love."

Nothing but the last word of that sentence sounded anything like my dad and it made me want to scream. I didn't know who they were anymore, they looked like my parents but acted like strangers, how could they feel like both? Merkell was watching me yet again and he looked apprehensive, my emotions must have been blasting at him because he didn't flicker to anyone else while he spoke.