Dear Stranger

Chapter 16

The smell of fresh food floated around your apartment. Pancakes in the pan, fruit on the table, juice on glasses. "How did you sleep?" you asked your sister and handed her a plate full of pancakes you just made. "Fine" she shrugged, "This city is way louder than at Mom and Dad's". "It is. But you get used to it at some point" you smiled back. "What are we doing today? I can't wait to explore everything!" she said excitedly. You poured some coffee in your mug and answered "I won't be able to hang out with you today, sweetie. I have meetings. I'm sorry". You felt bad for not being here for her first full day in Los Angeles, but you couldn't cancel everything. The disappointment on her face did not make you feel any better. "I called Lauren and Joey though. They're probably on their way right now" you said as you took a look at the time. Her pout turned into a grin and she replied "Nice!" You smiled and took a sip of your coffee. You could get used to this, you said to yourself. Having her around, getting prepared to take care of her. You could see yourself in her eyes. You would have done anything to leave the house earlier if you could. You know you would have. You didn't want her to live another year like this or even more if she chose to go to college near the house. Your thoughts were interrupted by someone hugging you from behind. A smile immediately grew on your face. You put your cup on the table and put your arms over his. "Good morning" he said in a still sleepy voice. You chuckled, "Good morning sleepy head". You turned your head to see his bedhead and there was nothing that you loved more. It felt so intimate. You put your fingers through his curls and kissed his cheek. "You guys are kinda cute" Jen affirmed before taking a bite of her pancake. You smiled and you heard Darren's chuckle in your ear. "Wanna have some breakfast?" you asked your boyfriend. He nodded and pulled back from your back. You turned around to see him smile at you.
He put a hand to your cheek and kissed your lips briefly. He took a sit in front of Jen and poured some coffee into one of the empty cups on the table.   "So I guess you guys are good now?" your sister asked freely. "We are" you confirmed. Darren nodded too with a smile on his face and you handed to him a plate full of pancakes too before sitting next to him. "Did you sleep good Jennifer?" Darren asked her. "Please call me Jen. The only ones calling me Jennifer are my parents... and my teachers" she smiled politely and Darren seemed to agree, "But I slept good. Thanks for asking". 

Someone knocked at the door right when she finished her sentence. "Who's that?" Darren frowned. "Joey and Lauren" Jen answered and got up with the biggest grin to go open the door. Darren turned to you with wide eyes, "What?!" he whispered loudly. "What do we do? Should I- Wait, I'm gonna go under the table" he decided. You did your best not to laugh when he slided under the table. "Darren" you called him out. "Sssshh!" he said loudly as he heard the door getting opened and his friends' voice greeting your little sister. "Jen! I feel like I haven't seen you in ages!" you heard Joey said. "Darren you can come out. They know" you said as you put your head under the table to look at him. "What?!" he exclaimed and shot his head up to you. He ended up hitting his head under the table. You couldn't help but laugh. "Good morning" Lauren almost sang and saw you laughing. You rose up from your chair and went to hug her. Joey was standing behind her, almost embarrassed. You hadn't seen him in a while, with the whole letter lie thing. You shot a grin at him and hugged him too. "I missed you Richter" you admitted as he hugged you back. "I missed you too!" he said happily. "You told him?" you asked Lauren once you both pulled back. You already knew the answer. She scrunched her face in guilt and looked away. You chuckled at her reaction. "Ok Darren. Come out" Jen said. He did, without any problems, and stood up in front of your laughing friends. "Hi guys" he said casually and fake coughed before quickly hugging them. "Only a step between hate and love, right?" Joey winked at him. "Shut up" Darren said as he playfully hit his best friend's arm. "Wanna have breakfast?" you proposed. "Actually we gotta go" Joey reminded, "Does Six Flags sounds good, Jen?" Her eyes lit up as she almost screamed in excitement "Awesome!" She quickly went to put her shoes on. "Was there any paparazzi outside?" you asked. You knew they would be there again in search of that perfect picture or that little scoop after the last days' stories. "We saw one in the corner, but we'll be fine" Joey reassured you. You nodded and smiled at him. Jen joined you and kissed your cheek. "See you tonight?" she asked and was about to rush to the door when you stopped her. "Hey, wait" you said as she turned around again. "Did you send a text? To Mom and Dad?" you demanded. You hoped she had. That meant you could call them to try and take care of the situation. Your younger sister rolled her eyes and answered "Yes, I did", clearly annoyed. You lowered your voice to ask your next question "Did they answered?" She shook her head and smiled at you sadly. "Everything's gonna be okay" you tried to say and took her in your arms. You kissed her cheek and pet her hair before letting go. "See you tonight" you affirmed as both of your friends and your sister left with a wave. You sighed. How were you supposed to know if everything would be okay or not. You had no idea. Everything could go terribly wrong. "You good?" Darren asked and took you out of your daydream. He was holding your hands and was standing in front of you. You looked up at his eyes, full of care for you. "It's crazy right? I mean I can't take care of a 16 year. I-I'm not a parent, I'm a sister. I'm not ready. How could I be? God I'm such an idiot thinking I could do it. I'm so-" "Hey, hey, hey" he almost whispered. He put a hand on your cheek, which made you calm down instantly. "You haven't said anything yet, okay? You haven't said yes or no. There is nothing to be worry about for now babe". You nodded slowly. "I won't leave. I intend to stay right next to you as long as you want me" he whispered. You closed your eyes and breathed out. You really needed to calm down.

 "And you have time to think about this. Talk to your parents, talk to your sister. And then you'll see. But to be honest, I don't see why it has to be complicated" he admitted. "Jen is gonna go back to school eventually and even if you're not here every night, she's 16. She can take care of herself. She has always been the sister of someone famous. It's not because she's closer that people will care more. I l know you can make it work. But the real question is, do you want it?" he finally asked. "I really don't want her to go back there. Darren, it's not a good place to be" you replied. "Answer my question. Do you want to make it work?" he repeated. "Yes" you answered at last. "Good. Then you will know what to do" he smiled and kissed your forehead. "I'm gonna get ready for this meeting" he exclaimed and walked to the bathroom after delivering a peck on your lips. 

You looked at him walking away and you were so thankful that he was back. Back to care, back to his loving puppy eyes and the wisdom of his words. You found yourself smiling again as he turned to you once more to smile back at you. You had no clue if it was love, but it was pretty damn close.