Sophia

Chapter 2: Meeting Family

Luke:

I grinned at myself in the mirror as I pulled my long, blonde hair into a ponytail. I shouldn't have been amazed by Mr. Blackbourne's ability to dig into our father's past, but I was. I was excited to meet our sister. I gave a critical eye to the clothes Gabe had set out for me. I wanted to look nice, but I also wasn't sure about this outfit. It was nice, but it wasn't really me.

After one last tug at my tie, I stepped out of my room... and directly into Sang. "Hey, Cupcake." I grinned at her happily.

Sang jumped slightly and put a hand to her heart. "Luke! You scared me!"

I pulled her to my chest and then dropped my lips down on hers for a quick kiss. "Sorry, Cupcake." I murmured against her lips.

Her features brightened slightly as she grabbed me by the hand and dragged me down the stairs, "It's okay. You can make it up to me by helping me in the kitchen!"

I followed her, feeling amused. "Help you how?"

"I want to make a yummy dessert for tonight. I'll need your input."

~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~

North:

I sighed as I paced the length of my room. I wasn't sure I could handle having a baby sister, but I sure as hell wasn't going to be leaving her on the streets to fend for herself.

I ran my fingers through my hair and huffed out another breath. Between the nine of us, we had a difficult time keeping Sang Baby out of trouble, how were we going to protect our sister...? She'd grown up on the streets, so I imagined keeping her out of trouble would be even more difficult than keeping Sang out of trouble. At least Sang Baby trusted us completely.

I sat down heavily on my bed, deep in thought, when I heard voices floating down the hallway. "I want to make a yummy dessert for tonight. I'll need your input."

I quickly stood up with a muttered curse. "They're going to clog the poor girl's arteries with shit before she turns 20." I followed Sang's voice down the stairs and towards the kitchen.

~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~

The driveway curved in front of a huge, brick house. The building was three stories tall, with a balcony jutting out from the middle floor.

Nathan pulled up to the large gate and rolled down his window, but before he could say anything, the gate opened smoothly. Who were these people that could afford this sort of thing? I had practically been living on the streets back home, and I wasn't used to this sort of wealth. Would I be expected to dress up all the time and know which fork to use for different courses? I hoped not.

Before I could open my own door, Gabriel was opening it for me. He didn't really seem like the 'gentlemanly type', but I also wasn't really sure what a real gentleman looked like. I slid out of the car and thanked him shyly. I fixed my knee length, blue skirt and then adjusted my black shirt so that I looked somewhat presentable. I started to grab the handle on my luggage, but Nathan beat me to it, "I've got it. You follow Gabe."

I turned and followed Gabriel into the house. The large double doors opened into a small room. "Shoes off." Gabriel announced as he bent over to gently remove his own shoes. I blinked a couple of times before hastily kicking off my boots and scooting them towards the wall with my foot.

Gabriel slung his arm around my shoulders as he led me through another door. I jumped slightly, not used to being touched. "What do you bet Luke has Sang in the kitchen, trying things?" He asked over his shoulder at Nathan.

I glanced back and saw Nathan shake his head, "You're probably right." A large set of stairs was off to the right, and I glanced through the doorways on the left as we passed them. We passed a music room and what looked like an entertainment room and a closed door before we got to the end of the hallway.

The doorway at the end of the hall opened up into a large kitchen. A man with his blonde hair in a ponytail leaned over the counter, adding things into a bowl. A small woman stood next to him, arguing with him. "I don't think you need to add any more of that. You'll make it so thick that it won't bake properly."

The man shook his head, "It needs more chocolate frosting." He replied, ignoring the woman's comment.

Gabriel grinned, "We were mostly correct... It fucking counts!"

Nathan nodded, his reddish hair looking even redder in the brightly lit kitchen. The two blondes quickly looked up from what they were doing, "You're here!" I took a step back from the man's excitement.

Nathan put a steadying hand on my back as he murmured, "Luke." Right before the other man nearly crushed me in a hug.

"Luke, you should probably introduce yourself before cutting off her air supply." The woman admonished. She moved closer and gently pried Luke off of me. "Forgive him. He seems to have forgotten his manners. I'm Sang, by the way."

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