His Proposal

His Proposal - 39

Walking over to the table, I take a seat next to Jai. Nate and Aleysa sit close to me, and they start talking about

Aleysa picks up her glass of orange juice and drinks it. She helps herself to some pancakes. "Do you want anything, Chloe?"

Shaking my head. "I am fine right now. I will get something..." The dining room becomes noisy as the rest of the Marshall family walks in. Chairs are pulled out, and food is piled on their plates.

All the plates are cleared of food now, and Jai looks at me. "I told you, you had to get something before they came here."

Touching his arm. "I'm not hungry." I show him the mug. "This is all I need this morning."

Jai pushes the seat out. "Breakfast is an important meal, and I won't watch you starve yourself." He points to Aleysa's plate. "It's bad enough that she's not eating much nowadays. I can't see you do the same." He walks to the kitchen and puts two slices of bread in the toaster.

Aleysa moves to Jai's seat and sits next to me. "What time are we going home?"

"We're leaving in a couple of hours. Why?"

Aleysa smiles. "I want to play with Tess before we leave."

The dog walks into the kitchen, and Aleysa climbs off the seat and scratches the dog behind the ear.

Veronica turns towards me. "Tess loves your sister. You should take the dog with you."

Shaking my head. "I can't do that. She's yours. Besides, the apartment we live in doesn't allow dogs."

Jai walks into the kitchen. "My house can accommodate the dog. She was my dog before I moved out. I couldn't take her with me when I moved. So, I left her here with them."

Tess jumps up on Aleysa, and she laughs. "You're coming home with me, girl. You're going to sleep in my room." Aleysa and Tess run out the door.

Rising from the kitchen table, I walk to the door and watch my little sister play with the dog.

Aleysa picks up a stick and throws it towards the bush. Tess runs after the stick and puts it in her mouth. She runs back over to Aleysa and pulls the stick out of the dog's mouth.

Arms wrap around my waist. "They're a perfect match."

I laugh. "Yes, they are. They have bonded well since we've been here for twenty-four hours. Are you sure about taking the dog back with us?"

His breath hits my neck as he says. "Yes," Jai says, looking at them. "I was thinking about taking her to Los Angeles with me after I retired from football, but I couldn't do that to Mom and Dad. They love the dog." He looks behind him. "My parents love your sister, too. So, they want her to have Tess. When Aleysa has an off day, she will have the dog to keep her company. Aleysa's not going to want us to see her on the worst days, but she will be glad to have the company of the dog."

Veronica moves around the kitchen, pulling out a yellow ceramic bowl with Tess on it. She then places it on the table with some dog food.

I'm not good at looking after pets.

When I was eight, I had a goldfish I was supposed to feed daily, but I forgot about it. I came home one afternoon to find the fish stiff and on the ground of the tank.

You're probably wondering why it wasn't floating at the top of the tank like normal fish, but this one was bigger than the normal goldfish you can have.

I told my parents about the fish, and they told me, 'If you can't be responsible for a small pet like a goldfish, you're not old enough to take care of a dog.' After a while, I realised that I didn't really need a dog. I had a little brother that I could play with.

As we got older, I was more interested in playing with my friends and other people my age.

Jai opens the door. "Do you want to watch your sister from the deck? I think it's creepy that we're standing at the door while she's out there."

"Sure," I say, walking through the door, making my way to the steps, and sitting down.

I will miss this place when we return to Los Angeles. It was quiet and a nice change from Los Angeles.

A couple of minutes later, Nate walks out the door. He looks at Jai and me. "We should be heading to the airport soon, Chloe."

Looking at my watch, I see that he's right. "Aleysa," I yell. She runs over to me with Tess. "Have you packed your stuff?"

Aleysa shakes her head. "Are we leaving now?"

"We're leaving shortly. Go upstairs and pack your bag. Once you're done, place it beside the stairs. Jai and I will take care of it."

"Come on, Tess." Aleysa and Tess run through the house.

Nate enters the house and walks to his room.

Jai takes my hand and we go up the stairs to our room. I pack my bag and take it over to the stairs. I see three bags next to the stairs, and Jai begins to walk down without a bag in his hand. "Nate, can you take your bag downstairs? I'm not your slave."

He laughs. "I wish you were."

Throwing him Aleysa's backpack. "You're taking your sister's bag to the door for being smart." I point to the suitcase next to me.

Nate groans. "This sucks." He mutters as he picks up the suitcase and carries it down the stairs.

Everything is quiet in the house, and that makes me worried, as it seems to be full of people.

Walking down the stairs, I go to the back door and see the Marshall Family sitting around the table with Aleysa.

Veronica moves over to her and hugs her. She whispers something to my sister and then pulls away.

Aleysa looks at the door where I am standing, and a smile appears. She rises and walks over to me. She pulls me out the door. "Veronica told me you were standing by the door, and I should get you to join us out here." She looks behind me. "Where's Nate?"

The door opens, and Nate steps back. Aleysa pulls us to the table where all the Marshalls are sitting.

Veronica throws her arms around my siblings and me. "I'm going to miss you three." Tears began to fall down her face. You fit in perfectly with ours. If you ever need anything, don't hesitate to call." She pulls a piece of paper out of her pocket. "I wrote my number down for you."

Aleysa takes it from her. "I will call you occasionally and update you on Tess."

Veronica smiles. "I'd like that."

Jai exits the house and looks at his mother. "Can you let them go now?" he asks, looking at me. The car is waiting."

I hug Jai's family before walking out the door.