Double Love {ON HIATUS}

3- True or False?

    I walked up the large front steps, swiftly unlocking the door and leading Brooklyn inside. "Welcome to my house," I announced. She looked dumbfounded, which I was expecting. My "house" was more of a mansion, and it was three floors and an attic. The house was huge, with an underground garage below it, and it looked like a mansion from right out of a rich person's magazine. The house itself was built by my father, but the inside was designed by both my parents. After the grand opening, which consisted of two side tables flanking the large front doors and a massive crystal chandelier hanging overhead, the dining room was to our right, with the kitchen right next to it further down the hall. On our left was the living room, with a game room for me, and now Skylar also, next to it adjacent to the kitchen.
    "Jason, your house is amazing!" I blushed and ducked my head down. "Thanks," I muttered, suddenly feeling overly shy. Brooklyn just giggled adorably and waited for my cheeks to return to their natural color. As I was leading her over to the grand staircase, she stopped to look at the waterfall that fell in front of the stairs into a huge water tank, filled with little fish. "Oh my gosh, they're so pretty! How was your family able to do all this?" Another question I can't answer, I thought, panicking inside. "Well, they built the house themselves, and they all agreed on this interior design," I began, "and we're sorta richer than most people, since-" I choked on my words, a lump forming in my throat as I remembered why we were rich in the first place. C'mon, Jace, just make something up! I cleared my throat hurriedly. "Since we inherited a lot from my grandparents," I finished.
    "Wow," Brooklyn said, clearly impressed as she looked around once again. She opened her mouth to continue, but before she could make a sound, someone interrupted us. "Jason, there you are! You took your horse for a ride?" My mother, making her presence known, asked me from the landing of the stairs. "Yes, and I met the new neighbors. This is Brooklyn Rodriguez," I introduced. My mother finished walking down the stairs, then gave Brooklyn a once-over and nodded, extending her hand. "I'm Maria Smithfeld, pleased to meet you." Brooklyn took my mother's hand. "Nice to meet you as well," she replied smoothly. My mother smiled slightly, then motioned to the stairs behind us. "Would you like something to eat? We have plenty of food in the dining room." Brooklyn looked at my mother, confusion clearly written across her beautiful features. "Jason told me the dining room is back down the hall?" She half asked, half stated. My mother laughed.
    "Well yes, but that's the one we use when we have formal dinners. It's really only there for decoration nowadays. The one upstairs is more homely and comfortable, and it's the only one that has food. Come, you can meet Jason's-" I coughed loudly to warn her, my mother getting the message immediately and switching tracks. "So, do you prefer cereal, eggs, French toast, or English muffins?" I rolled my eyes as I followed Brooklyn and my mother upstairs. Way to be smooth, Mom. At the top of the stairs, Brooke's eyes settled on the dining room. "Wow," she breathed out. "The kitchen is over there, just say the word and it'll be made for you. Jason, go wake up Skylar, please," my mother said. I nodded and wordlessly ascended the stairs to the final floor, then slipped into my bedroom. Across the hall of the door was Skylar's door, but we both preferred the informal way to communicate. As far as I knew, she hadn't used her own bedroom door in over two months. I knocked on the closet door, and when I received no response, I opened it. Crossing the dark walk-in closet, I knocked once again on her door. Once again receiving no answer, I opened it and slipped silently into my half sister's room.
    The dark purple carpet muted my footsteps as I crossed the room to her bed. "Sky," I whispered, nudging her sleeping form gently. She rolled over and opened her eyes sleepily. "Hey Jay," she whispered, stretching. "C'mon, get your lazy butt downstairs. The neighbor is in the dining room," I whispered back. Her room, unlike mine, didn't have a sunroof because she didn't want one, and it didn't have any official lights. She reached over and flicked a switch, illuminating her room with multiple attached strings of lights. Sitting up, she rubbed the sleep from her eyes. "What time is it?" She asked sleepily. I glanced at her nightstand to see the clock. "Nine thirty, get up." She nodded and I left through the closet again. Waiting in my room, I watched the sunlight stream I through my sunroof. Everything seemed so much more peaceful wherever I wasn't; it was almost as if pain and hardship accompanied me everywhere I went.
    "Hey," Skylar said, slipping into my room through the closet. "Hey yourself," I replied. It was sort of a thing we had, where we would say mean things to each other as a way of saying "I love you." We had both been through so much, the words themselves seemed like a lie. Everyone who'd said "I love you" to us was now gone, a mere memory in our heads. "I love you" meant goodbye to us, and we wouldn't even let our mother say it to us. "Ready to go downstairs?" Skylar asked, pulling me out of my thoughts. "Yeah," I replied, getting up. We made our way downstairs, and as we reached the dining room, I began to panic. Skylar instantly noticed and grabbed my hand to support me. "Hey, relax. I know you like her, but you're cooler when you're not freaking out, trust me." I laughed as we walked in, and Brooklyn instantly looked up and saw us laughing and holding hands. Oh, no, I thought.
    "Brooke, this is Skylar," I introduced. Skylar smiled and extended her hand to our neighbor. Brooklyn shook it with an unreadable facial expression. "Brooklyn Rodriguez, nice to meet you." I hadn't realized until now that Brooklyn's eyes were intricate shades of brown mixed together. I was so enthralled by her mesmerizing eyes that I didn't realize I was still holding Skylar's hands until I felt a finger stroking the back of my hand. "So, are you two together, or..." I looked over at Skylar, silently begging her not to say yes and make this harder for me. "Yeah, in a few weeks is our two year anniversary," Skylar said, grinning. I looked down, trying to hide my anger towards my sister, who looked like she was about to bust out in laughter. "Oh, congratulations," Brooklyn said. Yeah, everything is definitely more peaceful when I'm not there, I thought.