Royalty Exposed

Chapter 37

When Carter and I reached the front door, he rang the doorbell as I could hear the car we had just arrived in back out of the driveway and then head down the road. It would be back later to pick us up when Carter called the driver to let him know that we were ready to go home. We never made the driver stay with us if we were going to be some place more than an hour. And I knew that we were going to be at my parents' house for at least two hours.

Probably even more than that. It was only after three and dinner wasn't going to be ready until close to six o'clock. I knew that we were going to stay longer at my parents' house even after we finished dinner because it was something that Carter and I had done plenty of times before.

Carter and I liked to hang around for at least an hour after dinner because it's when we really got to spend time with my mom. She's always in the kitchen before that making dinner.

Even though I still had a key to my parents' house, I stopped using it since it felt a bit weird to just walk into a house that I didn't live in. I only used the key if my parents weren't here to let me or both Carter and I into their house. My parents had told me that I could still use my key if I wanted to, but I hadn't listened to them. They would probably eventually just stop telling me to use my keys after some time had passed by.

I think they understood why I was no longer just coming in on my own though. This house will always be a home to me, but it wasn't a home that I felt comfortable walking right into since I didn't live here anymore.

My twenty year old sister answered the door a couple minutes after Carter had rung the doorbell, a smile on her face as the door swung open. Jade let us inside and then shut the door behind us, locking it once the door was closed. I could see a few people in the living room and I figured that some of those people included my brothers and both of their girlfriends. It didn't look like Carter's family had arrived yet though.

I wasn't sure if they were coming straight here after agreeing to have dinner at my parents' house or if they were going to do something else first and then come over to this house. It was possible that they still had people to greet before they could leave the palace. Mom had told them to come over whenever.

"How are you doing Jade?" I asked her as we walked further into the living room.

"Good. I'm loving college a whole lot more than high school," she replied smiling at me. I nodded my head in agreement since that's exactly how I had felt after I had started college.

"Most people feel that way. I know that's how I felt after starting college. There's a lot less drama, huh?" I said. Jade nodded her head as she said, "Definitely. There's less of those cliques. I swear I've made more friends than I did in high school. How have you guys been?"

"Good. I think your sister feels great now that the coronation is all over with," Carter responded before I could say anything.

"I bet that was nerve wracking to go through. I never thought in a million years that you would do something like that. You hate the spotlight," Jade said as we reached the area where a large new sectional had been put in place of the old couch.

It took up more room, but that was okay because it helped fill up the large space that the living room was made up of. There were no walls to divide up the entryway from the living room so the two spaces blended into one another instead of being two separate rooms. I knew my mom had always wanted a proper entrance to her house so the first thing you didn't see was the living room.

"I do hate the spotlight, but I do have to make public appearances for my actual job as a writer so it's not like I haven't been in the spotlight before," I replied.