Always Alone | ✓

Chapter Twelve

WE PULL OVER in front of a two-story Tuscan style house oozing with music. The sound is so loud it makes Devin's car vibrate with rhythm. The house in itself is beautiful.

Dark brown clay tiles sit on the roof, making the light beige on the outside walls stand out. Italian cypress trees are planted on either side of the glassed front door with a variety of shrubs and colorful flowers on the side. The house feels inviting and warm, like a true family home.

I gnaw on my bottom lip as anxiety starts to thread my cell tissues like a tarantula sewing its web. What if they don't like me? Most importantly, why do I want them to like me?

Devin places a hand on my knee, offering comfort and drawing my gaze to his. "Are you okay?"

"It's a big party," I say, looking around the clustered driveway.

"It's just family."

"You have a really big family," I mutter as he laughs.

"It'll be okay. You'll have fun," he says, rounding the car to open my door.

Devin places a hand in the small of my back as I try my hardest not to trip on the white square tiles that lead to the entryway. Having him close makes me feel safe and owned and wanted. It's a feeling I never thought I'd enjoy so much.

He doesn't knock just turns the handle and opens the front door. The inside of the house is surprisingly quiet but for the cheerful childlike laughs and screams coming from upstairs.

"Those would be my nieces and nephews," Devin says.

I deflate like a beach ball. Now that I know there are children in this party, I feel much better. Adults intimidate the crap out of me. There's this whole judgmental vibe to them that children don't have. Their brain isn't filled by a prejudice society starving for perfection in an imperfect world.

"Devin, is that you?" a lively feminine voice asks. The clicking of heels soon follows after the voice. A young woman, probably around my age, comes rushing out of the hall. With her high heels, she's still not able to reach Devin's cheek. He bends his neck to accept her kiss.

"Genny, this is my youngest sister, Isabel. Isabel this is Genevieve."

"Favorite sister," she clarifies. I extend my hand, but Isabel wraps her hands around me gives me a warm hug that is followed by a kiss on the cheek. "Come on, let's go meet the rest of the family."

Swallowing my wrecking nerves, I shift my gaze to Devin who gives me an amused look mixed with a hint of embarrassment.

"Trust me, not everyone is as invasive as Isa," he whispers.

She takes us into an open kitchen where five women are gathered around the kitchen island—some chopping onions and tomatoes while the others help in taking the food out to the backyard.

All ten eyes laser in on me when Isabel tumbles into the kitchen shouting something in Spanish. The nerves I swallowed earlier threaten to vomit.

An older woman with brown hair tucked in a neat bob walks my way. She disposed of the red dishcloth as she gives Devin a kiss. I can hear her whisper something to him in Spanish but have no idea what she means.

Isa shrugs it off by dragging a beer from the fridge. "Sorry, I thought she was his girlfriend."

I smile calmly when I'm anything but. What have I gotten myself into? She thought I was his girlfriend? All the sudden, I begin to miss the comfort and tranquility of my home, as boring and lonely as it might be.