No Strings *COMPLETE*

Chapter 16

Christmas passes with as little heartache as possible, although Nathan has done nothing shy of ignoring my existence, and I'm okay with that. I do not need Nate bringing me more confusion and complicating things. Ever since Nathan and I's afternoon together, I've never felt so complete. It was the closure I needed. I had reached out to Kieran and decided that he was my next step forward.

As I sit on my old bed, in my parent's house I await a text form Kieran about his plans for New Year's.

I stare at my phone impatiently, willing, and begging for him to hurry up and answer.

As if on cue, my phone dings and I snatch it off the bed immediately, unlocking it in the process.

K: No, baby, I'm not doing anything. I'd love to hang out with your family! I'll be over in just a little bit.

I squeal a little and text back a quick,

M: Okay, I'll see you in a few!

My heart is beating fast, I can't believe how nervous I am for Kieran to meet my family.

I get off the bed, tuck my phone into my back pocket, and head downstairs.

With the mission in mind of letting my mom know that Kieran will be joining us, I search for her.

I come across Alec in the dining room and stop him in his tracks. "What?" he questions quickly, likely in a hurry to get somewhere. I ignore his rudeness. "Where's mom?" "Probably in the kitchen. Do you mind? I was in the middle of doing something." He is snippy today. "Sorry," I mutter, letting go of him and moving out of his way. He takes me time brushing past me and hurrying upstairs.

As I carry on into the kitchen, I watch my mom busying herself cleaning and organizing her already spotless kitchen. She doesn't even notice my presence. "Mom," I say, a little too loud in order to get her attention. She jumps and faces me. "Jesus, Skilar Marie, you scared the daylights out of me!"

"Sorry, it wasn't intentional. Do you do this all of the time when we're gone?" "Oh, lord no, honey. You have to realize there are four young adults in the house, that aren't normally here," she says, as she continues to scrub counters. "Would you quit that?" I ask, grabbing for the scrub brush. "We are more than capable of cleaning up after ourselves, mom." She stops for a moment to stare at me and I already know what she's about to say. "The house is and always has been in pristine condition. You do not have to worry about it looking any less than that when everybody comes over tonight. "Speaking of our company... There's going to be an extra person tonight." She looks at me, genuinely confused.

"Is another one of Alec's college friends coming down?" Is she that clueless? "No... It's a friend of mine." She smiles at me. "That's great, sweetheart. I'll make sure there's plenty of food and she can sleep in your room with-"

"He, mom, and his name is Kieran." I watch as the figurative lightbulb in her mind blinks bright. "Ah, well...Is this... friend a good guy? Would your father approve?" I resist the urge to roll my eyes and nod enthusiastically instead. "He's the sweetest, you guys will love him."

For the first time in awhile, my mother lays her hand on mine and says, "If he makes you happy then he's already got points in my book."

She has always been the hardest one to get past when it came to previous potential boyfriends or even just guy friends. I know that the reason for her change of heart is because of Noey's suicide. She blames herself and she's trying to change- I respect her for that.

I smile. "Thank you. That means a lot to me." She pats my hand lightly. "Oh, I have an idea! Let's go to the mall and pick you a new outfit up for tonight, maybe even get our hair and nails done. And Lillianna can even come too!

She actually wants to spend time with me and bond over boys and makeovers like a normal mother-daughter relationship. "Go get Lillianna, and we'll get going." my mother says, reaching for her car keys. She loves Lilli, and I love that.

I hurry upstairs, in the direction of Alec's room. I knock on his door and listen closely for an answer. "Come in," Lilli says quietly, sounding not so much awake. Opening the door, I find that my assumptions were correct. "Morning, Lils. You feeling alright?" She looks at me with sleepy eyes, "Yeah, you just kinda woke me up," She mumbles. I plop on Alec's bed next to her, "Consider this payback, my dear friend." She glares at me. "What do you want, Torres?" "Now that is rude. My mother requests that the three of us go to the mall for New Years Eve outfits because of Kieran coming tonight. Lilli's expression goes from tired to disbelief in .02 seconds. "Excuse the fuck out of me? But did you just say that Kieran would be here tonight? Like... under the same roof as your ridiculously overprotective brother and Nathan, whom could snap him in half if he decided to?" I nod. "I'm kind of nervous for him to meet Alec and my parents, and fuck what Nate has to say about it." She shrugs. "Hope he gets through tonight alive." "Me too. Now, get dressed. We're leaving in five." She sticks her tongue out at me as I get up and walk out of the bedroom, only to come across Nathan. "Sorry," I mumble, moving out of his way. He huffs in response and shuffles forward, towards the guest bedroom.

After that awkward encounter, I shuffle to my room and grab my purple and black striped jacket, my purse and phone, then go check on Lilli. I knock three times, but no answer. Is she asleep? Maybe I should check. I slowly creak the door open and pop my head through. Yep, she's asleep, ugh. I open the door more and walk in. I put my purse on the nightstand and jump on Lilli. "Wake up sleepy head!!!" "Ugh! Just five more minutes!" "No! My mom is waiting for us! Come on girl!" "Fine!" Lilli sits up and glares at ne while yawning. "Hehe!" I laugh as I get off of her bed and walk over to her closet. "Deja voo much, huh?!" I say picking out a pair of blue jeans and a red and black spotted shirt. "Yeah, but just the other way around." Lilli says taking the clothes from me and walks back to her bed. "I'll be downstairs." I say picking my stuff up and start walking out the door. "Don't fall asleep!!!" "I won't!!" Lilli says back and I walk out her door. We are well on our way to an evenful afternoon.