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Chapter Thirty Eight

Lukas James

"Did you finish setting up the table, Lukas?" Mom asked from the living room as she put away anything she deemed dangerous.

"Yes!" I responded loud enough for her to hear.

Today, Mom and Dad invited old family and friends to come over for some sort of celebratory anniversary. My sisters and I never quite understood because our parents kept it to themselves, but the only one who was curious was Lyra. Rachel and I didn't give much thought into it, because we respected their privacy. Our uncle Kevin and aunt Jen were coming over, because they had moved all the way to New York. They were bringing our cousins Kayla and Liam, who promised to bring along their pet dogs as well. In addition to this, Mom's friends Cody and Bri tagged along too, with their adopted son Joan, who was a year older than Lyra and me.

"Is Uncle Sam coming too?" Lyra asked Dad as she took out a platter of lasagna from the oven. "And Miss Rebecca?"

Dad looked over his shoulder at her and said, "It's going to be Aunt Rebecca soon, Lyra."

"Eh? What does that mean?" Rachel butted in from the hallway. Her eyes suddenly widened, and she exclaimed, "Wait! They're getting married?!"

"Mhm," Mom replied. "Sam proposed just yesterday, and I got the text from him about a few hours ago." She sighed in exasperation, a small smile on her face regardless, "And it only took him twenty or so years. Finally! I swear that if he stalled any longer, I would've done it for him!" I couldn't help but let out a small snicker at her words. She then put her hands on her hips and looked at Rachel, Lyra, then me. "Now! Go get dressed, you three. They're coming soon!"

"Why do I have to change..?" I whined, trudging down the hall. "I like my sweatpants, Mom..!"

"Because your cousins are coming over, and you look like you crawled out of a sleeping hole!" Rachel exclaimed, replying for Mom.

"Wow! Thanks, Rachel!"

"You're welcome~!"

I grumbled at her response.

After sitting on my bed hopelessly and staring at my closet for a few minutes, Lyra walked into my room to start doing the laundry, only to find me still dressed in my pajamas. She was wearing a sundress that our mother bought during a business trip to Hawaii. I noticed the smallest layer of makeup on her face, and my lips thinned into a line.

She's dressing up for Joan, huh?

"You haven't changed yet, Lukas?" Lyra asked, grabbing the hamper of dirty clothes from the corner of my room.

I rolled my eyes, "Obviously. I don't go out a lot, so my clothes are basically sweatpants and hoodies." I sighed heavily. "Besides, I don't own a lot of clothes anyway."

She walked up to my closet, opening the door just a little bit. Her eyes scanned the clothes, and she put the hamper down beside her. "I'll find something for you then. There has to be something, don't you think?" It only took her a moment or two before pulling out a dark, moody purple button-up shirt from my closet, along with a pair of black cargo pants. "I think this'll look fine together." She looked up at me for approval. "Do you want to try it on?"

I gave her a blank look, saying, "I don't have a choice in the matter, huh?"

Lyra smiled brightly, "Yup!"

~~~

"I look unlike me," I told my twin sister, whose eyes sparkled proudly at her work. After getting dressed, I walked out of my room and stopped in the hallway to take a look in the mirror. Turning to look down at Lyra, an unsure look crossed my face. "You sure I look fine or something?"

Lyra put a hand to her chin, examining me and making me turn around. She then said, "Lean down a bit. I'm too short." Too short for what? I did as told, and she stood on her toes, running a hand through my hair in an effort to pull it back a little bit. Standing up straight, her hands clasped together, and she nodded to herself. "Yup! This is good!"

I looked in the mirror again, only to become even more unsure of my appearance. It was as if an awkward beanstalk had put on the same facade as that of a modern-casual Mafia boss. Sighing, I put a hand behind my neck and looked into the mirror, my lips pressed together once again. The blue eyes seemed to be challenging me to stare back. I feel like I'm in a movie where I go from some weird nerd kid into a hot-looking wreck. Except, minus the hot-looking.

I'm just a wreck.

"Oh, you look fine, Lukas!" Lyra reassured me. I sent her another hesitant look. "C'mon. Rachel's waiting for us in the backyard."

"If you're sure then..." I trailed off, letting Lyra take my hand as she dragged me down the hall and out the house.

This is gonna be a long night of socializing, huh..?

I ducked my head to avoid hitting the low-hanging ribbons on the ceiling of the dining room. A smile was on my face as I laughed at Lyra's extra effort to haul me out into the world.

I'll be okay with that, though.