Secrets

Chapter 13 ✧

Sunday morning church service was dull with neither Easton nor Megan there to keep me occupied. This left me with my parents, only to endure the agonising pain of forcing a smile around their friends. My face hurts from smiling so much so as we walk through the door I head in the direction of the staircase along with Theo with every intention of resting in my bedroom after such a tiresome day. However my mother has other plans for us, her voice stopping us in our tracks.

"Don't go to far kids, the Jones' are coming over for lunch and you know what is expected," she says before entering the kitchen.

"Who the hell are the Jones'?" Theo mutters as we walk up the stairs side by side.

"I think they go church, or maybe one of dad's golf friends," I say unsure trying to put a face to the name. My parents have so many 'friends' at this point it's hard to keep up and remember who's who.

We reach the top of the staircase and part ways into our own bedrooms. I enter my ensuite and catch a glimpse of my reflection and opt for the scrunchie on my wrist to fix the state of my hair. As I secure my hair in a ponytail the sound of the doorbell rings through the house. I let out a sigh as I smooth out the creases in my dress and walk down stairs with Theo. Once we reach the bottom of the staircase the Jones' are in sight as they enter the foyer.

"Hello Theodore and Juliana," Mrs Jones beams once she catches sight of the two of us. "Haven't seen you two in a while now, you both are getting so big!" I reply with a forced smile unsure what to say and unsure who this lady even is.

"Well look at young Kristin, I swear she was half her height last time we saw her," my mother chimes in trying to act motherly and all.

"You remember our daughter Kristin," she says guiding forward a young girl who's no more than ten towards Theo and I. I don't remember her in the slightest but I smile and nod regardless to keep the peace. 'And our son Nicholas, you two go to school together I believe."

The name rings in my head for a moment, feeling awfully familiar before he appears from behind them all crowded in the foyer. Nicholas Jonas, one of the most popular guys in my year, on my high school football team, the golden boy. I can't believe he is here, in my house, but the question is how the hell do my parents know his parents? He sends me over a flat smile, snapping me back into reality and nod in reply to Mrs Jones' statement.

"Why don't we all move to the dining table, I've made lunch!" my mother chimes. We motion into the dinning room and I can see Nicholas looking at me from time to time as we do so, probably thinking how does this weird girl know me?

"Wow look at this wonderful spread Rosealee, you didn't have the do all this!" Mrs Jones gushes. Mum definitely went all out with the whole table being filled with sandwiches, quiches, pies, cakes and all sorts of things.

"It was nothing, please sit sit!" We all sit around the table in our perspective families, my father being at the head and Mr Jones being down at the other end head of the table.

We begin to eat as we make painful small talk about work, school and church. My parents gush over me and my grades yet all they really want me to do is to be good housewife and they not so jokingly complain about Theo and what a 'troublemaker' he is. I feel bad for Theo, I know he does it to himself but It still must be hard to be constantly compared. The Jones' talk about how talented Kristen is at piano and how she'll be start playing the hymns in church, that when I work out that my parents know the Jones' from church. They start to go on and go about Nicholas, how smart, talented and well behaved he is and I watch him as he uncomfortable squirm in his seat as his parents praise him. Lunch's conversation was basically one big competition on who could brag the most, who had the best kids and unfortunately Theo let us down in that department.