Fifty Shades After

Chapter 6: Long Summer

"Wait, so you're saying that Phoebe doesn't know Christian is her father?" Ava asks. "That's precisely what he said, genius." Sophie hisses at her and they begin to scowl at each other. it's pretty obvious that this is something that's been going on for a while. "So wait, what's with the bird call?" Ava then adds scratching her temple. I roll my eyes. I'm about to answer until I hear Phoebe's giggling from a distance. I whip my head back and she's sitting on Dad's shoulders, hugging his head. Her hands cover his eyes and all I see is his white grin. I sigh in relief and make my way to them, eager to know what happened. As soon as I'm close enough, Phoebe kicks me in the eye and I stumble back. What the heck! "That's for not telling me." She pouts. I cover my eye with my palm and mouth out a quiet "ow". "She gave me one, too," Dad mutters, raising one of her hands from his right eye, revealing it to be red.

We return to the cabin to join everyone else- my family. Holy crap. This is my family, and it's huge. I find it ironic that I was content with Mom and Phoebe. Turns out, it can be twice as fun having all kinds of uncles, aunts, and cousins too. Speaking of cousins, I didn't really get the chance to talk to James, so I leave Ava and Sophie to fight in privacy. I walk towards James who's sitting on the couch with his Nintendo Switch and sit beside him.

"Hey, James," I say but he doesn't answer. I guess he's so into his game that he doesn't notice. "What's that you're playing?" I ask, but still no sign of life. "I'm not much of a gamer. I'm usually focused on school activities." I add. I think I'm just wasting my time. "You're not much of a talker, are you?"

-"Oh, I talk." He finally speaks. For a second I thought he was deaf or a mute. "But you know what they say. if you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all." ...Excuse me? What's that supposed to mean? This jerk. "Sorry, did I offend you in any way?" I say confused. "This family has enough heirs. You don't belong here. You have working class written all over your face." Oh, FUCK no! Who the hell does he think he is! He's like, what? Twelve? "I don't know what your deal is, kid. But this is supposed to be a family reunion. Deal with my presence or jump ship." He turns to look at me, glaring from underneath his glasses and I give him an impassive look, even though I want to throw him overboard myself.

"Ted!" Phoebe runs to me and puts her hands on my knees. "What are you doing here? Sophie and Ava are over there!" She says excitedly, then turns to James. "Hello, Jaime. Can I call you Jaime?" she flashes a smile and I'm terrified of what he'll say next. Surprisingly, he doesn't. In fact, I turn to look at him, and he's gazing at Phoebe. What! "Yes, Jaime is fine." He extends a hand to her and she too, but I quickly snatch it. Oh, no you don't. My sister. Mine. I shake my head at my childish thoughts and pull her away from this prick. "Let's go with them," I mumble.

Throughout the day, we talk. I receive so many questions from everyone. About school, about life, about any girlfriends. And once again, I hear the famous we-all-thought-Christian-was-gay anecdote. That never gets old. I also hear so many stories from before I was born. How Uncle Elliot would pester Dad to introduce Mom to the family. How many great impressions Mom and Dad gave together during charity parties. I also hear about a famous helicopter. Charlie Tango. A freaking helicopter. is there anything he doesn't have? Apparently, Charlie Tango is the most famous vehicle Dad has because Mom won't stop talking about it. It must be her favorite. They must've had so much fun. Afterward, we move on to the outer deck to eat. But I'm not hungry! I just want to keep getting to know these intriguing group of individuals I call my family. We sit and they're still having conversations. I listen, but I can't help feeling uncomfortable, no matter how hard I concentrate. Ava is sitting next to me, a little too close to me.

"So, Teddy. What's it feel to be reunited with the family?" She says close to my ear. I shiver and circulate my neck. "Good I suppose. It's not like I suffered growing up in Denver. I don't remember much of my childhood as a Grey." I test out the last name again- Theodore Raymond Grey. I smile to myself but Ava keeps talking. "What do you remember?" She asks and I think for a second. "Sophie." I clamp down on my tongue. Oops. "What else?" she sounds annoyed. Jesus. it's not my fault. "I remember Taylor, Gail, a house- a huge house," I emphasize and suddenly she sounds disappointed. "Me?" and I shake my head. "Sorry." Ava shakes her head and scooches closer to me. "It's okay. You're here now. We'll create more memories together." She smiles and hugs my arm. I smile at her, even though I feel extremely uncomfortable. She blushes and sits back.