Solid Ground

♔ Chapter 14

Merry Christmas to all of you!!! Christmas is so near that I already can smell the turkey:) *takes a deep breath* maybe that's just the smell of dinner:)

\\ this dedication goes to GoblinsandHelium. Guys she writes awesome story. Check her out:) oh she's also super friendly, so feel free to follow her guys:) hope you enjoy the chapter :)

Riley

I blew my warm breathe against my freezing palms. Melanie sat still next to me, not making a sound. Just staring blankly at the lake.

My eyes soften. This was obviously something she wasn't ready to talk about. No point forcing her into it.

"It's okay if you don't want to talk about it. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to pry." Looking downwards, I apologized. I never knew the Anderson's had such a mysterious secret. Another thing to add on to the list of thing Marcus never told me.

She puckered her lips together, and gently shook her head. It was as though she was immediately snapped out of her trance. She became the bubbly Melanie once more.

"So, why don't we call the boys so we can leave for dinner." She gave me a warm smile. We both reached for our phones and dialed the numbers.

We met up with them shortly. Mr Anderson looked normal while Marcus was stressed out. "So, dear, where are we having dinner." Mr Anderson said as we were moving towards the cars.

Melanie put one hand against his chest, facing him. "I was thinking we could invite Riley to our house for dinner." Mr Anderson nodded and opened the car door for her to enter.

I got into Marcus's car. The ride there was quiet. Agonizingly quiet. I didn't dare to on the radio. Neither did I dare to ask him about what happened between him and his father. The only thing I knew was that... The big frown on his face, wasn't going to disappear so easily.

We pulled into another mansion yet bigger than the last one. Guys in tuxedos walked quickly out of the house, escorting us into their not so humble home. The grand dinning hall was set up. Food ranging from Italian to Japanese was served throughout the meal.

Thank goodness I didn't mess up my big forks from my smaller forks. God knows what their called.

As I indulged into this magnificent dinner, I couldn't ignore the tension that was build through these wall. Marcus sat next to me, his whole body tensed. Holding his utensils harder than he needed to.

"Marc--" I wanted to call out. But at the sound of his name, he left the table, leaving the dining hall all together.

Marcus's parents said nothing but stare at him leaving the dinning hall. Melanie tried to flash a smile at me, in attempts of assuring me that everything was okay. But even an idiot knew nothing was okay.

Shortly after that, Mr Anderson also excused himself from the table, heading the opposite direction. I silently poked at my lobster, not wanting to make any eye contact with anyone. Even a simple eye contact could blow this place up in burning flames.

"I'm sorry darling that dinner wasn't like dinner." Melanie apologized, wiping the sides of her mouth with a napkin.

"Oh no, it's me. I felt like I intruded..." Before I could finish Melanie stopped me.

"Why don't we go after each of them. Marcus is probably in his room. The maids will point you to his room." After having that said, she left the room. She whispered something to the maids and went after Mr Anderson.