Endgame (rough draft)

Part 17

"Who is this lovely young woman, dear?" The older woman gave Rachel a once over. She placed a hand over her heart and turned to Christen.

Christen, on the other hand, chuckled as he pushed past his mother. Rachel looked uncertain and was questioning her sanity. She had seen Get Out and this... she was unsure about. Sophia had insisted that she stay at the lake house instead of some bedbug-infested hotel room.

"A friend. Sophia's friend." Christen answered her question as he continued to walk away.

The father placed a smile on his face that once mixed with confusion and walked towards Rachel. "Nice to meet you..." He held out his hand.

"Rachel." She reached for his hand and shook it.

The name sounds all too familiar for him but he couldn't place the name on her face.

"Nice to meet you, young lady. My name is Mr. Henderson." Mr. Henderson had an unreadable look on his face before it was masked with a tight lip smile.

"P-pleasure." Rachel looked towards Christen to Sophia. The last name must have been a coincidence. 

"Pleasure is all mines." He smiled sweetly at Rachel before releasing her hand. "Why don't you take her to the guest room on the bottom floor." He suggested to Sophia.

"Yes, dinner will be ready shortly." Mrs. Hendersons said. "You all probably want to wash up and rest before then."

Sophia appeared unbothered about her father's uncertainty in front of her. The moment they left first class, she became quiet and withdrawn. The once cheery demeanor was masked with quietness. Only talking when she was asked questions Her manicure seemed way important than introducing her friend to her parents. It didn't matter who she brought home, her parents would always disapprove.  

After Christen had taken Rachel's bags, he led her to the guest bedroom. She noticed that there was a room on both sides of the room she was staying in. She never bothered to ask what was behind them. She only assumed that it was an oversized closet or another bathroom.

Rachel and Christen made small talk before he decided he wanted to retreat to his room before attending dinner. "Things are about to get interesting around here," Christen mumbled to himself before quickly disappearing.  

Rachel washed off the long flight and put on a simple pair of fitted skinny leg jeans with a plain black t-shirt. It wasn't until she reached the dining room, where everyone was sitting when she felt out of place. She felt like an intruder next to the well-kept family. 

"I just love those jeans. It's so... so urban and sheik." Mrs. Henderson said.

Christen, on the other hand, choked on his water he was drinking. He beckoned to Rachel to come to him while continuing to choke on the water. She rushed over and began hitting him on his back. The way Rachel was hitting his back had him feeling some type of way. The girl had hands that could probably put anyone in their place.

"For heaven's sake." Mr. Henderson folded the newspaper he was reading and placed it on his lap. "Stop being so dramatic."

"It looks like it's just us. So let us sit down and prepare to eat." Mrs. Henderson smiled as she approached the table.

"Would you like me to assist you with getting the plates or anything?" Rachel asked.

There was nothing on the table but glasses of red and white wine on top of fancy costers.

"No, darling. The help will bring out the food. Please sit."

Sophia sighed heavily beside Rachel. She was never a fan of her parents, especially her mother. The old hag would do over the top things that would piss any normal human being off.  She had to do everything with perfection to please the people around her. A people pleaser is what her children called her. Her father was the type of person that wanted any and everything to go his way. His word was the absolute law.

Rachel wanted to ask what the woman meant when she said 'the help', but decided against questioning her. The last thing she wanted was to step on anyone's toes while being thousands of miles away from any help.

It wasn't until the double doors opened to reveal an African American man and woman bringing out a tray of food that she understood what the old woman was talking about. She cocked her head to the side and unintentionally stared at the pair. In return, they matched Rachel's puzzled expression. The woman had risen her arched eyebrow before quickly diverting her gaze to the silver tray she was carrying. 

If that wasn't awkward enough the conversations that had begun had Rachel second-guessing her visit. Everything would always end in "I voted for Obama the second time" or "my black girlfriend." Sophia would often mutter the words I'm sorry before diving back into her food. Sophia was nothing like her parents and now she knew why she wanted a friend to come along.

Their conversations came to a complete stop when the sound of the front door creaked open.

"Now who can that be?" Mrs. Henderson's eyebrows creased together as she rose to her feet. "Continue eating, I shall see to it." She smiled and gestured to the food.

Rachel would have been just fine with a bucket of chicken in front of her TV. At least then she could be in her birthday suit in peace. She smiled at the thought and lifted her glass of untouched wine.

'At least these folks have a decent taste in wine.' She thought to herself. She went to take a gulp but only ended up spitting half of it out. The other half went down the wrong pipe and caused her to choke.

Standing at the entrance of the spacious dining room was Elijah and Hunter. They both held confused looks as they stare at Rachel.

"Don't be rude brother," Christen rubbed soothing circles on Rachel's back. "Are you okay, love?"

Sophia wondered why Rachel looked as if she had seen a ghost. The color had drained from her face as she constantly blinked her watery eyes.

"My, my. Who do we have here?" Hunter questioned.

"Ah, yes. This child is one of Sophia's friends." Mrs. Henderson looked at Rachel.

"R-Rachel."

Mrs. Henderson clapped her hands together. "These are my other boys. Elijah and Izaya" She said, refusing to say her name. "You said that were only coming for a day or two, so let us catch up quickly."

"I think I can stay for the entire break. My assistant is quite busy at the moment...No need to distract her with work while she's vacationing." Elijah scratched his stubble before kissing his mother's cheek. 

"Izaya is your name?" Rachel asked timidly. 

Hunter smiled as he walked to the table. "Izaya Hunter Henderson, rather."

"Still too good to carry the name I gave you, I see." Mr. Henderson grunted.

Hunter smirked and went to sit across from Rachel as his brother sat beside him. So maybe the dinner prior to this wasn't so awkward. What was awkward was sitting in front of the two men Rachel had been dreaming about. 

Christen watched how Elijah intrigued gaze would find Rachel every so often. The way he would watch her talk and slightly smile was rather amusing. He observed how Hunter unapologetically stared at the woman as if she was the most beautiful human to walk the earth. His eyes then slowly made its way to Rachel who shied away from any conversation dealing with his brothers. 

"So big brother, do tell us. Have you found a woman you fantasy as yet? You are getting up in age." Said Christen.

Elijah cleared his throat before glaring at his grinning brother. His eyes traveled to Rachel before he immediately looked away. Christen chuckled and asked Hunter the same question. 

"Now why would I tell you such a thing," Hunter smirked before sending a wind towards Rachel. 

"You two have no taste in women. It's either a hussy or a gold digger." Mr. Henderson grunted.