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So, Here’s The Thing About Love : chapter f o ur

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Wyatt walked out of his room, placing a dingy hat on as he took a seat to wait for his father to come and get him and his sister for lunch. He checked his watch, seeing that he would be arriving any minute. He rolled his eyes, sending a glare down the hallway. “Alexis, hurry up! I’m starving and I don’t feel like waiting for you when he shows up!”

“I’m putting make-up on! Leave me alone! I won’t be that long and I’m pretty sure Dad won’t have a problem waiting!”

From the kitchen, Natalie sighed inwardly as her children shouted at each other. Since it was almost a daily occurrence, she had become use to it and decided that she’d just let them settle their issues.

“Make-up won’t help! Come on!”

Alexis glared at her reflection in the mirror, making note of what her younger brother just said so she had something to get back at him for. She moved onto putting her mascara on, glancing over when Natalie appeared and stood in the doorway. “Did your father say anything about having dinner here while he was in town?”

“No, but he did offer that you could always come along for lunch today, but I told him that you were busy with a client today.”

“Yeah. The woman is freaking out about her wedding and she wants nothing to go wrong. I can’t reschedule on her either. But…I wanted to tell you that my friend is having a get together and she wants you and Wyatt to come. It’s this Friday. You remember Carry? She hasn’t seen you and Wyatt in awhile.”

Alexis smiled, “Sure.”

Natalie clapped her hands together, “Then that night would be perfect to meet Isaac!”

The smile was gone and Alexis stared at her with a blank look.

“Alexis…at least act a bit pleased about it.”

“I can do my happy dance for you if you want…”

Natalie sighed, placing a hand on her hip. “You can invite your friends if you want.”

‘That may make the night a bit better…’

“And I know you Alexis Marie. You’re just like Wyatt, but please do not be rude. I really like him and he’s very nice. Maybe you’ll even get along with his brother who might be showing up with him.”

‘Whatever.’ “Don’t worry. I’ll be on my best behavior. I’ll see if Mya wants to go…and I think Austin and Savannah will go. Austin will go anywhere where there’s free food now that I think about it…”

“Oh, also, her daughter has the biggest crush on Mya’s brother. Speaking of Duke, I haven’t seen him around at all lately. Maybe you should think about inviting him as well.”

‘Like hell I will.’ “Sure…I can ask.” While Duke decided to treat Alexis like complete crap, he was an angel in front of her parents whenever they ran into each other. ‘He’s deceiving them…he’s evil!’

“Ugly! Dad’s here! Come on!”

-

Alexis pressed her palms against the table after taking a sip of her lemonade, looking at her father across the table. “Dad, Mom has a boyfriend.”

Ethan looked up from his plate, glancing at Wyatt, “I heard from your little brother a few weeks ago.”

‘Why the hell am I left out of everything?!’ She looked at him, “Wyatt, why didn’t you tell me earlier?”

He shot her an annoyed look as he chewed his food. “Because Mom told me not to say anything because you would’ve thrown a spastic fit. You know Mom and her chickening out ways.”

“As if you’re any better. You always want to cause physical harm to people.” She took a bite of her fry, shaking her head slightly. “You’re no angel.”

“Besides, you didn’t ask.”

“…” She hated the ‘you didn’t ask’ answer from her brother, which he said too frequently. Every time he said it, she felt like throwing something at him. She wanted to at that moment, but chose not to since she didn’t want to abuse him in public. Looking back at their father, she could already tell that he wasn’t thrilled with the news. “At least she said he’s a nice guy?”

Ethan nodded, taking a sip of his water. “That’s what they want you to think until they butcher the entire family.”

“…Dad!”

“What? I watch the news.”

“Jeez…”

Ethan shrugged his shoulders, tossing his straw wrapper at Alexis. “I’m just saying. Look, when you meet this guy, behave. Your mom doesn’t get to date much because of you two monsters.”

“Don’t you care?”

“What am I supposed to do about it, Alexis? It was your mom that told me to leave. Wyatt likes him and that says a lot, so give this new guy a chance. The other guys your mom has dated turned out to be shit heads, so maybe she has it right this time.”

Wyatt smiled at the memory of the last boyfriend that two-timed Natalie, getting permission to destroy his car with Austin. Knowing that Ethan had a point, Alexis left the conversation at that. He stared at her with his green eyes, ready to read his daughter to see if she would lie. “Are you seeing anyone?”

“No, Dad. No guys in my life which is okay with me since all they do is complicate my life…”

“I love that answer.” She couldn’t help but smile. Her first and only serious boyfriend was during her senior year in high school. During one of their dates, Ethan happened to be visiting and just as her then boyfriend tried to kiss her, the door swung open to reveal Ethan.

Holding a baseball bat.

She didn’t blame the guy from being scared. Ethan was far from a scrawny, approachable man. He enjoyed working out and with a muscular frame and a steel baseball bat didn’t equal good feelings. The boy made sure to tell other guys that her dad was crazy, so many kept their distance. She didn’t mind too much since she was far too shy to even approach and flirt with a guy. Mya did most of the matchmaking, but she didn’t seem to be that great at it. Ever since her first boyfriend, Alexis found herself being paired up with men that she only dated for a few weeks before finding out that all they wanted was sex and couldn’t be patient.

“Dad,” Alexis started, “maybe you should come to the dinner party.” She didn’t miss a beat with smacking Wyatt’s hand as it tried to sneak a fry off of her plate.

“I’ll pass,” he muttered, his eyes moving to Wyatt. “So, update me on your life. School?”

“Lame.”

“Expected. Sports?”

“Nah…just skateboarding.”

“Girls?”

“I plan on getting with Mya when I’m eighteen.”

Ethan laughed out loud at his reply as Alexis rolled her eyes. She’s wasn’t sure what bothered her more. The fact that her younger brother apparently had the hots for her best friend and was finally admitting it…or the fact that he may have a shot with Mya once he was of legal age.

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Alexis finished off her hair with a simple pony tail, turning away from her mirror and picking up her purse. Now that it was Friday and she was heading to the dinner party and meeting ‘Isaac’, she was beginning to change her mind. She wanted to feign being sick, but figured she couldn’t back out since she already invited her friends and they were ready or heading over to where the party was being held at. Muttering under her breath, she slipped her white flats on, turning to look in the mirror once more. She ran her hands over her stomach, flattening out a few lines on her simple pink dress. It had spaghetti straps and ended just a bit above her knees, dressy enough for the party. She looked at her door through her mirror as it opened without a knock heard.

“Wyatt, I could’ve been getting dressed!”

He cringed, tossing three outfits on her bed. “Please, spare me the image. Help me pick out something to wear. If I had it my way, I’d just toss on a white shirt and jeans, but Ma said it had to be somewhat nice. Oh, and she went on ahead twenty minutes ago since we were taking forever.”

She looked through his options, “She just better be happy I’m going. It’s bad enough I’ve been working all day and then I have to go to this crap of a party.” She handed him his white buttoned up shirt and a graphic t-shirt that matched. “This works. Black pants that grandma got you for Christmas. I’m ready to go so let’s hurry. I still have to pick up Mya.”

-

Duke called for his sister more than once when the doorbell went off several times, a frown on his face as Mya’s reply was ‘fuck off and answer the door.’ He got up from his spot on the couch with a bowl of cereal in hand, making his way to the front door. He couldn’t help but smile when he spotted Alexis’ look of exasperation as soon as she laid her eyes on him.

His gray eyes went to Wyatt, “What’s up? Long time no see, little dude.”

“I know!” Wyatt took in Duke’s pajamas, “I take it you’re not going?”

“Didn’t know I was invited,” he said, his eyes returning to Alexis.

Wyatt looked at her as well. “She was supposed to invite you.”

Alexis shrugged her shoulders merrily, a smile on her face. “Must’ve slipped my mind. Oops. Silly me.”

“…It won’t take long for you to get ready anyway,” Wyatt said as he stepped in with Alexis.

“True,” Duke replied, his smile widening.

“Not waiting—already late,” Alexis hurried out. “Mya! Let’s go!”

Wyatt wandered off, “Wait, I want some cereal too before we go.”

“What the—Wyatt, there will be food there.”

“I want cereal!”

Alexis stomped her foot lightly due to the fact that Wyatt was going to make her stand in the house longer than she wanted to be. ‘Should drag him out by his hair.’

“What’s up tonight?”

She glanced at Duke with a look of disinterest on her face. “Some dinner party.”

“Sounds boring.”

“Probably will be.” ‘Why is he still standing here? Leave. Go back to what you were doing.’ The two of them stood awkwardly together, Alexis glancing at him this time with a glare. “What?”

“What?”

“Why are you standing there?”

He simply stared at her. “I live here. I can stand wherever I want.”

Alexis chose to ignore the urge to knock the bowl from his hands. She crossed her arms, “Mya!”

“I’m going as fast as I can!” Came her reply from upstairs. “Looking for my shoes!”

Alexis threw her hands up in the air. “Just grab something!”

“I’m looking for shoes that match!”

Alexis looked down the hall, no longer seeing Wyatt in the kitchen. “Wyatt! What’re you doing?”

“Eating, stupid! I said I wanted cereal. And I’m watching TV.”

“We don’t have time for TV!”

“Looks like we do since Mya isn’t even ready yet!” She heard the television volume rise and sent a glare in Duke’s direction when she heard a noise of amusement come from him. He leaned against the wall, taking another bite of his cereal.

“Want a bite?”

She tossed him a look of disgust…even if it was her favorite cereal that he was eating.

“You look nice.”

While she didn’t expect that to come from him, she knew that he was just teasing her. She simply looked away as she heard Mya running down the stairs, looking as flawless as ever. While Alexis couldn’t say she was necessarily jealous of her best friend, she always found herself comparing herself to the brunette. Mya was the one with the luck with men and she didn’t ever have to try to get somebody’s attention. Alexis normally found herself going unnoticed as she stood in the background, not having the confidence that Mya had to be upfront and grab the attention of other people.

“Okay, okay, ready.”

Alexis called for Wyatt twice before he finally wandered to the door, “Can I at least finish my food? I swear…”

Duke shrugged, “Take the bowl with you. We have plenty of bowls.”

Wyatt smiled as Alexis watched Duke mislead him with his ‘nice’ side. ‘Give me a break...’ She was the last to walk out, Duke leaning against the door frame as he finished his cereal. “See ya, Cassidy.”

Her reaction was her middle finger, which only earned a smirk from the older man.

-

Austin and Savannah sang along to a song on the radio jointly, Savannah laughing as Austin’s voice cracked holding a note. Driving his car with one hand, he detached his other from her hand, faking being hurt by her laughter. She just smiled, “It’s been six months…”

His brows lifted into his forehead, “Wow. Yeah. Good job. Keep track for me…seriously. I suck at that type of thing.”

Rolling her eyes, she continued; “And I know that you’ve said that your dad is a very busy man.” Austin glanced at her, already knowing where the discussion was heading. “I mean, he owns a big company, so I understand, but will I ever meet this mysterious dad of yours?”

“You really want to meet him…”

“I’m your girlfriend. It’s mandatory. You met my parents one month into this.”

Austin became uncharacteristically quiet, not wanting his girlfriend to ever meet his dad if achievable. He planted a smile on his face, his next words holding no genuineness behind them. “I’ll see when he’s free. I promise.”

Her smile widened, “Great.”

“Or maybe I should just wait until your dad starts liking me.”

She took his free hand that was resting on his thigh, giving it a squeeze. “My dad loves you! He approves!”

He gave a short laugh as his brows lifted once again. “Let’s not lie!” He pulled his hand away from her, turning the heat down.

“I’m not lying. He’s just testing you to see if you’ll stick around with his crazy antics. Sticking around proves that you really do care.” She patted his cheek lightly.

“Yeah, yeah…just tell him to stop cracking his knuckles whenever I sit too close to you or give you a kiss goodbye. One, I hate the noise and two, I know he’s preparing to punch me in the face. And one time when you weren’t around, he threatened to pull my lip piercing out if he ever finds out that I touch you.”

She smacked his arm, laughing, “He does not crack his knuckles.” She didn’t bother trying to defend her dad on the lip piercing threat. It sounded like something he’d say since she knew her dad wasn’t a fan of piercings.

He gave her a dubious look, “Oh, I’m sorry. I forgot to tell you that I have a problem hearing non-existing noises. I stopped taking my medicine to keep that all under control.” He stopped at a red light, “Just yesterday, he was in his room upstairs and as soon as I leaned in for a kiss, he was right there. No sound, just there…”

“Exaggerating as usual, Austin. He’s not that scary. Be a man!”

He shook his head, “That’s awful. You don’t even know your own dad.”

-

Alexis turned around as someone grabbed her shoulder, a smile springing onto her face when she saw Savannah and Austin. She hugged the taller girl, “Finally! What took you two so long?”

Savannah pointed her thumb at her boyfriend. “He got lost.”

“And she was no help,” Austin shot back with a smile. “This place is huge. Where’s the food?”

Once Alexis pointed out where to head, the boy left the two alone. Savannah looked around the mansion, seeing that mostly everyone was a bit older than them. “Have you been looking around for another apartment? I can’t wait to move out and have you as a roomie.”

“Looking and the last place I found…it was way too small and…dirty. I’m not too worried though. I think we’ll find the right place soon enough since the last apartment didn’t work out because of the no pet policy.”

“Hopefully. Where’s Mya?”

“Somewhere around here. She started talking to some guy and wandered off with him to talk somewhere. I told her to go for it.”

“I get the feeling she doesn’t like me…”

“Mya doesn’t like a lot of people. She’s never said she doesn’t like you, so I wouldn’t worry about it.”

“I wouldn’t worry about it if she didn’t make things weird. Being with her in a group of people and noticing that she won’t say one word to me at all…I think that gives me the right to think she doesn’t like me too much. Oh! And tell me why I haven’t met Austin’s dad yet!”

“I thought you already did by now. Austin never really says anything about his dad…”

“No, haven’t even gotten a glimpse of him. I’ve been too his house a lot, but his dad is always at work or whatever.”

“Well…I know that they’ve always had a rocky relationship since…birth. I’ve met him a few times, but he never really said anything to me. Just a glance and then he went into his office or something. So…don’t expect much from him when you do meet him.” Savannah and Alexis turned their attention to Natalie as she approached them, gently grabbing a hold of Alexis’ elbow. She threw Savannah a quick wave before dragging her reluctant daughter off with Savannah following close behind.

They entered the dining room where more people were standing, Alexis catching sight of Wyatt leaving to go onto the balcony. Mya spotted her best friend, excusing herself from a conversation before going to stand near her. While everyone else focused on their own conversations and food, Alexis mainly focused on wanting to leave as soon as she met this ‘math teacher’ that her mother was raving about.

‘I bet he’s not even all that great. Probably some old fart like I had in high school…’

“Alexis, this is Isaac.”

Natalie let go of her daughter to walk a few feet away to a group of men. Mya took her spot standing on next to Alexis, a grin on her face. “Thirty bucks he looks just like our old math teacher Mr. Bonnell. Which would surprise me since your mom could do so much better.”

Alexis looked at her, “Give my mom some credit.” She held out her hand, counting on her fingers as she continued. “Take away the huge gut, balding head, sweating issues and a huge nose that Mr. Bonnell had and we’ll have…”

Savannah crossed her arms, “A skinny, awkward nerd?”

“Alexis, this is Isaac. Isaac, this is my daughter Alexis.”

The three girls stopped speaking as they all looked at Natalie in unison, their eyes lifting to the taller man standing at her side. Savannah and Mya lifted their brows in unison as they stared quietly, forgetting that their friend was standing between them.

Alexis stared in horror as she masked the emotions racing through her as she stared at the man.

She wanted to hurl. She wanted to run. The option of fainting to get out of the current situation skipped through her mind, but she decided against it. She wanted to find Wyatt and take her frustration out on him by hitting him repeatedly with her small purse. She almost wanted to cry as the two of them simply stared at each other in silence as everyone around them chatted and laughed loudly with whatever they were discussing.

Isaac let his brows furrow only slightly as he looked at the younger girl and finally, Alexis saw that everything connected and made sense in that mind of his. His lips parted in realization, his brown eyes widening only slightly. ‘You gotta be shittin’ me.’

Alexis swallowed thickly, forcing a smile to appear on her face as her palms started to become clammy.

There she was, standing under the same roof with a man she had slept with who was now dating her mother.

‘…Really, why me?’

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A/N: :} as always, reviews are appreciated! rating of story got bumped up.

Q: how old are the characters?

A: alexis, savannah and mya are 19. austin, 20. duke, 24. I believe I already mentioned wyatt being 15.