Living with the Millers

Chapter Twenty : Little sis, big bro

You know that moment where you are in absolute shock and you don't know what to say? That is what six of us were going through right now. And by the six of us, I mean Tristan, Audrey, Kyle, Jake, Ava and me. Let me do a little recap in case you have forgotten why.

Riley Rosebush arrived at school looking glamourous throwing most of the kids in school off the perfectly normal school day train. The WBVD dance was cancelled and replaced with the Senior Camping Trip, Audrey and Kyle have this weird vibe going on between them, Jake asked Ava to the Campfire which is sort of like a massive date and let's not forget the biggest bomb of the day. Val and Ty announced they were dating.

You are probably wondering how all of that can happen in half a day... gods of Olympus if only I knew, I would have given you the answer.

Fortunately, Ava was the first to recover from the shock and she managed to break the silence.

"That is really awesome Val. When did you two start dating?" She asked inserting enthusiasm in her voice.

"Umm, last week. We sort of wanted to keep it low-key but I guess we failed." Val said with a nervous laugh.

"Well, I am happy for you two. In fact, I can't wait to be the bridesmaid at your wedding." I said shooting her a smile. She blushed and looked away.

"Great, so two couples in the house. This is so adorable." Audrey said. She tried to sound upbeat but I could tell she still hadn't recovered from her fallout with Kyle.

"Two?" Ty asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Duh, Jake and Ava... all of you are adorable. Guess that leaves four single kids in the group." She said that last part glaring at Kyle.

I had a deep feeling that in fact only Tristan and I were the only single ones in the group.

"Who said Jake and I are dating? It's just a Campfire." Ava insisted.

"Anyway, have you guys seen the latest trending news on Instagram and Facebook?" Val asked.

"What do you mean?" Ava asked.

Val pulled out her phone and showed us a picture of a brunette girl smiling at the camera. Below it was captioned

#last weeks in Australia.

Val scrolled again and showed another picture of the same girl. Except she was in a group photo. It took me a while to realize the people in that photo were my friends. And by friends, I mean the people I am currently sitting with. She captioned this one as

Can't wait to get home to my wonderful best friends.

As if that wasn't enough for me, Val showed us the last picture which made my heart drop to my feet. It was a picture of the girl kissing Tristan on a bench in a park. Again, it was captioned,

Anticipating the sight of the love of my life, my Tristan poo bear.

If it were possible my heart hit pause and so did the world.

Get a grip on yourself, Ella. I told myself.

It took me a while to gather myself and return to reality but I finally did.

"Zoe's coming back?" Audrey asked.

"It seems so," Ava replied.

"Uggh and did she have to post that picture with her and Tristan kissing? It makes me lose my appetite." Val complained.

"Looks like she's coming back to reclaim her Trissy poo bear or whatever," Jake said and Ty laughed.

All this time, I was quiet not exactly trusting my voice. A deep voice in me told me that if I spoke, there's an 80% chance I am likely to cry mid-sentence. Why? I don't know but I decided to trust that voice.