Family Stories - the Sequel

chapter 13

still Friday, 9th September -> day after Ian & Connor's birthday

Owen: 58; Amelia: 52; Luca: 23; Leo: 16; Lily: 16

Ryan: 27; Katie: 26; Riley: 10; Ian&Connor: 8

Liam: 24; Robin: 24; Victoria: 6; Audrey Blake: 4; Madelyn: 9 months

Finn: 24; Dennis: 24; Mason-Anthony: 2

Ruby: 24; Ethan: 25

Mira: 20; Harriet: 21; Eva-Maeve: 3

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"I wanna make today's guess of one of your twins' names.", Lydia announced while the family was enjoying the cake. Every person got to try one name in either the group chat or when the family was gathered like today.

"Go ahead.", Ethan challenged her with a smile. They had already ruled out Emma, a guess made by Owen, who had hoped his grandchild wouldn't have the same name as one of his exes.

Amelia had been the second one to guess a real name, but Dorothea wasn't going to be the girl's name either. Today, Lydia was supposed to try to guess the boy's name and she was super excited to do so.

"Ronan.", the blonde said, watching the couple glance at each other as they smirked. "Is that a yes? Or are you two making fun of me right now?", she laughed at them communicating through their eyes.

"It's a no.", Ruby informed her and the rest of the family. "But in case there is ever another son, Ronan as his name is strongly considered.", she shared softly. "Who wants to guess next in about three days in the family chat?"

"Me!", Leo volunteered excitedly. "I'll try another girls' name since we have only five boys' names left, but eight girls' names.", he announced, causing everybody to agree through nodding. "Without mom sitting in my ear though."

"Hey!", Amelia complained and playfully crossed her arms, glancing at her son in disbelief. "What is that supposed to mean?", she wondered and pouted, before she ate another fork of her piece of cake.

"You know exactly what it means.", the sixteen-year-old reminded her and chuckled. "You won't have to help me make my guess. I can do that all by myself.", he pointed out with a grin.

"Fine.", his mother sighed and rolled her eyes. She wanted to be the guesser all the time and bribing her children seemed to be a good idea in playing a part in the guessing game. Just, that she didn't quite offer something for them to take in return if they let her make a guess.

"Liam?", Lydia's voice sang once more. Mira tried to remain calm, but she really wasn't fond of her big brother's new girlfriend and whenever the blonde started talking, the twenty-year-old's body ached, just because the other woman made so many things about herself that weren't.

"Yep, Honey?", came the immediate reply of the young redhead, who couldn't possibly have known what was going to happen next. He turned to her and felt remote-controlled as he quietly watched her pull out a box with a ring. Their eyes met, hers sparkly, his confused, almost scared.

"Do you wanna marry me?", his girlfriend questioned, only loud enough for the adult table to hear, but still loud enough for everyone to fall silent and look at them. Robin could feel her heart break since Liam was now getting what he had always wanted and what had been the last major argument of their own relationship, causing the breakup months ago.

Liam just stared at the blonde. He knew what he wanted to say, he just didn't know how. He also couldn't possibly understand how she had chosen this party as the moment to do it, and why she would want to marry him after about two months of being together. So, he kept staring. There was a lump in his throat which made it impossible for him to answer, even if wanted to.

"I love you, you love me, we both love the girls, your family loves me. What is there to wait for?", Lydia, who couldn't quite read his hesitation, started talking her boyfriend into the idea of marriage. Meanwhile, Lily reached for Robin's hand under the table to make it less obvious how much the brunette was most likely suffering.

Not all of them, Liam thought, referring to her statement about his family. If he said no now, his relationship was probably over. That was the thing about Lydia, she was either all in or all out, and she was extremely hysterical and self-centered.

Wow Liam, way to twist a situation, was the twenty-four-year-old's next thought. Why did all of the bad qualities of his girlfriend start to invade his mind right now? That wasn't helpful at all.

All his family members were glancing at each other, saying nothing but thinking the same thing. It was too early, and it was not right. Owen was holding on to Amelia for moral support. He wanted to be loyal towards his son and his life choices, but he couldn't lie to himself when it came to Lydia.

"Uhm...", the young redhead began and swallowed. "Can we maybe talk about this outside?", he suggested a less dramatic way of letting the situation unfold, but apparently, his silence had done nothing to the blonde. Was she delusional?

"Oh no, I want you to say yes right in front of everybody.", his girlfriend pressured. And there it was, her manipulative side. Liam didn't see through her, but some of his siblings and his parents did. Ruby hated that side of Lydia.

"Okay, Babe.", Liam said and took a deep breath. "Then I am going to have to say no in front of everybody. I'm sorry.", he finally found his words and watched her world break into pieces since their eyes were still locked.

"But...I thought we are in love?", Lydia's lower lip trembled. "Why won't you marry me if you love me?", she asked in shock and started getting hysterical. "You can sleep elsewhere tonight!", she screamed, finally grabbing the children's attention as well.

"Lydia, love isn't always about marriage.", her boyfriend stated, surprising his ex-girlfriend. Maybe he had learned that after all. "And you cannot occupy my house. Also, don't be childish please, I have the girls tonight.", he berated her.

"You have the girls tonight?", the blonde repeated. "What happened to we?", she wanted to know, definitely not considering herself the problem. "Also, I don't care! I need alone time to think, and I need the whole house to do so. Maybe your ex has some space for the four of you, as always."

"Leave Robin out of this!", the-twenty-four-year-old responded so coldly that he was sending shivers down everyone's spine. His girlfriend crossed her arms. "Don't you ever use her existence in an argument again.", he threatened, his voice calm. He was standing now and eyeing her with madness. "Take the house until tomorrow. We are gonna come and get the kids' stuff later before they'll spend the weekend with their mother. I'll be back tomorrow to talk to you once you have calmed down. Now, please leave my parents' house and take the alone time you so heavily crave."

Damn, when did my rampaging brother turn into such a grown-up, was Ryan's first thought after having watched the whole conversation. It was obvious that Liam was not only angry, but also upset. Still, he had not once raised his voice during the fight.