Finding My True Self | Protector 5.1

Chapter 17

Chapter 17

       "Rhys?" Willow asked while I was getting ready for school.

       "Yeah?" I said, looking over at her.

       "Can your girlfriend finally come over for dinner?" Willow asked. "It's been two weeks since you started dating. That's long enough."

       "No."

       "Why not? I want to meet her. Everyone else has already met her. Mom, Dad, Zayden, all of our aunts, uncles, and cousins that go to the same school as you."

       "Don't forget Uncles Nolan and Jerome," Zayden spoke up. "They met her at a game night that Echo came to."

       I glared at Zayden, and Willow huffed. "So everyone has met her except for me?"

       "Hey, if we're going to play it that way, then you should be asking Zayden when his girlfriend is going to come over for dinner," I said. "She hasn't met Mom, Dad, or you."

       Thankfully, Willow looked over at Zayden and decided to bug him about it instead. "Yeah, why is is that you haven't brought her over for dinner yet? Only Rhys has met her."

       "I'll ask her today if she can come over any time soon," Zayden said.

       "Good," Willow said before looking back at me. "Now that it's settled, you need to ask Echo to come over for dinner."

       "We'll see," I said before Zayden and I left the house and got into the car.

       The truth was, there was something going on in Echo's life that I didn't know, and she was usually telling me she was really busy with dance and school. I really wanted to ask her what was going on, but I also didn't want to interfere in her life, even if I was her boyfriend.

       She just didn't want to talk about it, and honestly, I understood.

       "So, are you going to ask Echo to come over for dinner one day?" Zayden asked as he was driving us to the school.

       "Probably not," I said.

       Zayden furrowed his eyebrows. "Why not? Mom and Dad had already met her, so it's not like she'll be going through the awkward meeting-your-boyfriend's-parents stage."

       "It's not that," I said. "She's just always busy, and I don't want to add any more stress into her life."

       "She's always busy?" Zayden repeated. "That's not a good sign."

       "Oh, relax, she is," I said. 

       "Uh huh."

       "And what do you think this bad sign is?"

       "Nothing," Zayden said. "Nothing at all."

       "Yeah, it better be nothing," I said.

       "But if I had to say something...." Zayden began, but I cut him off.

       "Seriously, don't," I said. "You don't know her at all."

       "Well, I used to like her, so I know her well enough," Zayden said.

       "So, her sister's name is...."

       "She has a sister?"

       "I rest my case."

       "Fine, she is your girlfriend after all," Zayden said. "Just be careful."