"Are you serious? You have a half-sister? What is she doing here?" I'm baffled.
He shakes his head, looking just as confused as I am, "I don't know."
Aoife clears her throat and shakes her head, snapping out of it and turning to the rest of the group with a grin. "Please follow me," she chirps.
I press my lips into a thin line as we all do as we're told. She leads us into a large indoor dining area. The ceiling is impossibly high, dripping with chandeliers and frescoed with flirting nymphs and lusting satyrs. It smells like freshly baked buns and cookies. I follow the squeak of rubber soles toward the round birch tables. Flowers in baskets are hanging from the walls, which are a golden-brown color. A considerably hot man in a chef's uniform serves a variety of food that looks suspiciously fresh.
Everyone already splits up and fill the tables, others rush off to form a queue for the food. I clear my throat and lead Aya and Ashton towards a table right beside Ms. Shanice, Mr. Black, and Aoife. Ashton's half-sister I didn't know existed until moments ago. Ashton's eyebrows furrow when he sees my choice of table.
"Hi there," I wave at Aoife before Ashton can yank us out of the situation. She gives me a passive nod and turns back to Ms. Shanice, pretending as though she doesn't know him. She doesn't even glance in his direction! What's their story?
"Talk to her," I hiss at Ashton. Ashton shakes his head, "No."
I fold my arms across my chest and lean over to Aoife's table, "So, Aoife. Do you know anyone here?" I deadpan.
She plasters a smile on her face and glances around, shrugging while making eye-contact with Ashton, "Nope. Anyway, as I was saying, Shanice..."
Ashton yanks my arm back to him and clenches his jaw. "Drop it," he seethes. I blow out a breath and shrug it off. I'm too hungry to deal with his family drama right now, anyway.
Dinner is beautiful. So beautiful I want to marry it. And the hot chéf.
"How come you didn't tell me you had a half-sister?" I ask Ashton as we walk along the beach, towards our rooms.
He gives me an uncomfortable shrug, "She's irrelevant to my life." My eyebrows knit together, "But she's your sister."
He clicks his tongue, "No she isn't."
My eyebrows fly up, "Damn, okay. Sister issues huh?"
He sighs and shakes his head, "It's really not a big deal. We just ignore each other's existence. I haven't seen her in years."
"Why?" I can't help my curiosity.
"My dad was dating her mom a couple years before he met mine. He had Aoife with her on accident, she wanted to get married. Dad was young, he wasn't sure what he wanted. But then he met my mom," he muses.
"Fell in love with her. Mom refused to have an affair, but she loved him too. She eventually gave in, I guess... Then I happened. Long story short he left Aoife's mom and married mine. Aoife blames me and my mom for stealing him from her and her mom. Don't really blame her," he shrugs, "Dad's a prick for doing that. She hates me, been giving us shit for years. But anyway. That's history. Like I said, she's irrelevant to my life."
___________________
"CLEMENTINE! I MISSED YOU!" Aya shrieks as I walk into our room. She's hanging out with Ashu and Isabella.
I sigh, "You literally saw me five minutes ago."
She pretends to sniffle a cry, "I know." I let out a yawn and squat down to my bag, digging in to find my pajamas, "Well I'm beat. Let's sleep?"
YOU ARE READING
Broken
Teen Fiction"Clementine..." his voice is gentle, as though he's reading my mind. He searches my eyes, concern seeps through his features. I swallow the lump in my throat. I don't like this display of affection. I can take care of myself, I don't need his or any...
