At 5:00 the next morning, all seven siblings, plus Alicia, made their way to the awaiting SUV. Roger, the man who had driven Declan to LA and back had arrived a few minutes, as usual.
"Morning, Roger," mumbled both brothers, still half asleep. Behind them, ascended six women, ranging from pre-teen to early 30's. "You know Alicia. These other five trouble makers are my sisters," Declan said.
"Big family," Roger commented, chucking.
"Indeed," replied Derek.
In less than twenty minutes, the group was on its way. Derek and Declan immediately curled up to their corners and went back to sleep. Neither of them had gotten much sleep the previous night. Derek and Alicia had spent almost the entire night convincing their daughter that they weren't abandoning her and would be back the very same day. Declan, on the other hand, had been on the phone letting Roger know what time to pick them up, as well as making sure his beach house was in order and fully stocked up for their visit.
Declan had bought the beach house as an investment. In fact, it had been a bling purchase. He had never been there himself. Derek and Alicia had been there once, when Declan had graciously offered it up to them for their honeymoon. Since then, the house had laid vacant, the cleaning staff stopping by once a week to make sure that things were in order. Declan was excited about going to the beach house himself and was glad that he was spending time there with his family. He had also arranged a surprise for them. His siblings would only know about it once they reached the beach house.
While the brothers slept, Diana was trying to convince Alicia to have the wedding. Since Alicia and Derek had already been married for five years, she didn't see the point in having another ceremony now. "Think of it as a vow renewal," Diana told her. "Besides, I think you owe us that much." Diana was laying on the guilt pretty thick.
"I'll think about it," Alicia said, not quite sure what to make of her feelings. As much as she had told Declan that her father deserved to be in jail, he was still her father. She also didn't feel comfortable celebrating so soon after tragedy had struck her father, although she was never going to tell anyone that. Declan felt guilty enough about what had happened, and he was thinking of her when he did it. He didn't deserve to be punished for it.
Pushing her thoughts away, she turned around to look at her husband's four youngest sisters, who were busy taking selfies. They looked like little children in a candy shop. Alicia couldn't help but smile at their silliness. Soon enough, sleep overtook her as well.
They were all jolted awake as Roger drove over a rock before hitting the breaks hard. Looking around, they realized that they had arrived at the beach house. The younger girls all began taking photos immediately, leaving their bags to their older siblings, Declan and Roger.
"Don't go too far. I have a surprise for you," Declan yelled after them. 'A surprise?' Derek mouthed, curious. Declan didn't react, instead pilling out all the bags from the car. As he approached the house, the front door swiftly opened, a figure emerging from the house.
"Hello, stranger," a smile followed. Declan hadn't seen this face in over seven days. How he had missed it! Running up, he wrapped the figure in a hug, spinning around, as melodious laughter surrounded them.
"Hi, Risa," he said, placing her firmly back on the ground, his arms still around her waist. Flashing her another smile, Declan turned to his sisters.
"You've all been asking me about Clarisa, so I thought you'd like to meet her. And, here she is. Ladies, this is Clarisa Knight, or as she likes to say, 'The Queen of my Heart," he said, giving Diana a knowing look. His sisters stood frozen, not knowing how to react. They hadn't expected the sight in front of them – not how beautiful Clarisa was, not Declan spinning her around, and certainly not the sweet smiles Clarisa and Declan were giving each other.
Derek broke the awkward silence as he reached out to Clarisa, giving her a hug and a kiss, followed by Alicia, who did the same. The family then followed Clarisa into the house. "They can't possibly just be friends. Look at them!" Denise whisper-yelled into her sisters' ears, but not nearly as softly that Declan had to strain his ears to hear her. Her comment made his chuckle. It wasn't the first time he had heard this, and it certainly wasn't going to be the last. So, instead, he sent everyone off to freshen up, before going to freshen up himself.
By the time he was done, his sisters were sitting on the sofas with Clarisa, as they waited for the staff to set out breakfast. His sisters were like piranhas, latching onto Clarisa, attempting to suck information out of her. "...So, you're saying that Declan called you last night to come meet us here, and you flew all the way from New York, reaching before us?" Denise reconfirmed.
"Yes," Clarisa said, chuckling at Denise's surprise.
"But we only decided this last night. How late do flights run from New York to LA?" Denise prodded.
"I don't have to worry about that. I have my own plane," Clarisa paused, "well, my family does. But it was mine to use last night."
"So, you're rich too!" Denise commented, bitterly.
"DENISE!" screamed her brothers, not liking how she was treating their guest.
"What? I'm just asking," she defended.
"It's alright, guys," Clarisa stated, good-naturedly. "To answer you question, Denise, yes! Well, my family is. But I get by okay myself."
"Risa is a model, actually. Although she doesn't do nearly as much work as people beg her to. She's also very good at managing money. So, she handles my personal finances, ensuring I don't go overboard with my spending," Declan explained.
"Sounds more like your wife," Denise muttered, causing everyone to have a good laugh.
"Well, she has her own money, so I know she's not after mine. And she keeps me sane. So, I have a lot to be thankful for. Besides, you guys should be the ones thanking her. She's the one who convinced me to come home this week," Declan said, raising his eyebrows at Denise who was sulking in the corner.
"Well, then, thank you very much Clarisa, for giving us our brother back, even if just for a week. And, it's very nice to meet you, I'm Diana, Declan's eldest sister. I was born after Derek," Diana said, extending her hand to Clarisa.
"Wait, you guys haven't introduced yourselves to her?" Declan exclaimed.
"How was that supposed to happen? Denise has been grilling her since we got here," Alicia gave Declan a pointed look.
"How about we all get better acquainted over breakfast? I think the staff has finished setting the table.," Declan said, herding everyone towards the dining table.
"Yes, please. I'm starving. I also heard that Derek and Alicia have decided to renew their vows. I need to know more about that," Clarisa said.
"Nothing's decided as yet," Alicia defended.
"We'll see about that," Clarisa claimed, a glint in her eyes. Declan knew immediately that this wedding was happening, one way or the other.
'''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''
A/N. The family finally met Clarisa. Yay! What do you think about her? Drop me a message or comment your reactions below.
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Surviving Home | Completed
General Fiction"There is great power in being the calm at the centre of a storm." These were words that Declan Blake lived by, when he was bullied as a child and when he was shipped off to live with his brother on the other side of the country. Now, seven years l...
