find the light [c. evans social media]

vingt deux

when chris knocked on the old brown door camille seriously considered running away. she was in no way ready to meet his entire family. from what she'd been told by him and a few other people, his family was the epitome of perfection. everyone was unbelievably close. camille couldn't lie, she was very jealous. the blonde girl hadn't been as close with her family from the beginning, she loathed the fact that she was an only child. since she spent so much time away from home as a child, pursuing acting, singing, and dancing at a young age, she wasn't home a lot to really get comfortable. and when her dad died suddenly, it was her biggest regret.

her eyes locked on the brass doorknob that turned slowly, there was no running now. the door opened, revealing what she assumed to be chris's mother. she was an older, short, blonde woman who had a very comfortable welcoming vibe that instantly made camille very thankful.

his just looked at him and smiled, neither of them said a word, it baffled her.

"everyone!" she called, turning back around to holler into the family house, "chris is here!"

the sound of footsteps pounding on hardwood floors could be heard from a small distance, camille was unsure as to why chris's mother had yet to acknowledge her presence, but she immediately assumed the worst.

chris, however, took one look at his anxious girlfriend and read her perfectly. he grabbed her hand and rubbed small circles onto the back of it with his thumb, feeling her become less tense beneath his touch.

"i'm being so rude! i'm so sorry!" the woman exclaimed suddenly, as if she had just now noticed that camille existed and was standing on her doorstep, holding hands with her son, "you must be camille, it's so great to finally meet you. i have to tell you, we have a super fan in the house, she might jump on you."

camille was confused but excited to see who the super fan was, although she wasn't entirely sure the woman wasn't just talking about scott.

"thank you for having me." camille said kindly, speaking all the words she practiced before coming.

the pair followed lisa evans inside, camille instantly felt taken aback by the scent of oregano, some form of pasta had to be going on in the kitchen.

it wasn't long until a little boy came pounding around a corner and jumped onto chris, the man was quick to pick him up and keep him close for a hug.

"hi uncle stupid, i didn't really even miss you." this had to be miles, camille only knew it because chris said he was very open and lacked a filter in all situations.

"nice to see you too, miles."

"you." he pointed at camille, trying to wriggle our of chris's grasp, "you are on stella's tablet sometimes, also my mom says you're a little on the young side, but it's okay as long as everyone is happy."

the girl had to stop from bursting into an intense fit of giggles at his words, she just smiled and nodded.

"hi miles, i'm camille." she said as the younger boy just looked at her as if he was trying to stare deep inside her soul.

"mom!" a high voice came from down the main hallway, there stood a little girl with a cute mess of brown hair and eyes like chris, "guess who is in the house right now!"

"i don't know, stella!" another older voice shouted back, obviously one of chris's sisters, "chris?"

"no! chris is a total mega loser! camille laurent is in our house right now!" and just like that, the little girl came bolting down the hallway before coming to a complete stop in front of camille, where the older girl bent down to talk to her.

"hi, stella. i'm camille, it's so nice to meet you!"

the little girl just smiled, "i'm going to hug you now."

camille had wanted to have kids for as long as she could remember, and this was just a reminder as stella wrapped her small arms around her neck and smiled even brighter.

"hey, stell." chris spoke from where he stood next to them, silently admiring camille with the kids, "who are you calling a total mega loser?"

she shrugged, "you. who else?"

the man just shook his head and laughed, he wanted this with camille. kids, joy, laughter, everything and he knew, he finally knew, just who he wanted to do this whole life thing with. even if he found out a little later than planned.

soon enough camille had met all of chris's sisters and his dad, they all seemed to like her, but she still had the fear in the back of her mind that the secretly hated her.

when they got seated for dinner was when the onslaught of questions began to pile up, leaving the little french girl gasping for air.

"so, camille," his father started and camille tried desperately to make sure she wasn't eating anything at the moment, "what do you do for fun, when you're not acting?"

it took every ounce of her strength to not say "your son" simply because it was funny and she knew scott would laugh.

"i sing, actually. i'm touring right now, this is my one day off before i have two more shows here."

she smiled, proud of her answer and proud of herself, she could do this.

"and you're only twenty-two, right?" shanna asked from the opposite side of the table.

camille nodded, "yeah, twenty-two."

"how old are you now, chris? thirty-seven?" his father asked, an unreadable expression stuck on his face that made camille's stomach very nervous.

"dad," chris spoke calmly but firmly, he was afraid that someone would do this, "don't do this. please, don't do this."

"do you have any idea how rude that is?" scott instantly rushed to defend his brother and brother's girlfriend. the older man just went silent, he didn't know what to say.

camille didn't look up from her plate, she couldn't meet anyone's eyes. she was just so damn embarrassed and wondered if she really even belonged here. everyone talked about how inclusive and kind the family was, but she had yet to feel that at full extent.

"stella told me you're from france?" lisa asked, trying her very hardest to lighten the mood that had been darkened by her husband.

the girl nodded again, struggling to keep eye contact and steady her voice without crying, "i was born there and lived there for awhile. my mom still does and i go back and visit a lot."

"what about your dad? where does he live?"

she sighed, keeping herself composed to the best of her ability, "cimetière des olives. he died when i was eighteen, heart attack, no one saw it coming."

chris instantly squeezed her thigh under the table to let her know that she was safe and it was okay.

"i'm so sorry, honey. there's always something to look up to, you know he's looking down on you and i'm sure he's proud."

camille smiled to herself as the feeling of inclusiveness and love had finally brought itself upon her, "thank you, thank you so much."