The Alpha's Sister

5- Alex

This time, when I pull into the Darkwoods' driveway, the house, although it still seems huge to me, feels much less intimidating. I might as well get used to it. After all, I'll probably be coming here for christmas parties and other family gatherings for the years to come. This house will probably feel almost as familiar as my own parents' house, someday. It will just be the place where I come visit my in-laws. 

My in-laws...

This thought brings back the tense feeling in the pit of my stomach that has become all too familiar over the past few weeks, so I push it away. All in good time, I tell myself. For now, no in-laws, no christmas parties. Just Kaylee and I hanging out. I take a deep breath and walk to the house. 

"Come in, Alex!"

I look around, startled, before remembering the intercom besides the door. She must have seen me through the camera. I walk in, and Kaylee greets me warmly. I appreciate the ease with which the usual small talk flows through us now that any nervousness I had the first time is gone. 

"Hey, before I kick your ass, I've thought of another way for you to get to know your future husband!" Kaylee pulls me by the arm and drags me to the large dining room table, where a few old shoeboxes are laid out. Before I can ask, she pulls out a picture and presses it to her heart, hiding it from me. 

"Say hello to... Tiny Jayden!"

She turns the picture around. It shows an adorable little boy, sitting in the sand at the beach, grinning from ear to ear. I immediately recognize those dark eyes, and that dimpled smile I've memorized from the few pictures I was sent over the years. 

"Oh, he's adorable!"

"He has his moments," Kaylee giggles. "Now, as a sister, I feel it is also my duty to show you these." 

She pulls out a few more pictures, and spreads them out on my side of the table. A six-year old Jayden dressed up as a princess, and one with his underwear on his head - true classics amongst embarrassing childhood pictures. A slightly older Jayden, not quite a teen yet, wearing a band t-shirt and holding a guitar that both seem way too big for him. A teenage Jayden, not quite the smoldering young man he would later turn into, with his acne and braces. Through these pictures, I can see snapshots of his life, short moments frozen for eternity. They seem so much more alive than the formal school pictures I would usually get. There's one of him holding a dog. There's one of him eating popsicles with his friends by a pool. There's one of him... wait a second, is that-

"Hey wait, that one wasn't supposed to be there!" Kaylee reaches for the picture, but I snatch it away before she can. It shows an androgynous-looking young teen, with short hair topped with a beanie and side-bangs covering half of their face. Same dark eyes as all of the other pictures, but it's definitely not Jayden. 

"Is that you?" I ask, equally incredulous and amused. 

"... Yes," Kaylee mutters, defeated. 

"You had an emo phase," I muse, grinning and still staring at the picture. The picture only shows her from the waist-up, but I can tell she has the whole attire. Emo band black t-shirt with long sleeves underneath, fingerless gloves, an excessive amount of eyeliner, and the wall behind her is plastered in various band posters. "Okay, I need to see more of these!" 

"No way!" She takes the picture from me and puts it back in one of the shoeboxes, closing it for good measure. 

"Come on, I need to see more!" I whine. 

"Okay, how about a deal, then," she suggests. "I'll show you more-"

"Yesss!"

"IF you win our final Mortal Kombat match. And if you lose, you'll have to show me your embarassing teenage photos instead!"

I cringe, thinking back to my teenage self documented in photo albums at home in all her fashion-disaster, bad-makeup glory. Seems fair.

"It's on." I shake her hand solemnly.