Mr. I Don't Smile

22. stop kicking me

22. stop kicking me

Ciera

I was wearing makeup to cover the bruises on my face.

Sweaters to cover the scrapes on my arms.

And I was trying my hardest not to limp.

Jeremy and the others might have run away, but they got some serious damage in before they did. I was hoping no one in my family would notice. But Thanksgiving was in two days and everyone was coming over. Camila was running from store to store, trying to buy food. Her fiancé, Chase, was attending too. I had only met him once before, but he was really great and perfect for Camila.

I was applying more concealer to my face when I suddenly heard a blood-curdling scream from the kitchen. "Camila, are you alright?" I asked after I rushed down the steps. She was staring with anger at her phone.

"Our uncle just texted me saying Abuela is in the hospital and won't be able to come! And Sasha said the twins are sick with the flu, so the whole family's staying home. We already know your parents aren't coming and mine are out of state."

"Are you kidding? That means Chase will be the only guest coming," I said, trying to keep the excitement out of my voice. I loved my family, don't get me wrong, but this was the perfect situation for me to evade all potential questions.

"Chérie!" Theo yelled from upstairs.

"I'm coming," I shouted back. I went up the stairs and opened Theo's door but he wasn't there. I found him in Clara's room, sitting by her computer together, looking at something on the screen.

"Good, you're here," Clara said, motioning for me to come over to where she's standing. "I finished editing your photos. Made them a little shinier with special effects," she explained. I looked over at the screen and held in a gasp.

My art looked . . . beautiful.

"Clara, this is amazing."

"It was all you. All I did was some computer magic."

"There's no way you aren't getting into that art school now," Theo said, flashing me a wide grin. And for the first time, I actually believed him.

)()(

"Theo, stop it," I repeated. He kept kicking me from under the table. He was annoying. Cute, but annoying.

"I would never kick you," he saod. "At least on purpose. I'm trying to kick Rosalie."

"Why are you trying to kick me?" Rosalie asked from beside me.

"Because you kicked me!"

"All of you need to stop kicking each other," Camila said, walking in the dining room. "Chase is coming in a few minutes and I don't need him knowing how crazy my family is."

"Please, he already does." Clara rolled her eyes. "Besides, if he's going to marry you, we need to know he can tolerate us."

"I'll be back guys. I'm going to email my portfolio while we wait," I decided.

"Good luck!" Rosalie yelled.

In my room a few minutes later, I was staring at the email. My cursor hovered over the Send button. All I had to do was press it. "Ciera, Chase is here!" Camila yelled. That was my cue. Without another thought, I hit the button.