A Guide To Not Falling For The Bad Boy

22

#22 you will know

The door creaked open announcing my presence. My mother hurried to the door bringing a bowl filled of batter with her. "I don't care what is going on tonight Missy. You are staying for family dinner. Your sister is leaving tomorrow and you haven't spent nearly enough time with her. 

I examined my flustered mother, her hair was pulled back but many strains had fallen to the sides of her face. She was right with Zander and school a lot of my time was spent away from my family. I nodded, with a smile on my face. 

She took that as an accepted answer and rushed back to the kitchen.  I retreated to my room. 

Soon the smell of a feast filled the air. Like little wolves attracted to dinner, so were we. I was first to pop my head out of my room to see if I could tell if the food was ready. Soon after my dad's door creaked out. Followed by what used to be Nora's permanent room. Gareth was the first to bite as he walked straight into the hall, slightly judging us. The rest of us slowly followed until we heard the mother's call of "Come and get it!"

Our pace quickened. We turned the corner to see pork chops, mash potatoes, and corn ready for our taking. 

Only the sound of forks clanking against the plates. 

"It sure is a shame you are leaving so soon." My mother said, looking to Nora. 

"Well the sooner we leave the more often you will see us." Noa replied with a sneaky smile. 

My mother's eyebrows grew closer together trying to piece together to logic. 

"Well we didn't come here just to see you. Gareth found a job closer to here and it is actually a promotion. We will be living right down the street." Nora said with a small squeak. 

My mother looked as if she was about to cry. My dad kept eating. 

"It is a good thing we found a place so close too. We will be needing a lot of your help." Nora continued. 

"Yeah I can help you move in and get set up. Unpack boxes, and paint, and…" My mother started to ramble. 

"Mom," Nora said, holding back a smile. "I'm pregnant."

The chair was flown back by movement of my mother. In an instant she was over there hugging my sister. She covered her mouth as tears rolled down her cheeks. My dad briefly stopped eating to give Gareth a handshake. 

"I'm going to be a grandma." My mother squealed, pulling Gareth into the hug. I smiled walking over to the side of the table everyone had gathered at. 

"Darrell." My mother warned. My dad dropped his head as he made his way to us. 

"It's about time we had little munchkins running around here again." He smiled ruffling Nora's hair. 

"We wanted to tell you sooner, but we were waiting for the whole family to be together." Nora said, causing mom to send me a glare. 

The rest of the evening was celebrated with cake, driving to the new house and discussing baby names. 

"How keen are you on a family name?" Mom suggested. 

"Fred." My dad yelled out. 

My mom sent him a glare. "My grandchild isn't going to be named after you drunk Uncle Fred." 

"Why not? It was always interesting with a character like him around." My dad shrugged. 

I called it an early night, mainly because I didn't was to witness a murder. If looks could kill my dad would be dead a long time ago. 

I laid in bed going between my phones and my thoughts. When I heard a pair of feet shuffling down the hall. I poked my head out to see Gareth with his arm wrapped around Nora. She had her head resting on his arm because it didn't reach his shoulder. They both turned as they heard my door open.

"Sorry to bother. But can I speak with Nora for a second." 

Gareth gave me a sleepily smile before nodding. He kissed his wife on the forehead before continuing to her room. 

"What's up?" Nora said, she made herself comfortable in my computer chair. I sat on my bed. 

"This may sound a little silly, but" I said, playing with a strain of hair. "How did you know Gareth was the one?" 

She gave me the older, wiser sister smile. "Love is rarely like it is in the movies. At the start I just wanted to be his friend. I wanted him to feel like he could come to me even though he thought he was the outcast. He was my best friend and neither one of us thought about becoming anything more. He made me laugh, he was always there for me. I wanted to be a part of his life forever. And then I realized how our love grew deeper than just friendship. I just knew that he had to be the one.  At least I hoped." 

She looked away from me as she described her partner. I took in the information. Why was love so complicated? 

"Trust me Naomi you will know when the time comes."