Within The Bonds

27: Permission

Standing at the entrance of the living room, I try and clam my nervous breathing. My eyes stay pinned on my target, as my mind replays my speech for the hundredth time. Trusting Owen to make the required arrangements, I slowly make my way into the room infested with the presence of my brothers.

Nervously I take small strides towards the white sofa, situated in the center of the room. Taking a seat on the very edge, I catch the eyes of my target sitting on my right. To my surprise, none of them spare me a single glance. They just continue to immerse themselves in their work. I take a deep breath and focus on his eyes which are glued to his laptop.

"Stop picking your nails Astoria," he says.

Startled at the sudden break in the silence in the room, I snap my eyes towards the owner of the voice, Xavier, his eyes still unmoved from his laptop.

I look down at my hands in my lap, and sure enough, I am subconsciously picking my nails, a nervous habit I thought I had gotten rid of years ago.

I look at him in surprise and narrow my eyes at him in confusion. 'Does he have eyes at the side of his head?' I immediately stop picking my nails and turn my attention to him, with a frown.

He finally diverts his attention towards me, his expression gives away none of his emotions. Me being me, I maintain complete eye contact and put on a stone-cold face. But from the inside, I'm shaking like a dry leaf on a stormy day.

"Is there something you need Astoria?" He asks in his usual emotionless tone, one that I have now become immune to.

I slowly but firmly nod in the affirmative. My fingers remain crossed over my lap as my knees seem to bounce up and down... without my consent! I suddenly notice that this has grabbed the attention of the entire room. I can feel their eyes all on me.

'So now I'm finally visible to them!' I irately think to myself.

"So... Lindsey called a while ago and..." I started with my well-rehearsed speech. But I'm cut off by Jason.

"The same girl who helped you during the shootout at your school?" I nod in affirmation and proceed to continue.

"Lindsey as in Nathan's girl?" Lucas directs his question to Jack cutting me off yet again. Jack simply nods in confirmation.

"Yeah, the same girl. So she called to inform me... "

"Isn't she on your basketball team?" Lorenzo asks cutting me off yet again.

"Yes! Now can you'll stop cutting me off so I that I can continue!" I say in frustration. They all stare at me with shocked looks, disapproving my tone of voice, I'm guessing.

"Please" I add quickly, in a sugary-sweet tone. After a moment or two, none of them say anything, and I take the leverage to continue.

"Okay. So, as I was saying, Lindsey called to inform me that the coach wants us to restart practices... "

"No," Lucas, Jack, and Liam all say in chorus, cutting me off for the hundredth time today.

'Would I be a bad sister if I had intentions of super-gluing my brothers' lips together, so that for once in their lives they could SHUT UP! '

'What part of letting me finish do these idiots NOT understand???' I muttered in a huff, right under my breath.

I clench and unclench my fist a couple of times to try and calm myself down. Nervousness and irritation are a dangerous mix. Right now I'm on the verge of snapping at anyone and everyone and I know for a fact that if I do, things will not end well for me.