Hot and Cold

Chapter 1

"Bet you guys have some awesome pool parties out here."

I hardly glanced up as Lucas came into the back yard, no doubt taking in the covered pool. As we were now in February and the winter showed no signs of letting up, I hadn't even thought about something like that. Shifting slightly from the chair I was in, I shook my head.

"Not since Kirsten lived here. She was the one that liked to have people over. Not Whitney."

"What about you?"

That did get me to look up, though it was more from the fact that he had decided to take a seat at the outside table, right next to me. I glanced over at the house, watching my sister through the glass for a moment as she and my mother made dinner. She didn't like for me to talk to her boyfriend. She had made that abundantly clear. Not to mention, Owen didn't like me to talk to him either, so really, I had no business even looking at him.

Still, it seemed rude not to, considering he was sitting out in the cold just to hold this conversation. Besides, Owen and Whitney do not control my life. In any way. Not to mention…Lucas is pretty hot. And interesting. And intriguing. And different. And way older. And kind of, sort of, at least I think, into me. Maybe. At least to some extent.

"I don't…hang out with a lot of people," I said slowly before looking down at my phone. "And Owen's not really a people person."

"Where is your boyfriend anyways? Why isn't he over?"

"He's working," I told him simply. "Not to mention, I don think that Dad could put up with you and him at the same time again. He didn't seem to like it much last time."

"Your father, man," Lucas said with a shake of his head before looking around. "You guys have a pretty nice house though. What does he do again?"

"Architect."

"That's cool, I guess. Different."

"What does your dad do?"

He looked at me then before shaking his head slowly. "He's, uh, you know, dead."

I blushed then, embarrassed for having never known this. Here I was, trying to actually make a friend outside of Owen and Rolly and I was screwing up royally.

"I'm sorry," I said quickly. "I didn't-"

"It's whatever. He died when I was a kid." Lucas let out a slow breath before grinning at me. "My mother works for a bank though."

Okay. Neutral ground again. He wasn't upset with my lack of knowledge. Good.

"A bank?" I asked slowly. He nodded.

"A teller."

"That's cool."

"Yeah." He nodded at my phone. "Your boyfriend?"

"Oh, no," I said before holding it up to him. "I'm just playing a game."

"Outside? In the cold?"

I shrugged slightly. "I just didn't want to get roped into having to help them make dinner."

"You don't cook?"

"No."

"Your sister likes it."

I made a face before looking back down at my phone. "My sister and I are very different people."

"No kidding. You're nothing alike." He was still smiling though. "You remind me of one of my sisters though. She's older than you, of course."

"You have a sister?"

"I have three. All older."

"And a brother," I said then. "Right? That's who you were visiting when Whitney got mad at you."

He nodded. "My brother's the oldest. Then my three sisters. And then me."

"You're the baby then?"

"Was for a long time. Till I was eight. Then my youngest sister was born."

"You have four sisters then?"

"Mmmhmm. And they all suck." He shook his head. "Trade them all in for more brothers in a heartbeat."

"I feel that," I said.

"How would you know? You have no brothers."

"And?"

"You might hate them worse," he told her. "Besides, your getting a brother-in-law soon."

"I hardly know him," I told him. "And as it stands right now, Kirsten doesn't really like him either."

"Your dad like him?"

"Less than he likes you."

"Ooh. That's rough."

Nodding, I added, "That's only because you haven't asked Whitney to marry you though."

"He shouldn't hold his breath on that one anyways," Lucas told me with a shake of his head.

I smiled as I said, "I don't even get why you want to be with my sister."

"It's weird," he told me simply. "She's such a…a…"

"Bitch?"

His grin never faded. "You said it, not me."

"She's better than Kirsten."

"From what I know, that is very, very true." He gave his head a shake. "You just don't see your sister the way I do. When you see us, we're always bickering or whatever. That's just how we play."

"Oh?"

"Like how you and your boyfriend play that sweet, innocent garbage with each other. Whit and I just argue for fun. When we're alone though, it's different."

"If you say so."

"It is," he told me with a nod of his head that time. "We spend nearly every day together. Which is hard, considering we have such different schedules. But she'll make me dinner or lunch, even though she doesn't eat much. I'll take her out places, like bars or clubs or whatever even though I work at one and have no real desire to go to one on my days off. She'll sit through basketball or football with me, even though she just sits on the couch next to me and texts on her phone. And I'll watch a marathon of some contrived reality show because that's what you do when you have a girlfriend."

I glanced over at the house then, watching my mother that time through the glass. Then, slowly, I said, "You're, like, the longest boyfriend she's ever had, I'm pretty sure."

"Yeah," he said slowly. "I know."

"She doesn't show it well, but she really does like you."

"Got the bruises to prove it." He laughed then, that loud one that used to make me blush. "Don't tell her this or anything, but I'm pretty stuck on her too."

"Why wouldn't I tell her?"

"It's better for me, you know? Keeps her on her toes when she thinks I could do without her."

"I'm sure you could."

"Oh, I could. Just don't want to at this point." He glanced at the house then before back at me. "Say, can you tell me something?"

I glanced at the glass too before back at him. "What?"

"She's not…sick anymore, is she? Or whatever it was that was wrong with her?"

I just stared at him before shrugging. "I don't think so, no."

"She only ever tells me that you guys, you know, overreacted about some shit."

Now I was at a crossway. Owen told me to be honest, but Whitney clearly hadn't told Lucas much for a reason. And it was her truths, not mine.

Taking notice of my hesitation, Lucas shook his head. "You don't gotta say nothing if you don't want. I mean, she's your sister, you know? And I know she used to, like, puke or something, but-"

"It was really, really bad," I told him. "If you could see the way she was when she got back from New York…well…and then I found her in the bathroom, passed out and…"

He leaned forwards again, keeping eye contact with me once more. "But she's better now. Right?"

I looked off. "I…I think so. But if she wasn't…"

"If she wasn't what?"

"If she wasn't, you wouldn't know."

He laughed at me then. "I think I would notice, you know? If she started vomiting every time we ate together."

Still, I just stared and repeated. "You wouldn't know."

Lucas sat out there with me for a few more minutes, though that was the end of that conversation. When he finally did get back up to head inside though, he stood slowly before unzipping his jacket.

"It's too cold," he told me simply as he walked around the table to lay it over my shoulders. "Don't stay out here too long."

My blush was back so hard then, but he didn't seem to notice or care as he headed back into the house. One look up told me someone did though, as I made eye contact somehow with my sister, through the panes of glass between us, as she glared heavily at me. Still, I just pulled his jacket closer.

I might not have a brother or a brother-in-law yet, but I had Lucas. And that counted for something.

"-angry with me and told me to stay away from her boyfriend. Like, what? I mean, we just talked. God. She knows that. I get that this is her only real boyfriend, but she doesn't have to be a dick to me because of it, does she?"

Owen didn't say anything for awhile and I figured he was digesting my rant-like monologue. Then, slowly, he said, "He gave you his jacket?"

"Oh, Bear."

"It was just a question."

"It was cold outside. That's all. God."

He let out a long breath. "So anyways, what did you tell Whitney?"

"That I can do whatever I want and if she's so insecure about her relationship, then maybe she shouldn't be in it."

"Really?"

"No," I sighed. "You know how I get. I could only nod my head."

"Poor Bella."

"Poor me."

"So I had something to tell you."

I shifted on my bed, holding my cell phone closer to my ear. "Oh?"

"You know how I told you that I kind of sort of know the guy that created UMe, but not really?"

"He likes your radio show."

"Yeah. Well, he's, like, loaded and is giving me two hundred dollars to help put together a mix for his wife."

"That sounds like a lot."

"I know. He asked me what I would charge him and I jokingly told him two hundred. And he agreed."

I made a face. "Are you sure he wasn't confusing Anger Management for Story of My Life? Because I have it on good authority that-"

"Annabel."

I smiled in the darkness. "What does he want the CD for?"

"Valentine's Day."

"Mmmm. What are we doing?"

"I dunno."

"Owen-"

"I seriously don't. I didn't have to worry about it last year, being grounded and all."

"Yeah."

"And we hadn't been together that long."

"Well, now we have, so you are totally going to have to, like, blow me away."

"Really?"

"Really."

He let out a groan. "I feel like it's very likely that I will screw this all up."

"So do I."

"Hey-"

"And it'll be okay if you do. I'll love you anyways." I smiled in the darkness. "Tomorrow's Saturday."

"I know."

"What are we doing?"

"Working. Or, well, I am."

"Bear-"

"I can't help it, Annabel."

"I know," I sighed. "It's just annoying. Will you, like, even be of for Valentine's Day?"

"Hope so. If not-"

"Owen-"

"-we can do something another day. Alright?"

"Every other boyfriend I've had has been a lot more-"

"Then get another boyfriend, Annabel. If I have to work, I have to work."

So that's where we were then, both in the darkness of our own rooms, having a phone call that neither of us really wanted to.

"I should let you go then," I said slowly. "So you can go to bed."

"Bella-"

"Goodnight."

"No. I'm not tired," he argued. "I just-"

"Love you."

"No, Annabel. Stop it. Let's just-"

"Tell me you love me now because I'm hanging up right after."

"…I love you."

"Goodnight."

"You-"

After I hung up, I turned my phone off before rolling over and going to sleep. I knew in the morning I'd be in trouble with him, but honestly, what else was new?

A doorbell ringing awoke me. Saturdays were the only real days that I could sleep as long as I pleased, as I had no radio show and no school to worry about. So I planned to just roll over and ignore it. But the ringing would not go away. Finally, groggily, I pushed out of my bed before heading out of my room. My parents bedroom door was closed and I assumed they must be out, for them not to be up or at least attempting to get up to answer the door.

I was on my way down the stairs when I realized I could have just looked out of, oh, the thousand or so glass panes to see who it was, but I had been too sleepy to think of that before. Besides, it was probably just Owen, trying to make up before he went to work. That was how our fights normally went.

It was not until I was at the door and opened it that I found out I had been wrong. Owen had no doubt blown up my phone the night before and was still stewing. So no, it wasn't Owen at the door. Instead it was the last person I was expecting.

"Uncle Danny?"

He looked me up and down for a moment, standing on the other side of the door. "Your daddy let you answer the door this way?"

I was in too much shock to be embarrassed about my booty shorts and tight t-shirt I wore to bed. Instead I just moved to wrap my arms around my father's brother, who laughed and hugged me back.

As my mother was an only child and my father only had one brother who had never had any children, he was really my only close family. All my grandparents were dead, so he was the last connection any of us had to anything. He used to come around all the time, when my sisters and I were kids, but Mom had never liked him much and eventually that stopped. Before that moment, I hadn't seen him in about four years.

"What are you doing here?" I asked, quickly ushering him into the house and out of the cold. A light snow had graced the ground overnight and it was pretty bitter out there. "Uncle Dan?"

"What? I can't come see you?"

"You can, but-"

"Where's your daddy then?" he asked, patting me on the head before moving to take off his jacket and kick off his boots. He no doubt remembered how serious Mom was about her carpet. "Still in bed?"

"I'm not really sure. I can go up and check."

"Can you do that for me? Huh?" He looked around the house then before nodding towards the kitchen. "I'll make a pot of coffee."

"Okay."

As he headed off, I went up the stairs and down the hall to my parents' bedroom. Stopping short in front of it, I knocked softly against the door. Not a minute later, my mother opened the door.

"Is Dad home?"

"Why?"

I glanced passed her, but their bed was empty. Guess not. "Um…well…"

"What's wrong, Annabel?" she asked, opening the door wider to stare at me. "Is it-"

"Uncle Danny's here."

"What?"

I nodded. "In the kitchen."

She just stared at me for a moment before closing the bedroom door. "I'll be down in a minute. Tell him your father's out and won't be back until the afternoon."

I took a moment while I was upstairs to get dressed myself before rushing back down the stairs to my uncle. He was in the kitchen, looking through our fridge then as the coffee pot rumbled.

"Dad's out," I told him, causing him to look back at me. "Mom says that he won't be back until the afternoon. She'll be down in a minute though."

He nodded slightly before closing the fridge. Slowly, he walked over to the kitchen table and took a seat. I took a moment then to look over my uncle, taking in his raggedy beard he had always had, as well as his overwhelming height. He had a few inches on my father, which was saying something.

"Sit," he told me, nodding at the chair in front of him. "Unless you had somewhere to be-"

"No," I told him with a shake of my head, moving to sit down. "I was actually asleep."

"It's a sleepy day," he agreed, looking around again. "You're what? A freshmen now?"

I made a face at him. "You know that I'm senior."

"A senior?" He feigned shock. "My, my."

Rolling my eyes, I asked, "Why didn't you tell anyone that you were coming?"

"Didn't plan to. Something came up though that I need to talk to your daddy in person about."

"What?"

He gave me a look. "Do you look like your daddy? 'cause you sure don't to me."

Blushing, I looked down at the table. "Sorry. I just-"

"Your daddy though, he's been telling me some things."

"Like?"

"Last year was a very busy year," he told me. "For you guys, it seems."

I assumed this was some vague comment about the cheating thing and only shrugged slightly. What else did he want me to say? At least Mom was finally leaving her bedroom. Either that or he was talking about the whole Cash thing and there was no way that I was going to talk to my uncle about that. No way at all.

"Heard you got a boyfriend, too."

"Well," I said slowly. "Yeah."

He grunted. "Then the other one's off getting married and knocked up."

"Yeah, there's that."

"And that middle one, she's doing what?"

"She has a boyfriend too," I told him. "She's working."

"Guess you can't just leave for years and expect things to stay the same, can you?" He shook his head slightly. "You got a date tonight then?"

"Huh?"

"With your boyfriend."

"No," I said with a shake of my head. "He has work."

"What's he do then? Huh?"

"He delivers pizzas."

"Then I guess I know what we're having for dinner tonight, huh?" He grinned at me then. "We can't just let the baby run around with whoever she wants. I gotta at least meet the guy."

"I'm not a baby anymore," I told him with a shake of my head. "I'm an adult."

"You are the baby," he corrected. "You've always been the baby. And as it stands now, you always will be."

It was then that my mother came into the room, sighing loudly as she did so. Uncle Danny quickly got up, going over to her.

"Grace," he said, laughing slightly. "It's been too long."

"Not long enough."

"Grace-"

"Drew's out," she told him as she went over to the coffee pot, frowning when she saw it already turned on. "So perhaps you should just go back to your hotel and-"

"I want to spend the day with Annabel," he said, winking over at me then. "She says that she has nothing to do anyways."

"I'm sure you can find something else to do in Lakeview than bother my daughter."

"Than spend time with my niece? No, I can't. Not to mention, Grace, look around." He gestured out the glass part of the house. "There's snow all around. It's supposed to ice this afternoon. You want me to take her out in this?"

"Go back to your hotel then."

"Hotel?" He laughed. "I'm staying here, of course."

That got her to turn around. "You are not."

"I am too. You have two bedrooms open now, only Annabel staying here. Andy won't-"

"Drew won't let you stay if I tell him you can't."

"What is wrong with us then, Grace? When are you going to just let bygones be bygones?"

"Try never."

I just sat at the table, never quite getting used to my mother and uncle's hatred of each other. Growing up, when my uncle was around constantly, their bickering always made me upset. Many of their fights ended with me in tears and my father yelling at both of them about how they were upsetting me. This of course led to teasing from my sisters, who called me a crybaby, but I had never been able to help that much. Confrontations had never been my strong suit.

Uncle Dan let out a long sigh before heading out of the room and into the living room. "We'll just see what Andy has to say."

"I'm sure that Drew agrees with me."

Why is it that problems follow me everywhere? Why?

It turns out that Drew or Andy wasn't concerned with either of them when he got home. Instead, Andrew was neither of those and was instead just Dad, completely centered in on me.

After greeting his brother and promising Mom that he'd take care of everything with Uncle Dan, he asked for me to go talk to him in the garage. I was immediately suspicious, running through my head a thousand things that he could possibly know about that would qualify for us to have such a talk.

Had he found about Owen and I sleeping together? Or did Whitney tell him that he needed to tell me to tone it down around Lucas? Had he found out about me getting drunk that last Saturday of winter break? Or that Owen's mother walked in on he and I? What? What could he possibly want to talk about?

"Is something wrong with one of the cars?" I asked my father as we stood out there in the garage, him going over to his tool box. "Because I'm not really sure I can be of any help. I don't-"

"No, no, it's not that," he said with a sigh. "When I saw your uncle's car outside, I knew what would be waiting for me in here."

"How were you sure it was his car?"

"I might have kind of known he was coming," Dad said with a slight shrug. "Or at least I know what he's here for. I'm pretty sure at least."

"And what's that?"

He just shook his head at me and I let it go, as I knew that I would eventually find out about it. In a family as small as ours, you eventually find out about everything.

"There is something I wanted to talk to you about though," he told me as I wrapped my arms around myself. It was freezing out in the garage.

"And what's that?" I asked, glancing back at the door before looking at him. "Am I in trouble?"

He raised an eyebrow, turning to look at me. "Should you be?"

"…No?"

"Annabel-"

"No," I said, more definite that time. "I haven't done anything."

"Good," he said before nodding his head. "Very good."

"Then what did you want, Dad?"

He took a deep breath before letting it out slowly and saying, "It's about your sister."

That made me roll my eyes, relaxing some. "Dad, Whitney and her boyfriend aren't-"

"Not that sister," he said with a shake of his head. "Believe it or not, I don't really care what Whitney does with that…guy."

"Lucas, Dad."

"Lucas," he agreed slowly. Because the thing about my dad was, no matter how upset he got at the start of something, once he realized that it was impossible for him to win, he would give in.

"It's about Kirsten and this stupid wedding."

Well, he'd give in about most things anyways.

"Dad-"

"Your sister and her stupid…whatever that guy is are fighting," he told me then. "Really, fighting."

"Yeah, I know."

"And your mother, she's just chalking it up to pregnancy hormones and all this garbage, but I know the truth."

"Okay," I said slowly.

"So anyways," he sighed. "I'm on a line for a lot of money for this wedding."

"Alright."

"And I'm going to tell you this, Annabel, just the same as I'll tell either of your sisters," he said. "I'm paying for one wedding for all of you. You do this one time, this wedding of your dreams garbage. After that, you go down to the courthouse and take care of it that way. I don't care if your first marriage was to a guy that beat you and your next one is to the husband of your dreams-"

"Dad."

He looked back at me. "Well, I care, Annabel. And if someone's hurting you, then yes, I really care. But I'm only paying for one wedding is my point."

I rolled my eyes again. "Why are you telling me this?"

"Because your sister is thinking about calling off the wedding."

"Then you're happy-"

"No, Annabel. I'm not," he told me. "Or, well, I am. About her not marrying him, but I'm still out some cash for all this. She's already gotten her dress, I've booked the venue-"

"Then what do you want me to do, Dad?"

"I need you to calm her down, Annabel. Your mother is just as hysterical about all this as she is and Whitney is, well, Whitney and won't be of any help to anyone, but herself or her stupid boyfriend-"

"Dad-"

"The point is, Annabel, if I try to convince her, all I'll do is give her a way out. Because boy do I want her to find a way out," he said with a shake of his head. "Not to mention she doesn't even want to talk to me anymore unless we're talking money."

"What do you want me to tell her then?"

"Well, I don't know," he said with a groan. Then, after a moment, he said, "Explain to her that this counts. Whether or not she goes through with it, whether she signs the marriage license or walks down the aisle, this counts. This is her one wedding. Tell her that she had better not have wasted it."

I just stood there then, for a minute. Then, slowly, I asked, "So if Owen and I, like, wanted to get married now-"

"No."

"You didn't let me finish."

"What?"

"If I got married to him now, which yes I realize would be a horrible mistake-"

"Good."

"-and then I divorced him later-"

"You would."

"…You wouldn't let me have another wedding?"

"You could have as many as you want," he told me. "But I'm only paying for one."

"But-"

"For you…maybe another one. We'd have to talk about it," he said. "Just so long as you realize, that there is no reason for you to get married any time soon. Or even in the next five years. Or six years. Or-"

"I don't want to get married until I'm, like, at least twenty-five."

"Twenty-five," he said slowly. "What happens then?"

"I don't know. I just-"

"You shouldn't need to get married more than once, Annabel, anyways."

I made a face. "Like we're suddenly religious?"

"You sure got your butt up for church on Easter so you could get an Easter basket after, so I'd shut up, Annabel."

Something must have showed on my face, because he immediately sighed and told me he was sorry. My father snapped at people all the time, but I was never one of those people. Ever.

"I'm just stressed, sweetheart," he told me as I took a few steps closer to him. When I was within reach, he wrapped am arm around me, pulling me into an awkward hug. "Your sisters are killing me. And now Daniel's here and your mother's upset-"

"They were fighting over whether you go by Andy or Drew."

He kissed my head before letting me go. "To be honest, I would rather they just call me by my given name. Everyone else does. I don't understand the need to call someone by a nickname. At all."

I shrugged slightly. "Owen calls me-"

"I know what he calls you. Not to mention, I know you call him." Dad sighed then, glancing at the door back to the kitchen. "You can go now, Annabel, if you want."

"Are you going to stay out here?"

"For a little while," he told me. "Until I get up the courage to go talk to either of them. Don't forget to call Kirsten eventually. Please."

"Alright," I sighed before turning and heading back inside. It's not like I wanted to step back into the fray, but I really had no choice.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Whitney, I-"

"Annabel, I'm busy right now. Is this important?"

"Well…" I sat there on my bed, holding my cell phone to my ear. "What are you busy with?"

"What do you want?"

"Are you at work?"

"No, Annabel. Just busy. What do you want?"

"Is busy like a codeword for sex or-"

"What do you want?" she repeated, harsher that time. I heard someone snigger in the background and knew she was with Lucas.

"Uncle Danny's here and-"

"What?"

'Yeah, I know. Anyways, we're having a dinner for him and-"

"I just went to dinner last night with you guys. So no, I am not coming over to-"

"Fine. I'll tell Mom you said no."

"Good. Do that."

"Whitney-"

"I'm busy."

"I hear the radio in the background and Lucas just laughed. You're in the freaking car."

She paused. "Are we done talking now or what?"

"Are you really not going to come?"

"Annabel, it's freaking icing out."

"Where are you going right now?"

"That's not important."

"Please, Whitney?" I didn't mean to sound so pathetic, but it's just how my voice decided to come out. "They've been, like, fighting all day and Owen got mad at me last night because I got annoyed with him and then he didn't call me so I don't even know if we're going to the show tomorrow and then Dad wants me to call Kirsten and convince her to marry Brian, but that's complete bull because he's been having us all try for so long to get her to realize what a horrible idea this is so-"

"Take a breath," she groaned. "What time is dinner?"

"I dunno."

"Well, it's three now. Should we come over now?"

"I don't know, Whitney."

"God, Annabel-"

"Then don't come. Whatever. You never do anything for me anyways."

"Oh, bull."

"You don't."

Whitney let out a loud groan then. "Lucas has work tonight, Annabel. And I had plans."

"What plans?"

That annoyed her even more. "I have friends, Annabel. Unlike some of us, when my boyfriend's busy, I don't sit around and mope about it."

I hung up on her then, shocked for a moment that she knew what Owen and I were fighting about. Then I was even more embarrassed when I realized she didn't; she was just using my normal pathetic life as an example. That's all I did. I clung to Owen for everything. Even my own sister thought so.

I ran into my father once again as I went down the stairs to tell him and my mother that my sister would be unavailable for the night. We met on the staircase and, after one look on my face, he made me stop.

"What's wrong with you?" he asked, grabbing my shoulder as I tried to walk passed him. "Annabel? Is it Kirsten? Did she-"

"No, Dad," I complained, jerking away from him then. "I didn't call Kirsten about her stupid wedding."

"Oh." He just stared at me. "Then what exactly is your problem?"

I looked off then, down the stairs. "Whitney's not coming to dinner."

"Oh. And that makes you upset because-"

"Because then she told me that she has a real life with real friends and doesn't just wait around for her boyfriend to want to do something, unlike me because I'm a loser and-"

"Your sister said this to you?"

I finally looked at him. "Pretty much."

"I'll call her then," he said, turning to head back up the stairs. "I'll-"

"No, Dad."

"Annabel-"

"That's why they always call me a baby."

"You are a baby. And they need to stop bothering you. Just because you're not whoring yourself out like them-"

"Dad!"

He let out a loud groan then, finally heading all the way up the stairs. "Don't pay much mind to your sisters, Annabel. They're just jealous."

"Jealous?" The woman living in New York with her boyfriend and the other one that's, like, apparently having this great relationship with this extremely hot guy, are jealous of me?

"You're happy, Annabel. More so than either of them ever are these days." He glanced back at me as he made it to the top of the stairs. "That's the one thing you'll always have over your older sisters. They're miserable. So is your mother. Me and you though? We've got this. We always have."

I stood there for a minute after he walked away before shaking my head and continuing on. I got lumped in with my father a lot, over being with my mother. This had more to do with how much he favored me, of course, while my mother spent more time with my sisters. The thought of Whitney, Kirsten, and my mother being unhappy was not a wrong notion. It was more of the idea of my father and I being happy that shocked me.

Still, I continued on down the stairs, shaking my head as I went. It was my mother that I needed to inform, really, that dinner was off. She was the one that would want to know, after all.

I found her in the kitchen, no doubt avoiding my uncle, who was in the living room, while also being able to keep an eye on him. If there was anyone that she did not trust, it was her brother-in-law.

"Mom?" I walked over to the table, causing her to look up from her magazine. "Lucas has to work and Whitney has plans, so they can't come."

She seemed unconcerned with that though. "What were you and your dad talking about?"

"In the garage?"

"Just now. I heard him. He was being rather loud." She looked back down at her magazine. "Then again, he's always rather loud."

I just stared at her. "He was just…Whitney said…"

"Oh, he needs to lay off your sisters. Gosh, you'd think that he never had the thought in his head that they would grow up and date and get married and have children. Honestly, he is beginning to get on my nerves with all this."

"That's not-"

"Lucas is a fine young man. And Brian's…the guy that Kirsten has chosen. We all just need to learn to accept each others choices in life."

"Even when they're wrong?"

"Especially when they are wrong," she told me. "You think that my mother liked your father? Most definitely not. And my father hated him. He always hated him."

"Why?"

"Drew isn't the most…kind man in the world. Or he wasn't. Before," she told me slowly, thinking for a moment before looking up at me. "Where's Owen today?"

"Working."

"In this ice?"

I shrugged. "More people probably want pizzas delivered when it's like this, don't you think?"

"It's still dangerous," she told me with a shake of her head. "Though, I suppose it's a good thing that he's so driven about his work."

"Even if it's just delivering pizzas?"

I got a look for that. "Especially if it's just delivering pizzas. He wants something. Money. And he's willing to sacrifice now for it. When he finally finds what he's good at, he'll work hard at it."

"I guess so," I mumbled.

"It's a good quality, sweetheart. Believe me."

I just stared at her for a moment before saying, "So what are we going to do for dinner?"

"Leftovers, if Whitney and Lucas aren't coming. Besides, that man is not worth it."

"Mom-"

"I'm sure you have homework or something to take care of, Annabel," she dismissed me then, finished with our conversation if I was going to correct her on something. I just shook my head, going ahead and leaving her alone. It was better than fighting over a guy that I hadn't even seen in four years. I mean seriously.

"God, Owen," I complained as I opened the front door. "It's, like, freezing out."

"I don't care," he said as he moved to kiss me. It was only after we separated, that he said, "I had to see you. To make up."

"We're having dinner," I told him, turning my head when he tried to kiss me. "Seriously, it's cold. Come in so I can shut the door."

He did as asked, slipping off his boots and jacket at the door. After that though, he was immediately back to his first plan of attack, which was of course assault my lips.

"Bear," I complained, shoving against his chest slightly when he tried to push me up against a wall. "You have to knock it off. They're, like, just in the dinning room. Come on."

"I just came over to-"

"My uncle showed up," I told him as he moved to cup one of my cheeks.

"You're uncle, huh?" he asked, stroking my cheek then. I just turned my head.

"Come on."

"I have to get home and go to bed," he reminded me. "I have the show in the morning."

"It'll only take a minute."

So I led him by hand to the dining room, where my family was eating in a stony silence. Uncle Dan had tried to strike up conversations with Dad a few times, but a look from Mom usually shut that right down.

"I told you it was Owen," Mom said as we entered the room. Dad hardly looked up though, just continuing to eat his food. My uncle though wasn't that simple.

"So this is the guy then, ah, Andy?"

Owen glanced at me, but I just shrugged while my father sighed.

"He's better than the one that Kirsten's with. Believe me."

"Drew." Mom sent him a look before standing. "Sit, Owen. I'll go make you a plate."

"No, that's alright," he protested then. "I was just-"

"Sit," she repeated. "You didn't get to eat with us last night, well now you can tonight."

He glanced at me, but I just shook my head at him. He'd have to eat dinner anyways. What different did it make if it was at my house?

Dinner got no better with Owen there. Even he seemed to pick up on the awkwardness. He and my uncle were the only ones that really spoke, as Uncle Danny kept questioning him about things. Mom kept giving Dad these weird looks, but he was ignoring them for the most part. I just sat there, trying to wade my way carefully, as not to get on any of the three adults nerves while also keeping Owen from saying anything too radical. He had a tendency to just spout something off, when he got too nervous. That's how I found out that the first time his mother took him out to teach him to drive, he hit and killed his neighbor's dog.

All throughout that awkward dinner though, Owen kept trying to touch me. He'd bump our knees under the table, hold my hand, rub my thigh. I guess our day long fight had gotten to him or something. I was honestly just glad that he wasn't angry with me, as he typically was when something happened.

"So you deliver pizzas," Uncle Danny was say then as Owen continued to eat. I knew that once he saw we were eating 'real food' as opposed to whatever vegan meal awaited him at home, he'd dig right in. "What does the other one do?"

"Other one?" Owen asked.

"Kirsten's boyfriend."

"Fiancé," Mom corrected while Dad rolled his eyes. "And he's studying to become a teacher or something. That's how he and Kirsten met, at her college."

"All he's really learned is how to be a bum," Dad grumbled which got him a sharp look from Mom.

"Right," Uncle Dan said, nodding his head at my father. "And what does Whitney's boyfriend do?"

"Nothing."

"He's a bartender, Dad," I said, taking my turn to make a face at him. "That's where he is tonight. And he actually gets pretty good tips, so-"

"Tips? Here's a tip. Get a real freaking job."

"Not everyone can build glasshouses, dear," Mom told him simply. "Especially not when so many stones spew from their mouths."

"Grace-"

"Or do you not remember all the jobs you had when we were young?"

"Alright, Grace."

Owen glanced at me, but I just reached under the table then to rub his thigh. This, of course, did not have the same effect as it did on me and it turned out to feel more awkward than anything.

"Lucas," Uncle Dan said slowly. "I want to meet that one."

"And why's that?" Dad asked him, more or less to end his mini-argument with my mother. "Dan?"

"These two, I can see with boyfriends. The other one though-"

"How about you keep your opinions to yourself because last time I checked-"

"That's not how he meant it, Grace," Dad sighed, clearly exhausted.

"I'll keep my opinions where I want my opinions," my uncle said then. "Thank you."

"You're going to let him talk to me that way, Drew?"

"What's he going to do then, Grace? Kick his own brother out?" Uncle Dan laughed then. "Yeah, I'd see that day."

"Would you guys stop it?" I asked then, frowning. "Why did you make Owen stay, Mom, if you're just going to freaking embarrass me?"

"Annabel-"

"No, Dad. They-"

Owen's phone went off them, making things even more gauche, if that was possible. When he retrieved it from his pocket, he sighed before slowly standing.

"It's my mom," he said as an apology before heading out of the room, towards the living room. I was glaring at my mother then, though that was more because she was the one sitting in front of me.

"Annabel, I'm sorry," Mom said simply before standing. "I'm finished eating anyways. I'm sure one of you three could do the dishes tonight? Preferably the one that's not supposed to be here?"

Neither my father nor uncle said anything to her. When she was gone though, my dad did speak.

"You can stay, Daniel, but right now, Grace and I are going through some things. You know that. I don't need you causing more problems than I already have."

"That's not what I'm trying to do, brother. I just came to spend time with my family."

"Yes, well, this just wasn't a very good time, was it?"

Owen came back then, keeping his eyes on me.

"Mom needs me," he said simply, coming to grab his plate and take it into the kitchen. I quickly jumped up to follow him, those words springing my curiosity.

"What's going on?" I asked Owen as he went to scrape his leftovers in the trash. My mother was shockingly still in the kitchen, beginning to put away leftovers. "Owen-"

"Mallory needs me."

"For what though?"

Mom glanced up from the counter then, where she was putting some things in Tupperware. "Owen, before you go, here, take these to your mother."

He frowned, glancing over at her. "Uh-"

"None of it's meat. All vegetables," she told him. "Unless you want some of the pot-roast for yourself-"

"I just really need to go," he told her then, moving to rinse his plate off. I moved to grab it then, doing it for him instead.

"Annabel, help him take these out to his car," Mom told me. "Here, you can just take the whole roast, Owen. Do you have time to stop by your house though? Before you go to…where are you going?"

"My aunt's house. But I need to go home first anyways."

"What about the show in the morning?" I asked him then. "Do I need to-"

"Rolly has the playlist. If he meets you up at the station in the morning can you-"

"Yeah, of course."

"Thank you for dinner," he told my mother then as he went to grab some of the Tupperware. "And for the leftovers."

"Of course, honey," she told him then as I picked up the rest of the stuff. She moved to give him a hug then, which made me frown slightly. My mother liked Owen more these days than she had in the past, but she was being way too kind. Maybe she was just feeling bad about how she had acted at the table. "And if you guys need anything, you call okay? Especially your mother."

He nodded then before looking at me and nodding to the doorway. I followed him out, having to wait at the door for him to get his boots and coat on.

"You really don't have to come out here," Owen told me as I followed him to the car. I had slipped on my shoes, but not a jacket. "You're going to, like, get hypochondriac or something."

I debated it for a moment before saying, "I think you mean hypothermia, Bear."

He just groaned. "I'm really not in the mood, Bell."

"Sorry."

After we put the stuff in the car, he gave me a kiss before telling me that he would call and explain in the morning.

"I'll be listening to the show, Bell," he told me then. "So don't screw it up."

"Considering I'm a better DJ than you-"

"Annabel-"

"Take care of your sister, Bear." I gave him a kiss before turning to run off towards the house. I was freezing my ass off. "Love you. Be careful."

He waited for me to make it into the house before even getting into the car. And then I watched him from the windows inside to see him leave before heading back to the kitchen to do the dishes. After all, there was no way I really thought my uncle would take care of them. I mean seriously.