Author's Note: Quickly I would just like to say that this chapter is not one of my best. It is mostly just a filler chapter that will progress the story. Chapter 6 will be much more eventful and maybe even romantic. Please just be patient with me. After my computer issues that I talked about in my last Author's Note, I got really discouraged and didn't want to write anymore. So, it might take me some time to get back into the swing of things. Anyways, enjoy and please leave feedback. Next chapter will be out soon!

Chapter 5: Dinner of Demons

It had been a long afternoon for me between the countless amount of meetings and conference calls. That is why when my desk phone rang for the fourteenth time in less than five minutes I angrily picked up and grumble into the receiver, "Cross."

It wasn't the voice of a colleague or my assistant, rather it was my mother. I could tell she was surprised by my tone of voice when she said, "Gideon are you alright?"

I was in a sour mood to begin with and calls from my mother didn't do much to ease my tension. In fact, Elizabeth Vidal had a way of turning completely serene situations into a stressful ordeal. "This isn't a good time," I barked into the phone.

I could hear the hurt in her voice as she said, "Oh, well then I'll be quick. I'm throwing a dinner party tomorrow and- "

I cut her off quickly, "Mother, you know I'm not interested."

"But, Gideon, the Whites are all going to be there together and I thought it would just be lovely if we were all there too."

Well this was different. The Whites were going to be there, which meant I would get the opportunity to talk to Aurora again without her able to run away. Then the thought of her going there with my brother made me feel ill. I don't know if I could go there and witness that. Then again the thought of not seeing her made me feel even worse.

I had to speak to her again, even just see her. I also wanted Christopher to behave and I think my presence would be enough to throw him off his game. His loathing for me might just outweigh his obsession for her.

I found myself not paying mind to whatever my mother had been rambling about. I also found that I didn't care either, so, I interrupted her whilst she was in the middle of her sentence, "I'll go to dinner."

There was silence over the line for a moment and I could hear the complete shock in her voice, "I'm sorry darling, did you just say you would come?"

"Yes, but don't tell anyone just in case something comes up and I can't attend." I couldn't let her go blabbing to Melinda White. If Rory knew I was coming she may find an excuse not to come.

"Of course! That's so wonderful, Gideon!" She exclaimed over the phone, "Everyone will be so excited to see you."

"I'm sure of it." I said with a roll of my eyes. I checked my watch and realized that I was late for a last minute video conference, "I have a meeting mother, I'll see you tomorrow."

"Bye Gideon, I love-"

I hung up.

I had been standing outside of the Vidal mansion, purposely stalling. I checked my phone three times already, fixed my suit jacket, and almost rang the bell four times already. Every time I reached forward to press the button, my heartrate sped up and my hand began shaking. I was petrified.

This was a house of horrors for me. Every waking memory of this place was a nightmare, except it was impossible to wake myself up from it. I vowed to never willingly come back here, but here I was now. I was practically asking to come in by ringing this bell. I was willingly coming back to relive the torment. But I did it for her and when I finally thought about that I had the nerve to reach out and ring the doorbell.

I stood in silent agony as I waited for someone to come out to greet me and to my surprise it was my sister, Ireland who answered the door. Her jet black hair, so similar to mine, was pulled back into a messy ponytail which showed her young and delicate features. My sister looked like a porcelain doll just like our mother. She wasn't anything like our mother in any other way, though. I never knew Ireland as well as a brother should know their sister, but from whatever interaction I had with her I could see that she was funny, compassionate, and innocent. All things that our mother is not.

She seemed shocked to see me and I thought I even heard a gasp, "Gideon, what are you doing here?"

Nice to see that my mother kept her promise and didn't tell anyone that I was coming. I put on my most convincing fake smile and said, "Mother wanted us all to be together tonight."

She leaned against the door frame and arched a brow, "Mom calls you to come to family dinner every week, Gideon."

I could feel her suspicion and attempted to put it to rest quickly, "This was the first Friday night that I haven't been drowning in work since I've been back."

She crossed her arms and rolled her eyes. I could sense Ireland's apprehension and resentment towards me when she said, "You didn't come here for the family dinner. You came here because Aurora is here."

"Ireland I-"

She held up her hand and cut me off without hesitation, "Save it, Gideon, I'm really tired of caring." I could see the pain in her eyes when she said, "I should've known that you didn't come to visit me, you came to visit her."

I was taken aback. Ireland had always been excitable and warm-hearted, but now she was so full of anger. I had brought that out in her, she had been just another person who I've ruined.

I had always known of Ireland's jealously towards Aurora. Even though the girls were practically sisters themselves, Ireland had always grown up in Aurora's shadow. When Aurora was born, I found happiness in her that I was never able to find in anyone else. I spent my life playing with her and protecting her. I was never invested in Ireland's life in that way, I had found it easier to keep my distance from her. I could now see just how badly that affected her now.

I turned off the fake smile and looked at my sister dead on, "Ireland if you have something you want to say to me, then say it."

She shifted back and forth on her feet and kept silent. Before anything else was said, another voice broke the underlying tension between my half-sister and I, "Ireland, darling, where are you?"

Behind Ireland emerged my mother dressed in a red jumpsuit with her black hair long around her shoulders. When she saw me her eyes lit up, "Oh, Gideon, you made it!" She opened the door wider and ushered me inside, "Come in, everyone is on the patio for drinks."

I took a weary step through the door and tried to keep my breathing leveled. I tried my best not to look around, keeping the buried nightmares dormant in their coffins.

I kissed both my mother and my sister on the cheek before making a bee-line for the back of the house. I was thankful we would be in the backyard for a little longer. This might give me some time to grow used to my anxiety, although I was not hopeful.

When I opened the backdoor, I could feel all eyes on me. I scanned the room and found that everyone seemed happy to see me except for Damon, Christopher, and Aurora. My eyes locked with hers for a moment as she sat on a white wired patio chair. She gritted her teeth and looked away quickly. My eyes then dropped to Rory's lap where both her hand and Christopher's hand were locked together. This had gotten out of hand already. They were already showing their relationship off in front of the family. I was sure Aurora was smart enough to break things off with Christopher entirely, especially after the kissing debacle from their last date.

Christopher shifted his eyes between me and Aurora, noting both of our reactions to seeing one another. I could see his anger building up behind his green eyes. In an instant he was on his feet, tugging Aurora to get up too. Her reluctance was evident as he practically dragged her over to where I was standing.

When they were both in front of me, I fully got the picture of the two of them together. They looked like a beautiful couple. Both of them were very attractive and complimented each other's looks well. Then again, any man would look like good with Aurora White on his arm.

Christopher had plastered on a fake smile of his own and slide his hand possessively around Aurora's waist. She fell into his hold, completely submissive to him. Her body told the world that she belonged to Christopher, but her face marred with a frown told the world that she wasn't happy about it.

Christopher spoke first, "I didn't know you were coming, Gideon. It's such a rare occasion you come to any sort of family event."

I didn't take my eyes off of Aurora even when speaking to Christopher, "Mother, wanted me here so both families could be together."

I could see in the corner of my eye that he had shrugged, "Well we've all been together without you before. Don't forget that you left us all behind when you left for Europe."

The comment resonated with Aurora and he knew it. He was toying with her too, reminding her of why she hated me. I suppose Christopher was smart enough to realize that Aurora and I were on thin ice because of my sudden leave, but I worried if she had told him something he could use against us both.

Aurora looked like she wanted to cry for a moment and suddenly I felt as if my coming here was a mistake. I caught her off guard while she was still reeling from the other night and now I think the pissing contest between Christopher and I was making her nervous.

I disregarded my brother entirely and kept my focus on my girl, "Aurora, are you alright?"

It wasn't what I thought I was going to say to her when I saw her again. However, with the current situation and the look of pure sadness etched on her face I felt as if I had to ask her that.

"I'm fine, thank you for asking." Her voice was hardly recognizable to me. It was her proper voice that she used when we were surrounded by others. It was more dainty and feminine, almost robotic in a sense.

Christopher intervened between us again, "I know you and Rory probably haven't had much time to chat since you've come back, so you probably haven't heard that her and I are an item now."

I glare at him and quip back quickly, "Actually, Rory and I have caught up plenty since my return. Her and I have always been very close."

I could tell by the arch of brow that he had somehow already known that. He was taunting me, seeing what information I would spill. I had already fallen into the trap.

I looked at Rory and saw the instant fear in her eyes, worried that I was going to be airing our dirty laundry for all to see. Little did she realize that Christopher probably knew much more than he let on.

My brother's hand tightened against Rory's hip, pulling her closer against his side. His blatant way of claiming Rory had her fidgeting uncomfortably. His lock on her, however, was deathly tight; he was not going to let her go.

"Aurora, let's go inside and take our seats for dinner." It was more of a demand than a suggestion.

Without any confirmation from her, Christopher led her towards the door. I couldn't help but turn to watch them go. I could see Rory pull his arm off of her side, only to link their fingers together instead. To anyone else they looked like a young couple in love, but I knew better. It was obvious that she wasn't comfortable with him touching her, her face dropped every time he did so. She was merely cushioning the blow by offering to hold his hand instead.

I still couldn't figure out why she was doing this. Aurora is most likely the sweetest girl that has ever walked the earth. I couldn't see her dating my brother to purposely hurt me, it honestly wasn't her way. So, what were her motives for dating Christopher? She could hardly tolerate him before, so when did their relationship shift from forced family friends to lovers?

Before disappearing through the backdoor, Aurora's neck turned so she could look back at me. Her eyes were wide and confused. Her teeth were biting on her lower lip, something she did when she was nervous. This wasn't the face of a girl who was in love with my brother. This was the face of a girl who was lost.

Then I thought about the questions I had about why she was doing what she was doing and I realized that she probably wouldn't be able to answer them either.

The tension swimming around the dining room lingered and permeated the air around us. Melinda and Robert White chatted with my mother and her second husband, Christopher Vidal. They were the only ones unaware of the unbearable hostility between us kids.

I remember a time where we all couldn't wait to see each other. We really were best friends. Both families consisted of two older boys and a younger girl which seemed ideal because that meant everyone would get a partner in crime. It never ended up that way of course. Josh and I were best friends, but I always seemed to find a way to be with Aurora instead during play dates. Damon was our friend, but he was most content when he was by himself. Christopher's infatuation with hating me led to a growing obsession with Aurora over the years. She never seemed to give him the time of day though when were kids. Lastly, Ireland was too young to even play with us for the most part which left her as an outcast.

Looking back, it doesn't seem like much has changed. Josh and I were still close, Damon stayed quiet and isolated, Aurora was still the center of me and Christopher's tug-of-war match, and Ireland still seemed to feel like the outsider looking in. The only difference now was that we didn't put aside our differences to all play nicely together in the backyard. We were no longer a group of six best friends. We were now a group of troubled adults who all seemed to silently loathe one another.

To sum it all up, everyone here had beef with someone else. Christopher and I have always hated one another, the only difference now being that Rory seemed to hate us now too. Ireland resented me for a long while now, which I understand to a certain extent. Josh and Damon both seemed disapproving of Christopher based on the looks they have been sending his way all night. Damon also seems to be sending some glares my way too which meant he was now angry at me for some unknown reason.

So really no one here was in the happiest mood.

The parents sat on one side of the table whilst the rest of us sat on the other. Aurora sat between Christopher and Damon, Josh and I on the opposite side, followed by Ireland at the far end of the table.

The main course of the night was a filet mignon with roasted potatoes and asparagus. Honestly, I could hardly eat any of it between my constant anxiety of just being in this house and because of Christopher's behavior.

Every now and then he would just lean over and whisper in Aurora's ear. Sometimes she would cringe, but sometimes he would get her to smile. Watching them together made me want to scream and rage, but all I could do was glare and poke of my steak with my fork.

After what felt like eons of silence, the servers took away our plates and went into the kitchen. My mother stood up from the table and placed her hand over Melinda's, "Melinda, while we wait for dessert I have to show you what we've done with the guest room." Quickly the two women exited the room, both of the ecstatic about the new satin drapes imported from Morocco.

Chris and Robert got up as well, informing the group that they were going for a drink and a cigar on the porch. This left the rest of us alone.

Christopher leaned over to Aurora again and I finally lost it. I clenched my fist and forced myself to keep an even tone, "Christopher, I didn't think you would be the one-woman type."

My half-brother regarded me as he usually did, with utter hatred and disgust, "Are you trying to imply something, Gideon?"

I gritted my teeth, noting how his arm dropped beneath the tablecloth to what I could assume was Rory's thigh. I kept the game going though in attempt to show that it didn't bother me, "Frankly, I'm surprised she let you take her out at all."

Rory's eyes widened and she was biting the inside of her cheek. Christopher, however, stayed calm and collected, "Well, Aurora is gorgeous and could have anyone. I'm honored she chose to be my girlfriend."

I tried to rack my brain around that fact. As far as I knew they had only gone on one date. When the fuck did these two become exclusive? Rory had even promised nothing was going one between them. What the fuck was changing?

With a shrug of my shoulders I went for nonchalance, "I mean I just know that Rory was never a big fan of yours." I shifted my gaze directly at Aurora and put her directly on the spot, "Wouldn't you say that's right, Aurora?"

"That's not true," Her voice was small and lost all of its polish and refinement. I was breaking down her act in front of everyone.

I was determined to split them up. She would be angry with me for what I was about to do, but I did it in her best interest. I was protecting her from him, maybe one day she would see that.

I pushed further, "I mean if you say so, Aurora. I'm just going through your history with Christopher and things just don't seem to add up."

"What the fuck are you talking about, Gideon." Christopher interjected.

I chuckled to myself a little, "Remember when you asked Aurora to the senior prom, Christopher." His fist clenched the tablecloth in pure rage, "She turned you down flat. She preferred to go alone to her prom than go with you."

I heard a slight chuckle come from the farther end of the table and saw Ireland hiding her laughter behind a cloth napkin. I even saw a slight smile from Damon, the man who seemingly never smiles. Hopefully this would be enough to enrage Christopher enough to get him to leave.

Aurora, however, turned to Christopher and touched his shoulder affectionately, "It wasn't like that, Christopher."

I spoke up again, "Do you remember even as a child, Rory used to cry whenever Christopher tried to even get near her. I mean they say kids are really good judges of character. I guess she lost that sense with age."

Aurora whipped her head back to me furiously, "What is your problem, Gideon?"

I hated embarrassing her, but it had to be done. This girl had to open her eyes and see what an asshole Christopher was and if I have to be equally as much of an asshole to prove that then I will be.

"My problem is that you would resort to dating a guy who only got you to go out with him with the help of his mommy asking your mommy. I mean that might as well just be a playdate."

That one even got Josh laughing.

Christopher shoved himself away from the table and stood up quickly, "I don't fucking need this shit. I'm leaving."

With that statement, Christopher made his way out of the room. The next thing we all heard was the slam of the front door in the next room. Only silence was left in the air. I forced myself to not look at Aurora. I know how much I humiliated her and I wish that I didn't have to. I know how much she hates me now.

I heard the sound of the dining chair being pushed back and I looked up to see Aurora standing at the table with tears in her eyes. She took her cloth napkin and lightly dabbed the mascara stains under her eyes.

When her eyes met mine I thought I would be turned to stone on the spot. There was so much anger and resentment behind them, enough to carry over into the next lifetime. She threw her napkin onto the table and took a shaky breath, "I wish you never came back to America. Go back to Europe and leave everyone alone."

Before I could find a way to apologize, she dusted off her dress and walked out of the room. I shuddered a little when I heard the familiar slam of the front door.