Theon
I parked the car in front of Sam's house, sending her a message to let her know that I had arrived. I was on my way to my mother's house when I received a call from Lara asking me to pick up the mother of my son. It seems that Sam had arranged with Lara to help her get ready for the party.
Sam and I had become somewhat closer again after I had gone to her house two days ago, not quite the kind of closeness we were used to, but it was something. In fact, I was beginning to wonder if maybe I should have some hope for the future, since from the comments I heard, Sam was no longer with Mike Laffay.
I was trying not to delude myself so much, not after everything that happened at Christmas, but it was still hard to deny that I still had feelings for her.
Samantha left her house, hurrying to get into the car because of the snow that had been falling insistently since yesterday. It was the beginning of February and her belly was getting bigger and bigger, we had already started the countdown to Henry's birth, from the middle of the month on, he could arrive without any warning, and I could see how this proximity to the birth was causing her anxiety.
" Hey Apollo, I thought you had forgotten me," Sam smiled as soon as she took her place in the passenger's seat.
" Come on, Lara will kill me if I take any longer," I ignored her comment, hiding a small smile.
We remained silent for the few minutes until we reached my mother's house. Lara was waiting anxiously for Sam and pulled her away from me as soon as we passed the front door. I watched the two of them hurry upstairs to Lara's room before shrugging and heading to the kitchen, where I could hear my grandmother, my mother, and my older sister talking.
" It's crooked," I heard my grandmother declare before entering the kitchen.
The three of them were standing around the countertop, analyzing a cake that had been placed there.
" It's not crooked," Callie assured her.
" If you pay close attention, you'll see that it's leaning a little to the left," my mother agreed with my grandmother, moving closer for a closer look.
" It's almost imperceptible," Callie took a deep breath, "no one will notice."
" I'm noticing it," Delphine assured her.
" Hello…"
The three of them looked in my direction before my sister spoke up.
" Theon, is the cake crooked?
I looked at the decorated cake, finding no apparent defect.
" I don't…"
" If you look closely," my mother instructed me.
" Then just don't look! " Callie complained, "Why did you ask me to make the cake if you're going to make it defective?"
" But…"
" Maybe I should take this cake away " I suggested " it looks great and I'm sure Lara will like it."
" Thank you," Callie sighed with relief, "I'm going to take a shower, since I don't plan on attending the party covered in cake frosting!"
We watched as Callie walked away, leaving me in the company of the other two women.
" Why did she make the cake? I thought you ordered it all," I questioned, helping my mother take the canapés out of the restaurant boxes and put them on a tray.
" We did, but there was some kind of misunderstanding and they only sent the salty part. Luckily, Marcus offered to pick Liny up at the airport so Callie could make the cake.
I didn't like that information very much, my trust in Marcus was already low, even more after the conversation with Sam, and what I observed of Evangeline the last time she came wasn't reassuring either.
" And she made a crooked cake," my grandmother complained.
" Come on γιαγιά, it's almost unnoticeable " I smiled picking up one of the trays " where do you want me to leave it, mama?"
" I'm noticing it " my grandmother insisted, going into the living room while my mother showed me to the table where she was organizing everything.
The party would be simple, just a celebration of Lara's closest family and friends, but still, she was very excited, so we were doing our best to make everything perfect.
I helped my mother set the table while my grandmother stood by the window to the front of the house. I wondered at her attitude, she kept looking at something with a suspicious expression, but I decided not to get involved.
My grandmother was not known for her normal attitudes.
She turned away from the window and a few seconds later, Liny came through the front door, followed by Marcus carrying her bags.
" Thank you, Marcus. Really, I don't know how to thank you," Liny smiled at the man, "Can you help me carry my bags to my room?"
" Or you can just leave it here by the door and Theon will take it later."
I frowned, alternating my gaze between them. Liny looked surprised at my grandmother's reaction, while Marcus seemed somehow out of place. Delphine, however, kept a steady gaze on the two of them, making me believe that perhaps I was not the only one who was suspicious of the situation.
" But…"
" I'm going to the hotel to get ready for the party." Marcus interrupted Liny's protests.
" Thanks a lot Marcus," my mother smiled, seeming oblivious to the situation that was unfolding there, "it's great to have some extra help."
I held back a frustrated groan as I noticed my mother's innocence. She couldn't possibly trust him to have changed after abandoning his pregnant girlfriend!
" I'll go up then, if Theon can carry my bags," Liny frowned as she watched Marcus leave with some disappointment.
This girl can't be serious!
I'm really going to have a talk with her, she has to think of her own sister and try not to flirt with her Brother in law. Or at least not sound like she's flirting with him.
" I'll finish up here and then I'll take it," I assured her, turning my attention back to my previous task.
Liny walked up and my grandmother didn't bother to disguise herself before following her. Maybe she would take it upon herself to talk some sense into Evangeline.
I took a few minutes to finish helping my mother set up the food table, and followed her to Liny's bags, which were still in the same place Marcus had left them. I carried them up the stairs, frowning as I heard altered whispers as I approached the door to my sister's room that was ajar.
I entered the room, finding Liny rummaging through her purse in a nervous gesture while Delphine leaned on her cane and maintained a stern expression for the girl.
" I told you, you're imagining things," Liny murmured without looking at her.
I put the bags on the floor, trying to understand what was going on there.
" I may be old, but I'm not crazy, and I'm not blind, Evangeline. I know what I saw," my grandmother accused, "and you'd better tell your sister, or I'll be forced to."
" Have you gone mad? " She stood up, facing my grandmother with a frightened expression, "You have nothing to tell!"
" What's wrong? " I interrupted them both.
" Nothing " Liny answered " γιαγιά went crazy."
My grandmother walked to the door with stubborn steps, unceremoniously opening it.
" Lara," my grandmother shouted, making Liny's eyes widen.
" γιαγιά, what…"
" Delphine! " Liny exclaimed, advancing towards the old lady.
Delphine spun her cane with a dexterity not expected for a woman of her age, hitting the side of Liny's thigh, causing her to stop her steps, looking at her grandmother in awe.
" Shut up! " she hissed before raising her voice again, "Lara, come here now!
" What's going on here? " I questioned both of them again.
Liny groaned before throwing herself on the bed, looking mortified.
" Tell him, Evangeline. Let's go!"
" Tell me what? " I crossed my arms, feeling the urgency in my grandmother's tone.
" It's my life, there's nothing to tell," Liny jumped up from the bed, "I don't know what you expect me to say!"
We heard the door to Lara's room open and her footsteps approach the room. Lara entered the room being closely followed by Sam, she was already dressed for the party, all that remained to be done was to put on her shoes.
" γιαγιά, you called me? " she asked.
" Liny? " I asked, still trying to understand what was going on.
She crossed her arms, preferring to remain silent even in front of my questioning gaze.
" Don't you have anything to tell, Evangeline? " Delphine insisted.
" No, I don't," she returned in a petulant tone, sitting down on the bed.
Sam stood beside me, looking as lost as Lara.
" What's going on, Apollo? " she whispered.
" I don't know."
" If you don't tell, I will," Delphine threatened.
Lara alternated her gaze between us, clearly uncomfortable with the situation, I suspected what my grandmother wanted her to say, but I really hoped I was wrong.
" Liny, what's going on? " Lara questioned uncertainly.
Liny bit her lower lip without looking at her sister. I looked at my grandmother and at that moment I knew that Lara's disappointment would not only come from Marcus.
" Liny. " I groaned in disgust.
" I didn't do anything wrong," she tried to justify herself.
" Making out with your sister's boyfriend in front of the house on her birthday is not wrong?" my grandmother raised her voice, attracting Lara's immediate attention.
I closed my eyes at the proof of my suspicions. How could she do this? And that Bastard, I'm going to kill him. Definitely going to kill him!
Lara blinked in a daze at the information, she lost her color as she tried to make a sound.
" This isn't going to be good," Sam murmured beside me.
" Liny, what is she talking about? " Lara finally recovered her voice, "Why were you with Marcus?"
" It wasn't like that! " Liny raised her voice " He picked me up at the airport, and…"
" You decided to say thank you? " Delphine sneered.
She wasn't helping.
" And?"
" You and Marcus... Both of you? " Lara stammered.
" Apollo, maybe we should leave," Sam whispered.
" I'm not staying here," Liny murmured, getting up and walking toward the bedroom door.
" Are you going to leave? Have you gone mad? " Lara raised her voice, "You're having an affair with my boyfriend!"
Yes, she's gone crazy, it's the only possible explanation!
" He's not your boyfriend," Liny claimed immediately.
" What now? " Sam ended up getting involved " He is Daphne's father!"
" That's all!"
" Liny, you've lost your mind " I snarled, holding her arm, preventing her from leaving the room " everyone knows about their relationship."
" They have a daughter, that's all. They're not together," Liny assured me.
" Because he's a bastard, how can you be so stupid! " Sam exclaimed, completely dismissing the idea of letting the two of them work it out on their own.
" I'm not…"
" That's a lie," Lara whined.
I took a deep breath trying to regain my calm. I didn't want to see my sister suffer, but we tried to warn her, at least I tried!
" What did he say to you? " I questioned Liny.
" We met in Chicago, he lives there and came to see me and we get along well," she alternated her gaze between us, "he assured me that you two are just friends because of Daphne."
" That's a lie! " Lara shouted " you know it is! You saw us at Thanksgiving and Christmas, you knew and yet...."
" You deluded yourself, he wasn't with you and he didn't know how to tell you," Liny insisted.
" I don't know if she's stupid or without character," Delphine muttered.
" Liny, just shut the hell up," I growled as I noticed the tears starting to stream down my sister's face.
" She was the stupid one, he left her pregnant and she really thought he would just come back with her? " Liny rolled her eyes.
I was surprised to see that attitude in my sister, and for the first time in my entire life I wanted to punish her.
" He was with me, he said he would move to Aspen to be near me and Daphne," Lara shouted in reply, "You were the stupid one!"
" He abandoned your pregnant sister, you got involved with him anyway, and she's stupid? " Sam replied, putting himself between Lara and Liny.
" He repented and changed," Liny said with a tone of despair in her voice, "he wouldn't do that to me and she was the one who got it wrong, he wanted to be with his daughter, that's all."
" You liar! " Lara shouted back " you should have thought of me, I am your sister!"
That was enough for me, I left the room, walking determinedly towards the stairs. I had heard enough to make a decision.
I'm going to kill that bastard.