PLAYING NICE

CHAPTER FOUR

PLAYING NICE

SEBASTIAN’S POV

Last night had been more interesting than I thought it would be. Originally, I only woke up late for dinner because I had thought it would be no fun. Although Dad and Arya have been going on for a long time, now And I knew they had to be very serious about tying the knot, but I knew it was another avenue for them to talk about my brother, and I had not found someone to marry or even talk about getting married.

That was not a discussion I wanted to have, especially with strange people at the table.

Seeing her again after two years was a surprise to me. I had met her on a dating app a few years ago when I almost gave in to Dad's pressure for me to get married. I also thought it would be a good thing to show my mum something new, although who was I kidding?

Something happened to Mum that day we were supposed to meet, and that was the last time I heard about it. Now, in this age, finding someone was as easy as it could get, but that would be when you knew more than that person's name. All I knew about her was her name, not even the school she attended, her last name, or her social security number, not that I should know that.

I gave up on finding her after a few months and went on with my life, but seeing her at the table, eating with my family, felt so surreal, and I wanted to say something. But the first thing that came into my mind was the most embarrassing joke we had when we met on the dating app, which was not something she tried to keep from her mother, even though she didn't do anything about it.

I regretted it immediately when I said that, but I could not take it back. So I just went silent for a moment, seeing how her cheeks reddened and she tensed up in the seat. It made me want to see more of her reaction, but then Chris, always the responsible one, took it upon himself to save the day.

I love my brother, although I think he is a goody-two-shoes who cares too much about what people have to say about him, even if that means he won't do what's right. He wouldn't do it.

I fought the urge to ask why she did not recognize me after I saw that she wasn't just pretending, and she did not recognize me. That was when I remembered that I used a very old picture of myself, which now looks very different from how I look now.

Maybe attending the dinner was not such a bad idea.

Although now that I saw the way Chris had given her his jacket when she fell into the water and the way he looked at her, I might have to stick around a bit more to witness whatever this is. One thing was clear, she was to be my sister, and that means she is a big question mark from now.

I smiled at the sound of that and wondered if it even made sense. I needed to calm myself, and no matter what I thought of, I did not think they would work, so I went to sleep. And this morning, I needed to return home first. As soon as I stepped out of the house, I saw her coming out of her room with a jacket in her hands. She was holding it with so much care that you would think it was fragile, which she did not want to break.

"What have you got here?"

"Good morning," she said, and as if she was in a hurry to get away from me, she did not stop walking. I followed her to the living room. Her phone chimed, and she looked down at it just as mine did too.

"What!"

"What?"

"There is no way I am riding with you."

"Well, looks like you've got no choice, little girl. Come in, big brother is going to take you to school, and maybe if you remain a sweet little sister, I will come to pick you up later in the day."

"No! I will find my own ride."

"Well, then suit yourself."

"Good luck finding someone who wants to come to pick you up here, miles away from the good road."

I did have a point, aside from the fact that I wanted to give her a hard time; the road to the vacation house is unpaved, and whenever we come here, we come in cars that have really good tires.

"Hey, girl. I heard her talking to someone on the phone. I have to be at work now, but the joy of seeing her this miserable was the best.

"Can you come pick me up?"

"Oh! Okay," I heard her say dejectedly, and after making a few attempts like that, she sighed and looked at me. I looked away immediately and began to head out.

"Fine," she said behind me as I closed the car door.

"You do have a nice car, and maybe you can make up for what you did last night if you get me out of here."

"Oh no. That is no way to ask someone for a favor, especially when I know that I am the only hope you've got right now."

"Technically, you're not. I could ask my mom or your dad."

"Nice, do that. Just so you know, they may not be able to stop their flight for your little shenanigans."

She rolled her eyes; my dad and her mom flew out for a meeting early in the morning, so they weren't an option.

And then she opened her mouth and said something that got me on edge.

"Well, I could call Chris."

She already started to think Chris is the good guy too. Well, good luck with that for her.

"Then, do that," I said and got in my car and drove off.

"There is no way Chris would leave work to come get her."