I woke up early in the morning when I smelled something good downstairs. I got out of bed and started fixing my hair before going downstairs. Along the way, I heard a baby giggle, making me hurry downstairs. I saw a baby inside a crib, being guarded by Roy.
The baby glanced in my direction and giggled upon seeing me on the stairs. "Kiel!" I squealed as I ran towards them. Royce started panicking when I approached them. I tried hugging Kiel, but before I could do that... Royce had already taken him out of the crib, making me fall onto the couch beside the crib. I looked up in Royce's direction, and he had Kiel in his arms. I glared at Royce as he narrowed his eyes at me with tightened lips.
"You just woke up, yet you're already planning to squeeze Kiel to death," He said, turning around and walking away with Kiel. I started pouting while moving my legs back and forth on the couch out of boredom.
"I just want to hug him." I muttered. I then heard my aunt laughing. I got up, and my face brightened in excitement at hearing my aunt's voice. I smiled as soon as I saw her face.
"How you've been, my little star?" Aunt Shelvie asked me. Aunt Shelvie is Ezekiel's mother, and she's also the one who took care of us. I nervously chuckled after hearing her call me "little star." from what I remembered, Aunt Shelvie started calling me that when I was four. At that time, I was still a child actress for a year in my father's agency. Aunt Shelvie thought of me as the young girl version of my father. Honestly, I would prefer not to hear that word from her. I don't wanna remember those memories again.
"I'm doing well, Aunt Shelvie." I answered as she patted my head and smiled brightly before placing her right hand on her chin. I heard Kiel giggling from a distance as the giggle got even closer. I realized that he was running towards me with Royce trying to chase him from getting even closer to me. I put my tongue out at Royce and grinned as I hugged Kiel and carried him high. I felt so relaxed hugging Ezekiel.
Aunt Shelvie then suddenly started to smirk when I was smiling as I carried Kiel. "How's Clayden? Are the two of you dating yet?" Aunt Shelvie asked me out of nowhere. I tensed up at her question. I cleared my throat and decided to ignore Aunt Shelvie's question. "Don't ignore me, Rae~" Aunt Shelvie persistently continued to push the question to me as she took Kiel from me. I groaned.
"There's nothing going on..." I answered. I thought answering her would make her stop, but she didn't. Aunt Shelvie continued to tease me. I got even more embarrassed and decided to cover my ears so I couldn't hear any of it, trying to avoid her.
The sound of the door being opened made me look in the direction where the doorway was. A little later, after that I heard my mom's voice saying, "I'm back!" along with the plastics rustling. I rushed towards the doorway and saw that Clayden was carrying the groceries that Mom had bought. I stood there and gazed at Clayden in astonishment. "Oh, Raven. You're finally awake. Can you set the table for me?" My mom asked as I shook my head to get back to my senses. Royce suddenly went towards Mom to get the things that were in her hand.
"Sure, Mom," I answered. Mom kissed me on the cheek before heading upstairs with a smile on her face as Royce brought the plastic bags to the kitchen. Clayden was behind him, following him to the kitchen as the two of them walked past me, but Clayden had a smirk on his face and leaned in close to me.
"What are you spacing out for, Rae?" He whispered, chuckling before heading to the kitchen. His words left me at a loss for words. I turned to face the other direction to calm myself down, but I saw Aunt Shelvie was already looking in my direction with a cheeky look on her face.
"Nothing, really~?" Aunt Shelvie smirked while Kiel looked at her confused and continued to stare while poking her face. 'Geez...' I sighed while staring at Clayden's back.
• • •
As I had finished preparing the table, I heard people laughing in the kitchen. It was Clayden. He was with Uncle Jerome and Royce. "You weren't supposed to put eggs in the marinate yet! We haven't even mixed the dry ingredients!" Royce shouted. Uncle Jerome started laughing while Clayden scratched the back of his head. Royce then pushed him aside and began to prepare the food for dinner instead of letting Clayden do it.
"I feel bad for your future wife, Clayden." Uncle Jerome told Clayden.
"He won't have a wife, that's for sure." Royce said, which made Uncle laugh even more. Clayden kneeled on the floor, looking all gloomy.
"Am I that bad?" Clayden muttered. Once Royce was done marinating, he bent over to Clayden and said.
"Yes." We all started laughing, making Clayden start tearing up.
"Clayden has been a part of this family. He gets along with your uncle, brother, and even your mother. I wonder when exactly he will be really part of the family." Aunt Shelvie suddenly appeared behind me with Baby Kiel in her arms, looking at them.
"I should call Mom down. It's time to eat now," I said, trying to avoid Aunt Shelvie's statement. I walked away, looking down at the floor as I felt Aunt Shelvie's gaze pierce through my back. This is one of the reasons why I don't like my aunt being home. She keeps on insisting that I like Clayden in some way. I did meet Clayden when I moved to Chicago. Clayden was the one who brought back the smile on my face. I refused to play with Clayden at first, but he was really persistent.
I was about to go upstairs to tell Mom that breakfast was ready, but as I got near the stairs. Mom was already there, staring at us in awe. "Mom?" I called her, making everyone look in her direction. She only smiled in response.
"Don't mind me watching you guys have fun." She said while swaying her hand repeatedly, looking anxious, maybe because we were staring at her. 'Mom has always been like this. Sometimes, I wondered how my mother fell in love with that man...' I thought as I stared at Mom smiling. Kiel then started to giggle, putting out both of his hands, trying to reach Mom, making Aunt Shelvie feel astonished.
"Kiel wants you to join, Mavel."
"I'm good." My mom refused as she went downstairs, staring at her, I thought. 'Mom is literally the whole opposite of Father, at least... that's what I think.' I started comparing the two of them. "We should eat now before it gets cold."
A little later, it was already dusk when Mom went out with Royce, Aunt Shelvie, and her husband. I was left alone with Little Kiel and Clayden, watching them leave. 'Aunt Shelvie must've planned this.' I thought as I started to cook the marinated chicken that Royce had prepared earlier while I wore the onesies that Aunt Shelvie wanted me to wear to entertain Kiel.
"Here you go, Rae. Wear this so that you can easily calm Kiel down." Aunt Shelvie told me as she handed me two pairs of onesies. I held the white onesie and unfolded it, and it looked like an animal. It was...the light fury from How to Train Your Dragon.
"Kiel likes this?" I asked. She hummed in response, saying.
"Well, I'll leave it to you to decide which one you'll wear. It's really convenient for your Uncle Jerome whenever I'm not around since Ezekiel tends to get upset when I leave him with his father."
I sighed while making the sauce for the fried chicken bites. I placed the freshly washed cabbages on a big plate and some of the strained chicken on top of it, separating most of the fried chicken on a different plate. A little later, I started to hear Kiel giggling out of nowhere in between the sounds of the soup boiling.
'What's going on?' I thought as I checked on the soup to see if it was good to go before leaving the kitchen.
"Kiel?" I called. Checking up on him, I saw Clayden wearing the other onesie while entertaining Kiel in the crib. "Oh, you were here?" I asked, making Clayden turn to look in my direction.
"I did come back here after watching them leave. I noticed Kiel staring outside the window while playing the maracas. I bet he was getting lonely, so I decided to play with him." He said, looking at me with a smile on his face. I then noticed his hair being tied up, probably because of Kiel.
I laughed at how stupid Clayden looked with his hair tied up. "Thanks, Clyde." I thanked him as I tied my hair up into a bun. "I'll be back with some apples." I said. He nodded in response while Kiel tugged his shirt, making him pay attention to Kiel again.
"What's up, little guy?"
I smiled before leaving the living room, letting Clayden play with Kiel—Babysitting isn't really easy, but I guess with Roy and Clayden's help... I think I can do it. No. I just then realized that Clayden was actually wearing the other pair of the onesie I was wearing. As I got back to the living room with the peeled apples... Aunt did say Little Kiel likes that cartoon, but why is Clayden even jumping around wearing that!? No... is he dancing that trend from TikTok!?
I sighed, trying my best not to look at him while he was dancing as I placed the plate of peeled apples on the center table before leaving, and Clayden had already noticed me trying to avoid his gaze. I suddenly heard that song being played and felt him dragging me near Kiel. "Come and join me, Rae. I can't be the only one having all the fun. Yes?" He said with a smirk on his face as my jaw dropped at Clayden, who looked stupid dancing in front of Kiel. I'm at a loss on what was happening, but the fact that he still acts like this puts me at ease.
To be Continued. . .