Alanie and I are dragged into the house by our mother. She glances at us and says, "Let's open a bottle of wine."
Alanie breaks into a broad grin as he looks at you. "I never thought I would enjoy those words coming out of your mouth, Mom."
Her head is thrown back, and she laughs out loud. "I want to hear all about the photo shoot." She looks in our direction. When did your brothers disappear? I was under the impression that they would be on your side.
"During the photo shoot, Walden got a phone call and had to go to the hospital with Taylor." I let her know. "Do you know what they're up to?"
She makes a frowning face. Not at all, I don't. As I have observed, Taylor is known to slip out of the house in the middle of the night to meet a woman driving a black automobile. To me, she appears to be a fed.
When I saw the woman with my brothers and Melvin, the first thing that sprang to my mind was that something was going on with them.
After opening a bottle of champagne, Mom pours three glasses for herself. She then places one glass in front of us. "Did you like the dresses?"
Alanie is leaning backward. They blew everyone away with their beauty—just like the outfits that Mama had explicitly fashioned for us. Zinnia and Seraphina have chosen us to represent their company as their public faces. They even stated that they could not believe that the firm's new face was present with them throughout the entire process, but she was a photographer.
The mother raises a glass. I want to raise a glass for my two lovely daughters, who deserve the opportunity to represent Miller Inc. I cannot wait to see your faces displayed on a billboard in Los Angeles.
I raise my glass to my mother's and Alanie's alike. The only faces that will be displayed in LA are Alanie and mine. We will not be the only ones. Miguel's company has recently introduced Taylor and Walden as its new faces. He thought that they were an ideal match for him. The next day, they are required to wear Seraphina's clothing. It is to compensate for the fact that they left early today.
******
Taylor, Walden, and Dad all enter the kitchen at six o'clock.
The three of us, who are a touch drunk, are the ones that meet them.
Taylor kissed Mom's cheek. "What's for dinner?"
She shrugs. "I didn't have time to make food as I wanted to catch up with my girls." When Mom looks at Dad, she says something. "Our daughters are the faces of Miller Inc."
He breaks into a broad grin before his eyes. "I'm proud of you girls." We each receive a kiss from him. He turns his way toward the boys. "How did your photo shoot go?"
"Good," they respond quickly, and Dad makes eye contact with me.
When it comes to Miguel's line, they are the new face. Daddy, you would have been pleased with how they turned out.
Alanie has a question. "How is your friend?"
Walden and Taylor gaze at one another and communicate through their facial expressions to speak.
It isn't enjoyable when they do it.
My stomach is making a growling sound. "I'm going to order pizza." After informing my family, I proceed to make the phone call.
My family has been going to the local pizza restaurant for years, so they are familiar with the orders that we place there.
Greetings, and thank you for choosing Pizza Hub. Here we have Pizza.
I said, "Hey, Pizza." It's Katherine here. Can I receive the standard?
The Pizza Hub: Indeed, Miss Walker, I am. Do you intend to pick up your order this evening, or would you like us to deliver it?
Me: Can you deliver it for us?
The Pizza Hub: Your order will be delivered within forty minutes, Miss Walker.
Yes, Pizza Hub, I am grateful.
After hanging up the phone, I returned to the kitchen, where my family conversed about something.
As the conversation comes to a close, I overhear Taylor saying something. "Please, don't say anything to Katherine."
The slightest movement caused me to notice that Alanie had hit Taylor, and all of their heads shifted in my direction.
It is getting old for me to be in the dark. For what reason does everyone suddenly feel the need to defend me? In my own right, I can accomplish that.
My eyes are drawn to my family. One of the drivers from Pizza Hub will deliver the order to the customer. I am going for a walk by myself. I exit the house through the back door and stroll around my parents' acreage.
One side of their property is covered in bush, and a wonderful walking path leads to a completely secluded beach. I frequently visited the beach when I was younger.
One day, while I was down there, I discovered that my brothers were having sexual encounters with a couple of girls who were older than them. While they were making out, I couldn't help but feel ill.
The girls apprehended me before I could make my getaway, and they inquired of Walden and Taylor whether they were aware of my identity.
Taylor gave a slight nod. "Yes, that is my obnoxious younger sister. Her inability to leave Walden and me alone is a perplexing phenomenon. I was the target of his glare.
It was spoken by the young lady dangling from Taylor's arm. "She is appealing to me. Her appearance makes me remember my sister. I'll bring her with me the next time we get together, and they can hang out together.
"Sounds good." Taylor stares at me in awe. "Get lost."
After finishing my work, I returned to the house to rest.
I hear something coming from behind me as I step into the bush. "Where are you going?"
As I turn around, I find Taylor and Walden standing beside each other with arms crossed. I give them a look and then turn around again. For what reason do you care that I'm leaving? The only one who is concealing secrets from me is you. This is similar to asking, "What were you doing at the hospital with Melvin and a fed?"
When Taylor asks, "How," I put my hand in the air to prevent him from continuing.
"Then, in the kitchen, when you told everyone, "Please, don't say anything to Katherine," you said that. I imitated his voice.
Taylor lets out a sigh. "I'm trying to protect you, Katherine." I can see him moving closer to me. "I love you." He moves closer to me by taking another step. "Please, let us protect you, and when the right time comes, we will tell you."
I have high hopes that the information they conceal does not involve Michelle. Having to deal with the idea that everyone I care about is involved in something that is connected to that psychotic turd is something that I cannot stand.
I choose to disregard Taylor and proceed to move into the bush. I make my way down the trail that leads to the beach.
When I get to the beach, I remove my flat shoes and move my feet across the sand. I dash over to the river and put both feet in it.
When a wave splashes my garments and drenches me to the core, I am too preoccupied with looking at the water to notice. As I began to feel cold, my teeth started to chatter with each other.
After I finished wringing out my clothes, I returned to the house.
After entering the house, I locate my duffel bag next to the entrance and bring it to the restroom I need to use. My first order of business is to clean myself in the warm shower.
At the end of the process, I dry myself by wrapping a towel over my hair and using the second towel before putting on my clothes.
When I look downstairs, I find my family eating together in the kitchen. I am seated at the table with them.
Immediately after the dishes are completed, Taylor, Walden, Alanie, and I will arrange the mattresses in the living room and launch a movie.
The remainder of the night was spent with us, watching movies and conversing about everything.
During the middle of the third film, Taylor expresses dissatisfaction with his hunger.
I am willing to prepare popcorn for you as a snack.
While I am making my way to the kitchen, I look through the cabinet for the popcorn. I prepare the timer and then place a bag inside the oven. When I get to the living room, I grab a couple of cans of Coke and bring them with me.
An alarm goes off on the timer for the popcorn.
My eyes are drawn to Alanie. "I'll get it."