8. Family Reunion

"Who's gonna suspect something about me?" Kalin asked the question again when no answer came from either myself or Luke. We were both too frozen in our own fear of him finding out the truth to even formulate a response. 

What could I say to him?

Nothing came to mind. But I knew that whatever I may say to him, I didn't have the courage to let him know the truth. I couldn't bring myself that Luke wasn't his real father. That his father was Daniel Sahyounie--my older brother. I couldn't tell him that the reason Luke and I had fled to Mexico because the truth had gotten out and I wanted to escape the consequences of my actions--Luke was only collateral damage who stood by my side despite all of the mistakes I had made. Luke was my rock; the only person who had supported me unconditionally.

Forcing a nervous smile onto my face, I said to him, "Its nothing, darling. Your father and I were just thinking out loud. Don't pay attention to us."

He eyed us suspiciously. He didn't seem convinced by my lie in the slightest, but he trusted me enough not to question us any further. He knew that if it was something he needed to know, we would tell him eventually, and indeed we were planning to let him know. We just weren't sure when.

Kalin returned to the living room and we followed him seconds later, announcing that we would be going out somewhere. Luke and I stood in front of the television to get their attention, when my youngest son asked us, "Where are we going, mum?" His hazel green eyes tried to look around us where his cartoons were playing on the television. 

At my side, a grin formed on Luke's lips. "We're going to visit my mum."

Both of us were very excited to see Gina again, but Luke was especially excited. She was his mother and he hadn't seen her in years. The only method he had to see her was through video chatting and that just wasn't the same. The children were equally excited upon hearing the news. They only knew her through video chatting and had never met her in person before. She was the only family they knew besides Luke and I. On the other hand, I was nervous about going to see her. She still lived a few streets from the house where I used to live with my parents and Daniel. Running into my parents was something I wanted to avoid.

Then there was the fact that Jai and Beau were going to be there as well. I knew they were still good friends with Daniel, and I didn't want them telling him anything on accident.

The six of us piled into the rental car and Luke drove into the residential areas of Glenroy, the place where the two of us had grown up. Each street had a familiarity that triggered various memories for me. To the kids, and Kalin's friend Ander, this was all knew. They had never been in Australia before, but to Luke and I, it was home.

It was the place I was forced to leave when I made a terrible mistake.

We arrived twenty minutes later, and Luke parked the car out front of the house. In the driveway were already two cars with another inside the garage, which meant that Beau and Jai were already there waiting for us. The six of us piled out of the rental car and walked rather nervously and awkwardly towards the front door with Luke and I leading. The house looked exactly the way I remembered it to be, nothing about it had changed.

With his hands in mine, Luke practically dragged me to the front door and hit the doorbell. It only took a minute for Gina to come to the door and open it. Her eyes immediately filled with tears and she pulled Luke and I in for a bone crushing hug like the ones she used to give when we were younger. The last time she had hugged us had been around seventeen years ago, when we left for the world tour together, and neither of us ever returned to Australia. She hadn't seen her son in that long, and that had been enough to miss him beyond understanding. I couldn't imagine having Kalin away from me for that long, or any of my children.

"I've missed you two so much." She said through her tears, and we held onto her tight as well. So many years without seeing her, and we were finally back.

When she pulled away from us, she took a look at the three teenagers and the little boy behind us. The smile on her face seemed to grow bigger and she invited us in, hugging each of the children as they passed her. She was so excited that she had even hugged Ander when Luke quickly explained that he was a friend of Kalin's and that he was like a son to us. She said that if that was the case, then he would be like another grandson to her.

She led us to the living room of her house where two families were waiting. All of them were sat on the couches there and they shot up when they saw us enter the house. I recognized Beau and Jai first. Jai looked exactly like Luke and Beau had the same features he used to.

By their sides were two beautiful women of who I only recognized one. She and Jai had been having an on and off relationship when we were younger, but Jai had been head over heels in love with her. Luke and I were always there to cheer him up whenever the break ups would happen, but they always found a way back to each other. I didn't follow her career, or really anyone's for that matter, but I knew that Ariana Grande was still relevant in the music industry. I also knew just who she was when I took a look at their daughter, a girl around my daughter Liz' age, who was the spitting image of her mother when she was younger.

"This is my wife Ariana, and this is our daughter Jaicey. We live in Boca Raton whenever Ariana isn't busy with her singing career." Jai introduced them proudly, but with a hint of nervousness.

Luke and Jai hugged while I shook hands with Ariana and Jaicey. 

When the twins pulled away, Luke introduced the family. "You remember Arianna, and these are our kids. Kalin, Marializ, and Bastian. Ander is a friend of Kalin's, but he spends so much time at our house that he's like a son to us." He chuckled as he explained about Ander.

Each of the kids walked forward to offer Jai a hug, except Ander who just offered a handshake. They hugged Ariana and Jaicey next. 

They stepped out of the way after our brief introductions and Beau walked forward with his wife. With them were two kids, a boy and a girl. The girl also looked to be around Liz or Kalin's age, while the little boy looked about Bastian's age. "I missed you, you little shit head." Beau said and pulled his younger brother in for a hug. As they embraced, he introduced his family. "That's my wife Chelsea, and those are our kids Brissia and Cole."

"Its so nice to meet you." I greeted Chelsea and the kids with a friendly smile.

Chelsea smiled back at me. "Its nice to meet you too. Beau has told me so much about his brother and his family that were living in Mexico."

I greeted the children next and Luke introduced them to his brother and his family. After they greeted their uncles, Gina came to hug them once more. She was very excited to have them in front of her, to actually be able to hug them. It made things more real for her, and for all of us.

Jai and Beau brought some chairs from the kitchen for everyone to sit in and we all sat in the living room. We made conversation, catching up over what had happened along the last seventeen years that we hadn't seen each other. There was so much for us to talk about. The kids and the teenagers went to a different part of the room. They didn't want to sit around listening to the adults talk about things they thought as boring.

When what felt like mere minutes passed, Kalin walked into the living room and over to Luke and I. "We need to get back to the hotel, mum." He told us in a whisper, not wanting to interrupt the conversation.

Luke nodded and offered to take them. I had wanted to be the one to take them, and give Luke more time to catch up with his family. But he said that it was fine, and that I could stay. I gave my son a quick hug, and saw them leave after Kalin said goodbye to the rest of the family. 

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another update because i already have the entire rest of the story written. i just have to do some final editing and post them. but i hope you all like the updates and are continuing to read this story. i want to get back into the swing of writing janoskians stories because i still love them. they're my boys.

so again, thank you loads for reading and supporting this story!

-clary xx