^^^Aubree

~Brie~

I sent another text to Riccardo as I pushed through the doors to my parent's house. I sighed and locked my phone.

“Mom?” I called out. “I'm here. What's the special dinner about?”

There was no reply.

“Mom?” I called out again. “Roman, you in here?”

I dropped my bag in the living room and made my way to the kitchen.

“Daddy? Are you guys in the backyard?”

I checked the backyard but there was no sign of either of them.

“Guys?! Manny, where are you? Mom? Daddy?” I called out as I walked back into the house. “If you're not home why leave the front door unlo—”

“Surprise!”

“Motherfu—” I stopped myself as they jumped out in front of me.

“You know, people don't usually cuss when they're excited to see their favorite people” she chuckled.

“Well, you're going to be my least favorite people if you scare me like that again” I stated, moving in for a hug. "It's so good to see you.”

“You too, little one” my brother teased.

“She's not that little, Em” Nia chuckled as we pulled away from the hug.

My brother playfully shrugged. I smiled at the two of them and clasped my hands together in excitement.

“Where are the two new angels?”

“With Mom” Emmett answered. “The rest went with Dad to go get froyos.”

“You let a sixty-four-year-old man go alone to get frozen yogurt with all five of his grandchildren?” I asked.

“Dad's a super dad. He can handle them” Emmett smiled.

“Wait, you're the ones Mom's special dinner is for?”

“Um... duh,” Nia rolled her eyes playfully with a smile. “The kids have their school shut down for a spider infestation, so we decided to come earlier than planned. We asked your mom not to say anything to you.”

“A spider infestation?”

“Mm hm. Black widows.”

Ew.

“So how long is the school going to be shut down?” I asked, rubbing my arms to rid them of the goosebumps that had broken out.

“Probably for the rest of the year,” Emmett answered. “It's already November so... early vacation.”

I smiled.

“Well, it's great to have you here earlier than planned.”

Nia smiled back.

“And you're glowing, Brie”

I shrugged playfully.

“Things are going well so of course I'll glow.”

“And by things are going well, you mean your secret admirer?” Emmett folded his arms at me.

“Mom told you?”

“Nope. We saw the cards that came with your roses.”

I chuckled.

“So, when do we get to meet him?” Nia grinned.

“Yeah. Invite this dude over for dinner tonight.”

I shook my head at my brother.

“So you can bully him? Not a chance.”

He chuckled. Nia took my hand and tugged me into the living room.

“You have to give me all the details on this guy, Brie. Are you in love?”

“Very” I blushed.

Emmett groaned playfully.

“Oh, now I most definitely need to bully the man.”

“Where'd you meet?”

I arched a brow at Nia.

“I thought you hated Twenty-one Questions?”

She pouted and I giggled.

“Well it wasn't exactly a—”

“Oh never mind, it's opened, Aubs!” Leslie's voice cut me off.

We turned to the door.

“Oh hey guys” he grinned, coming in with tons of pillows and stuffed animals. “For the nursery.”

“Nursery?” Emmett asked.

Nia looked at me.

“She's seriously going ahead to turn Roman's room into a nursery for her baby?”

“I don't care what she does, Nia. And it's not Manny's room anymore so I'm not bothered.”

“Yeah you're right” Emmett replied, giving Leslie a hand with the things.

“Well at least now I know where I'll be spending most of my vacation time. In Breanna's hot tub” Nia grinned, doing a little happy dance.

I laughed.

“Dude, how many of these did you people buy?” Emmett asked in annoyance.

“Your sister is an impulse buyer. Don't blame me.”

“Mom? They're going to be bringing in the furniture we bought” Aubree's voice rang through the entrance. “I'm going to go take a nap.”

“A nap? Who's going to set up the nursery?” Leslie frowned her way.

“You obviously” Aubree answered before looking up from her phone.

She arched a surprised brow at our brother and his wife and then smirked a little.

“Well if it isn't the queen of Zamunda and my least favorite adopted brother.”

I rolled my eyes.

“I'm not adopted, Aubree. Plus I'm your only brother” Emmett said.

Aubree checked her nails.

“Unfortunately. And no offense Nia, but I still think my brother could have done better.”

“Than me?” Nia asked.

“Oh yeah. Like... way, way better” Aubree chortled.

Nia smiled and took a step toward her.

“Give me one reason why I shouldn't pummel you right now. I mean I'd be more than glad to put you in early labor.”

Aubree scoffed.

“Reason one, my dearest brother would finally see that he could have done better with his choice of a wife. Reason two, you don't scare me. And reason number three, you'd go to jail for hitting a pregnant woman—”

“Who just doesn't know when to stop!” I cut in, glaring at my sister.

Aubree frowned at me.

“You had a chance to make me owe you, Breanna. And you turned it down. So you don't get to have a say in what I do, or what happens to me.”

“Good, so I can freely hit you now” Nia nodded, moving towards Aubree.

I didn't bother to stop her but Emmett pulled his wife back.

“Violence is never the answer.”

“When your other sister is involved, yes it is” I scoffed.

Aubree eyed me and turned up the stairs.

“Enjoy your nap” Leslie waved after her.

“And lock your doors!” Nia added.

Aubree looked over her shoulders and shot her a dirty look.

“I'm hitting her before this trip ends,” Nia said to no one in particular.

I shook my head.

I'm not going to say she wouldn't deserve it.

°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°

“I missed you so much, Auntie Brie!”

I chuckled as Lucas hurled himself into my arms, nearly knocking me over.

“Me too, Cas” I chuckled.

“Did you kids have a good time at the froyo store with Grandpa?” Emmett asked, handing Mariah a moist towelette to wipe the dried yogurt off Hope's face.

“Yeah,” they chorused.

“And we got some for the grown-ups” Lucas nodded seriously.

“Aren't you kids the sweetest” Leslie smiled.

“Where's Roman?” I straightened and asked.

“Incoming!” I heard Zach say, followed closely by a loud laugh from Roman.

I turned to the front door as Zachary ran in playing airplanes with Roman. I chuckled.

“Aren't you too old to be playing airplanes, Ro?” Jake asked.

Zach set Roman down and turned to Jake.

“You wanna go next?”

“No” he dragged.

“I'll go!” Mariah chirped, hurrying toward Zach when Jake tugged her backward.

“Hey!”

“I'm the oldest, and so I get to safe test before you get a turn” he pointed out to his twin sister.

I shook my head with a small laugh and ruffled Jake's hair before he hurried toward Zach.

“If you're done playing superheroes, Zach, do you mind giving me a hand?” Dove's voice rang out from the front porch.

“We'll all help,” Emmett said suggestively to his kids.

They lined up without question and moved outside, carrying whatever they could back inside.

“Mommy? Could I have a snack before dinner?” Roman asked.

“You're hungry?” I asked, surprised.

“A teeny bit.”

I smiled.

“Of course. Would you like a fruit kebab?”

He grinned.

“Yes please.”

“Okay. Go give the rest a hand with the groceries and I'll get the snack going.”

He nodded.

“Hey, can I have a fruit kebab too?” Leslie asked.

“Oh, I want one!” Hope chirped.

“Yeah me too!” Lucas added.

In that same second, everyone was asking for a fruit kebab.

“I'll take one... all watermelon though” Zach grinned at me.

“Okay, let's put a vote to the fruits, shall we?”

After everyone was done voting for what fruit they wanted, Emmett gave me a hand in the kitchen. By the time my parents got dinner going, the snack was ready.

“Careful Mar. You could take someone's eye out” Jake cautioned.

I smiled to myself. It felt good to have the whole family here.

“Who's ready to meet one of their newest nieces?” I heard Nia's voice ring out from behind me.

I turned and she was cradling one of the babies. I gasped and immediately held out my arms.

“Oh my goodness!”

“Auntie Brie, say hello to the youngest of the twins, Riley” Nia spoke with a soft giggle, holding her hands out to hand me the baby.

I grinned the moment she settled into my arms.

“Hi Riley” I whispered, gently tapping her tiny nose.

She blinked, then widened her eyes at me.

“Oh, she's so small” I laughed, looking up at Nia. “I've forgotten how tiny they can be.”

She had an amused look on her face.

“What?” I asked.

“Nothing.”

“That's not nothing.”

She giggled.

“What are you thinking Nia?”

“Nothing. Just that you look so good with a baby, that's all” she shrugged.

I playfully rolled my eyes.

“Okay, everyone. Dinner's served!” my mom called out from the dining room.

I smiled at Riley in my arms.

“Let's go meet your cousin” I whispered and turned away.

Nia chuckled as she walked behind me.

“Where's Karissa?” Emmett stopped in front of me to give his daughter a little kiss.

“Asleep” Nia replied.

I smiled.

“Look at you... already telling your twin daughters apart” I teased.

He laughed.

“Yeah, yeah. I'll go get Karissa” he replied and sauntered off.

“Wow Breezy, that's one fine accessory on you,” Zach said the moment he came round the corner.

“Right?” Dove added with a chuckle. “A baby looks really good on you.”

“See?” Nia playfully nudged me with her shoulder.

I chuckled.

“Stop. Manny? Come say hello to Riley” I grinned.

He looked away from the yo-yo trick he was trying to teach Hope and smiled.

“Hold on, Hope,” he said and ran toward me.

I lowered myself a little to his height and he peeped at Riley's face.

“She's pretty.”

“She is.”

He smiled and continued to stare at the baby.

“You wanna hold her?” I asked.

Roman met my eyes and then peeped at Nia.

“You know it's not a problem with me, Manny,” she said to him with a warm smile.

“Okay,” he whispered and held out his arms.

I carefully passed him the baby and Roman smiled.

“She's tiny.”

“You were tiny too” Nia chuckled.

“And baby Eden's going to tinier” I whispered to my son.

His head shot up from the baby to my face.

“Really?”

“Mm-hm” I hummed. “Newborns are tinier than infants.”

Roman's eyes twinkled.

“Cool.”

I laughed.

“Aww this is so cute. Bruce get the camera!” Mom called out.

My Dad brought the camera and took a few pictures of Roman and the baby before we all sat down.

“Where's Auntie Aubree?” Mariah asked from the kid's table.

“Mar, no talking during dinner” Nia scolded.

My niece sank into her seat.

“She's not answering the door” Leslie announced as he entered the dining room.

“Why not?” mom asked.

“Mood swings?” Leslie shrugged.

Dove pushed her chair back and stood up.

“Let me try.”

“Why bother?” Nia stopped her. “She obviously doesn't want to eat with the rest of us. So why risk walking all the way there? Is she really worth cold Poutine?”

“Nia” Emmett leaned in to his wife and whisper-yelled.

“What?”

Dove and Zach exchanged a look.

“Well see, we have an announcement and we can't really announce it if Aubree's not... present” Dove goes.

I look up from the steak I'm cutting.

“Announcement?” I questioned, looking at Zach. “What announcement?”

“Aubree needs to be here first, Brie. Sorry,” he shrugged.

My brows bunched together slightly.

“Oh c'mon. I'm sure you can tell her later” Nia suggested.

Dove shook her head.

“Not really.”

Nia rolled her eyes.

“Lemme just go get her—”

“What do you people want with me?” Aubree cut her off, waddling into the dining room in her long red spaghetti-strapped dress with a small tub of ice cream and a jar of chopped pickles.

“You're here” Dove beamed.

“Yeahhh...” she dragged, her eyes roaming around the table. “Wow, who died and made me the devil?”

“Oh, you've always been the devil Aubree. No one can take that away from you” Nia smiled sweetly.

Aubree tilted her head and smiled equally sweetly back.

“Spoken like a true whore.”

“Aubree!” mom scolded.

“Oh but you keep quiet when this idiot insults your daughter?!” she shot at Mom.

“Let's all just calm down” Dad held his hands out. “Please?”

“Yeah. There are children present in this room who don't need to be caught in the crossfire” I added.

Aubree shot me a dirty look.

“What a hypothetical thing to say, dear sister.”

“Aubree, that's enough” Emmett said firmly. “If you can't sit and eat with the rest of us then please, feel free to leave.”

“Oh of course. Defend her like everyone else” Aubree scoffed. “I'm not sure why I came down anyway. Enjoy your meal.”

“Aubs wait! Please” Dove stopped her. “We have an announcement and I can't say it if you're not here.”

“Email it to me.”

“Aubree—”

“Bye.”

Leslie cut in front of her and whispered something to her.

“Mommy, can I have some more ketchup, please?” Roman called to me from the kid's table.

I turned away from my sister.

“Of course, baby. Here you go” I replied, passing him the ketchup bottle. “Do you want cheese?”

He shook his head.

“Fine. I'll stay for the announcement” Aubree announced, returning to the table with Leslie beside her.

“Yippie” Nia let out sarcastically.

“Nia!” Emmett scolded her. “That's enough.”

She frowned and folded her arms.

“Alright, Dove. Tell us your announcement” Dad sighed.

Dove waited for Aubree and Leslie to sit before beaming at everyone excitedly.

“Well, it's kind of a big deal...”

“Out with it already, Birdie” Aubree cut her off, opening her ice cream to put the pickles in. “I haven't got all day.”

Nia scoffed quietly.

“Satan.”

I gave her a look and shook my head. Dove slipped her hand in Zach's and he kissed the back of her hand.

“We're getting married!” the two of them cried in unison.

“Oh my goodness!” my mother cried out.

“Congratulations!” Emmett added.

“We're so happy for you” Nia grinned.

“Well done son” Dad gave Zach a hard pat on the back.

“Oh, I can't wait for the wedding!” Nia cheered.

Zach smiled gratefully and met my eyes.

“Breanna? Aubree? You two okay?” Dove asked.

I looked away from Zach and gave her a small smile.

“I'm great.”

“Yeah... great” Aubree added.

“So why are you two quiet?” Zach asked.

I shrugged.

“Oh, nothing. I'm just really happy for you two. Congratulations” I said.

“Yeah, congratulations” Aubree repeated.

“Quick question though” I sat straighter. “When did this happen?”

“Almost two weeks ago” Zach smiled. “I couldn't wait anymore so I popped the question.”

“And I said yes” Dove grinned.

“And you didn't think it was important to tell your best friend before today?” Aubree and I said at the same time.

I looked at her and was about to chuckle when she frowned and looked away from me.

“Not that I don't support this but it would have been nice to know before everyone else, Dove,” she said.

“Same, Zachary” I added, finally looking away from her.

“Oh, but I bet you'll forgive us for the next announcement” Dove wiggled her brows at us.

“Is there a baby?” Nia gasped, excitedly.

Aubree scoffed loudly and smiled.

“Not everyone is a baby-making machine, Nia.”

Nia's smile wore off and she glared at Aubree.

“We want Aubree and Breanna to be my maid-of-honors!” Dove quickly cut in.

“What?!” Aubree and I cried in unison.

“Surprise!” Zachary grinned.

I chuckled.

“Very funny guys.”

“I'm not sharing in my best friend's happiness by being co-maid-of-honor with that one. No way” Aubree folded her arms.

“Feelings mutual, dear sister. I intend to stay far away from you” I told her.

“Good.”

“Great.”

“Awesome.”

“Perfect” I frowned.

“Girls!” our parents scolded.

“This isn't about you” Emmett frowned.

“When I have to share responsibilities with that one, it is about me” Aubree frowned. “She's not exactly a good sister.”

“That's rich, coming from the sister who slept with this sister's husband and ruined everything for everyone” Nia jumped in.

“So? It wasn't my finest hour, your majesty. And this is between me and my incredibly hypocritical twin sister. So stay out of it or you're going to be very sorry.”

“Oh, you're the one who's going to be very sorry if you don't mind your tone, Aubree. I told you, I'd be more than glad to send you into early labor. Don't push me.”

“I'd like to see you try, you bi—”

“Mommy?”

The rest of Aubree's words never make it out. We all turn toward the entryway of the dining room.

“Oliver?”

Sorry for the late update guys!

And thank you so much for reading! ✨