"Can I drive the car, Dad?" Lilith asks as we all head towards Mum's SUV, except this time Christian would be driving the family.

"No, Lilith. Why are you complaining if Leigh isn't?" Christian responds to her.

"That's because he always says 'yes' to your commands," Lilith firmly shoots back. "No offence, Leigh, but it's boring as hell." She glances over at an unbothered Leigh, who is engrossed in his phone.

Suddenly, I feel the need to defend him and blurt out, "Maybe you should be more like him and act mature." This catches everyone's attention, including Leigh, who was acting oblivious just seconds ago.

"Thank you, Ava," Christian says to me and slides into the driver's seat.

"Fuck you," Lilith mouths at me. "You're sitting in the back because you're the youngest." She crudely raises her eyebrows, expecting me to oppose. Well, I wanted to, and I also didn't want to.

"It doesn't matter," I reply, lowering the middle-row seat to get to the back. As I take my seat, I close my eyes and let out a soft sigh of relief. However, the strong scent of Leigh's cologne hits me harder than a truck. I immediately open my eyes to find Leigh sitting beside me, giving Lilith the entire second row to herself.

He smiles at me and then turns back to his phone screen, where he is replying to comments on Instagram. I quickly memorise his username and keep repeating it in my head so I won't forget. Christian and Mum are discussing the weather, and how hot it is in September. Lilith, in the spacious second row, is listening to loud music on her AirPods while I do nothing but stare out the window, mentally memorising Leigh's Instagram username, until I feel someone grabbing my intertwined fingers and gently separating them. That someone is none other than Christian's son. That son is Leigh Boyce.

The butterflies that the contact gives me are enough to turn me pale. I can't blush. I don't blush because every part of my body that blood circulates through has instantly frozen. My heart has stopped. Only my eyes are able to study how tenderly Leigh's hand intertwines with mine as he rests both hands on his thigh. I observe how perfectly my hand fits in his big hand. After what feels like a decade, my organs reactivate, and the loud pounding of my heart makes it hard to breathe. I'm sure Leigh can hear it because he places his other hand behind mine and gently caresses my skin with circles. The feeling is warm, electrifying, and anxiety-inducing at the same time. I force myself to swallow the intense nervousness, but you can't simply suppress an emotional feeling that has already permeated every fibre of your being. It's not that easy. I survive for the next twenty minutes in a fidgety state, hardly breathing, as I gaze down at our interlocked fingers.

When we arrive at our destination, I eagerly jump out of the car to take a breath. I don't wait for Leigh—I walk ahead and join Lilith, who is trying to ignore my presence, but I don't care. I'd rather deal with her abrupt rudeness than allow myself to feel the intensity of the connection between Leigh and me and instantly become stifled, suffocating without being able to breathe.

Instead, I engage myself in curiosity and ask Lilith, "Does your uncle have any kids?"

"No," she simply answers.

"Is your dad the eldest?"

"No," she repeats, clearly not interested in talking to me.

"Alright, I'm sorry for what I said earlier. I should have had your back," I apologise.

Tilting her head, she faces me. "I'm not mad at you, Ava. Do you think I care about what you say? Nah! Didn't you read the group messages? Embry had the guts to update her Instagram about her date with Leigh but didn't post anything in the group, not even a reply when we all asked her."

Relieved that I wasn't the cause of her anger throughout the ride, I reply, "Oh."

"So stop being so polite and apologising all the time," she says, while Christian, Mum, and Leigh talk with a middle-aged bald man and a short, plump woman by his side. "Uncle Emmanuel has no kids, and he's Dad's eldest," she rushes her words as we approach them.

"Thank you," I mumble.

"For what, Ava?" Lilith groans.

"Sorry," I blurt out.

"Okay, just shush," she commands and plasters a fake grin on her face for her extended family.

"Oh, my honey," the woman says, pulling Lilith into a hug. "Every time I see you, you grow a few inches taller."

Lilith shoots me a sad smile, and I send her an apologetic one. "You kids wouldn't visit, even though it's just a few minutes' drive away," the woman complains to both Christian's children. "Oh, darling, and you must be Ava," the woman says when her eyes fall on me. "You're so beautiful, just like your mother," she adds.

"Thank you," I mutter softly.

"My goodness, she's adorable. You're adorable," she confirms, and I instantly blush.

"Laura, please invite us in so the introductions and greetings can proceed," Christian jokingly suggests, but I'm sure he means it.

"Oh, I'm sorry. Please come in," Laura politely moves out of the way as her husband wraps his arm around her shoulder.

The house is a moderately sized wooden building with a clean staircase leading to the first floor, and a grey rug carpet reveals a slightly visible living room.

Emmanuel and Laura lead us into their home, and Laura proceeds to compliment us. I keep avoiding standing too close to Leigh. I immediately wonder how I didn't faint when I kissed him the other day. Well, I believe alcohol is capable of numbing most feelings and leaving a person with unknown courage.

"You ladies should come with me. We will start dinner," Laura says.

"I thought you made it?" Lilith asks.

"No, I will need more hands."

"She's irritating me. Who on earth makes their guests cook for them?" Lilith whispers to me. "That's Granny's life."

Holding back my laughter, I follow Lilith to the small kitchen with two sets of seats around the table. "I've already boiled the potatoes. One of you girls should mash them, and the other can make the salad. Susan and I will focus on the chicken," Laura kindly suggests.

Observing me, Lilith grabs the knife and takes care of the salad. "You can mash the potatoes if you can. There's no way I will allow you to use a knife at your age."

"Is this how Leigh treated you before I came? You're so involved in big sister duties when you're just eight months older."

"Oh, please. Nah... the only fact is that I'm the eldest. Don't you know, even if we're twins and I got to breathe the Earth's atmosphere first, I get to be the eldest?" she smirks while cutting tomatoes. "But seriously, I don't want you to hurt your fingers," she suppresses a smile.

Shaking my head, I giggle. "Thank you."

"The next time you thank me again, I will stab you," Lilith points the knife at me.

With widened eyes, I raise both palms. "Sorry."

"Seriously?" Lilith firmly asks.

"What are you two doing?" Laura asks us when she notices our detective and criminal positions. Right now, I'm the criminal being arrested by Detective Lilith.

"I'll just shut up," I murmur to Lilith.

With a satisfying smile, she says, "Perfect." She twists and widens her smile even more. "Just a sister thing, Aunty."

We continue to help Laura with dinner for the next hour. When everything is ready—it's seven o'clock in the evening. The four of us transfer the dishes to the green backyard with a cute cosy setting of a picnic mat and pillows. It's so beautiful with the LED lights hanging around the wooden fence.
Honestly, when Christian announced our visitation, I thought we would be leaving early in the morning, but obviously, this time of day is the best.

With Mum and Christian sitting opposite Lilith and me, and Emmanuel and Leigh facing Laura, we begin to devour everything together. "So, have you started planning for the wedding?" Emmanuel asked Mum and Christian.

"I suggest we do, but Susan doesn't want something huge," Christian sadly says.

"No, no-no. You're going to have the best wedding. What are you, sixty? Come on. You need to enjoy your day. It only happens once," Laura objects.

"Actually, Aunt Laura, it's happening twice for them," Lilith shoots an embarrassing reminder.

"Oh, Christian and Susan, if it's about that child, don't worry. I could lock her in my haunted basement until you're back from the honeymoon," Laura says, apparently joking. But Lilith immediately fixes her attention back to her food, while Mum and Christian smile at Laura.

"Ava, what grade are you?" Emmanuel asks me.

"Tenth."

"That's wonderful. I'm sure you're already enjoying Vegas."

"Yes, actually, the weather is better here than back home... back in London." I correct myself.

"Just as I've heard, I believe I should get used to English people complaining about the weather all year round." Laura winks at me.

Smiling, while Mum laughs, "Sorry about that, Laura," I slowly respond.

"Oh, my goodness, and the politeness. Call me Auntie, please, my child." Laura smiles warmly.

"Trust me. I pointed a knife at her so she would stop being nice," Lilith rolls her eyes at me.

"Do you seriously threaten people with a knife?" Leigh asks Lilith. This is the first time he has spoken since we began eating, and he chose to start by defending me.

"Of course, younger kids," Lilith replies in a duh manner.

Leigh ignores her attitude and continues to tap his phone screen. "Do you think he's chatting with Embry right now?" Lilith whispers in my ear.

"I don't think so," I honestly answer.

"Nah, I think he is. He's busy smiling at his phone; look." She opposes.

"Maybe he's watching something funny."

"He doesn't have AirPods plugged into his ears, Ava."

"Then maybe he's reading some comedian's page," I say while we both stare at Leigh like detectives.

"What? Come on." She tilts her head to look at me the same time Leigh's eyes meet mine, and I quickly avert my gaze to anywhere but him.

"So Leigh was telling us about his upcoming game. I've never missed a single homecoming game he played. That boy is incredible on the field. He plays as if he owns it," Emmanuel says.

The discussion continues as I learn about how good Leigh is in football.

After dinner, we all gather the dishes and take them to the kitchen. Emmanuel brings out some family albums after Auntie Laura and Mum load everything in the dishwasher and clean the worktop. Leigh and Lilith are conversing about something related to cheetahs when I step out through the patio door to breathe fresh air. Laura and Emmanuel really have a cute house that is situated in the middle of the yard. There are two narrow paths on each side of the house that both possibly lead to the front lawn. To confirm my doubts, I follow the narrow left path.

I guess the lanterns are dead because it's dark around here, with only the moonlight and some faint light from Emmanuel's house window.

"Hey." That familiar voice startles me. I quickly turn to find him standing a few feet away. He approaches me when I don't reply and stops a few feet away from me. "What are you doing in the dark?" His deep voice is raspy as the words slowly roll out of his mouth.

"Observing." I force out a word from my weak system.

"The weather?" He asks silently. The kind of silence that sends shivers down my spine.

"No, the compound," I answer.

Not knowing his intentions until he doesn't stop walking, he corners me against the wall. My breathing hardly provides enough air for my whole body. My heartbeat is the only sound in the dark surroundings. I focus my eyes on the alphabet design on his shirt. God knows I can't look Leigh in the eyes. The question is, what is his intention? Because this is nowhere close to being sibling-friendly.

"Why are you avoiding me? I want the honest truth," he surprises me by asking.

"I'm not avoiding you," I answer him immediately, between my rapid breaths.

"Alright, Ava, then hold my hand," he mutters, holding out his palm.

"What?" My eyes suddenly meet his. The light from the window gleams in our direction, and I can see his soulful green eyes merging with the light, flickering with his intentions and emotions.

"You're avoiding me, Ava. Why?" he asks again, clearly hurt.

"I'm not," I reply and look away.

"Look at me and tell me why, and I will leave," he says in a low tone that only worsens my condition.

"I am not avoiding you, Leigh," I managed to say, but my voice betrayed me and came out like a sob.

"I don't understand you at all, Ava. You do things that indicate you want something from me, and when I make a move, you push me away and then get upset about who I go on a date with." As his words reached my ears, my whole body went numb. "Tell me what I mean to you because I know that to me, you're different. You're so much more."

My legs could barely support my weight as I gazed at his patterned shirt, my lips slightly parted, and my eyes blinking rapidly. "Ava," he called again, his voice gentle and somewhat pleading.

"I need to go back inside, please, Leigh," I whispered slowly in a shaky tone, attempting to make him step back so I could pass. I knew that touching him wasn't an option—it was dangerous.

"Why?" His deep voice was filled with hurt as he asked.

"I'm sorry," I whispered, swallowing the sadness that welled up from seeing him look that way.

He didn't press further. He stepped aside and cleared a path for me to pass. I hurried down the narrow passage, returning to the building, trying to catch my breath. In fact, Leigh ignored me the entire time as we looked through old albums of the Boyce family.

On the drive back home, Leigh sat in the second row, next to Lilith, and plugged in his AirPods.

I don't know why that bothered me, but I felt an emptiness inside, and my hands grew cold.