It's torturous to see us as such. Torn in pieces, in search of each other's peace and truces.

-Occasional Scribe

*~*~*

"Hey guys we are here " Alina's Dad announced once he parked the car in front of Perk's household.

"Hey Alina turn your phone off you went the whole drive in that thing! You'll get sick" Martha advised her daughter

"I'm sorry mom. I'm not sick."

"Ok what happens for all that convo" Martha said getting off the car and helping his husband taking the things out of the trunk. Alina did the same and answered her mother " Just a problem with Gabe"

"Oh but he's alright?" her mom asked concerned

"Yeah ma! It's just boys problems"

"Hm I see we'll of you need anything I am here to help" her mom smiled

"Oh and me too" Her dad told her making them laugh. While they were taking a few bags of the car, Thomas came up to meet them with Callie on his shoulders "Hello hello family"

"Hello man" Damien greeted him back "Oh Callie your so big! You bigger than your dad I always told him that one day that would happen"

Callie laughed "I'm on Dad's shoulders I'm not big"

Thomas put Callie on the floor and greeted Martha and Alina.

"Hello my little girl do you want to wake up Toby he fell asleep on the way?!" Martha asked Callie making the little girl nod happily at the thought of her friend, Toby.

They got inside with the bags in their hand it already smells like food, Martha went straight up to the kitchen to help while the other follow them.

"Oh look who they are! My favorite people" Anna smiled getting them

"Do you want my help Anna?" Martha asked putting things down and looking at the food. Martha was more gifted to food than Anna, although Anna wouldn't be left beside. Martha would always help in the matter of food when she was around not because she was obligated but because she loved to make food, Alima thinks that if she wasn't a vet she would probably be a chef of some fancy restaurant.

"Girl your help is always welcome" Anna said making Martha laugh. As Alina saw the family getting along she decided to take a moment and sat on the couch to talk a bit more with their friends.

She was looking at the phone while walking to the living room

when she sat down on the couch a weird noise came out of it. She took her attention out of the phone to the couch and realized she was sitting on Emma's legs.

"Ow"

"What the hell are you doing here?!" Alina asked taken back by the girl on the couch

"Relaxing?!"

"No I mean here, here! At the house?! "

"You're asking me what am I doing at my boyfriend's house?"

"Yes, I mean here.. today"

"I was invited to eat lunch? Look I know we are not the best of friends but are you ok?" Emma asked sitting correctly on the couch

"This is insane" Alina said to herself

"Yeah you are definitely not ok" Emma mentioned, they heard the steps of someone walking down the stairs

"You!" Alina exclaimed pointing at Colten who just had climbed down the stairs

"Me?" he pointed at himself not knowing what she was talking about. She angrily walked to him and pushed him to the laundry room

"Hello to you too?!" Colten said unsure of Alina's actions, she closed the door behind him and looked at him "Am I in trouble?"

"Yes , you are! What is that doing in here?"

"That is my girlfriend, and here is my house"

"You know very well what I mean. It's Family Sunday"

"Yes..."

"Jake could only come at Family Sundays after 2 years of dating and he'd came 3 times in a years and there's around 50 Family Sundays per year.."

"It's not my fault that Jake didn't fulfilled the requirements"

"wow " she rolled her eyes " what did you do?"

" Does it bother you that much that she is in here? eating with us?"

"Yes it does remeber how bothered you were by Jake?"

"No..."

"Sure you don't"

"Well she is here.." he said grabbing the door handle and looking at her "and like it or not she is having lunch with us". He opened the door and left Alina alone on the laundry room thinking.

"Hey sis could you borrow me this place" Alina heard waking her up from her toughts

"Hm sure" Alina said stepping out from the room

"Thanks if you see Callie please don't tell her"

"You got it"

"50! I'm coming !" Alina herad little Callie say. With all these thoughts on her head she helped putting down the table when the food was ready they sat down at started to eat it was one of Anna's specialties, breaded steakes with Martha's famous peas rice.

The whole family was being correctly introduced to Emma the last time they were all together was at their wedding party which didn't gave them the chance to properly talk.

"So how did you ended up here swettie?" Martha asked Emma, she smiled and responded "I found Anna this morning at church and she-"

Alina choked at the word 'church' "Honey you ok?" Damien asked rubbing his hand on her daughters back she nodded and quickly drank the water in her cup

"Carry on" Martha smiled at Emma

"Right, I found Anna at church this morning and when the mass ended she invited me to lunch" Emma finshed with the backsound of Alina's coughs

"That's lovely, you go to church" Martha noted interested

"Yes, every sunday"  Emma smiled, meanwhile Alina looked at Colten with a raised eyebrow and whispered "Fullfilling the requeriments"

"Something he never did" Colten teased back

"At least didn't lie to be accepted"

"He was never accepted" He said chuckling

"And she is?By lying? I prefer to stay true to youself" She fired back, still whispering at each other while the whole family was entertained with EMma

"The truth was that he was a cheater! Great truth" He blurted out, raising his eyebrows like that was fact everyone knew very well, everyone but her who was defending her cheater ex-boyfriend.

"And still he can be better than you" She said getting up and leaving the kittchen, tears forming in her eyes and flashbacks of her relationship with Jake flew through her mind. It was the pain of being cheated though she never really wanted to take it to heart, she wanted to forget that night, everything that hapened that night was wrong her mind wasn't there yet she still knew every detail of the New Year's Eve. Jake was her first boyfriend and she didn't want to feel the pain of being alone after 3 years. Their juvenil love came to an end but she couldn't eras the fact that he was her first everything and to end that with a cheathing situation wasn't easy, it was painfull, heartbroken, miserable yet Alina stubborn like aways and with the facade of being strong she didn't want to fell, she wanted to say I'm ok... I didn't even cry, that boy doesn't bother me, I don't even think about him at all.

what a lie.

Colten's words hit her like knives, the bold truth made her rethink in everything all over again it had passed almost 4 months, and now the memories come back that easily making her sad, teary and angry but most of all useless.

She ran to the backyard and sat down on the tree swing, even traveling in blue thoughts she sensed him.

"Don't" she simply said

"Look I am not here to fight "

"Really? That's new " she said

"I am sorry, I came for truce"

she smirked still with tears on her cheeks "Truce?"

"This is not wealthy for both of us"

"what is?"

"This Alina. I am over teasing and fighting with you at least in front of everyone this is not good for us and our family " She said, the word Alina hurting her heart

"What are you suggesting?"

"Truce. I am sorry for being an ass I'll stop bothering you, Emma will stop bothering you. I just want a normal life... stable-"

She turned around and looked him in the eyes "Do I make your life unstable? I am sorry then"

"Look Alina, I'm serious. Our family was confused by you storming out... I think we should keep it low key"

"So you want truce?is that what you want? Fine Colten" she said marking his name because she noticed hw he was insisting on calling her Alina which was something rare, something that would only happen when he was being dead serious.

Alina was quite confused with this whole situation of peace between them, she felt bad she didn't wanted her family troubled by their stupid fights and arguments so she accepted the proposal "Fine"

"Ok. I'm not asking to stop hate me or to be friends with me because maybe that will be hard I am just asking for control...We need to be mature at least around our family. We won't bother you"

"we" she chuckled raising her eyebrows "We as in you and Emma?"

"Yeah..." he said, in his voice seemed to be sadness but Alina wasn't really paying attention to it

"Alright" she said. They walked inside and make their excuses to the family, this situations were uncommon for the family because in their minds Colten and Alina were still the best of friends like they were when they were kids, they would have little fights but nothing much. Lately, their conversations around the family since they got back from the ski trip were quite heated up and their parents were starting to notice it.

They walked in the house and saw their moms at kitchen with Emma, while their dads were at the living room "Dad" Alina caught their attetion "Uncle T"

"I am sorry for fighting with Colten"

"We are sorry. It was a stupid fight" Colten mentioned

"We are sorry" she said looking at them sitting over the couch, they looked at each other

"You don't need to worry" Thomas smiled

"We got to a conclusion that it's your business ... what's yours is yours to solve not ours or our mothers. You have been friends since you were in their bellies, you know each other better than anyone, I am sure you'll solve things out" Damien said giving a small smile

"Yes uncle. We did solve things out. Thanks" Colten said getting close to them " I'm sorry" Colten hugged Damien , and Thomas walked to Alina and hugged her tightly

"Sometimes he doesn't think but eventually he ends doing things with his heart" Thomas whispered at her ear while she was looking at him, trying to understand him.

"I guess"

"Dessert!!" Toby cheered followed by happy screams of Callie they got together in the kitchen, there it was Emma and their mom's . Emma was finishing putting the melted chocolate over the vanilla ice cream and handed them to everyone, they sat at the chairs of the isle

Alina was confused by all of this change, all of this weird behaviour from Emma and Colten it looks like now he genuinely cares about her. She was intrigued with this and she definitely didn't like it not even a bit.

Emma handed a plate to Callie which she thanked to Martha and then finally to Alina and Colten

"Thanks darling" Martha said

"Thanks babe" Colten said next making Alina wanting to vomit, her mom elbowed her in warning for her to be respectful and kind to the girl

"Thanks" She said in a low tune with a disgusted face one and there was only one thing on her mind

What the hell is going on?