Page 71 of Cross the Line
The front door swings open.My stepmum stands there, her eyes going straight to Zayden.She physically flinches, as if the sight of us is a slap in the face.Her lips part as she openly stares at his appearance.The messy, finger-combed hair, the button-up shirt that’s only halfway buttoned up, revealing his smooth, hard chest.His tattoos peek out between the fabric and since the shirt is rolled to his elbows, it’s very obvious that he also has two sleeves.I personally think he looks hot as hell and had to wipe drool offmy chin when he stepped out of his room like this.Clearly, my family does not share the same view.
‘Hey,’ he says when the silence stretches to an uncomfortable length of time.‘I’m Zayden.’
Snapping her mouth shut, my stepmum offers her forced, fake smile.‘Hello, I’m Michelle.’That unsettling gaze darts to me and the hostility in her face and voice is so painfully evident, she may as well have a neon sign above her head telling the world she does not think much of me.‘Nora.’
‘Hello,’ I mumble, my voice barely audible.
Her eyes slowly travel down my body.I’m wearing a simple dress and slides.Nothing out of the ordinary.Everybody else dressed very smart for dinner.This dress was good enough, in my opinion.
‘Lovely to see you,’ she says, her voice weighted with disdain.Those cat-like eyes shift to Zayden at a speed that should be studied.‘We are all very excited to get to know you, Zach.’
‘Zayden,’ he corrects her, and the sarcastic smile on his face makes me chew the inside of my cheek to stop from smiling.
‘Apologies,’ she says, turning her back to us as she leads us to the table.
He scans the walls, which are lined with neat, organised photo frames with professional, awkward-looking family portraits in them.Portraits that include everyone except me.Zayden notices this straight away because he frowns, glancing at me like he’s confused, and I look back at him, trying to communicate ‘I told you’ with my eyes.
Even though we arrived ten minutes early, the rest of the family are all seated, their drinks almost empty, as if they’ve been here for an hour.Zayden’s eyes linger on the drinks and I wonder if he’s made the same observation as I have.It makes me feel less crazy having someone here with me, noticing all of these little things.Like how they go above and beyond to exclude me in every way they can think of.I don’t understand why I even get invited to these dinners.Maybe they enjoy talking down to me.Picking apart my life is like a game to them.
‘Here he is!’Lindsay shouts, her high-pitched voice making me wince as she stands, her heels so gigantic she towers over all us other women.Her smile is vicious as she strides towards us, wearing a tight, low-cut top that leaves nothing to the imagination.‘The man of the hour.Zade!’
I can’t help but release a huff when they purposely say his name wrong for the second time in three minutes.Did they organise to do this prior?A way to make him feel degraded the moment he’s stepped through the door?Ignoring me, she wraps her arms around Zayden, yanking him roughly to her, plastering their bodies together.
‘Zayden,’ he says, stepping back, appearing a little uneasy, glancing at me again, still confused.
‘Oops,’ she giggles.‘Must be the wine.’Reaching for his hand, and still not acknowledging me, she drags him over to the table.‘Here, you can sit right beside me.’
‘Ah …’ Zayden stares at the one seat between her and my father and then back at me.
‘Daughter,’ my father greets me, standing.God only knows why he’s wearing a suit to dinner.He never does that.He fixes the button up as he walks over and pats me awkwardly, like I’m his dog, not his child.
‘Hello,’ Zayden says, standing a little straighter.‘Wayne, is it?’
‘Mmhmm,’ my father says, his beady eyes assessing Zayden like he’s hunting an animal to slaughter.
‘Zayden.Nice to meet you.’
Kyle is next.My stepbrother has two sides to him.He’s either unbearably obnoxious or he’s quiet, so I stay by him if I’m feelinglike I need to hide away.I don’t know which side of him will be out to play tonight.As he’s a surgeon, it all depends on what’s happened at work that day.
Lindsay’s husband looks like he’s been copied and pasted out of a magazine exposé about men who dress like douches.Maybe I should write an article like that.I feel like all of them could star in it.
‘Hello,’ Joshua says, voice clipped and cold, as per usual.He shakes Zayden’s hand and offers me a next-to-nothing smile.‘Nora.’
‘Hi Josh.’
Since everyone has been reshuffled, when I take a seat, Zayden hastily drops into the one beside me, ignoring the glare from Lindsay as he does.
Reaching for the wine, I pour myself a generous glass, and someone places a beer down in front of Zayden.They don’t often drink beer, but I’m thankful one of the boys was thoughtful enough to grab him one.I feel like both of us are in need of some liquid courage to get through tonight.
I take a nervous gulp.
‘What’s new with you?’Michelle asks, leaning back in her chair and rotating her wine glass back and forth in her hand as she stares across the table.The way they stare expectantly makes me feel like we’re being interrogated.
‘Not a lot,’ I reply.
Zayden’s eyes burn holes into my skin.I know he wants me to share all of the incredible things happening for me with my writing, but I don’t feel comfortable doing that with them.I don’t want them to pry into my life and discover such personal and vulnerable things about me.It’s something so special, I don’t want it to be ruined by them.
‘Nora is blitzing her assessments.She’s so good that she’s now tutoring others,’ Zayden pipes up, and I turn to stare at him.Warmth spreads through me like fire as I gaze at him.
