â RORI â
"I never thought this day would come."
In Uvaldo's room, my four youngest brothers and i are gathered.
It's Thursday evening now and Yakov will be arriving shortly. In less than two hours, to be exact, though i still can't wrap my head around it.
Yakov Åabanowski, the brother whom i haven't been in contact with for five years, will be joining us for dinner.
The thought, alone, is absurd.
"I don't think any of us could've anticipated it, Quen," Uvaldo reasons.
"I wonder if he's changed," Teddy muses.
"Most definitely," Seamus insists.
My brothers turn to face me, as if waiting for me to interject.
I shrug my shoulders.
"Let's just hope he changed for the better."
We're silent for another moment, the boys exchanging knowing glances with one another as i carelessly flop onto the comfy surface known as Uvaldo's bed.
My arms then wrap around my knees, instinctively hugging them closer to my torso as a way to make me feel secure.
"I don't want to go to this stupid dinner," i tell them.
"None of us want to go, Ria," Uvaldo points out, "but we will."
I huff, shaking my head in defiance.
"I feel sick."
"Me too," Quentin groans.
Seamus glances between the two of us, displaying his concern through the crease between his eyebrows.
Seamus is always concerned about Quentin and i, always feeling the need to be our protector when threatened by others.
Sometimes i genuinely get the feeling he cares for us more than anybody else on the entire planet does.
"We will treat him with indifference," Seamus decides. "We won't go downstairs with any expectations of how things will be, or how much Yakov has changed in the course of five years. We'll simply act as if this were any regular evening."
The rest of us nod in agreement.
We will treat him with indifference.
We won't set expectations.
We will act as if this were any regular evening.
But still, in the pit of my stomach, i know nothing about this evening will be pleasant.
Not even if i am given another one of my favourite dishes to eat...
Because not only will Yakov be in my dining room in less than two hours time, but Zephaniah is still within the state.
And i can't for the life of me seem to figure out their motives.
â SUCKER PUNCH â
As i take my usual spot at the dinner table, my hands begin to feel clammy and my throat seems to remain dry no matter how much water i drink.
All of my brothers appear calm, however.
Vinnie â who sits next to me â offers me a small, knowing smile.
And then when i shift my gaze to the left, i see him.
My eyes never once leave Yakov â watching as he pulls out a chair to the right of Xavi â though he has yet to glance in my direction.
Everything about his physical appearance looks to be exactly as i remember it, besides a few obvious changes as a result of ageing. Not to mention the prominent scar which runs from above his left eye to diagonally below it.
His dirty blond hair is not nearly as scruffy as it used to be, for it has now been neatly trimmed, and looks as if it costs a fortune to maintain.
He wears a simple, white, long-sleeved shirt as well as several pieces of jewellery, and i admire his golden signet ring which glimmers from the reflections of the chandelier above.
I then acknowledge that he could easily pass as an older version of Wyatt, and it seems to me that their resemblance has only strengthened over the years.
And, after what seems like a few minutes, but is probably a mere thirty seconds, Yakov turns to face the rest of us.
His stone colored eyes travel across my middle siblings, my twins, and then finally land on me.
He acknowledges me with a barely visible smile, and his eyes bore into mine as i stare at him, blankly.
The rest of our brothers observe the staring contest, neither one of us wanting to look away...almost daring the other to do so first.
But only a few seconds later, he blinks and turns to face my twins once more.
"Boys," he curtly addresses them, before glancing back at me. "Rori."
He pauses, as if suddenly remembering something.
"Happy belated birthday, by the way," he says, before adding, "I would've brought some gifts with me for the three of you but i understand that would've been inappropriate."
He takes another moment to admire the eight of us, a far off look in his eyes as he no doubt analyses how much we have physically evolved in the past five years.
"I do apologise for my lack of commentary so far." he smiles, releasing a small sigh. "I'm simply coming to terms with the fact you are no longer my baby brothers and sister, but instead you are adults and teenagers."
I suppress a scoff, narrowing my eyes at him in judgement.
Maybe he wouldn't have had to 'come to terms' with that if he had never left us to begin with.
"Well, at least you're aware that five years does in fact make a difference," Vinnie speaks from beside me, sarcasm dripping from his every word as he greets our brother with a bitter smile.
Yakov's gaze immediately shifts to Vinnie, not once changing his expression, as i suppose he is not shocked that one of us chose to speak out.
"I'm not going to pretend as if i have always been present." Yakov pointedly shrugs. "That would be unfair on you."
"More unfair than you showing up out of the blue?" Seamus dares to question him. "Because that seems pretty unfair to me."
Yakov nods, not denying anything he says.
"You are entitled to think so," he tells him. "And i am sorry i came here on such short notice."
I hear Uvaldo scoff from across the table.
"But you aren't sorry that you disappeared for a half a decade?" he joins in.
"I never once said that," Yakov dismisses him, "and of course i am sorry."
"Well, i wouldn't take your word for it," Uvaldo fires back, blatantly amused.
"I wouldn't expect you to." Yakov shakes his head in agreement, his demeanour nothing but amiable.
I am not at all surprised by Yakov's reasonable responses, which he undoubtedly uses to prevent conflict.
I am both glad and frustrated by this; glad because he clearly hasn't changed as much as i thought he would've and frustrated because â being the rational adult he is â he refuses to entertain our attempts of starting an argument.
"Why are you here, anyway?" Teddy asks him, glancing between the eldest three.
"Tonight, i am simply here to eat dinner with you all," he answers, glancing down at his plate before adding, "This carbonara is divine, by the way."
From the corner of my eye, i see Vinnie â who cooked the dish â roll his eyes at our brother's compliment.
"...But also to let you know that Zephaniah and i will be moving back to California for the foreseeable future."
My eyes immediately stray towards Seamus, him already staring at me with the same perplexed expression.
I don't know why we appear so shocked when we know, deep down, it was bound to be the case, but, nevertheless, Yakov's words completely throw us off.
Once the realisation kicks in, however, the whole table turns to face Xavi; an expectant and partially betrayed look on our faces, which is similar to the one we wore yesterday evening.
"On Saturday, Zephaniah expects each one of us to attend a meeting on the third floor," he continues, not at all phased by our reaction to his unwelcome news. "The two of us will arrive here at around eleven in the morning, so do make sure you are prepared by then."
Meetings are obligatory in our family, and when our brothers announce one, we know that the cause must be vital.
However, i have already decided to ignore said obligation for the sake of my well-being.
Zephaniah may be coming over in just two days' time, but i will need at least another five years to prepare myself.
So where my eldest brother goes, i will not.
Simple as that.
(Edited)
A/N: I'm excited for all of you new readers to finally meet the infamous Zephaniah...let's just say, you have no idea what you're in for ð.