Helanie:
We had confronted Altan about a bad decision, but I noticed a few things. When we went into his home, he was sitting silently, almost too silently. As if he were sleeping.
"Did you want to scold him as well?" Emmet joked in a serious tone.
"No, but I’ve been wondering what’s going on with Altan. He didn’t seem okay. Almost like he was absent until midway through, and then he finally responded to you," I uttered, remembering Altan’s face. He had no expression when he saw us arrive.
"Asshole must’ve been thinking he lost a great one when he saw you." Emmet was so nonchalant and carefree at times that he made me roll my eyes playfully at him.
Once we arrived home, it was Vani who had cooked food for us and the rest of the house members.
"Come have a seat with us," Larissa offered, gesturing for us to sit down with them. They were eating so messily, probably because Emmet brought the groceries. Otherwise, they would’ve rather gone out and eaten with others.
"No thank you, we’ll eat in our room," Emmet said, excusing us.
My father hadn’t looked at me directly ever since I arrived. But my brother was all smiles whenever I looked at him. I had a feeling he wanted to show me off to his friends to get stuff from them.
It was crazy that I was younger than him, yet I had grown up so fast while he remained the same nonsensical dude.
"Vani, take their food to them," Larissa hissed at my little sister, who didn’t mind serving us. But I didn’t like how my stepmother was making her leave the table midway through her dinner.
"Kiddo, no need. I can fill a tray for myself and Helanie," Emmet gestured at Vani to stay seated, reaching the table and filling our plates.
"You are such a nice man. I didn’t know men can do chores as well," Vani expressed her gratitude to Emmet. I had noticed many times that she liked him a lot.
"Men must do all the chores. This is nothing," Emmet said. "I can do a lot. I can cook and bake."
He was all smiles, like he was talking to a toddler whenever he spoke with her. It made me wonder why he never spoke the same way with his twin siblings, they were way younger than Vani.
"I didn’t know men could do all that," Vani repeated, this time more sadly.
"That’s because the men you’ve surrounded yourself with are lazy as fuck," Emmet’s comment made my father close his eyes and clench his jaw.
Of course, he didn’t like the comment, but he couldn’t do anything about it.
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