Page 60 of Inside the Maelstrom: Part Two
Finally, she sat back in her seat and curled into my side. “Put your seatbelt on, Good Girl. Safety first.” She rolled her eyes at me, but did as she was told.
I should have told her it wasn’t just her safety that relied on it, but all of ours. Somewhere on this insane journey, she’d become integral to our survival too.
Chapter30
Otto
Imessaged my parents as soon as we landed in Columbia Metropolitan Airport, because even though I was jet lagged, I knew they’d be worried. They hadn’t signed up for a life with this kind of drama; before me, the most outrageous thing anyone in my family had ever done was run an underground speakeasy during Prohibition. No, I’d led them down this path of worry, which I’d feel guilty about forever, even though I knew they wouldn’t have had it any other way.
Still, I did my best not to worry them.
I saw the change in Aviva as soon as we landed. It was like being in her hometown made her smaller, more like the beige girl she’d described herself as when we first met. I wrapped my hand in hers as we drove to the hotel. We’d have a nap, and then Hendrick and I would go with her to see her parents.
Initially, we were only going to send Hendrick with her, because he was her husband. Then we figured they’d probably already heard about the relationship between Hendrick and I, so we may as well get that conversation over with at the same time.
We checked into our hotel, and Aviva paced around the room the whole time. Well, until Evan scooped her into his arms and sat her on his lap. “It’s going to be okay, Chaos. It’s unconventional, and they mightn’t love the idea at first, but they’ll come around. They love you.”
Honestly, how did we not know he was so fucking soft for all these years? Jesus, to think we could have been getting advice, instead of just letting him clean up our bullshit messes and cover our asses whenever we inevitably fucked things up. Well, Sampson’s ass, to be exact.
Aviva finally calmed down enough to stop pacing, which was good because it was really getting Hendrick going too, and if they were both wound up, this meeting was going to go badly. She didn’t nap like the rest of us, but she did shower and get ready.
When she walked out of the bathroom, she still looked subdued, but also so fucking beautiful it made my chest—and my balls—hurt. She was in a simple sundress, and her hair was loose, bouncing easily around her shoulders. It had gotten longer over the last couple of months, and instead of a chaotic halo, it was now more like a chaotic mane. I loved it either way.
Hendrick came out of the bathroom after her, and he looked like he was going to an entrance interview for Harvard or some shit. He was in tan chinos and a button down. He almost looked like he was about to sit his accountancy exam, and that bulge in his pants was actually a scientific calculator.
“Were you bodysnatched in the bathroom?” Sampson asked. “Maybe mugged by my cousin Kyle, who stole anything you owned that had even a little style, and left you with… whatever the fuck that is?”
Hendrick gave him the finger. “Fuck off. I want to make a good impression, and I can’t do that if all my clothes fucking drip designer labels, asshole.”
I frowned at him. “They aren’t going to suddenly forget who you are, Drix.”
He shrugged. “This will make them more comfortable, anyway.” He looked down at his clothes. When did he even have time to go and invest in this ‘Good Ol’ Boy Chad’ outfit? “I think I can pull this look off.”
He could, of course. He was Hendrick fucking Kenley. He’d look good in everything—and nothing. The thought was actually kind of sweet, in a dumb way.
It was weird seeing Hendrick get nervous about meeting the parents. This was a first for him, though no one told Aviva that, but she wasn’t dumb—she’d probably deduced that the infamous playboy hadn’t met many parents. She was kind enough not to point it out though. She also didn’t tell him they’d love him, because everyone in this room knew that was also a lie.
Hendrick would be on his best behavior, I’d do my best to make them see that I loved Aviva with all of my heart, and we’d go from there. We were in uncharted waters.
The guys all kissed her before we left, like she was going to war and not to her family home, the place where she’d grown up. I drove, despite the hesitancy on Evan’s face. I was beginning to think he didn’t trust anyone else with Aviva’s life. He was very obviously head over heels in love with her. But he needed to give her space too; otherwise, he’d smother her. We already had huge personalities, so being super overprotective could only end badly.
We drove through the streets, getting further and further from the city center. I let Viva navigate us, which helped calm her down I think, traveling familiar roads. Finally, we were in an average neighborhood. Small blocks, normal single-story homes. Cars that were between ten and fifteen years old in the driveway. Solid, working-class neighborhood, but not in a bad way. These people cared about their possessions far more than a rich kid like Hendrick ever could. Everything to him was disposable, except us. For people like Aviva and her family, money was hard-earned, and your possessions were respected and cherished.
No wonder she’d hated us so much at the beginning.
We pulled up to the curb, and I noticed Aviva looked pale. I rubbed her thigh. “These are your parents, Viva. Why are you freaking out so bad?”
She looked at me, her eyes wild. “What if they hate me? The last time I saw them, I was being hauled away from a courthouse. Our neighbors would know that I tried to kill myself. My dad’s customers. My mom’s boss. And then I fucked off to Europe and married a rich kid!”
“I bet as they were dragging you away, your mom’s heart was breaking, and you know why? Because she loves you. They won’t care what people say, because the most important person to them is you, and you’re alive and well. Now, suck it up and let’s go before I start freaking out too,” Hendrick said, leaning through the seats to kiss her on the cheek, then he slid from the car and opened her door.
“Let’s do this, Aviva Kenley,” I whispered, and she nodded. She took Hendrick’s offered hand, and stepped out of the hired car. I ducked around the front and stood on her other side. A united front.
She sucked in a breath, straightened her shoulders, and strode up the front path. We trailed along behind her like faithful puppies, but I was okay with that. Let them see that it was Aviva who was in control.
She knocked on the door, and someone hollered from inside the house. We hadn’t really warned her folks she was coming home. She’d just told them she was coming back to the States, but she wanted to leave it open in case something happened.
That was our life now. Something was always happening.
