Chapter Three - Sixteen Again

"You cannot be serious, Rebekah." Mom frowned at me.

"I am." I looked down at my yellow shirt and wide-leg blue pants. "I don't see the problem."

"You look like a minion." Blake chuckled from the couch while typing something on his phone.

"Still don't see the problem." I shrugged. "I love minions."

"This is a family dinner, Rebekah, for God's sake, not your fifth-grade birthday party." Mom threw her face in her hands. "Put on something nice."

"Fine!" Rolling my eyes, I went up to my room and came back downstairs after five minutes in a red low-cut dress with a plunging neckline that may be coming off a little bold, especially when I'd paired it with a black leather jacket. I smirked at my mother. "So, what do you think?"

"Oh, for the love of God!" She flopped down on the couch dramatically.

"It's either this or the minion. Pick." I crossed my arms over my chest.

"This looks nice," Blake said, and mom glared at him, so he shrugged, adding, "...if you guys were asking me."

"I was. Thank you, brother." I strapped on my sandals. "Back at my dorm, I would've thrown on some boots to complete the outfit."

"Put on some nice gown, please," mom begged.

"All my gowns and dresses are at the dorm. No idea what this beauty was doing back up there. I'm taking you home after this, baby." I looked down at myself and nodded in approval.

"But you look like..." Mom hesitated for a moment before sighing out loud. "...a hooker."

I gasped dramatically. "Momma, you can say that word?"

Nex to her, Blake teasingly shook his head at her in disapproval. "You do sound judgemental."

A bit flustered, Mom shook her head in defeat and got up to go upstairs. "I give up."

Feeling victorious, I settled down on the couch next to my brother and switched the TV on.

I could feel his eyes on me and felt a question coming my way.

"You okay?" he asked.

There it is.

"Why wouldn't I be?"

"You know why. Matt's across the street again. How are you feeling about that?"

"I'm feeling nothing, Blake. We were done four years ago. We're over. It's just a dinner, and then I go back to my life."

"So, there isn't even a tiny bit of feeling left for him, right? I mean, back then, you told me you loved him."

I scoffed, "I was a sixteen-year-old girl, Blake. I loved every other guy I had a crush on. Sean, then Matt. It wasn't a big deal."

He put an arm across my shoulders and patted. "I'm so relieved to hear that."

Even though I had nothing on the line this time, his words still made me narrow my eyes. "You're not seriously starting all that again, are you?"

"What? No. I'm worried about you. After what he did to you, do you even wanna see him?"

I crossed my arms over my chest. "Are you deliberately bringing all this up? Reopening old wounds so I don't, even accidentally, start feeling for him again?"

"Absolutely not!" He shook his head, feigning all the honesty he could in those eyes, but I saw right through it. I decided not to call him out for it. It wasn't like he had anything to worry about. Matt and I were over. Nothing was going to happen.

"Good. Don't even try. Because I will not be manipulated. By anyone."

He went silent for a moment before exhaling slowly. "After everything that happened, the way I reacted four years ago, you know that I only want the best for you, right?"

I nodded. "I do."

"Good." He smiled and went back to watching TV.

*****

"Rebekah, oh my God! Look at you." Matt's mom pulled me into her arms the moment I walked through their front door. "You look beautiful."

While walking past me, my mom still gave me a look of disapproval over my clothes. What? The red dress was hot. And the leather jacket only made it better.

"Thank you, Mrs. Williams. But not as beautiful as you," I complimented her on her dress and how well she'd maintained herself, to which she dismissively waved her hand, flattered.

"Hey, Becks." Aiden smiled. I almost hadn't recognized him with that stubble and pompadour haircut. "How are you?"

I gave him a brief hug. "I'm good, Aiden. I haven't seen you in years. How are you doing?"

"Awesome!"

He stepped aside to allow me to walk further into the house, also revealing his brother a few feet away.

There he stood in all his bearded, mysterious glory in a white shirt and black denims. His sleeves were rolled up to his elbows, showing off his muscular arms, and I tried not to stare at them longer than three seconds. Keyword: tried.

Our eyes met, and my traitorous brain stopped functioning. He regarded me with the most neutral look I'd ever seen on his face. Realizing that I was staring, I blinked and offered him a smile, only saying, "Hello."

"Hey," he replied plainly, and that was it before he followed everyone to the dinner table.

It bothered me in a way that I couldn't explain.

I always knew I was gonna see him again; that four years ago wasn't the last I'd seen of him. And out of all the ways I'd imagined a reunion, this one didn't even make it to the list.

I was expecting him to be sorry. Lots and lots of regret. But it was like he didn't even remember what he'd done to me in the past. Like he'd moved on so well that it didn't even bother him anymore.

And here I was, still reading his old texts at night sometimes.

I settled down next to Aiden. The seat on my right was empty, and I cut a very subtle and quick glance at Matt, not wanting to look like I was expecting him to take it. But without even considering that spot, he rounded the table and took a chair farthest possible from mine.

My teeth grinded against each other as I gripped my fork in annoyance.

"This is so nice," Lily said, eyeing us all with a smile mid dinner. "It's so good to see our kids together at the table again. It's been years. The last time we did this, these three were still in high school." She looked between me, Aiden, and Matt.

"I know." Mom chuckled. "Look at them all grown up now."

I smiled at her, recalling the dinner from four years ago as much as I tried not to but the memories were really persistent—Matt's playful hand brushes against my leg under the table and how we had sneaked a quick moment in the bathroom.

Once again, I found myself looking at him, hoping he was recalling that too, but I don't think he'd even heard that as he continued eating his dinner in silence.

Throughout the dinner, he didn't cast me so much as a glance. It was like he was ignoring me. Or...he simply didn't care about my presence anymore.

As the evening progressed, I had this pressing urge to grab his face and make him look me in the eye and ask what is wrong with you? Why are you acting like I'm a stranger, like you don't remember anything? Or did I mean so little to you back then that it's not even worth acknowledging?

But of course, I controlled that urge.

Our moms had a lot to talk about, so the dinner stretched longer than it should have. We'd been done with eating minutes ago and were just waiting for our moms to stop talking. Blake and I exchanged an impatient look. He wanted to get out of there just as much as I did.

"I think we're holding everyone at the table." Lily chuckled, finally realizing. Oh, thank God! "Let's move this conversation to the living room while the kids can catch up."

"Excellent idea," Mom agreed.

Er what?

The oldies got up and went to the living room while the four of us still sat there in silence for minutes that felt like forever, neither of us initiating a move until Aiden decided to take the reins and suggested we move to the small sitting area close to living room.

"Becks, did you meet the cats?" he asked me as we made our way over.

"I didn't. Where are they?"

"They're upstairs. You must have seen them running around in the front lawn sometime in all these years."

"Once or twice, maybe. I don't come home very often. I'm usually at the dorm."

"Not even at the weekends?" he spat in disbelief. "You're literally fifteen minutes away. If I were you, I never would've moved to a dorm in the first place. Why did you even—"

He stopped abruptly, and I awkwardly lifted my gaze from the floor to his face to find him looking beside me. I turned just in time to find Matt, giving him a sharp look. It was so fleeting that despite turning so quickly, I'd only caught it for a millisecond before he went back to minding his own business, whatever it was that he was doing on his phone. Probably texting some girl.

"Anyway," Aiden continued. "Garrett told me Cheeto sneaked into your garden a few times after you left for college, and then he stopped. So maybe he always did that to see you."

Aw! I felt my heart swell at the thought of little Cheeto making all those efforts to see me. I smiled while settling in a chair. "I did always say he loved me more. Should've let me keep him."

That was obviously directed at Matt, so I cut a glance at him. It was like he wasn't even listening to me as he simply put his phone back in his pocket and crossed his arms, not even subtly trying to look at me out of the corner of his eye.

"Really?" Aiden laughed. "If you'd asked me, I would've given them all to you. They scratched me anyway. Come on upstairs. I'll take you to them."

"Sure." I nodded, leaving my brother sitting there in front of Matt. Both of them had their arms crossed, not one of them uttering a single word or even looking at each other.

They'll live. I followed Aiden upstairs with that thought.

Aiden pushed his bedroom door open, and I smiled at the fact that he'd been letting the cats hang out in his room in Matt's absence despite saying he didn't like them. I slowly entered and almost cried at the sight of them. They were not kittens anymore, obviously. I couldn't believe I'd missed them growing up.

I feared Cheeto wasn't gonna recognize me, but the moment that orange tabby saw me, he jumped out of his tiny bed and circled my feet, tail up in the air.

I ducked down, and he jumped into my arms. I could feel actual tears pooling in my eyes over how much he'd grown. He didn't fit as easily in my arms as he did before. I rubbed his head, and he purred. "Aw, I missed you too."

I was being emotional over a cat growing up, and he probably thought, hey! You wanna cry? Fine. I'll give you a reason to cry, human. Take this.

Because in the very next second, he scratched me.

Right on my neck, and I hissed out in pain.

"Shit!" Aiden gasped. "I didn't know he would do that."

"It's okay. It's okay." I touched the spot, discovering blood on my fingers and shook my head at Cheeto. "I know you're mad at me, buddy, but that hurt."

He jumped out of my arms and sashayed back to his bed, hips swaying like he'd made his point. "Maybe he only got excited to scratch me. Well deserved, I guess."

"If it makes you feel any better, he scratched Matt, too. I should've guessed he would pull that revenge move on you as well."

I chuckled. "It's okay. I'm gonna go clean this up."

"Can I get you anything?"

"No, I'm good."

I used the nearest bathroom right at the end of the hall and stared at the wound in the mirror. It didn't look that deep, but it was bleeding amply. Cheeto must have been really mad at me.

Shaking my head, I cleaned it with water, gently applied pressure with my fingers, and once the bleeding had subsided a bit, I went back downstairs. Before making my way back to the living room, I decided to get myself a glass of water from the kitchen since I was parched.

My eyes landed on the blender on the counter, and I just stopped in my tracks as my mind started playing unwanted memories again.

"Can I help you?"

The deep voice made me jump slightly, and I looked over my shoulder to find Matt standing at the entrance.

"Just looking for a glass of water. Got it." I filled the glass and sipped on the water, expecting him to leave but I had to stop drinking and bring the glass down when he started advancing towards me with the kind of look in his eyes that almost made my knees buckle.

Five feet away...four feet...three...two...one. And eventually, almost no distance between us. Keyword: almost.

I sucked in a breath.

He took the glass out of my hands and set it on the counter behind me. I watched as his hand lifted up and unexpectedly curled around the side of my neck. His touch was just as warm as I remembered, yet it sent chills down my spine as I swallowed hard before looking into his deep brown eyes. He angled my face up with his thumb, making me shiver with anticipation.

"How did you clean that?" he asked, his voice rough.

"W-what?"

"The scratch."

"With water," I answered.

Finally, his eyes lifted to mine, and I forgot how to breathe.

"You could do better than that." He pulled away and fetched a first aid box from a cabinet. I watched as he poured some liquid on a ball of cotton and started wiping at the wound with it. I hissed out in pain, wanting to push his hands away, but something within me compelled me to remain still, like it wanted to take everything and anything he was giving me.

His tall frame towered over me, making me shrink back as my hips pressed into the counter as I gripped its edge tightly and took in uneven breaths. Matt had no reason to stand so close just to clean my wound, but here we were and... I wasn't even complaining.

"I'm gonna put on a band-aid to stop the bleeding."

I nodded, feeling my neck burning hot at the feel of his fingers against my skin as he smoothed out the band-aid.

"Thank you," I muttered, my chest tightening when he did not move even after he was done and just watched me, our bodies touching. His brown eyes flicked across my face, and I came upon this long-lost feeling of warmth just looking into them.

A blush was rising to my cheeks while my skin was scorching hot from his touch and for more of his touch, something that hadn't happened to me merely by a guy's presence in a long time. Four years, to be exact.

"How are you, Becks?" he finally asked, and each word was like music to my ears.

I felt like a kid who'd finally gotten the candy they'd been begging their mom for.

"I'm good. How are you, Matt?" I smiled.

"Great," he answered, then silence took over. A moment later, he ran his eyes down between us. "I like your dress."

I blushed. I knew it looked nice on me. I felt good in it.

"Thank you," I said, slowly bringing my hands from the counter to his chest like an involuntary move.

That's when he decided to pull away, asking, "Do you need anything else?"

I'd been too happy when he'd initiated the casual conversation that I'd overlooked the fact that he was anything but interested. His eyes had been devoid of any emotion this entire time, and I couldn't help but feel like he'd just started talking for the sake of small talk. Like his mom had noticed he'd been quiet and probably knowing our history, given him a nudge to talk to me. Like it had been nothing more than an obligation for him.

"No." I frowned as he shut the first aid box and placed it back in the cabinet.

"Great. Then, we should head back outside."

"We should."

I followed him out of the kitchen with a scowl, and once we made it back, Blake raised a brow at me upon seeing us walk back together. I rolled my eyes at him.

"What the hell is that?" He raised slightly in his seat, frowning at my neck, and then slowly turned to Matt, looking both puzzled and angry. I wanted to laugh.

"Cheeto scratched me," I explained before he could jump to any conclusions. He already had, but it wasn't too late until he'd voiced his thoughts.

"Oh."

"The cats are gonna be even grumpier now." Aiden shook his head, plopping down on the armrest of Matt's chair like some clingy little brother.

"Why?"

"First, he left them alone. Now, he's changing their home. That's right. Our big boy is moving out with his cats." He patted Matt's shoulder, who shot him a look.

"You are?" I asked him, failing to hide the disappointment in my voice.

Why the hell was I so bothered about it? I didn't even live across the street anymore.

"Yes." Toning down his glare on Aiden, he gave me an impassive but polite nonetheless nod. "I'm looking for a place. Something near work."

"Hey, isn't your work near Becks' college? Maybe she can help you find something nice," Aiden suggested.

"I bet a realtor can do a much better job than my sister," Blake cut in. "She doesn't know much about apartment hunting. She's never lived alone."

I raised a brow at him.

"What? I'm not wrong." He shrugged.

Well, he wasn't.

I averted my eyes to find Matt looking at my brother. Ever since he'd come back, I found it so hard to read him. I couldn't tell what he was thinking.

It had to be the beard.

"Well, I'm not in a hurry," he replied, turning to Aiden. "I'm not moving back to New York until another month or so."

I frowned.

"What? You never told us that." Aiden scowled.

"There's still a lot to wrap up in Texas. It's gonna take a while."

Luke was originally from Texas, and his entire family lived there. It's where he operated most of his business. That's why him and Lily were there most of the time. Why they didn't just move there with Aiden and Matt a long time ago was beyond me. Even though I was happy they didn't.

But a few years ago, they shifted it all to New York or probably expanded the chain. Maybe that's why Matt was moving from Texas, too.

"If you're so settled in Texas, why even move to New York?" Blake asked curiously.

"Because I wanna stay close to my family," Matt answered.

He nodded.

What the hell? Did they just have a conversation? Even if it was just two sentences. Nice. My brother couldn't have done that four years ago?

"Families are overrated." The words escaped my mouth before I could stop them, and I immediately looked into the living room. Thankfully, none of the oldies had heard that. Most importantly, my mother.

"What the hell, Becks? Are you trying to get yourself killed?" Blake chuckled.

"Sorry. Except you, Blakey. I love you." I smiled and crossed my legs, feeling a certain pair of eyes on me. I looked down at my hands, pretending not to notice him.

"This was so much fun, but we should be leaving now. It's getting late," my mom's voice came from the living room. On cue, the four of us got up and started towards the front door. Our parents started saying their goodbyes, and we stood there in silence while I stole a few quick glances at Matt.

Something was so different about him.

There was that beard that shrouded him with a mystery and made him look hotter than before, sure. But that wasn't it. I couldn't put my finger on it.

"Rebekah?" Blake called.

"Yeah?" I blinked.

"Let's go?"

"Sure. Bye," I said to them, and Aiden was the only one who replied, "Bye, Becks."

Once we made it home, I settled down on the living room couch and lifted my feet up on the table.

"Do you want me to drop you to your dorm?" Blake asked.

"No, I have my car. Besides, I think I'm gonna stay the night."

He raised a brow at me. "Here?"

"No at the Williams' house," I replied sarcastically.

He took it seriously as all colour drained from his face. For such a good apprentice to our family business, my brother could be pretty dense sometimes.

"Of course, here, Blake. It's Sunday tomorrow so I don't have any classes either."

"Oh, okay."

"Why don't you stay too?" Mom asked him.

"I can't. I have stuff to do back at home. Some things need my attention. So, I'm gonna take off."

"Okay! Bye! Say hi to her for me." I waved my hand.

"What?" He frowned.

"I said say hi to your work for me."

"Rebekah, I'm talking about serious office work. I don't have a girl at home," he scoffed.

"Okay, sorry. My bad. Bye."

"Bye."

He left and I went up to my room. I didn't remember the last time I'd stayed the night there. Maybe I hadn't, in the past three years.

I had no reason to stay because it always felt empty. So depressing.

But suddenly, it didn't anymore.

I walked up to my window and looked over at Matt's house, at his car parked in the driveway, and then shifted my gaze to his room's window. The lights were on, meaning he was up there.

He was there. Right across the street.

I blew out a breath as a smile formed on my lips at the mere sight of his house when he was inside it.

I crossed an arm over the window ledge and propped my chin on my palm.

And suddenly, I felt sixteen again.