"Alright Eli, now repeat back to me what I said."

"If it's glass don't touch it."

"Correct."

"If it's marble don't touch it."

"Correct again."

"If I don't know what it is but it's shiny, don't touch it."

"You're three for three Princess. Can you make it four for four?"

"Um," Eli takes a minute to think, "If it's leather don't sit on it."

"And why are we not touching or sitting on these things?"

"Because there's not enough people you could punch in the whole wide world to be able to pay for all that broken stuff!" Elizabeth exclaims triumphantly.

"That's my girl!" I hold my palm down to her level so she can high-five it.

Last week a little girl who goes to afternoon care with Eli invited her to their home for their birthday party. Which is why on this Sunday afternoon I'm wearing skinny khaki pants that fit me like leggings, a thin baby blue long-sleeve finely knitted sweater, and black ballet flats. I had also taken extra time this morning to straighten my hair and put on a light layer of makeup before helping Eli get ready and wrap her friend's present. That present being a container of rainbow sprinkles. Small I know but Elizabeth swore up and down that Kiara, her new friend and current birthday girl, would love it. Plus it was pretty cheap which made me happy.

The invitation said Eli's parents were more than welcome to stay for the party as well and when I read this out to Eli she made me swear I would stay at the party with her.

So as I walk up Kiara's family's seemingly mile long cobble stone driveway with a fountain in the middle and hundreds of balloons decorating its borders, and then jog up the stone and marble steps to the grand entrance of the biggest mansion I've ever seen in my life, I say a small prayer before knocking on the door.

Within seconds of knocking the large wooden door swings open and I'm suddenly face-to-face with Renan.

"Mathews," I question stunned.

"Evelina," he responds just as perplexed.

"Eli," I hear a small girl screech from inside the behemoth of a house.

"Kiara," Eli yells before running through the doorway and shoving the wrapped present into my hand.

"No running in the house!" Renan and I both loudly warn.

I shake my head stepping through the doorway. "You know when I saw Kiara's last name was Mathews a small part of me assumed she was your little sister," Renan shuts the door behind me, "but then a much larger part of me said: that can't be true because when your family interviewed for People Magazine there was no mention of a fourth member. Care to explain?" I give Renan a playful smirk.

"Well first, Kiara is indeed my little sister," Renan chuckles guiding me over to a table where mountains of presents have been stacked. I set the sprinkles down and notice I've placed them next to a white bag stamped with the Gucci label. "Secondly, my parents are trying to keep her out of the spotlight as much as possible until she's old enough to decide for herself if she wants to be in the public eye."

I slide the sprinkles behind the Gucci bag. "That's actually kinda great of them," I confess.

"Yeah," Renan admits before sarcastically adding, "sometimes they get this whole parenting thing right."

There's an awkward silence that follows, as we both reflect upon our parents and their respective past choices. It's soon broken though by Renan who clears his throat. I realize this whole time I've been staring right at him.

"Hey uh, why don't I introduce you to my parents." Renan motions for me to follow him out into their expansive backyard which I can see through the glass walls that line the back of his home.

"Woah," I say jokingly while I walk beside him, "moving a little fast aren't we? I mean we just became friends 2 days ago and I'm already meeting your parents."

I see his cheeks start to tint pink, and he misses grabbing the sliding-glass-door handle by a couple inches due to nerves, before finally grasping it and sliding the door open, allowing for the sound of Kidz Bop and laughter to fill our ears.

"Relax," I chuckle bumping him with my shoulder, "I'm only kidding."

Renan leads me over to the left side of the courtyard where all the parents have gathered sipping cocktails and other things. I recognize his parents immediately, but as we approach closer I recognize another pair of parents as well.

"Shit," I breathe under my breathe when we're only yards away from the huddle of adults. I can feel my nerves start to rise with every step.

"Did you say something," Renan asks innocently. I shake my head no as we join the huddle.

"Renan!" Mr. Mathews clasps his son on the shoulder, "we were just talking about you."

"I'm shocked," Renan mocks and everyone softly laughs. "Dad, mom, this is Evelina." He makes a motion towards me as his dad sticks out his hand. I shake it before shaking his wife's hand as well. I shake everyone's hand until I'm face-to-face with a petite tanned woman with dark eyes and a fierce frown. I drop my hand to my side when she makes no motion to shake it.

She gives me a curt nod. "Eve," she addresses me.

"Mrs. O'Connor, Mr. O'Connor," I add through a gritted smile, "so nice to see you again."

"Hmm," the woman responds taking a sip of her wine. What follows is the second awkward silence of the day.  Thankfully Mrs. Mathews breaks it by saying, "what a bad host I've been, I haven't asked you if you'd like anything from the bar yet."

"No thank you ma'am," I smile relieved for the distraction, "I don't drink."

"That's surprising," I hear Mr. O'Connor whisper to his wife and it takes all the self control within me not to deck him right here in front of everyone.

Renan must have heard the comment as well because he gives me an inquisitive look while Mrs. O'Connor titters under her breathe.

"Are you a little one's mother," a blonde woman in her late 30s asks.

"No, no," I say shaking my head. "I'm Elizabeth's sister," I say pointing across the lawn to her just in time to see her tag another little boy so hard that he falls flat on his face before she runs off laughing maniacally.

I cringe slightly. "Sorry to whosever child that was," I chuckle awkwardly, "we're uh still working on knowing our own strength."  I hear some people return the chuckle. "I'm also sorry our parents couldn't make it, they're busy at the moment." Which wasn't technically a lie, but also wasn't technically the truth.

"Oh," Mr. Mathews says, "what do they do?"
I see Renan perk up beside me interested in my answer as well. I guess that makes sense considering what I've told him and what I haven't these past few weeks.

"My mother passed away when I was very little," I say and hushed condolences are made, "and my dad is in the beer business." The business of drinking it, that is.

"Well isn't that something," Mr. Mathews booms, "I was just telling my wife how lucrative owning a brewery could be for us; something on the side to ensure a steady income. I'll have to get in touch with your father sometime."

Good luck, I think, but outwardly I smile and nod.

Then I hear the O'Connor's snicker.

That's it, I curl my fingers into a fist and begin to step in their direction when little fingers grasp my wrist and give it a tug. I look down to see Eli, sweat dripping off her brow and a crazed grin on her face.

"DANCE BATTLE!" She yells up at me and the adults jump at the sudden outburst.

"What," I ask confused, coming down from my internal moment of fury.

"Dance BATTLE!" She yells this time while violently shaking my hand.

"Like at Eli's party! At daycare," Kiara yells from where most of the other children have gathered in the middle of the lawn.

I look back down at Elizabeth who does a little happy jig before running off to join her friends.

When I look back up I meet the amused gaze of Renan. He cracks a smile when our eyes meet.

I look over towards Mr. and Mrs. Mathews, "don't want to keep the birthday girl waiting. It was really nice to meet you. I hope we can finish up our conversation later this evening."

Mrs. Mathews smiles, "Of course honey, it was nice meeting you as well. If you weren't dance battling my daughter I'd root for you to win." She winks.

"Don't worry," I say walking backwards towards the lawn, "I have a feeling her dance moves are much better than mine." I send Mrs. Mathews a wink back.

I turn around and start jogging towards the cheering children, then stop and turn back to look at Renan. "What are you still doing standing there Renan? We've got a dance battle to win!"

He shakes his head before jogging over to meet me.

~•~•~•~•~•~

After 2 hours of non-stop dance battling, I'm seriously regretting my fashion choice as I feel sweat trickle down my back. My legs ache as Renan and I make our way over to a swinging bench away from the other occupants of the house, with a slice of birthday cake and a scoop of ice cream each on our plates.

Renan sighs when we both finally sit down on the bench swaying slightly. A nice breeze passes by us and the leaves of the old oak tree rustle above us. I look out in front of me to see the sun start to touch the peaks of the mountains that dot California. I close my eyes and breathe in the scent of frosting and Renan's cologne and listen to the faint sound of kids laughing in the distance. I feel Renan's shoulder brushing up against mine, our knees touching ever so often as he uses his legs to calmly rock us back and forth.

In this moment I'm at peace. I am happy.

"Eve," Renan finally speaks softly beside me. "How do you know Mr. and Mrs. O'Connor?"

And all of a sudden I'm at peace no more.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

A/N:

Hey y'all! Hope this chapter finds you well! Every read, vote, and comment is greatly appreciated :)

Looks like Eve's past has some secrets to be uncovered ;) the answer to Renan's question to be revealed in the next chapter :)

Love Life & Live Well,
Anne <3