After fifteen hours in the sky, sleeping, talking, laughing and occasionally arguing, Arden and I arrived in Melbourne, Australia. When we arrived it was nine that night and all I wanted was a nice and comfortable bed. Arden's private jet was nice and all but her constant unrest during the ride was unsettling. I got a few hours of sleep in but my girlfriend was constantly active. She claimed she had a bit of anxiety when it came to long plane rides so she barely got any or no sleep throughout them, no matter how much medication she took or how much marijuana she smoked. So whenever I slept, she found other ways to keep herself entertained.

We arrived at Arden's mother's house around ten. Instead of staying in some hotel, Arden thought it'd be nice to stay with her mother. Apparently, the house was the same house Arden grew up in with her family and sisters. It was just fixed up and renovated. I could tell by how dingy the other houses on the block looked that the one story home had been through a bunch of remodeling. The lights inside of the home seemed to be completely off and Arden mentioned that her mother was most likely asleep. Instead of knocking, she used a key that was hidden under a mat to get inside. She motioned for me to walk in first, and I stumbled inside with the little bags that Arden had allowed me to carry. She carried the rest.

A light switch was flipped on by my girlfriend and I got a good look at the interior of the house. It was very funky. It was like the traditional home interior that you saw in wacky television shows. It's was very '70s like and tacky. "My mum has a false sense of style," Arden told me with a quiet chuckle as she closed the door. I giggled a bit myself as I stared at the puke green recliner with a ridiculous pattern checkered all over it. "She's obviously asleep. You'll see her in the morning. Follow me to our room."

I went down the dim lit hallway with the old adorable, family portraits. It was always so easy to spot Arden out in the pictures. She was always the one doing a stupid pose or not even looking towards the camera. Everyone in her little family looked to be a big deal of fun, but I could tell she was the most rambunctious one. I couldn't wait until I could finally actually meet her mother, her brother and her sister. I'm sure it'd be a real hoot if they were truly anything like Arden, which something told me that they were.

-

Once I got back to my official home, sweet home and laid in bed with Mira, my eyes stayed wide open. Mira fell asleep almost immediately as if she didn't get enough sleep on the plane, but I was wide awake. My mind wouldn't give me a chance to rest as it did on the plane. I made up a lie to my girlfriend that I had flying anxiety so I couldn't sleep, but that wasn't my problem. My dilemma was that something was worrying the sh-t out of me. My behavior and my past was heavy on mind.

Back at Mira's place when I met her sisters, I had jumped completely out of line. All Rose was doing was protecting her sister. It was my fault that I wasn't responsible and showed up late to meet her family. That was all on me for being f-cking selfish and a dumbass. Rose attempted to put me in my place like she should've and I should've just kept my mouth closed, but of course I didn't. I made a right ass out of myself.

I was lucky that Mira still wanted to come and see my parents with me. She was way too kind and forgiving for her own good. Any other girl with a backbone would've slapped the hell out of me and dumped me like the evening's trash, but Mira stayed there. I'm not sure if she was just loyal or stupid. She definitely deserved better than me. I didn't see how she could take a fifteen hour flight to meet my family after I said what I said, but I guess I shouldn't be complaining about her mercy but be thankful for it.

My main worry was my family. My brother, my sister and my mother were all nice people. I was more than sure that they'd love Mira with all of their hearts. She was innocent, sweet, forgiving and caring. My mother was probably going to go ahead and start calling her, her 'daughter in law.' My brother would be ready to induct her into our crazy family as well, but my sister was a whole other deal. She'd love Mira, but she wouldn't like our relationship due to my horrible past relationship with one of her best friends. That's what I was the most afraid of. I didn't want Sofia opening her big mouth and ruining my relationship. Sure I may have been slightly f-cked up in the past, but I've changed quite a lot since then.

My eyes didn't get any rest at all and it was noticeable and obvious. I was staring at myself in the mirror around noon, when another face suddenly popped up behind me. Mira had finally woke up and she had a goofy smile on her face. I smiled back at her as she wrapped her arms around me from behind. I turned to face her and her lips went from a goofy grin to a worried glower. "Did you get any sleep," she asked worriedly as she brought a hand up to my cheek. Her thumb caressed my cheekbone softly.

"I got just a little bit," I replied softly before kissing her forehead. "I'm just so excited about you meeting my family, kitten. I know they're going to love you just as much as I do." Her cheeks turned a slight red and she wrapped her arms around my neck. My hands met her hips and I pulled her closer to me. She gave me a gentle kiss and I returned it. "I love you, you know that, right? Once again, I'm sorry about the other night with Rose."

"I love you, too, Arden. That's why I'm here right now. I wouldn't be here if I didn't after you said what you said. It's okay. I forgive you and I really am excited to meet your mother, your brother and your sister." Once again, her lips met mine but she pulled away quickly. "I better get a shower. I'm sure your mother is already up and waiting for us."

"Well, we better not keep her waiting. Let's take a shower together to reduce time and conserve water," I told her before giving her a mischievous smirk.

She tried to act disgusted, but her front was completely broken when she gave me a wide smile. Her hands took mine as she began leading me towards the bathroom.

We walked out of my room around one that afternoon and I could already hear my family's loud mouths coming from the kitchen, probably already eating lunch. My brother and sister were arguing as usual about who knows what while I could hear my mother singing a little children's song, probably to my nephew, Jacob. My nephew was seven but of course mum still treated him like a child. She sung me to sleep by force until I was thirteen.

I led Mira towards the kitchen as she held my hand. Her hand shook lightly with nervousness. I kept giving her reassuring smiles but I was just as nervous as her. When we walked into the kitchen, it was like all the singing and arguing ceased. My brother, sister, mother and nephew all looked towards us with amused eyes.

My mum almost instantly stood up and ran towards us. First, she gave me the tightest hug ever-I swear they get tighter each time-and then she grabbed Mira. "I've heard so much about you, honey! You're even more beautiful in person! How is Arden treating you!? Don't lie to me, love! If she's not treating you right, I'll put her in her place!" My mum looked over to me and gave me a scolding look as I smiled innocently. Mira was about to open her mouth to respond, but my mum kept talking. "Oh, my name is Lydia! And I know you're Mira, right?!"

"Yes, ma'am. My name is Mira and don't worry. Arden has been really sweet to me. There's no problems," she told my mother with a friendly smile. I could already see my mum falling in love with her personality. I knew I was going to get the talk about how this one was a keeper. This time I may actually believe what she's saying.

Mum turned to me with a shocked expression. "She's beautiful, has a lovely accent, manners and a fabulous sense of style! You've really picked one, Arden!" I blushed a little bit and looked towards my brother and sister who were both whispering amongst themselves. Sh-t, I didn't like that. What the f-ck were they whispering about over there?

"Sofia, Atticus, are you guys going to be d-cks or introduce yourselves," I asked with a bit of annoyance. They both looked up at me. I got an almost teasing smile from my brother and a b-tchy eye roll from my sister. Nonetheless, they both stood up and my brother instructed his son to get up as well.

"It's nice to meet you, Mira. I'm Atticus and this is my son, Jacob. I'm not sure what you see in my sister, but I can definitely see what she sees in you. You're very lovely from what I see now and on television."

"Same thing Atticus said. I'm Sofia and are you really sure you're into my sister because she's a right asshole." I could punch both my brother and sister right in their f-cking throats.

"It's nice to meet you two," Mira replied sweetly.

"Well, why don't you two sit? We were just having lunch. I thought you two would never get up." Mum sat us down and put plates and drinks in front of us before returning to her seat. "So, how did you two meet again?"

All eyes were on Mira and I and I felt the pressure. My mouth stayed glued shut but luckily my perfect girlfriend moved her lips to answer the question. "Well, it's not exactly a romantic story and it's not really smiled upon but I met Arden at the studio. My ex-girlfriend is a fashion designer. She met up with Arden to discuss what she wanted to wear to an awards show and it sort of went from there."

"I'm glad you guys met though. You two are really cute together," Mum complimented as she gave us both a smile. I smiled back before taking a bite out of my sandwich. "So, how have you been Arden? Staying out of trouble, I hope."

"Arden staying out of trouble?! Come on, mum! You know that's unheard of," Atticus commented obnoxiously. I shot him a mean glare before giving him the middle finger. "How mature of you, little sis."

"I'm more mature than your brain, b-tch!"

"Please, you made the F honor roll!"

"Don't lie on Arden, Atticus," Sofia defended. "She didn't even get grades because she was so bad." Both my brother and sister laughed out loud and I rolled my eyes. They were so f-cking stupid sometimes. I hated them. Mira giggled a little before shaking her head at my embarrassing siblings. My grades in school definitely weren't great, but I had never got an F. C's and occasionally D's were my thing, but only because I was too busy trying to entertain the classroom rather than do my schoolwork. If I actually tried and listened, I could've been an honor roll student.

"I don't believe it. Arden seems pretty smart to me," my girlfriend told my siblings before kissing my cheek. I smiled and turned to kiss her lips softly. She seemed a bit caught off guard at first but then a huge smile spread across her face.

"Well, aren't you two cute," Sofia said more sarcastically than anything. I shot my sister a glare and she gave me the same exact stare. We both gave each other our deathly glares until we both cowered away at the same time. Thankfully, the stare wasn't noticed by anyone else. Even though it wasn't noticed by anyone, I knew I needed to talk to my sister alone before she ruined my relationship.

"Can I talk to you outside real quick, 'Sof," I asked as nicely as I could. She was really irking my nerves. I could tell just by staring at her that she wanted to tell Mira all about my dumbass past mistakes.

Sofia gave me a knowing look and nodded her head. "Sure, little sis." Mum gave us a weird look but nodded for us to go on as if we were kids getting dismissed from the table.

"Be right back, kitten," I told Mira before kissing her forehead.

We walked out to the backyard. The walk for me was awkward but Sofia seemed amused about it all. If anyone could be as annoying and mischievous as me it was my siblings. They knew exactly how to get under my skin and since I was the youngest, they loved teasing me. "So, what do you want to talk about, sis," my sister asked as if she didn't know exactly what I wanted to talk about. I stared at her as she took a seat in one of the outdoor chairs.

Instead of sitting down, I began pacing with my hands in my pockets. It took me a couple of seconds to gather up my thoughts, but once I did I turned towards my sister and began talking. "Look, I'm going to keep this short and simple. Don't go around running your mouth to Mira about my past. I know I f-cked up back in the day with Avery, but that was back then. Mira's a whole different girl and I'm actually in love with her so can you just keep your mouth shut and go with things. I promise I won't hurt her, Sofia."

"It's really hard to believe you, Arden and it's really hard not to tell Mira when she's so damn sweet. I don't want her to end up like Avery. She still hasn't fully recovered. I can't even mention your name in her presence. She freaks out when you show up on the telly. You really broke her heart and it left an impact," Sofia told me seriously. I sighed as I remembered exactly how much of a horrible girlfriend I was to Sofia's best friend, Avery. She was two years older than me and I was still the one to break her heart in two with my lies and everything else. T If Mira knew some of the things that I did then I knew she'd leave me or at least stop looking at me the way she does now.

"Just trust me, Sofia. Watch how I treat her while we're here and you'll know how honest I am right now and how much I've changed," I pleaded with my older sister.

She gave me a skeptical look but slowly nodded her head. "Prove yourself and I won't tell all your dirty secrets to Mira."

-

Do you think Arden can prove that she has changed?

Do you think Sofia is going to spill the beans of Arden's past?

Sorry, I know it's been nearly a month since I updated. Been busy with school plus a slight writer's block. I'm going to try to find a better way to manage my time so I can update more frequently. Sorry for the drought.