《Secrets keeper》29 - Meeting his family

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^^Andrew's room

Moaning, I woke up from my slumber and tossed in my bed. Laying on my stomach, I stuffed my face in the pillow when I heard a hammering sound on the wall.

Dad must be fixing the water pipe again.

I took a deep inhale and an unfamiliar scent hit my nose, making me frown. Sniffing it, a smile took over my face at the musky sweet scent. Closing my eyes, I buried my face deep into the pillow, then tensed.

Wait... I use a jasmine scent perfume.

Jerking up from the pillow when I recognized it was a male cologne. A groan left my lips when my head throbbed and I understood it was not my dad but brain hammering. I massaged my forehead and looked around to see I was alone in an unknown room. Panicking, I glanced down to see I was in my camisole and pants.

Where's my shirt?

I turned my head around and saw my glasses on the side table. Quickly picking them up, I wore them and scrutinized the room. It was a boyish-looking room with soccer paintings on the off-white color wall. The shelf on both sides of the bed was filled with soccer trophies, mini car models, and picture frames.

I squinted my eyes and examine the pictures. In one there were three kids, two blonde and one with dark brown hair. It didn't take a genius to know the middle one was Andrew.

He looks so cute.

The little girl was Abigail and the other boy must be his older brother. A smile spread over my face as I observed other frames. There were some pictures of his whole family laughing, another one of him with a cute white puppy. There was also a picture of him and the Forbes twins and another of him with the Clichés.

Abruptly, a thought crossed my brain, and I went still.

I'm in... Andrew's room?

I looked around again and massage my forehead, trying to remember how I ended here. I was with Ben and Toby at the club. We drank tequila, then I met Trixie, and we went dancing and...

My eyes widened, and a gasp escaped my lips when I remembered I took my shirt off in front of the entire club. A grin took over my face and somehow I felt a little embarrassed and wild.

I can't believe I did that!

Then I remembered I was about to take my pants off too, but Andrew saved me from it. I whimpered when flashbacks of my chat with Andrew hit my brain.

That was awkward.

Getting back to reality, I took the soft grey duvet off me and carefully placed my foot on the floor, making no sound. I searched for my phone and it was still in my back pocket. There was a door on my right and I walked to it. On my way, my eyes darted to the mirror, and they widened. My make-up was a little smudged, and I was only wearing my camisole.

I can not leave like this!

Turning around, I looked for something to wear when my eyes caught a sleeping figure on the floor. Tilting my head, I observed Andrew, who lay on his stomach and felt guilty that he had to sleep on the floor because of me. I tiptoed to him and crouch down, covering him with the duvet.

My eyes went to his face, and my lips curled up in a smile. I moved his dark brown locks from his forehead and he stirred, making me tense, but he didn't wake up.

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Sighing in relief, I got up and saw a black shirt on his chair near the study table. There was a notebook on it and I thought of thanking him for last night. I picked up the pen and wrote a note.

'Thank you for helping me last night and bringing me here. I took your black shirt but I'll return it to you tomorrow at school.'

I folded it and walked around him to the door. Giving one last glance at him, I opened the door and walked out. Swallowing, I looked around, not sure on which floor I was or where to go. I wore the shirt and wrapped my arms around myself as I wandered the corridor.

I wondered if his parents were home and how they'll react if they see me. I blew a breath in relief when I saw the stairs and I tiptoed down. Voices were coming from the other side. I peeked through the stairs and saw shadows.

I didn't want to intrude, so I stepped to the door to my left and opened it slowly. The door didn't crack, and I blew a breath in relief. Before I could step out, an enormous white dog stood in front of me. The height of the dog reached to my chest, making my eyes bugged.

He's the pup I saw in the picture!

Clearly, he's not a pup anymore.

"Uh..." I darted my eyes left and right and stood still in my place. The dog tilted his head and sat in front of me. "Ok..."

I took a step to go around him, but when I moved, he growled at me and began barking. I squeezed my eyes shut when I heard Andrew's mom's voice from inside.

I looked behind me and thought of sprinting, but the dog began walking toward me, making me step back.

"Good doggie, don't bite... Please." I begged him, but the dog didn't show me any mercy.

"What happened AJ...?" Mrs. Pierce's voice came from behind, making me stiff, and I internally groaned. "Um... AJ you can stop now." She said, and the dog stopped barking but stayed in front of me, preventing me from running.

Such a clever dog.

"Can I help you?" She asked me since there was no one else.

I deliberately turned around and saw her looking at me, surprised.

"Hello, Mrs. Pierce." I gave her an awkward wave.

"Hello dear..." she answered in confusion and gave me a once-over.

Of course, seeing me in Andrew's shirt, she must think of something else.

"I ah... I stayed the night here." I answered, knowing questions must be running in her head.

"I can see that." Surprisingly, she smiled at me.

"I'm... Lillian... Lillian Smith." I introduced myself, getting embarrassed. "And I was just leaving."

"Oh, you shouldn't." She shook her head and smiled. "Come have breakfast with us first."

I opened and closed my mouth, not sure about it. "I don't think... That'll be-"

"Please, I insist." She gestured toward the room to her right.

I gulped and peeked back at the dog, who was still sitting. Knowing he wouldn't let me go alive, I nodded my head and walked toward her.

This is not good.

I entered the room with her. The room had an open gigantic kitchen on my left and in front was a dining table at which Abigail and her father were sitting.

"Why was AJ barking?" Mr. Pierce asked, looking up from his newspaper, and frowned when his eyes darted to me.

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"This is Lillian Smith. Andrew's friend." Mrs. Pierce introduced me, putting her hand behind my back, and took me to the empty seat on the table.

I sat in front of Abigail, and Mr. Pierce was on the head on my right. "Good morning," I mumbled.

"What is she doing here?!" Abigail gawked at me.

"You know her?" Her mother asked, shocked.

"Yeah. I met her at Andrew's soccer match." She glared.

"That's why you look familiar. I must have seen you there." Her mother said, passing me the cookies. "Here, these are freshly baked. Have some."

"There's no need for that Mrs. Pierce." I ducked my head and adjusted my glasses.

"Oh, don't talk nonsense. I'm not letting you go until you eat something." She smiled, which reminded me of my mom.

I opened my mouth to make excuses, but we heard a door slamming and the footsteps of someone rushing downstairs.

"And he's up." Mr. Pierce mumbled, folding his newspaper.

"MOM!" Andrew shouted and entered the kitchen. "Have you seen-" he mid-paused in his sentence when his eyes landed on me.

"She's here." His mom patted my shoulder. "I'll make you two breakfast." She smiled and walked into the open kitchen.

"Are you going to stand there or join us?" Mr. Pierce asked Andrew, who was still standing at the door frame.

"I'm coming." He ran his fingers through his tangled hair and took a seat to my right.

I gave him a guilty smile and ducked my head.

"Miss Smith." His father turned to me. "Are you new here?"

"I moved here last year with my parents."

"Ah..." He bobbed his head. "Where are you from?"

"Hidden Hills."

His dad opened his mouth, but Andrew intervened. "This is not an interview, Dad."

"I'm just getting to know her." He narrowed his eyes at him.

"Um..." I looked between them and my eyes landed and Abigail to see her glaring at me.

Maybe talking to his father will be better than this.

"I don't mind." I smiled at them and continued. "My father got transferred here by his company, we moved here and I uh... I got a scholarship for West High and I'm in Junior year."

"Scholarship?" He raised his brows. "That's impressive." I felt my face heat. "Have you planned what you're going to do?"

I heard Andrew groan, but I ignored him. "Yes. I've taken biology as my major subject and I'm planning to become a doctor. I haven't decided which field I'm going to specialize but I have time for that."

"Wow." He looked impressed. "You've planned everything. Unlike some people." He added, looking at Andrew, and he scoffed. "Have you chosen your college?"

"I'm thinking of Stanford," I answered.

"That's a good choice but you should go for Harvard. It's the top school for it." His father said and Andrew chimed in.

"Harvard is overrated, Dad." They both glared at each other and I felt something was wrong between them.

"Here's your breakfast!" Mrs. Pierce came and placed a plate in front of me and Andrew.

The huge plate had an egg, bacon slices, toast, and a bowl of diced fruits. She then placed a plate of pancakes and honey in front of me, too.

"She doesn't eat bacon," Andrew took the slices out of my plate.

"Oh..." Her mom blinked at her son. "Well, then I'll get you waffles."

"No need for that Mrs. Pierce, this is already too much."

"It isn't." She waved her hand in dismal and took a seat beside Abigail who was still stabbing her pancake and watching me.

I quietly ate as everyone talked about different topics. Mr. Pierce asked me a few questions about my studies and I replied to him while Mrs. Pierce kept giving me orange juice, cereal, and waffles, even though I said no, but I didn't want to sound rude.

"Why are you being nice to her mommy?!" Abigail whined.

"What do you mean?" She asked her.

"She is a thief!" Abigail pointed at me and my eyes widened.

"What the hell Abigail?!" Andrew snapped.

"She is! She tried to steal Nate from me!" she sobbed.

"Not this again." Andrew slumped back in his seat while Mrs. Pierce gave me an apologetic smile.

"Abigail dear." Her father calmed her. "That's not stealing-"

"It is, Daddy!" She said firmly and snapped her eyes at me. "I know how you were getting all googly with Nate at the match."

Googly...?

I felt Andrew get tensed beside me and I sat there, not sure what to say. I watched as Abigail sobbed and her parents calmed her down and felt sad for the little girl.

Poor girl, she doesn't know she stands no chance with him. Nate is clearly into older girls.

Something touched my leg, and I looked down to see Andrew's hand on my knee. I glanced at him and he mouthed 'Sorry'. Nodding my head, I stared at his hand, which he took off. My head jerked up when Abigail referred to me.

"I will not let you take my lust away from me!" My eyes bugged out and her parents let out a loud gasp while Andrew cursed beside me.

"Where did you learn that from?" Mr. Pierce asked, glaring at Andrew.

"Don't look at me." He shrugged his shoulders.

"How about we discuss this in your room?" Mr. Pierce got up and picked crying Abigail in his arms. "It was nice meeting you, Miss Smith."

"You too, Mr. Pierce," I said and watched them leave.

"I'm sorry about that dear." Mrs. Pierce apologized. "She doesn't know what she's talking about."

"It's alright," I mumbled, adjusting my glasses.

"Wait..." She squinted her head. "Aren't you the Zombie nurse who helped me at the fundraiser?"

"Huh?" I blinked my eyes and recognized her. "You are the ghost bride?"

"Yes!" She giggled and clapped her hands. "I knew I had met you somewhere before."

I glimpsed at Andrew and saw him smiling at me. Clearing my throat, I shifted in my seat as heat crawled up my neck.

"Thank you so much for the breakfast, Mrs. Pierce, but I need to go home now. My parents must be waiting."

"You're right." She pouted and turned to Andrew. "Bring her again for dinner."

"Sure." Andrew grinned and got up from his seat.

I followed him and thanked her again for everything, then walked out with Andrew.

"I'm sorry about Abigail."

"It's fine. She's just a kid."

"Not a kid but a devil," He grunted.

"Wait!" I halted when I saw the dog still sitting where he was earlier, watching me and Andrew.

"What?" He asked.

"The dog," I whispered, pointing at him. "I don't think he likes me."

"He likes everyone. I'll introduce you to him" He chuckled, but I shook my head.

"He was ready to chop me earlier. I mean, look at his size. He can eat me whole in two bites."

Andrew burst out laughing and stood behind me. "I won't let him do that now. Come on." He put his hands on my shoulders and pushed me towards the dog.

"It's not a good idea, Andrew." I squirmed and tried to run, but he stopped in front of the dog.

"Lillian, this is AJ, and AJ, this is Lillian. She's a friend." He introduced.

The dog leaned in, making me step back, and my back collided with Andrew's chest.

"Relax." He said and put his hands on my waist, making me freeze.

I gulped as the dog sniff me and tilted his head. Andrew took his right hand off my waist and touched the back of my hand. My heart furiously beat in my chest and I felt my face getting warm.

"Pat him." He grabbed my hand and took it towards the dog.

"Andrew..." I shook my head, but he extended it in front of the dog.

I squeezed my eyes when AJ put his nose in my palm, and he licked it.

"He likes you," Andrew whispered, and when his breath blew near my ear I quiver.

What is happening here?

He put my hand on the dog's head and patted him. I heard the dog moan and opened one eye to see him panting with his tongue out.

"See," Andrew said, stepping back from me and I felt cold suddenly.

"Woof!" the dog barked and came closer to me. I chuckled when he started licking my face.

"I like you too." I giggled and scratched his head. "You scared me earlier." I turned and saw Andrew smiling at me. "How old is he?"

"Seven. He's a Kuvasz."

"Wow..." I whispered and patted the dog. "Did you name him?"

"I did." He grinned.

"Let me guess. AJ stands for Andrew Junior?" I asked, and his eyes widened.

"How did you?..."

"It was a kind of obvious." I chuckled.

"I was eleven." He huffed, and I burst out laughing.

"I like it." I patted him one more time. "It's nice to meet AJ. Hope you won't scare me again"

"Woof!" He answered and I swear I saw him smirking at me.

"He's a clever dog."

"That he is," Andrew beamed, and I shook my head. "Come on, I'll drop you home."

"No need for that. I'll walk-"

"Either you quietly sit in my car or else I'll put you over my shoulder again." He said, reminding me when he did that at school. "Because I will not let you walk home in rain."

I glanced outside the window and groaned when I saw raining outside.

It wasn't raining a minute ago!

"Fine." I sighed and walked with him to his car. He opened the door for me and I thanked him, sitting inside.

After driving for a few minutes, I asked him the question that was running in my head since the morning.

"Can I ask you something?"

"Shoot." He said, looking ahead.

"Why did you come to the club?"

"Ah... Well, I uh..." He shifted in his seat. "You told me you were hanging out with your friends but Chloe was with Louis, so I thought-"

"I didn't lie."

"I know. You were with Toby but... You were in Hidden Hills so I thought you were with Mark."

"But why would I be with him?"

"I don't know. I just did, and I was having a feeling you might be in trouble."

I studied him as he looked outside and saw his ears turning red. I didn't get the point, but I let it slide.

"Ok..."

"You looked like you were having fun." He said changes to the topic to me.

"I was..." I shrunk in the seat. "And the worst part is I don't feel bad about it."

"You shouldn't be." He smiled. "But next time try not to get naked in front of the crowd."

"Oh, boy." I buried my hands in my palm and heard him chuckle.

"Do you want me to take you to the hospital?" He asked, and my face scrunched in confusion.

"Why?"

"In case you are pregnant." He pressed his lips together not to laugh.

"Not that, please!" I whined, and he continued to tease me.

"You should call that guy in your dreams. He might be the daddy."

"Stop it, Andrew," I whined as heat crawled up my neck and he burst out laughing.

I was glad we reached my house and was stunned when he parked it in front of my house.

"Um... Thank you so much... For everything." I mumbled, taking the seatbelt off.

"No worries. Beside..." He smirked. "I like drunk Lillian."

"And I'm out," I grumbled, getting out, and he snickered.

Even though I was embarrassed by what happened, I couldn't get rid of the grin on my face.

I waved and watched as he drive out. Sighing, I walked to my house and went to the kitchen.

"Morning." I greeted my parents. Dad was sitting at the dining table and mom was cooking.

"Lillian!" Mom beamed when she saw me and I knew she was going to ask me about last night. "Did you meet Andrew?"

I frowned. "How do you know about him?"

"He came here looking for you," Dad answered. "He said something about failing history."

"Huh?" I tilted my head.

"Of course, that was just an excuse." Mom giggled.

"If he came here. Why didn't you guys tell him where I was?"

"Your mom didn't let me tell him."

"Because..." Mom rolled her eyes at dad. "He looked really worried about you. I wanted to see how far he could go for you."

"Why would he be worried about me?" I mumbled.

I should have asked him that before.

"Because he likes you." She said in a duh tone.

I internally slapped my forehead and walked backward. "I'm exhausted." I yawned, knowing this won't be a small chat. "I'm going to my room."

"Rest my baby." Mom came and kissed me. "We'll talk about everything later." She squealed, and I shook my head.

It's going to be a long day.

Hope you guys enjoyed Lillian's encounter with the Pierce!

And little moment 🙊

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