CHAPTER 58: CHUCK'S FAMILY

"What's wrong with you?" I ask him again, getting closer. Now Chuck stares at me blankly. His phone is already forgotten somewhere on the bed where he threw it out of surprise.

"Why you ask?" Chuck asks back, lying back down, trying to sound, and look calm although I know he must be freaking out right now. About what exactly, I have no idea.

"Why you freaking out? I saw you on the phone and thought it must have been Tyler again, asking whatever it is that footballers ask each other when they're not practicing," I shrug, also trying to downplay it since I really don't want Chuck to be wary of me. That'll be just terrible.

"Oh," is what I get from Chuck. I roll my eyes and flop down on my stomach beside him.

"You're weird," I chuckle and nudge him with my head. He groans and chokeholds me and then we start wrestling like the five year old we are.

"Sorry for being startled," he apologizes after a round of roughhousing. He's panting so am I. We haven't played like this since we entered uni.

"Sorry for starling you," I also apologize, "I didn't mean to pry," I reassure him.

"It's okay to pry…" Chuck says slowly after a little while.

"That's very convincing, say it again," I laugh at him and he grins, rolling his eyes. "It's your business whether you want to tell me or not, whatever that is," I shrug. I really am not very much concerned with whatever is going with him. Not that I don't care, but I bet my pretty pennies that whatever he has going on will not be anywhere as messed up as whatever I have going on.

"I know," Chuck nods, grabbing my whole body and flopping down on the bed once again, with me on top of him in his embrace. "Can't you be more selfish, though?" he asks and that makes me straighten up and stare at him in disbelief.

"Are you serious right now?" I ask him. By the look on his face, he wasn't joking. "Are you seriously thinking I am not selfish? Have you met me?" I ask him, feeling between bewildered and touched.

"Well, not really. I never think of you as selfish," he shrugs. I stare and blink at him, not knowing what to say, "Even if you are, I really wouldn't mind," he adds, gently caressing my head.

My God what should I do with this idiot?

I can't help but to laugh. Not at him, mind you, but just the overall conversation is weird and I'm also weird for thinking Chuck can make any sense at all. And for him to actually want me to be more selfish than I already am. He probably will die of a heart attack when he knows what I did when he wasn't looking.

"You really love me, huh?" I tease him, feeling half pleased and half sorry.

"'Course I do," Chuck says. The seriousness in his voice just hurt my heart even more. I really don't deserve him, do I? Him and Marsha.

We lie there on his bed, me in his arms, until somehow we fall asleep and get woken up by Chuck's sister benign on the door, announcing her arrival. I wake up groggily, rubbing the sleep out of my eyes.

Grumbling, Chuck goes to the door and opens it, revealing his beautiful big sister, Triana, standing there grinning like a maniac before she kicks Chuck aside to proceed to pounce on me.

Now, here's the thing. I am in no way a small guy. I've said so before. I may be leaner than most guys, but those are muscle-lean. I'm also taller than a lot of other guys. And I am trained in a lot of martial arts, remember?

But Chuck's sister? Triana? She's just on another level of strong, okay? She's like this ball of energy. Never ending one at that too. She likes me a lot. She especially likes to pounce, hug, hog, and drag me around with her. And I can never win her. Not with strength. Physical or mental.

"Hi Tri," I greet her, trying to breathe as she squeezes me. Chuck, annoyed but also marveling at the fact that I probably make really ugly faces, grins at me without even trying to help me out of his sister's grip.

"Mom and Dad are also back, they couldn't wait to meet you so they took the rest of the day off and we went shopping before coming home," Triana tells us and I immediately feel really bad.

"You really shouldn't have," I sit back on the bed with Triana still holding me.

"Why? You don't allow us to visit at uni because 'work'," she makes a mocking face at that and I laugh at her, of course, "so we're just gonna spend this time getting you everything we weren't able to since you've been gone so long, you bad, bad, naughty kid," she taps my forehead with her knuckles and I chuckle guiltily.

"Let's go down," Chuck says, pulling his sister away from me and I smile at him gratefully.

"Wash your faces first, disgusting," she says to Chuck and we both grin at her before he and I run to the bathroom to wash the remaining evidence of our sleep.

The three of us go down to the living room where Chuck and Triana's parents are waiting. Along with an unknown young man, looking proper and polite and very, very handsome. I turn to Chuck questioningly and he just shrugs, nodding at Triana who smiles at me gleefully.

"Bellinda, Anthony," I greet the two I know first. They, surely, rush to me immediately and hug me tightly.

"We missed you, kid," Bellinda, Chuck's mother, says, stroking my head gently just as Anthony, Chuck's father, less expressive but just as gentle, pats my shoulder.

"How have you been?" Anthony asks, guiding me to sit on the couch between him and Bellinda.

"I'm great, how are you? I'm sorry I haven't visited in so long." I am truly sorry for that. They, and Marsha's parents, have always been treating me like their own family and it's slightly shameless of me to not regard them better.

"It's okay… We know it's hard," Bellinda's voice is kind, so is her smile and I'm comforted, although still feel slightly bad.

"Chuck tells me you won the photography competition? Congratulations," Anthony says as he reaches out to one of the many shopping bags strewn haphazardly on the floor like they are worth nothing. These rich people, seriously. I can't help but chuckle. "I got you this," he says, handing me a big box.

"You really shouldn't have," I hesitantly accept the box, feeling troubled.

"It's a Phase one," Anthony smiles and my eyes bulge as I stare between him and the box in my hand. Phase One is the most expensive brand of camera and I can only dream of owning one and now it's here in my hands and I'm so terrified I can't move.

"Oh, honey," Bellinda pats my head, "it's yours. We hope you take more great pictures. We love the ones Chuck sent us," she tells me and I smile at her, albeit a little shyly, before turning to Chuck with a raised eyebrow.

"Can we do the gifts later?" Triana sighs, annoyed, and we turn to her and the gentleman who sits beside her with a patient and adoring smile directed at her. I tilt my head, studying him.

"Right, apologies, Andrew," Anthony's voice changes into a more polite one as he turns to the man who is apparently called Andrew, "This is Levi, Chuck's friend," Anthony introduces me to Andrew and I stand up and approach him with my hand stretched out.

"Hello, you can call me Lee. Nice to meet you," I introduce myself to Andrew who is also on his feet, shaking my hand with a polite smile on his face.

"Nice to meet you too. I have heard so much about you. I'm Andrew, Triana's fiance," he introduces himself and I snap my neck turning to Triana in surprise.

She says nothing and just grins and gives me a victory sign. I laugh and shake my head, turning back to Andrew, "Congratulations," I tell him sincerely.

"Sit down," Chuck tugs me and I sit beside him, now, staring at Andrew and Triana who sits beside each other, hand in hand looking just as in love as their parents.

That must be nice. To be able to spend the rest of their lives with the one they love most. Being so in love. So happy.

"I miss a lot of things, didn't I?" I say that slightly sadly and all of them proceed to console me and tell me stories of things I missed and tell me that it's okay because they're still family anyway.

"Just let us come to you when you don't want to go back," Bellinda says softly, eyes almost pleading.

I am truly blessed, honestly. They're not even my blood, but they treat me just as well as they treat their own children. What did I do to deserve this? I really don't, don't you agree?