Song of the chapter: Forever by Justin Bieber ft Post Malone, Clever. I don't think I can ever get tired of this song. :D

Her round framed glasses almost fell from her face as they both embraced each other. Once again, I stood awkwardly, moving from one foot to the other as I waited impatiently for their display of affection to be over. Could someone just show me in already? Even though, my attention kept moving to her perfect red hair and how smart she looked with the glasses. It looked like one of those that fitted celebrities well and indeed, it fitted her round face, tiny rose red lips and tiny nose so well.

"We finally meet again." She reached out to ruffle Jamie's hair and with a grin on his face, he snatched her hand and ruffled her hair instead, to her dismay. This was looking all too personal to me and I wondered for the hundredth time why I was here.

"Who else would I drive all the way down here for if not you, milady." He gave a mock bow and I almost scoffed at how ridiculous he sounded.

"Mrs. Willows will be happy to hear about it." She commented dryly and he laughed. It seemed like he was too eager to touch her hair again but this time, she was quick to act by slapping his hand away and patting her seemingly perfect hair down.

It was only then her attention was fully drawn to me and I was surprised at how big her smile grew, dimples dipping in on her right cheek and she looked adorable. It made me feel instantly relaxed. She was a bit shorter than me but she looked about my age.

"You must be Belle." She beamed but it still looked so elegant on her. I almost gritted my teeth at having to say my full name because of a certain someone sporting a smirk on his face beside me but the girl looked eager to speak.

"I'm Annabelle but many people call me Annie." I silently added in my head, 'please do'.

"You should know Mrs. Willows has a thing for addressing people by names they aren't so familiar with. It's like she gets a kick from it." She chuckled and I laughed. "Seems like she gets kicks from most things."

"Jamie, how could you be so rude as to not introduce us the first thing when I got here?"

He scoffed and eyed her. "I wasn't the one so eager to run all the way up here just to give you a hug-"

She waved him off, smirking to show that she knew he hated being cut off mid-sentence. The smirk showed quite a resemblance though.

"I'm Alexa, Jam-jam's cousin." She said, confirming my recent suspicion.

"What the hell? We agreed not to use those nicknames anymore." He glared at her. Was that a look of embarrassment I spied on his face? I took that as my cue to chuckle. I liked this girl already.

"Hey Alexa, I have a feeling we're going to be best friends." I joked as she held out her elbows dramatically for me to hold onto.

"Come on, I'll tell you all about jam-jam. Trust me, that'll be your favorite weapon to use against him." She stuck out her tongue childishly at him and glaring at me, he stomped ahead of us.

"For you to be here, I'm sure you've learnt how to put up with his brooding personality?" She asked but it sounded more like a statement than a question.

"Barely." I mumbled but we were distracted by the door opening when Jamie gave a loud knock. The tall, heavy wooden door with intricate patterns and at the top panel, colored glass panes of amber blue and pink in a geometric design stood directly before us and after a breath, it came open.

"Mr. Seth McAfee." Alexa introduced the man I'd met outside earlier as we stepped inside.

"Annabelle." The man finished off for her and I gave a small smile. Jamie was to blame and then, my mother for even daring to think of such a name. I didn't care if she didn't know that few years after my birth, there was going to be a horror movie making a debut with that name. I shook my head as the dream about mom this morning resurfaced again and I remembered the uneasy feeling in the pit of my stomach.

A long hallway was directly before us and the walls on either sides, painted white all over were adorned with huge abstract paintings. Of course, I wasn't familiarized with the name of artist and meaning of the paintings but I knew they had to cost a fortune. I counted doors as we walked along and noticed about two to the left and two to the right. After these,stood a oak table to the left. That immediately got my attention because pictures frames were placed on and above it.

I didn't have the time to look closely at them because the hallway led to an open space, revealing the living room where laughter was heard.

Five pairs of eyes turned to look at us the moment we stepped in, some of which I could recognize.

Just like the hallway, the white flouresent light illuminated the room but it was a bit dimmer. Instead of walls, the two sides, where the fireplace was and on the right, where the walls were supposed to be were replaced with floor to ceiling glasses, giving a view of outide.

A large half-circle couch was set opposite the fireplace on the other end. To the far right, which was opposite where I faced two single couches of the same curve with the larger one, were set not far from each other. The double glass doors behind, overlooking the side of the premises. I spotted the green grass and a pathway. On the left side of the room, where I stood, two of the same couches were placed in the same style.
A large fur carpet was laid on the floor, concealing the center of the dark brown wooden floor.

I noticed that a large mirror occupying some part of the wall behind the fireplace showed reflection of the basic-looking cylinderical chandelier(even though it must probably cost a fortune) of about 5inches long.

I saw Nico's reflection jump up from where he sat on the lap of a delicate looking woman with almost red hair held up into a bun. Alexa looked so much like a younger version of her. Something told me that she was Mrs. Willows.

"What took you so long?" Nico gave me a hug and I awkwardly patted his back because every eye in the room was now on me, except Jamie that was nowhere in sight.

"Uhm..." I didn't know what excuse to give without saying I was the one who delayed us by over-sleeping.

"Nico bear, why don't you let her get refreshed first. It's a long journey down here and not everyone has as much energy as you." The woman spoke up. He voice sounded soft and at the same time, unwavering.

She walked up to me and I could swear she was assessing me with her striking blue eyes. "Belle." She finally spoke and pulled me into a hug. I relaxed instantly and hugged her back genuinely. I had a sudden urge to cry.

"It's so nice to finally meet you, Mrs Willows." I beamed as she let me go. "Thank you for having me here."

"Nonsense." She countered. It was then I realized that she had a different accent. "Thank you for coming." Her accent was posh like she lived in English all her life. How could I not have noticed since the first day I heard her speak on the phone?

"Come." She took my hand, pulling me further into the room and the way she moved in her blue maxi dress was almost dramatic. Her hands were as soft as she looked and I couldn't help but wonder how old she was.

We stopped a few feet in front of a man that was seated on one end of the large couch with grey hair that seemed like it had started to recede in front. He looked much older than her, though.

"This is my husband, Kale." She formerly introduced and then, made a point of speaking louder when she spoke to him, a mischievous glint in her eyes. "You remember Belle, right?"

"Of course, I do. You spoke about our new guest all morning non-stop. My memory is still intact and so is my hearing." I didn't know if I was to chuckle along with the others since the man looked pissed but when I saw that he was fighting a smile, I was relieved to join in.

"It's nice to finally meet you, Belle." I dint even have it in me to correct him.

"I'm guessing Sunny already introduced you to Seth?" She asked and I looked at her confused. Who is Sunny?

"Alexa introduced me to him." I put emphasis on Alexa.

"Oh, yes." The woman chuckled. "Alexa is Sunny. Sunshine is her middle name. I prefer calling her that." Alexa glanced back at us from where she was sitting with Kyle on the single couches and gave a small smile before looking away. Natasha stood secluded in a corner with her phone in hand.

"Ahh." I chuckled along.

"You should get settled in. You guys had obviously a long drive if I am to go by how exhausted Jamieson is."

"Go on, Mari will show you to your room. When dinner is ready, someone will come get you."

A short woman made her way towards us, smiling.

I followed Mary, and we made our way out of the living room and still down the hall, where we passed by a glass door that looked like it led to the veranda.

We passed by another door and since it was the only door left open, from the contents inside, I could guess it was a music room. We walked straight down to where the staircase was located. The spiral staircase was a long way up and I couldn't keep my pace with the woman that seemed to be much older than I was. After making it to the first landing, I paused to catch my breath and the woman slowed down, smiling at me.

There was yet another set of paired windows with multicolored panes of glass and I imagined the rich colored light that'll be produced, filling both the main and second floor hallways with shades of amber, blue and purple when the sun is up.

Mari didn't say a word even as we continued walking up the stairs and into the second floor. We walked down the hall until we got to about the second door by the left.

"This is your room." She opened the door with a key she held.

"Holy shit." I breathed out as my face paled.

A/N: Hey friends, I'm early with a new update this time. I told you guys I was going to turn a new leaf. :p Hopefully! How have you all been? How are you holding up during this period? As for me, I think I'm getting out of this with more chapters for my stories, new ideas, more exposure into movies and a thousand pounds heavier. :D I just can't help it. Food seems to be the perfect cure for boredom. No?

A friend recommended The Invisible Man and I enjoyed it. Anyone else here who loves thrilling movies? I also need more movie recommendations. ;)

Anyway, who's excited about the new characters? I am. Especially because of Alexa and Mrs. Willows. I've been waiting for so long to get her introduced. You'll know why. 😉 Even if we don't know much about her yet, what do you think about her personality? How about Mrs. Willows? I personally love her. And who else is starting to prefer Belle to Annie? :D

Let me know your thoughts about this book so far. Constructive criticism is appreciated.

Xoxo,

A changed Hanie. *kiss kiss*

Ps: I have a personal question. If you were to start a YouTube channel with your siblings, what do you think would be the main content? Especially if you have so many girls as sisters.