After that, Lucas and I became a pair. Not publicly or anything, but we had a good thing going after hours. Well… sometimes during business hours on slow days too. Everyone just pretended that they didn’t hear weird noises coming from Lucas’ office sometimes.

Since I was there enough, I had a good idea of his occupation. Well, I knew his occupation, but I mean what he really did most of the time. He didn’t really just study odd people like Rex. Most of them got experimented on and walked out worse than when they came in. Of course, I didn’t just go to have a good time with him. I took up a job at his lab doing his paperwork. Apparently he had tried to teach Dallas to do the paperwork, but the boy was really struggling, so I picked up the slack.

“Paperwork done!” I said, smugly dropping a stack on his desk.

“Wow, done already?” Lucas asked, impressed.

“I work like a devil.”

“Not the only thing you do like a devil.”

“I know,” I smirked. “Now, pay up.”

“Already?” he sighed. “Can’t wait until-”

“Don’t hold out my pay,” I interrupted. “I need the money for buying paint now. So pay it up, because you owe me.”

“Fine, fine,” I grumbled, giving me my pay. “You’re lucky I can’t say no to you.”

“I sure am,” I smirked, walking out the building triumphantly.

The day was wrapping up again, and the streets were clearing out. People were going inside to partake in supper or have an early night for the early Monday morning. I ran as fast as I could to make it to the vendor before he closed though, carefully dashing over the road in an attempt to catch the man just in time.

Suddenly, I turned a corner a bit too quickly while passing a man and a couple women, and I collided straight with the gentleman. I shut my eyes, thinking I was about to hit the ground. I didn’t though. When I slowly opened my eyes, I was being held by a man, his arms around my waist and our faces close.

“Sorry about that! Are you alright?” the man asked, giving me a smile that made my heart flutter. 

He was so handsome, and his smile was immediately charming. His short brown hair swept over his mesmerizing green eyes. The pale woman beside him dressed entirely in black looked shocked at first, but I could see it turning into a familiar emotion for women. Her face was just seething with jealousy. Absolute fury of envy aimed straight at me on sight. Her hair was also put into these odd bright dreads that made her stand out. The other woman by their side was a bit shorter, but looked much friendlier and much more like the man.

“Ack, sorry, that was my fault!” I fervently apologized. “I’m so stuck in my head half the time that I don’t realize where I’m going!”

“No worries!” he said, still holding me and staring at me with those handsome, soft green eyes. “These cobblestones aren’t too great for running on.”

I looked closer at the man and women, and I made a startling realization that almost took me out of the situation. The fancy clothes, the crest on the man’s clothes…

“OH! You’re the Hawthorne siblings, right?!” I exclaimed as he helped me to my feet, but still kept his arm around my waist and our faces close. “I-I’m an idiot!! I’m so sorry! Out of the people, I just had to run into you-”

“It’s alright,” he soothed. “We aren’t evil. I can prove it.” The man set me down on my feet and held his hand out again. “How about I walk you to where you’re heading?”

“Uhh…” My brain was stuttering and my face was burning up. I could see the vendor close his doors, making me smile a sigh. “Sure, thank you.”

“I’m Reginald, by the way,” he smoothly smiled, walking me off. “Reginald Hawthorne, as I’m sure you know.”

“It-It’s nice to meet you, Reginald,” I blushed as he put his arms around my shoulders and guided me down the way.

“And may I be privy to your name, at least?”

“Max, sir. Maxine Hopewell.”

“Well then, Max, perhaps you could be kind enough to join us for dinner tonight?”

“Oooh, a gentleman,” I flirted. I looked over his shoulder into the distance and saw the sun setting. “I would love to, once I clean myself.”

“Well then Maxine, take care and be safe,” Reginald winked, as we walked down the road.

As I turned around to see one of his sisters give me a sneer before turning away as well. For the first time, I saw a snake on her shoulders. How odd. There was only one sister who was known to have a snake, but I wasn’t sure what her name was. But those were the Hawthorne’s! I had seen a few a long time ago, but I’d hardly seen any of them since. One time one of them bought a painting though, and I swindled triple the price out of them too!

As Reginald and I walked away from his sisters, I could see one of the women whisper something to the other. It just made me smirk as I ran to the paint vendor. She was so jealous, and that man was so handsome and charming. I know I had Lucas back at the lab, but… Being a Hawthorne, Reginald would be more well off. Plus, there was something with Reginald that I didn’t feel with Lucas. Not just passion, but also some commitment to me. Lucas had love, but I knew at the end of the day his commitment was to his work. But with Reginald… I wanted him all to myself.

*   *   *   *   *

That evening I was standing at the doorstep of the Hawthorne house. I hoped that Reginald didn’t already forget about our dinner together. I took a deep breath and knocked on the door, waiting for someone to answer.

“Hello?” answered a pretty woman with long, wavy brown hair. Her figure was fairly plump with a beautiful face.

“Hello,” I said with a smile and small bow. “I’m Maxine Hopewell. I was invited to dinner by Reginald?”

“OH! You’re Maxine?! I’m Angel, one of his sisters!” she said excitedly. She turned around and shouted into the house. “Reginald! She’s here! The Maxine woman!”

“Maxine?” In a moment, Reginald was in the doorway, giving me that sweet smile. “I’m so glad you could join me here for dinner.”

“I wouldn’t be a lady if I just wouldn’t come,” I grinned.

“Well come in,” he offered, holding out a hand to me. “Dinner’s just about to start.”

Reginald led me inside and guided me to the table. While we waited for dinner to start, Reginald introduced me to his family. His mother and father were super kind to me, a complete stranger. Reginald’s brothers William and Alexander were almost as polite as him. He had 5 sisters: Ada, Alma, Angel, Elizabeth, and Beatrice. It turns out Beatrice was the woman with him early that day giving me the mean looks. Honestly, I thought she was his wife or something by the way she was death-staring me.

I was sat near the end of the table between Reginald and Beatrice. The food they had was absolutely spectacular. Potatoes, ham, turkey, beans, peas, and so much more. It seemed like a feast fit for a king. Next to me, Reginald was still endearing and polite, getting me whatever food I wanted and complimenting me left and right.

His sister, Beatrice, however wasn’t so great. I quickly learned how much she hated me for some reason. The woman had a snake on her shoulders and barely put anything on her plate. Beatrice was sickly pale and wildly thin, looking more like some kind of specter than human. 

Everyone hit it off well with me and soon enough everyone knew my name, painting business, and favorite color. One of the sisters, Ada, even asked if I could do a portrait of her and her husband. As soon as Reginald excused himself and I wasn’t the center of attention though, Beatrice made her move.

“You’re seriously eating more potatoes?” Beatrice scoffed.

“Yeah…?” I said, confused. “What’s wrong with that?”

“Potatoes are going to make you even more fat. You’re chubby enough as it is. Do you really think my brother’s going to like even more of you?”

“I’m fine how I am,” I shot back, putting a hand on my hips. “This is how I was always meant to be.”

“Oh hun, if that’s what you’re meant to look like, then I’d just get it over with quickly and hope for a better body next time.”

“What did I do to you?” I whispered. “What was it?”

“You fell into my brother’s arms like you own him,” she hissed. “I saw the look you gave him. You don’t deserve him. You will never be a Hawthorne!”

“Maxine,” Reginald smiled, sitting back down. “Getting to know Beatr-”

“I’m sorry, but I need to step out,” I told him. “Excuse me.”

As I stepped away from the table and walked out onto the porch, I heard some kind of commotion behind me at the table. Mostly a huge uproar from Reginald towards his sister. After a few minutes of sitting on the front steps, Reginald came out and sat next to me.

“I’m sorry,” he sighed. “I should’ve warned you about Beatrice. She’s… She’s a troubled woman.”

“So I’ve learned…”

“I try to understand her, but it can be hard. She’s always had trouble with people, but after an incident a few years ago, she got even worse.”

“Still, no excuse to act like that,” I grumbled.

“I hope she didn’t ruin the night,” Reginald said. “I would hate for her to drive you away.”

“Drive me away?”

“Well, if you would, I would love to court you,” he smiled. “If you would be interested in entering the Hawthorne family.”

“I… Reginald…” Everything was going so fast for me. Had it only been a day that I’d known him? It felt like an eternity. Like he’d always been there.

“If not, I understand and-”

“Yes!” I interrupted. “I would love to.”

There on the porch, Reginald and I shared our first kiss. It felt so splendid, so transcendent, so intoxicating. It was everything I didn’t know I wanted. The way he held me, the way he looked at me, the way I felt so safe in his arms… I wanted this man. I needed him. There was only one thing I was going to have to do before that though.

*   *   *   *   *

Reginald invited me to come over one weekend to meet his sisters, and I was so enthused to get to know the family better! And well, I secretly hoped that I would be able to change Beatrice’s opinion on me. I could be all the Hawthorne that she is and more! I just needed her to view me as a sister.

The family was already familiar with me, so I didn’t have to worry about being arrested when I walked in unexpectedly. Plus, I could count this as a work trip. Mrs. Hawthorne wanted me to paint their new family tree since the old one was getting too faded to read properly and add onto! And had some painting supplies for me to get the job done! She had to be the first customer to provide me with the supplies. The house was oddly empty though, and there was only one woman that I could find, sitting on the couch. Well, it was now or never. Operation “Get Snake Lady On My Side” is a go.

“Hey,” I smiled at her, figuring I could give a friendly start. “Is your mother around? She wanted a painting and said she would have the canvas for me.”

“Now is a bad time,” she hissed. “Come back later.”

“Oh…” Reginald had told me that Beatrice’s mood had been getting worse because of tensions between family, and that she’d be a tough one to break through. Mama told me that mean people were just ones who were hurting inside though, so maybe she just needed someone to help with healing? “You two had a fight again, huh?” 

“I don’t want to talk about it. Especially not to you.”

“Ah, come on, lay it on me.” I invited myself to sit down next to her, and the snake around her lap slithered off its owner and onto mine. I’d be lying if I didn’t silently scream, but I gently patted it and started to warm up to the little guy. “Maybe there’s something I can do.”

“There’s nothing you can do.”

“Alright, maybe we could go out for lunch? At least help your mood. Besides, I’m starving.”

“You don’t know the meaning of starving,” she hissed, baring her teeth. “I live it every fucking day. So don’t even try to relate to me.”

“Oh, sorry… Well… Can I ask something?” She shot me a glare and I went on. “Reginald says you’re sick with something, but he said to ask you about it because he didn’t want to overstep that line. I just see how thinned out and sick you look… I want to help however I can. Reginald talks a lot about you and I’d hate for him to lose his sister.”

“...Reginald talks about me…?” she asked in disbelief. “Good things…?”

“Mhm! Says you’re a bit moody at times, and have a harder time navigating things, but that you’re super loyal to those who do give you a chance. He misses the old you a lot. Obviously I didn’t know you then, but he said you were a lot of fun when you were in a good mood. And an especially good sister to Elizabeth.”

“...The doctor said it’s Bulimia.” she finally mumbled. I knew I was breaking through. “Something that messes with how you see food and your patterns around it.”

“So I’m guessing you try to avoid eating?” I asked softly. 

“Yeah. It’s why Mum and I argue so much right now. She’s trying to get me to eat and I, well… I’m not really complying. I just don’t, or I puke it up after…”

“That would be understandably frustrating for her. I’d be terrified if that was my kid. Especially in this condition. So I can see where she’s coming from. Fear often shows itself in anger.”

I could see the woman prepare to sneer at me, but I quickly added onto it.

“But I see where you’re coming from too. I don’t know what it’s like to have Bulimia, but if it makes you see food as bad, then it would be just as terrifying to have to be faced with it constantly. Especially if the reason you’re doing this is because you’re scared of something else that goes deeper than just food. So both parties are terrified for different reasons, and it results in the fighting. I guess it kind of sucks no matter which side you’re on.”

Once again, she looked positively stunned. Had she really never had someone to share this kind of stuff with?

“Yeah… I suppose so,” she mumbled.

“Is there anything I could do that would make it easier?”

“Um…”

“Oh! Max!” exclaimed Mrs. Hawthorne as she walked in with puffy, red eyes. Was she crying over… Beatrice? “I didn’t know you were coming today.”

“I wanted to stop by for-”

“Lunch,” Beatrice interjected quickly, making me feel ten times more awkward. “...Uh, she wanted to stop by so we could go for lunch. Right, Max?”

“Oh, yeah,” I said with a bright smile. “Beatrice wanted to go for lunch.”

“Oh. Uh, well, don’t let me stop you two then,” her mother said suspiciously.

“We were just about to head out,” Beatrice lied, jumping up.

“Maybe don’t go somewhere too far out. I don’t want you getting hurt.”

“There’s a place just down the street.” I smiled, taking Beatrice’s hand and surprising her yet again as I supported her weight. “It’s a 5 minute walk at most.”

Suddenly, Beatrice bolted to her mother in a giant hug.

“I’m sorry about earlier.” she whispered. “I know you care… I get scared and I lash out… I’m sorry.”

“I-I love you,” her mother comforted. I couldn’t help but smile. I really wish our relationship could’ve gone farther.