Page 68 of Otto: The Hawthornes

“He was surprisingly nice about it,” Emilia said dryly. “Considering Heather knocked on his front door out of nowhere.”

“Well, I’d rather pay him for it than some big store,” Mom said defensively. “He was happy for the business.”

“Here you go,” I said quietly, setting down Esther’s glass of water before dropping into my seat. I dug in, glancing to make sure that Esther was eating, too. I wasn’t sure what kind of food she liked, but she must not have minded the tacos because she was slowly making her way through it.

“Myla, Esther’s going to stay in the extra bedroom, so after dinner, I want you to remake the bed with clean sheets,” my mom ordered, pointing at her.

“Say what?” I mumbled around the food in my mouth.

“Esther’s staying here until the wedding.”

“The hell she is,” I argued.

“Otto,” Esther chided softly.

“You wanna stay here?” I asked in confusion.

I’d been counting down the minutes in the back of my head until I could get her alone. We had about a thousand things to talk about and she hadn’t even seen where we’d be living. How the hell were we going to be ready to get married if she was staying with my parents? How were we supposed to get to know each other when we were constantly surrounded by my family, for fucks sake?

“Just until we’re married.”

“You’re kiddin’, right?” I asked, staring at her.

“We shouldn’t be staying together before we’re married,” she replied stubbornly.

“I think it’s probably a little late for that worry, don’t you?” I barked, looking down at her stomach.

“Otto,” my dad growled. “Knock it off.”

Esther set her taco carefully onto her plate and dropped her hands onto her lap, her face bright red. She didn’t say a word.

“No,” I announced, going back to my food. “You’re stayin’ with me.”

Everyone stared at us, and the table was abnormally quiet while everyone finished their meal. The tension was so high that even Rhett sat quietly.

“I’m home,” Titus called from the front door, slamming it behind him. “Where is everyone?”

“Kitchen,” my dad yelled back. “Where the hell you been? I called you twice.”

“My phone died,” he said, his eyes widening as he noticed all of us at the table. “Did I miss the memo?” His mouth dropped open in shock when he saw Esther. “What the fuck?”

“Language,” I barked.

Rumi laughed, and Nova elbowed him in the side, hissing at him to be quiet.

“You know Esther from school, right?” my mom said dryly. “Her and Otto are getting married.”

“What?” His eyes looked like they were about to bulge out of his head.

“Hi Titus,” Esther said calmly. “It’s nice to see you again.”

He just stood there, dumbly staring at Esther.

“For fuck’s sake,” my dad grumbled, getting up from his seat. He walked over to my little brother and shoved him toward the kitchen. “Get some food.”

The last half of dinner passed quickly. The tension from Esther and I arguing forgotten, and before long, the women were clearing the table and doing the dishes while the rest of us made our way into the living room.

“How the hell is she here?” Titus hissed, glancing over his shoulder. “What the fuck is going on?”

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