After everyone introduced themselves, we headed straight to the garden for breakfast. My stomach grumbled at the enticing aroma of coffee. Adding to that, there was an omelet, hotdogs, ham, and fried rice laid out on the table.
As we started eating, Stephen’s friends were still fooling around, and he could only shake his head in response.
We were almost finished eating when someone suddenly spoke from behind me. I was facing away from the direction of the door.
“Yo, what’s up?”
I almost dropped the cup I was holding when I heard Harold’s familiar voice. My eyes widened as I turned to see who it was.
“Nathalia!”
I quickly stood up and was embraced by Mads.
“Hey! What are you guys doing here?” I asked in surprise. They really liked surprising me with their visits.
“We heard that the gang was here, so we decided to come over.” Damon grinned, referring to Stephen’s friends.
I looked around at them. Does that mean they’re friends with these weirdos too?
“Hey! You guys walk fast!” Liam suddenly appeared behind them.
I blinked as I turned to Liam. “Liam! What are you doing here?” I approached him immediately.
He gave a wide smile. “Why? Can’t I visit my cousin?”
I bit my lower lip. “It’s not that. But...”
I glanced around. They’re all looking at me.
Could there be blood spilled here now? I wanted to tell him that. But I held myself back.
He held both of my shoulders. “Don’t worry. I’ll be fine. Everything will be fine,” he assured.
I could only give him a hesitant nod.
I wasn’t sure if it was a good idea for all of us to be together here. But I really hoped that nothing untoward would happen.
One by one, they approached each other. The guys exchanged pats on the back while the girls kissed each other on the cheek.
I watched them in surprise. I’m used to having a lot of guards scattered around. But this is the first time since I arrived that there have been so many visitors. Plus, I’ve become accustomed to only having Ace, Shantel, and Ashter hanging out here.
I also didn’t expect that Mads and the others would be close to Stephen’s friends. As far as I knew, they weren’t that close to Stephen, and even though they were taken in by his family, they grew up to be independent.
But the weird thing is that this scene is quite familiar. It’s as if this isn’t the first time we’ve all been together like this.
“Alright! Now that we’re all here, why don’t we play a game?” Ashter suggested.
The mix of surprise and joy I was feeling disappeared in an instant due to Ashter’s words. I returned to my seat with a frown.
“I’ll pass. You guys go ahead. The last time we played, it didn’t end well,” I said, finishing my coffee.
I glanced at Stephen. But he quickly averted his gaze.
I sighed. It reminded me of the lie he had told me again.
“Oh, come on, Nath! This game means no harm!” Rylie wiggled his eyebrows.
As I placed the cup down, I was taken aback when I noticed that everyone was looking at me. I winced as I saw that even Liam seemed to have pleading eyes, urging me to agree.
“Even you?”
He nodded. “Just agree! It will be fun!”
I raised an eyebrow at him. Ashter hadn’t mentioned any games yet, but he seemed to have an idea about them already. I’d be really surprised if I found out he was close to these weirdos too.
“What game is it?”
They all exchanged glances and then shouted in unison.
“Hide and seek!”
My jaw dropped. Seriously, what’s up with them and their weird games?
I took a deep breath, raised both my hands, and stood up. “Sorry, but I won’t be able to join in those kinds of games. I’ll just help Belen in the kitchen. Enjoy.”
I turned away from them, shaking my head, and started walking away. There’s no way I’ll join that game.
***
I’ve been sweating since earlier, while hiding behind a big tree. They chose to play the game in their garden.
The garden is quite spacious, all things considered. But there aren’t many places to hide here other than the tall trees, plants, and large rocks.
I let out a sigh. Why did I even give in to Shantel and Mads’ pleas earlier?
“Boom!”
I almost screamed when I heard Ashter’s voice. He was the one who was “it.”
It reminded me of his annoyed expression when he became “it” during the rock-paper-scissors game earlier. He even accused his brother of being bad luck because he always ended up being “it.” Apparently, it has been the case since they were kids.
I cautiously peered out. He had already caught Oliver hiding behind a big rock. It’s not far from where I’m hiding, which made me feel a bit nervous.
I’m not sure how many he has caught already or who has returned to the safe base. They set up their base on a tree near where we had our meal earlier.
It’s not too far from my position. However, I can’t just run because he’ll surely spot me immediately.
I held my breath as I noticed him heading in my direction. I slowly moved backward. As I did, I noticed Rylie hiding behind some lush flowers. She was just in front of me.
I glanced around. If I were to run and find another hiding spot, he would definitely see me.
I paused as a thought crossed my mind. Why do I care anyway? Why am I taking this game so seriously?
Ashter was about to turn around in my direction when suddenly my mouth was covered, and I was quickly spun to the other side of the tree.
I struggled to break free. But I was taken aback when I lifted my gaze and was met with Stephen’s face. He placed his finger in front of his lips.
I furrowed my brow. Seriously?
“Boom!”
I closed my eyes as I heard Ashter’s voice again. This time, he had caught Rylie, as I could still hear his loud laughter.
I stopped struggling and let Stephen do his thing. When Rylie passed by our spot, he just gave me a knowing look.
To be fair to them, they backed each other up.
I also noticed Stephen peeking cautiously behind me. So I peeked too. Ashter was a bit far from our spot. If we ran faster and he didn’t turn his head, we would surely reach the goal.
Stephen and I exchanged glances. He counted using his fingers, and on the third count, we quietly held hands and ran.
We safely made it back to the base. But I was taken aback when I noticed that almost everyone was already there. It seemed that only Stephen and I were left waiting.
“I wonder where my brother went?” Rhyz asked with a laugh.
“Don’t be too happy. You’re ‘it’ in the next game,” Albert said with a grin.
I rolled my eyes. “There’s another game? I’m done!”
They all laughed. “Don’t worry, Nath. It’s not happening today. We’ll play again next time when the whole group is complete.”
I furrowed my brow. “Why?”
“It’s been our tradition. From then on until now, we play hide and seek whenever our group is complete,” Ace explained.
I caught Shantel’s eye roll in response.
I was taken aback. Did that mean they’d been playing with my friends all along? Even with Liam?
I was about to ask another question when we suddenly heard someone shout.
“Fuck! Where the hell did you two hide? You made it hard for me!” Ashter exclaimed, panting.
The group just teased him, but I was taken aback when I felt a call from nature.
“I’ll just go to the restroom,” I told Stephen. He just nodded.
I quickly headed to the bathroom. I only remembered now that I should have done this earlier. After finishing, I was about to leave when I noticed Belen smiling and looking at the garden.
I sat beside her and observed as well. No one will ever think that this bunch of people were actually deadly mafiosos. Well, except for my friends and Liam.
“It’s been a long time since I last saw them this happy. Do you know that their favorite game is hide and seek?”
I crossed my arms. “I just found out earlier. I still can’t believe it until now,” I joked.
From the corner of my eye, I saw her nod. “Yes. But they only play it when they’re all together.”
“Ace mentioned that earlier too. It seems like it was just recently since they last played.” I was sure they often gather together.
I heard her let out a deep sigh. “To be honest, it’s been years since they last played like that.”
I furrowed my brow and turned to her. Did she mean that after all these years, they’ve only played together now?
But that’s impossible. Oliver also mentioned earlier while we were eating that they often hang out together because they’re in alliances.
“How many years has it been since they last played and were all together?” I asked curiously.
This time, she looked at me. There was an emotion passing through her eyes that I couldn’t quite put a name on.
“It’s been seven years.”