Chapter 7 | Dinner at the Huongs

Isabella:

Thanks for the ride!" I say to Sammy as we pull up in front of Mia's house. "It was so nice to finally meet you!"

He spins around in his seat and sends me a smile. "You too!"

We had spent majority of the day with Sammy, who is an absolute sweetheart. I can see why Mia adores him so much, he really is the perfect guy for her. It was my first time meeting him in real life and we all ventured to the mall, Sammy cracking us all up as we walked around the shops.

I've noticed that the two have very contrasting personalities. Whilst Mia is crude, loud and a very bubbly person, Sammy is the complete opposite: shy, timid and really quiet. But they balance each other out really well and I can see how much he loves my best friend so I'm extremely happy for them both.

I chuckle in reply as we clamber out of the car. "I'll walk you guys to the door," he says wrapping an arm around Mia's shoulder to which Grace sighs at wistfully.

"What a gentleman."

I nod in agreement as we walk up the porch steps and the door flies open.

"You guys are finally here!" Linh greets with a smile and her grin doubles as she spots Sammy next to us, who waves to her in greeting.

"Hiya love, you staying for dinner?"

"Sorry I can't," He shoots her a guilty look. "I have to visit my grandma tonight."

Linh frowns. "That's a shame, make sure to come round another day, okay Sammy?"

"I will do!" He kisses Mia on the forehead before retreating down the porch steps. "Bye guys! I'll see you all soon." He bids goodbye and goes back to his car as Linh hauls us inside.

As I'm shrugging off my jacket to hang up on the coat rack, Lucy, Grace's little sister skids into the hall way and stops short at the sight of us.

"Oh it's just you," she says with a frown, crossing her arms across her chest.

I chuckle. "Hi to you too Luce."

She lifts her eyes up to meet my gaze. "Sorry," she apologises, looking quite sheepish before wrapping her arms around me for a quick hug. "I'm glad to see you Isabella...I just was expecting someone else."

Grace furrows her eyebrows in confusion at her little sister. "Who?"

"Dylan." Lucy stares off into the distance dreamily and sighs as Mia chokes on her spit and begins spluttering out in laughter.

"Dylan?" She says in between giggles. "As in our Dylan?"

She nods her head vigorously. "Yep is he coming?"

Grace shakes her head looking quite traumatised. "No why are you expecting Dylan?"

"Because I'm in love with him!" She replies in a 'duh' sort of way, to which I join Mia and also begin choke out in laughter as Grace stands beside her sister looking quite mortified.

"Why are you guys laughing at me?" Lucy huffs, her cheeks tinging pink. "Age is just a number you know!"

Her statement just sets me off into more laughter and I'm struggling to breathe by this point. "Lucy...I don't think he'll be interested in you."

"Why?" She asks, her face scrunching up in anger. "I know I'm only 11 but in a couple of years that won't even matter!"

"No it's not that," Mia replies, making a dismissive gesture with her hand. "He won't like you because he doesn't like girls babe."

Lucy pauses for a second processing what was just said to her before her eyes widen in realisation and she hides her face in her hands. "No fair!" She huffs stomping her feet frustratedly. "I loved him!"

"How do you even know Dylan?" Grace asks, not at all affected by her little sisters dramatics.

"I saw him at Isabella's barbecue and he asked me to pass him the ketchup." She runs a hand through her blonde hair frustratedly. "Are you sure he's gay because I'm pretty sure there was a connection between us when our fingers touched as I was passing him the sauce."

I nod my head solemnly, wrapping an arm around her shoulders and steering her into the direction of the living room. "I'm sorry babe."

She sighs wistfully. "It's okay, I'm sure I'll get over him one day."

"Don't worry Dylan is gross, he chews with his mouth open," I say in attempts to make her feel better but instead Lucy glares at me.

"Don't make fun of him!"

I put my palms up in mock surrender. "Okay okay."

As we walk into the living room I'm greeted by two boys who are sitting on the couch playing COD on the PS4. Lucy runs past me and jumps onto the big beanbag that's situated by the tv.

"Isabella!" Andrew, Mia's older brother smiles as I walk towards them and plop down on the other couch beside them.

Jay, Mia's other older brother, let's out a groan of defeat as he dies in the game before turning to acknowledge at me. "Hi Bella."

"Hi guys," I reply with a grin of my own taking them both in. I haven't seen them both since I've been back so I'm surprised to see how much the two have changed.

"You've grown up so much!" Andrew gushes as he strolls over to where I'm sitting and pats me on the head like I'm a dog.

"So have you!"

Jay opens his mouth to say something but stops as he glances over to the door where Mia and Grace have strolled in.

Mia narrows her eyes and points a finger menacingly at her brother. "I know she's hot but don't you dare make a move on her!"

Jay shuts his mouth and huffs, crossing his arms across his chest and leaning back into the couch dramatically.

The two girls come to sit beside me. "When did Drew and Jay get so hot," I hiss out the side of my mouth and Mia grimaces in disgust.

"Don't even." She makes a fake gagging sound. "Jay is the biggest fuckboy ever now and Andrew has a girlfriend."

"They are hot though," Grace points out and I nod in agreement.

Mia rolls her eyes and whacks us both on the arm. "I'm still the hottest sibling."

"Of course you are Mi," I retort with a grin to which she beams at in reply.

I spend the next couple minutes catching up with the boys. Andrew is now going to be a junior in college and he tells me about his experiences at the university he attends, which is a couple hours drive from our town. Jay is about to be a senior at our high school and goes on about his gym regiment and begins to flex his biceps to which Mia rolls her eyes at and I smile politely to in reply.

"Isabella there you are!" A deep voice echoes throughout the room just as I open my mouth to ask a question.

I glance over to see Grace's dad, Johnathon, walk into the room, Sofia perched on his shoulder.

He lets out a hearty laugh as I stand up from my seat to greet him, a huge grin playing on my lips.

Johnathon is the loudest, most energetic, enthusiastic guy I have ever met. He is a giant of a man, nearing at 6'6 with blonde tufts of hair standing up in all directions; Grace is in fact a straight up mirror image of her father.

Growing up he had spent summers taking our gang to the park, playing baseball with us and treating us to ice cream and I honestly saw him as a second father.

"How have you been Isabella-ella-bella?" He exclaims and I laugh at the use of the nickname he used to call me as a kid.

"I've been good John, how about you! How's the new team?"

John is the football coach at the high school Grace and Mia go to and a good coach at that seeing as from what I have heard, every team he's coached always brings back several victories each year.

"I think this team might be the best I have ever trained. We have a couple players on our team that have the best skill assets I've ever seen." He pauses for a beat as he smiles to himself, a prideful expression on his face. "Aidan is one talented guy," he continues and from my peripheral vision I see Grace melt at the mention of Aidan. "Daniel, Lucas, Stevens, Dylan and Hank have great agility. They're gonna do wonders next season, I can tell."

Lucy perks up once John stops speaking. "Dylan plays football?" She exclaims jumping up from her seat, clasping her hands together. "Wow he really is perfect."

John slowly turns around and narrows his eyes at his daughter. "Excuse me missy," he says sternly and Lucy immediately closes her mouth and drops her hands. "No looking at boys until you are 20 years old!"

Lucy nods solemnly. "Okay dad. No looking at boys until I'm 20."

He retracts the finger that was pointing her way and stands up tall. "Glad we've got that clear." He smiles and places Sofia back on the ground who squawks in disappointment. "Okay I'm gonna go help the ladies, I'm starving."

John pats his stomach and strolls off into the kitchen as Lucy comes to stand beside me.

"I was crossing my fingers beside my back," she whispers in my ear. "So I can look at boys before I'm 20."

I splutter our in laughter as she gleams at me and I pull us both down onto the sofa.

"God you're hilarious Luce, I missed you."

***

"Linh this is amazing," my mom groans in appreciation as she stuffs another chopstick-full of noodles into her mouth.

"Thanks Val," she smiles in return, sitting back down next to me after piling food into her bowl.

Linh had made 'Pho' for dinner with a side of 'Goi cuon'. Although Pho is traditionally eaten at breakfast, it's my moms favourite so she had made it specifically for her.

Mia brags how she helped to make the spring rolls and Jay and Andrew argue over who was the one to make the peanut sauce that came on the side.

"I was the one who bought the ingredients to make it in the first place, so I get credit!" Andrew yells over the table.

"No because I was the one to actually make it," Jay argues back.

"So!"

"Boys stop!" John booms, trying to shush the two boys fighting and the they both sit back down in their seat with a huff at John's stern tone; he could be scary at times.

"Sorry dad," Jay exhales, sending dirty looks at his brother immaturely to which in reply, John barks out in laughter.

I haven't heard that joke in a long ass time and I find myself involuntarily smiling.

As Mia's father had walked out on their family shortly after Mia was born, cutting off ties with them all completely and only paying child support, leaving Andrew, Jay and Mia fatherless, the two boys saw John as a father figure as he sort of filled out the 'dad space' by spending time with with them as children and taking Andrew and Jay to sports games etc. Therefore, as a result, Jay used to call him 'dad'.

It was super endearing but as time grew on, it because an inside joke between the two of them and from time to time he calls John 'dad' and I guess that joke is still ongoing.

Val nudges my arm, snapping me out of my daze. "What do you think of the meal Bell?" She whispers as I look up at her and stop picking at my plate.

I smile as I see her staring down at me expectantly, hope flashing in her eyes.

"I love it!" I whisper-exclaim in reply, taking another bite of my food to emphasise my point.

She gives me a small smile and pats my arm. "I'm glad."

As she directs the conversation to someone else, I drop my gaze back to my bowl.

Linh's hopeful expression sticks to my mind and so does the similar expression my mom had given me on the day of the barbecue.

In fact the expression of my grandma seeing me eat for the first time, the expression of my dad watching me take a bite of the first meal he had cooked for me after I was discharged from the hospital and a trillion other moments where people had looked at me with that same hope blaring in their eyes, flashes through my brain.

I feel a sudden pang of guilt. It jolts through my heart as I realise how excited people get at the sight of me eating again and as I remember the disappointment and pity they all had felt for me when they had found out about my eating disorder. I feel a tug on my heart and I swallow back the sick feeling that's appeared in my chest.

In that moment I realise that I have never thought to think about how I'm not just hurting myself, but I'm hurting other people too.

I'm hurting everyone that I love, everyone that cares about me and knows about my disorder: my parents, my grandmother, Mia, Grace, Linh, Eve and John.

Although I have already overcome so much over the past couple months,
I quickly vow that I'll work even harder to push through this illness. To push through the bad thoughts and the bad days and get better.

As my first step, I stop playing around with my food and push another forkful of noodles into my mouth. I re-focus my attention onto the conversation that is going on and I laugh and chatter all throughout dinner, trying not to give in to the unwanted, intrusive thoughts that are reeling through my mind.

As I finish my meal, for once I'm not met with that icky, disgusting, guilty feeling I typically get after eating; instead I'm met with pride and the motivation that I am going to get better.

━

AUTHORS NOTE:

Hey everybodyyyyy! This is the second chapter I'm publishing today because I am on a writing roll right now lmfaooo.

Anyways hope you guys enjoyed, I promise that in the next chapter there's gonna be more Lucas and Isabella communication ;).

Love you all - Mai x