Ray of Hope

The Banquet

The next morning Nick awoke to a persistent doorbell ringing in his ear "I'm coming damn it!" he mumbled. He was so sleepy he forgot to put a robe on, almost sleepwalking he made it to the door only in his boxers and a T-shirt. "What the..."' his voice trailed off.

"Hey there sleepy head." Melanie waltzed in, Angel and his mother trailing behind. "We thought we would take you to breakfast. Right, Mrs. Carter?" she smiled flirtatiously at Nick, who yawned and covered his manhood.

"Mom...Angel...Mel...it's nine in the morning" he mumbled suddenly realizing that he was in his boxers in front of his mother and sister "Let me get dressed" he dragged himself back to the room. This is great...Mel, my mother and my sister. Breakfast, chit chat...gossip...he huffed with frustration as he pulled his cargo shorts on and a black polo shirt.

In minutes he was back in the living room with the three women that were busy exploring the house. "Oh son, this house needs a woman's touch. Don't you think Melanie?" she smiled at the blonde.

"I do...Mrs. Carter...I think everything needs...a woman's touch" she said in a seductive way.

"Hey big brother I actually like the way it looks, much more open. And the pool is AMAZING." His sister kissed his cheek. "So...let's get some food. I'm hungry." She grabbed his hand and they all piled into the rented Mercedes SUV.

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Raidyn woke to a nagging Mia who flung things out of the closet. "Nothing fits...this sucks...I'm sick...I hate you..." she talked to herself.

"Uh...is everything alright?" Raidyn sat up and stared at Mia. "Who do you hate?"

"Whoever knocked..." she stopped abruptly realizing what she was about to say "Uh...whoever was knocking on the door early this morning. Damn sales people. They woke me up and I can't go back to sleep." she grinned, still scavenging the closet.

"How can nothing fit you? EVERYTHING fits you." Raidyn said, taking a seat next to Mia. "What the hell is going on Mia? I thought we were sisters and that we trusted each other. I can see that something is wrong, I just want to help."

Mia groaned. She didn't know what she was asking her to confess, if she even mentioned it, it would break her heart. Nick was included in the potential impregnators and so was someone else special to her. "It's nothing really Ray. I'm just getting...fatter" she looked up quickly, realizing her insult "Uh...not that...I mean...you know that...I"

Raidyn laughed "Oh god you gain a pound or two and you're having a cow. That's it...all this drama over some pounds?" she let out a sigh of relief. "I thought you were going to tell me that you have a terminal illness or that you're pregnant." she stood up and laid back down "I guess I can rest easy now."

Mia bit the inside of her cheek. What was she going to do? Who could she tell?

AJ would shrug her off by calling her a whore. Nick...she didn't know what he would do, but it would break Ray's heart to know her own sister was knocked up by her now boyfriend. Then the third, he was evil and most likely would beat it out of her. She sighed with frustration and continued nagging and rummaging.

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Later that evening Nick fixed his tux, he was nervous. He hadn't told Raidyn about the banquet, or that his dad conveniently had brought Melanie to be his date. He would have given anything to have her there at the moment, it would have been a comfort. "Hey there son" Bob entered the room, also wearing a tux, he slapped a hand on Nick's back. "Looking sharp son. Did you get a look at that Melanie girl." he chuckled.