CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN

CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN: ATHENA

Finally, after such an exhausting week, it has come to an end; I've always enjoyed weekends, even if they always seem to fly by in a blur, and before you know it, it's already Monday.

It's Saturday, and the boys were on their way here because of the dinner Sophia had asked me to invite them to earlier in the week.

She had been on edge all week, trying to make everything perfect because we hadn't had visitors in a long time, so planning this dinner made her very happy, and seeing her excited made me happy too, because she was always busy working and never had the chance to unwind.

"I think everything is ready, we can go get ready after we clean up," Sophia said, covering the last tupperware of food and staring at me with a small smile on her face, "Our guest might arrive any moment now seeing as it's already 1pm."

"They had already left the house, according to the text Austin sent. Anyway, since you haven't had a shower yet, you can leave; I'll take care of the cleaning" I offered, knowing that if I didn't get her out of here now, she wouldn't have enough time to get ready.

"Are you sure? You haven't taken a shower either, and cleaning looks like a lot of work for one person" Sophia said with a guilty expression on her face.

"It's okay Sophia, getting ready won't take much time, I'll handle it, now off you go," I said as I gently nudged her toward her room door. I could see the hesitation in her eyes, but she eventually left the kitchen after some convincing and went into her room to get ready, leaving me to clean up, which didn't take as long as she said because I was done in thirty minutes and went to get ready as well.

I quickly showered before going into my room to choose what to wear. I picked a navy blue skater dress with a pair of black ballet flats because I did not want to look overdressed but also not undressed, and I let my hair fall on my shoulders since it looked better than when it's in a bun.

After our little moment in the library, Leo and I have been getting closer, which Austin constantly teases us about, but I know he is happy for us and I hope one day he finds somebody with whom he can be happy with because he deserves it after everything he has gone through.

When I came out of my room, Sophia had already finished getting ready and was standing in the living room waiting. She was wearing a red off-the-shoulder dress, a pair of black ballet flats, and her hair up in a bun looking beautiful as always.

When her gaze met mine, she smiled and said, "Thank you dear for cleaning up."

"Happy to help; you look lovely; who exactly did you get all dressed up for?" I teased knowing who she was dressed up for, but it felt so good to tease her because her reactions are always so cute, she blushed slightly at my statement, staring at me with a playful glare.

"You know I invited Stephen, so stop teasing me, Athena," she said, looking up at me with a questioning gaze, "Do you think this gown is too much?" If you don't like it, I can change it."

I walked up to Sophia, her nervousness visible on her face, which made me feel less nervous than before because I was also jittery because Leo was coming here, I took her hands in mine as she stared at me "Sophia, you look lovely; he is very lucky to have you; in fact, any man would be extremely lucky to have you; never forget that Sophia,"

"Thank you, dear for the pep talk; you look lovely as well." She commented before smiling, her nervousness gone.

"Thank you, Sophia."

"Leo won't be able to take his eyes away from you."

"Don't tease me, Sophia," I replied, blushing slightly at her remark.

"Aww you look so cute all flustered," Sophia said, pulling on my cheeks.

"Look who's talking, little miss bundle of nerves." I laughed softly before pulling away from her attack on my cheeks, which caused her to laugh loudly.

"I hope they like my cooking, Athena, I'm so nervous,"

"Sophia, relax, they'll love your cooking and everything you planned, don't worry," I said, giving her a reassuring smile before the doorbell rang.

When I went to open the door, Stephen was standing on the other side with a huge grin on his face and two bouquets of flowers in his hands.

He was dressed in a blue checked shirt, black trousers, and black dress shoes; he was a good looking man, no wonder Aunt Sophia was so taken with him.

"Hi Stephen," I smiled as I moved out of the way to allow him to enter the apartment.

"This is for you, Athena," Stephen said as he handed me the bouquet of daisies in his left hand.

"They're lovely, Stephen, thank you," I said as I pulled him into a hug, which he returned; Sophia must have told him I loved daisies.

"I didn't want to come empty handed, so no need to thank me, Athena, and this is for you, my beautiful rose," Stephan said as he walked over to Sophia and kissed her cheek before handing her the bouquet of roses.

"Thank you, Darling, the flowers are lovely," Sophia replied, blushing slightly.

"Yes, but not as beautiful as you, mi amor," Stephen said, and Sophia's blush deepened; this was the first time I'd seen her so flustered, which was surprising given that she works in a bar.

"Awwwn Sophia, you're blushing, I've got to get a picture of this to show Uncle Jerry," I joked as I pulled out my phone and took a picture of her with Stephen.

"I hate you, Athena," she muttered quietly, making Stephen and me laugh.

"You love me, don't deny it," I said with a huge grin, turning to face Stephen, who was watching us with an amused expression, "Stephen, I wanted to thank you again for your help at the hospital with Shane; I am extremely grateful."

"It was my pleasure, Athena," Stephen said with a small smile, "and before I forget, I also got this for you guys, it's fruit wine because Athena isn't old enough to drink yet."

"Thank you, Stephen," Sophia and I said together before I went to put the bottle of wine in the freezer for later. When I returned, the doorbell rang again, and I went to open i

The boys were standing on the other side, Shane was the first to rush at me, he engulfed me in a hug, a huge grin on his face, with a huge grin on my face

"How is my favorite little person doing?" I asked as I kissed his temple.

"I'm fine, Athena; how about you?" Shane signed

"I'm glad you're here." I replied with a wide grin, and Austin walked in after giving me a hug after Shane pulled away.

"You look stunning, Red, how shocking," Austin teased, making me punch him in the arm.

"You look nice Austin, I'll be civil unlike you," I said, sticking my tongue out at him, which only made his smile wider. Ignoring him, my gaze then shifted to Leo.

He stood there staring at me with that intense gaze that always makes me feel self-conscious. "Hey Princessa, you look beautiful, don't listen to that fool," he said as he hugged and kissed my cheek.

"Thank you Leo, and you don't look too bad yourself," I said, knowing that my statement didn't do him justice, because he looked very handsome in that suit and with his hair in a ponytail.

When I got out of my head, he was smiling, which meant he caught me staring again, which caused my blush to deepen.

When I expected him to tease me for staring, he simply walked over to Sophia and handed her a bouquet of flower

"Thank you for inviting us, this is my little brother Shane, Shane, this is Sophia, Athena's aunt," Leo said as Shane hid behind his legs, "it might not be much, but we all chipped in to get you this, Athena mentioned you liked roses."

"Thank you guys, I love it," Sophia said as she took the bouquet and went to place it next to the one Stephen had given her.

Sophia then approached Shane with a smile on her face and pulled him in for a hug; by the time she drew away, he was blushing furiously.

"Hello, little guy," Sophia said.

"Hi, you look pretty Ma" Shane signed with a shy smile.

"Thank you, Shane; if you want, you can call me Sophia." Shane smiled and nodded at Sophia's words.

Sophia then turned to Austin, who was smiling down at her, and asked, "Austin, I hope you're doing better now?"

"Yes ma, thank you," Austin said with a toothy grin, causing Sophia to smile back.

"This is my boyfriend Stephen, boys." Sophia said this as she turned to officially introduce Stephen.

"Hello sir, it's good to see you again, thank you for your help with Shane, I really appreciate it," Leo said, stretching his hands to shake Stephen's hand, which Stephen accepted politely with a smile.

"I was just doing my job; it wasn't a problem." Stephen said as he turned to greet Austin and Shane,

"How are you, Austin?" It's great to meet another of Athena's friends," Stephan said.

"Fine sir, it's nice to meet you as well," Austin replied, smiling.

"Hello, Shane. Do you remember me? I hope you're all doing well now." Stephen signed surprisingly well; we all looked at him in surprise, and he just laughed at our reactions; even though Shane isn't deaf, we like to use sign language with him occasionally so he doesn't feel different.

"As a doctor, I had to learn sign language," Stephen explained.

"It's nice to meet you, sir, and yes, I remember you." Shane signed back, returning Stephen's smile.

"I hope you all like pasta, Athena and I put a lot of effort into dinner, I hope you like it," Sophia said as we took our seats, Shane next to Austin, Leo next to me, and Stephen next to Sophia. After serving ourselves, we all started asking each other questions to get to know each other better.

"Shane, how old are you?" Sophia asked and Shane gave her a wary smile as he turned to face Leo

"Sorry he's a little shy, he's actually thirteen years old but my mother filled in the wrong date of birth on his certificate and the country thinks he's fifteen," Leo explained with a sad smile, judging by their expressions, they didn't like talking about their old lives.

"Well, whatever age he is, he seems mature for a young boy, I was very impressed with his composure when he was still in the hospital," Stephen said with a small smile

"Thank you, sir," Shane replied, his mood lifted. Austin then grabbed the largest looking chicken and placed it on his plate.

"Eat up, kid, you need to grow so you can be as tall as me, shortie," Austin joked, causing everyone to laugh and Shane to pout.

"I'm not short" Shane signed

"Keep telling yourself that, little man," Austin said, and I gave him a grateful smile; he always knows what to say to cheer everyone up and lighten the mood.

"I heard you like buildings, Shane?" Sophia asked.

"Yes, I want to be an architect when I grow up so that I can build a house for everyone I care about, so they don't have to sleep in a car." Shane signed with a big smile on his face but the last thing he said broke my heart.

After their parents died, did they have to sleep in their car? I thought but there was no point in feeling sorry for them because they were in a better place now.

"That's a lovely dream, Shane, so if you don't mind, we got you this." Sophia said as she got out of the chair and went into the living room, returning a few minutes later with a small bag. When she took her seat, she took out a wrapped box that I hadn't seen before; what could it be?

"This is a get well soon gift from Stephen and me, even though it is long overdue, I hope you like it" Sophia said as she handed Shane the gift, which he immediately opened.

When his gaze fell on the gift, his eyes lit up; he lifted it up to show Leo, Austin, and I. It was a construction worker set, with an action figure, a truck, and various materials for the action figure.

"Thank you guys, I love it," Shane said as I turned to face Leo, who looked like he was about to cry, as did Austin, and even me, I couldn't keep my emotions in check, they made his night and I couldn't be more proud.

"Thank you so much, you don't how grateful I am to you guys" Leo said trying to control his emotions while Austin gave him a pat on the back a comfort him a thankful smile directed at Sophia and Stephen

"You don't need to thank us Leo, Sophia, and Athena have already adopted you into their family, so just remember you're now stuck with an overprotective aunt," Stephen said with a huge grin causing Sophia to punch him in the arm

"I'm not overprotective," Sophia mumbled under her breath.

"Keep telling yourself that, my love," Stephen said, and I couldn't stop myself from walking up to her and giving her a hug.

"Don't get all emotional on me; I haven't given out all the presents yet." Sophia smiled as she kissed my temple.

"How didn't I know about the gifts? When did you get them?" I asked.

"Well, no offense Athena, but you aren't very good at keeping secrets, so I didn't want you to know because you would have let it slip and told them," Sophia explained, causing everyone at the table to laugh as I walked over to my seat.

Then she took two more wrapped gifts from the bag she had taken Shane's gift from and handed one to Austin and Leo, who both stared at her in surprise.

"You also got something for us? They both asked, still looking shocked.

"Of course, now open it," Sophia said with a big grin on her face.