The Art of Subconscious Illusion

Chapter Ten.

I woke up to someone knocking on my door, causing me to jump about a foot in the air and I managed to fall out of bed as I was tangled up in my sheets. The dream I was having must have really got me hot and bothered, damn my subconscious for wanting things that I wasn’t prepared for. The knocking continued as I managed to stand up and finally opened the door, revealing Zacky standing in the doorway.

“Good morning to you.” He grinned at me, “I see you slept like a rock.” I noticed him staring at my chest like he had done the time he came over to bring back my phone.

“Yes, I tend to do that. I could sleep through a hurricane if I tried.” I stated, crossing my arms in front of my chest. “Is there a reason you’re waking me up so early?” I questioned him, seeing him give me a funny look as he looked at his phone.

“It’s...four o'clock in the afternoon. I’m taking you out to dinner in two hours.” He pointed out and I grabbed his phone out of his hands, my mouth dropping open as I looked at the time and it was now four o’three. I never slept this late...ever...for anything.

“Why didn’t you wake me up sooner?!” I exclaimed, starting to go into panic mode. I still have to shower, shave, find something to wear, do my hair and makeup...what the hell, why was I freaking out?

“Relax, you needed sleep and it’s only dinner at my grandparents. They are having a family get together and I figured that I would bring you since you have me meeting your family on Sunday that this would be good to do.” he explained and I felt my panic set in even more. “It’ll just be my grandparents, my father, brother and sister, some aunts and uncles and some cousins is all.”

“Is...all?” I breathed out, I hadn’t realized that I had moved back against the bed until I sat down. “Oh god, what am I supposed to wear? Is it formal? Semi-formal? Casual?”

“It’s a cookout, just breath and relax...do you have a simple and nice dress?” He asked, sitting next to me and putting an arm around my shoulder. I relaxed into him, letting the smell of his cologne wash over me.

“I have a green sundress that has white flowers on it...along with some green flats and one of those white floppy hats.” I fiddled with my lip ring as I thought about this.

“Well see, there you go! You have no reason to be nervous, they are going to love you.” He stated, looking at his phone. “I will leave you alone to get ready, don’t worry about Mel and Rach, they are hanging out with the guys to get shown around more. They completely understand and told me to tell you not to worry about them.” He said before leaving the room and I just sat there in even more shock. He had...already talked to my friends about this?

I made my way into the shower, letting the water relax me even further before I went to work on hair then went to shaving the parts of my body that needed the attention. I got out and dried off, putting my hair into a small braid before looping it to make a headband and curling the rest of it. Makeup wasn’t my strong point, so I just went for a natural look before I put in my contacts.

Slipping into the dress, there was a knock on the door and I opened it to reveal Brian, whose mouth dropped open when he saw me.

“Wow...Lucy, you really clean up well.” He stated, causing my face to heat up. “Sorry to interrupt your process, but Zacky is getting antsy. He gets like that when it comes to his family.”

“Oh god, are they that bad?” I exclaimed, feeling my body fill with panic once more and he chuckled.

“Oh no, he just doesn’t like arriving late to anything.” He smiled at me, as I fiddled with my lip ring. “Don’t worry too much, they will love you all you have to do is be yourself. Keep in mind that Gena is not a topic you want to talk about even if it’s one of them bringing it up. They despised her because of how disrespectful and terrible she really was. You will be good for him because you’ll be able to set him straight if he needs it.”

“Thank you Brian, that means a lot...I’m just...relationships are difficult.” I stated, biting my lip and he pulled me into a hug which took me by surprise. He didn’t say anything else as he let me pass him and grab my hat and purse, making sure I had any emergency things I would need. I walked upstairs, finding Zacky standing in a pair of green skinny jeans and a white skull shirt. I suddenly felt overdressed and shocked that he actually made us matching. Oh dear God…He turned around and his mouth dropped open, before his face turned a pretty shade of crimson. What was that about?

“L-Lucy...um, wow! You look...uh...you look great!” he stammered, rubbing the back of his neck, opening the car door for like a true gentleman. I flashed him a nervous smile and he returned it, closing the car door once I had gotten in. He ran over to the other side of car quickly and buckled up, adjusting his mirror ever so slightly before taking off down the road towards his Grandparents house. We pulled up to a decent sized white two story home with a respectable amount of yard around it. It was settled on the outskirts of town and I bit my lip when he turned car off.

“Well...here we are. Are you ready for this?” he asked me, turning to read my facial expressions.

“Of course! What could possibly go wrong?” I asked and instantly wished I hadn’t said anything. Murphy’s law was going to come back to bite me in the ass in the long run if I wasn’t careful.

“Exactly. You’ll do great hun.” he stated, getting out of the car and I just sat there paralyzed by nerves. He made his way over to my side and opened the door, letting out a hand for me to take to get me moving. I reluctantly took and was ambushed by a woman that resembled Zacky in the face and had his black hair but it was longer and had tasteful blonde highlights in it. Her eyes were the same green but she looked fairly older than either of us, several years at least. She threw her arms around me and engulfed me in an embrace that I had never experienced before except with Rach and Mel.

“Oh thank God you’re here!” she exclaimed, her voice muffled from hugging me.

“Uhh, Zina?” Zacky prodded and she let go and took a step back to actually get a good look at me.

“I’m sorry, its just that when I heard Zacky was bringing a girl that wasn’t Gena, I thought it was too good be true. But here you are!” she exclaimed all giddy. “Oh, where are my manners? I’m Zina, Zacky’s older sister. Come on in and we’ll introduce you the clan!” she and Zacky led me up the walkway and I followed them inside. “This is my husband William Pacheo and our two wonderful children, Gianna and Gavin. That is Matt, our baby brother and our father James. The rest of the family is outside in the backyard and getting ready to eat. Everyone this is...oh I’m sorry sweetheart, I didn’t get your name.”

“My name is Susan Luscinia, but I go by Lucy.” I said shyly as I waved and wish my hair could cover my face. “It’s so nice to meet you all.”

“It’s fantastic to meet you Lucy!” Their father James said, walking over to me and bringing me into a friendly hug. It took me by surprise and I flinched slightly, having never received a kind hug from a man in a fatherly position. It was strange and foreign to me, but I slowly hugged him back after giving Zacky a frightened look.

“So how do you know Zack here?” William asked me, causing me to glance at him again. How much did they know? Did they know about me? Should I tell them the truth?

“We went to and graduated from the same high school.” I said the first thing that came to my mind.

“Ahh high school buddies is it?” James beamed and then recognition hit his features. “Susan...Oh that’s right! Zack here used to talk a Susan all the time.” he stated and my eyes fell on Zacky whose face was turning red and his eyes were round with shock and embarrassment.

“Dad! Seriously?” he grumbled taking my hand and leading me out back. “Hey Grams, Gramps!” he greeted two elderly people who sat in a porch swing that hung off of a strong looking tree branch from an oak tree in the middle of the yard.

“Zacky doodle!” the elderly woman beamed, trying her best to stand up as fast she could, making her way over to us. Hehe...Zacky doodle. She finally made it over and pulled him into a hug, seeing him smile and hug him back made me smile. “Ohhh, who is this? I heard that you weren’t with Gena, but who is this lovely girl?”

“I’m Susan Luscinia, you can call me Lucy.” I smiled, holding out my hand and she grabbed it, before pulling me into a hug. Damn, this little lady is strong!

“You can call me Grandma Cathy or Grams Cat!” She exclaimed and I stood there in shock, I never even called my adoptive family’s grandparents that. They found it disrespectful for an outsider to say such things.

“Cathy, you’re scaring the poor girl!” His Grandpa responded as he came over to me and pulled me into a hug. “I’m Terry, you can just call me Grandpa.” he pulled away, not keeping me in the same position for too long.”Why don’t you two find yourself a seat and we’ll bring the food to you.” We both nodded and Zacky took my hand in his, sending a shock through my body as he led me over to some empty lawn chairs.

I couldn’t put my finger on it, but this just felt so right and I felt right at home. With his family, with him...it was like I finally felt complete with him by my side.

What...what was happening to me?