Chapter 16 My House Has Never Been This Loud
My house was never loud.
Not really.
It was large, quiet, organized, and predictable. Exactly how I preferred it.
Ryan and Sebastian lived here too, but even with them around the place was still calm most of the time. Ryan talked a lot, but he respected the general rule of the house. No chaos before noon.
Apparently that rule no longer existed.
Because when I walked toward the kitchen that morning, I could hear laughing from halfway down the hallway.
Actual laughing.
Multiple voices.
And one of them was definitely Amelia.
I stopped for a moment before entering.
She had only been here for a short time, yet somehow the house already felt different.
Louder.
Brighter.
More unpredictable.
Which should have been annoying.
Instead, I found myself curious.
When I stepped into the kitchen the scene in front of me was... chaos.
Amelia was standing near the island, smiling like she had no idea she was currently the center of a tornado.
Next to her were two girls I did not recognize.
Ryan was leaning against the counter talking to one of them with that familiar amused expression he used whenever he found someone interesting.
Which, unfortunately, seemed to be happening now.
The girl had dark hair and an expression that clearly said she did not trust him at all.
Ryan looked delighted.
Of course he did.
Sebastian stood a little further away.
Quiet as usual.
But he was looking at the other girl.
And the girl was looking at him like she had forgotten how conversations worked.
Interesting.
Then my attention moved to Amelia again.
She was laughing at something Ryan said, one hand covering her mouth like she was trying and failing to hide it.
Her hair was slightly messy.
Her oversized sweater was slipping off one shoulder.
And somehow she looked completely comfortable standing in the middle of my kitchen surrounded by people she had probably just dragged into the house.
My house.
Noah was standing beside her.
Half hiding behind her leg.
Which he seemed to be doing often lately.
He looked at me when he noticed I had entered the room.
"Dad."
The room went quiet for a second.
Amelia turned around.
And immediately straightened slightly.
"Oh. Hi."
Hi.
Like we were meeting in a coffee shop instead of my kitchen.
Ryan looked between us with obvious amusement.
"Perfect timing."
I ignored him.
My attention moved to the two unfamiliar girls again.
Amelia followed my gaze quickly.
"Oh!"
She pointed at them.
"These are my friends."
The dark-haired one crossed her arms confidently.
"Clara."
The other one smiled nervously.
"Sophie."
Ryan pushed himself off the counter.
"They broke into the house."
Amelia gasped.
"They did not break in!"
Clara pointed at Ryan.
"The gate was open."
Ryan nodded thoughtfully.
"Technically true."
I looked at Amelia.
"You invited them."
She blinked.
"No?"
Ryan laughed.
"That sounds convincing."
Amelia immediately looked defensive.
"They just showed up!"
Clara shrugged.
"We wanted to see the famous mystery woman."
Amelia groaned.
"Please stop saying that."
Ryan grinned.
"Oh we definitely are not stopping."
Sebastian finally spoke from across the room.
"They came to see her."
His voice was calm.
Simple.
Sophie looked at him immediately when he spoke again.
Ryan noticed that too.
Of course he did.
"Sebastian lives here," I said to Amelia.
She nodded quickly.
"I know."
Ryan pointed at himself.
"I also live here."
Amelia looked at him.
"You do?"
Ryan looked offended.
"I am hurt."
"You are here all the time but I thought you just visited."
Sebastian's mouth twitched slightly.
Ryan shook his head.
"This is unbelievable."
I watched the whole interaction quietly.
Amelia looked comfortable.
Too comfortable.
She spoke easily with everyone in the room like she had known them for years.
No hesitation.
No nervousness.
Most people were careful around me.
Even Ryan sometimes.
But Amelia just... talked.
Then Noah tugged on her sleeve.
She looked down immediately.
"Yes?"
He pointed at Sophie and Clara.
"Are they staying?"
That made Amelia freeze slightly.
She looked up at me.
"Oh."
Then she laughed awkwardly.
"No they are definitely not staying."
Clara leaned toward Ryan.
"Why not."
Ryan looked very interested in this conversation suddenly.
"Yes Amelia. Why not."
Amelia waved her hands quickly.
"Because this is not my house!"
Ryan pointed at me.
"That is correct."
Sebastian watched quietly.
Amelia looked slightly embarrassed now.
"Sorry. They just came to see me."
Clara leaned back against the counter like she had no intention of leaving anytime soon.
Ryan looked like he was enjoying that.
I glanced between the four of them.
Ryan clearly liked Clara's attitude.
Sebastian had not stopped watching Sophie.
And Amelia looked like she was trying to keep everything under control but failing.
Then I spoke.
"They can stay."
Amelia blinked.
"What?"
"If they want."
She stared at me like she thought she had heard wrong.
"Stay?"
Ryan's grin returned immediately.
"This is getting interesting."
Clara looked impressed.
"You have a lot of empty rooms in this place."
Amelia looked between all of us.
Then back at me.
"Wait... seriously?"
"This house is large."
Ryan nodded.
"Very large."
I continued looking at Amelia.
"You said they came here for work."
She nodded slowly.
"Yes."
"They can stay here."
Amelia stared at me for another moment.
Then she smiled.
A bright, excited smile.
The kind that made the entire room feel warmer for no logical reason.
"Really?"
Ryan leaned toward Clara.
"See. I told you this would be entertaining."
Sebastian looked at Sophie again.
She was still watching him like she had just discovered something interesting.
Amelia laughed softly.
"My friends living here."
Ryan raised a hand.
"I support this idea."
I looked at Amelia again.
And realized something slightly concerning.
The house had already started feeling different the moment she arrived.
Now she was about to bring two more people with her.
More noise.
More chaos.
More laughter.
And for some reason I did not stop it.
Which meant Amelia Carter had somehow convinced me to turn my quiet house into something else entirely.
I had the strange feeling this was only the beginning