Chapter Twelve

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I wait for my father by the BMW dealership, feeling anxious. I mean, he is my father. I've spent 16 years of my life in the same house with him. But it somehow feels like he is a complete stranger.

"Jessica!" I hear his voice before I see him.

"Jonathan," I say, watching him step out of the car.

"The name is Dad."

"Sure." I roll my eyes.

He leans in for a hug, but I settle with a handshake. He doesn't hide his disappointment, but I couldn't care less.

"It's been long. Did you lose some weight?" He says it like it's a compliment.

Pompous jerk!

"A dream come true, huh? You don't have to deal with a fat daughter anymore."

"Jessica!" He scolds.

I shake my head and make my way inside, leaving him to follow behind. As soon as we enter, a man who looks to be in his mid 50's comes to greet us. By the looks of it, he knows exactly who my father is. He looks over to him for approval after every word he utters. My father, on the other hand, is in full business mode. Straight posture and commanding voice as he explains to the man how he wants to buy the best car they have for his darling daughter.

I roll my eyes at everything that comes out of his mouth like the bitter teenager I am.

"So, what can I show you? Are you looking for anything in particular?" The man asks me.

"Not really. Just a metal box on top of four tires and a wheel on the inside." I say sarcastically.

I know I'm taking my frustration out on the poor man, but I just can't help myself.

"Excuse my daughter. She's usually polite." My father says, shooting me a glare.

"And how exactly do you know how I usually am?" I arch a brow.

"Let's not do this here." He says through gritted teeth.

"Any car will do, Sir," I say as nicely as possible, smiling sweetly at the man.

"Sure. We have the latest model..."

I tune him out. My mind goes to the redhead and Liam. I can't believe Emily said all those things to me. She sounded almost certain that Liam would hurt me. And why did Ellyn have to be so beautiful? Of course, they dated. How did I miss that? I shouldn't even care, but I do. God, I really do.

"So?" The man says, and they are both staring at me.

"Hmm?"

"What do you think about this one?" He points at the latest model, silver BMW x6.

It's love at first sight. It's a beautiful car. But I don't want to give my father the satisfaction of seeing me excited.

"Yeah, it's cool." I shrug.

The man shows me the interior and explains its features.

"Do you like it?" My father asks.

He is bewildered that I am not overjoyed right now.

"Yeah, sure," I answer.

"Nothing impresses you, does it?" He shakes his head. "Your mother was the same."

I don't even want to respond to that, so I pretend like I didn't hear him. The dealer lets me take it for a test drive, and I fall in love with it even more. I am impressed by its ease and grace, but I remain nonchalant. After filling the paperwork and arranging a pick-up date, we head back to the car.

"Miss. Grayson!" Griffen, my dad's driver, greets me as he holds the door open.

"Hello, Griffen." I smile, sliding into the back seat. My father gets in after me.

"So, I suppose your mother told you about the Engagement." He says when we get on the road.

Is he for real? Does he really want to get into that in front of Griffin?

"Yeah, but she didn't have to. It's all over the papers!"

"Jessica, I need you to. . ." I cut him off, shaking my head.

"No!" I say. "I'm not coming to celebrate your Engagement with mom's best friend, father."

"Jessica..."

I plug my earphones in and turn the volume up. He pulls it out of my ears and throws it to the side.

"Have some respect, young lady. I'm trying to talk to you." He says, and I laugh.

"You're going to talk to me about respect? That's rich! The man who disrespected his marriage giving lectures on respect. Is there a pen? I should take notes." My voice is full of sarcasm and venom.

"If you don't show up to the party, you can kiss your college fund goodbye." His voice is even more deadly than mine, and I am stunned to silence.

He did not just say that. He didn't just hold my future against me for a stupid party! Just when I thought he couldn't sink any lower.

We shortly park outside the house, and I jump out of the car and slam the door shut. He doesn't come after me. I hear the tires screech, and then they are gone. He doesn't even care to come inside and say Hi to the boys.

I walk inside and hear the twins playing on their X box. I feel bad that he left without coming inside. I try to come up with a good excuse as to why he left, and that is when I hear a laugh.

I know that laugh.

I hurry to the living room, and my eyes almost pop out of their sockets when I see him.

"Liam?" I gasp. "What are you doing here?"

Liam's eyes land on me, and he smiles.

"He's here to teach us how to skate!" Dean beams.

"Aren't you supposed to be in detention?" I look at him with amazement.

"Principal Carter decided to improvise." He says.

I frown, and he picks up on my confusion.

"I might have promised him some gym equipment. Nothing too big." He says.

I watch him with wide eyes. Did he really bribe Principal Carter into not giving him detention?

He grins at my shock and goes back to the game, his skillful fingers moving against the joystick.

"Jess, you came."

I turn around to find my mother holding a brownie and smiling at me. I am a bit astonished she baked. She never bakes.

"Yeah, I just came in," I tell her, frowning.

"You didn't tell me you made a new friend." She walks towards me. "He's hot!" She whispers in my ear as she passes by, and I whip my head up to look at him, but he's focused on the screen.

I let out a relieved sigh.

"Boys have something to eat." She puts the cake down and starts cutting it in perfect triangular shapes.

The boys drop the controller, and they each take a piece. I take one myself, and as soon as I bite into it, my taste buds explode.

It's so delicious. Why doesn't she bake more?

"This is delicious." Liam closes his eyes, savoring the taste.

"You're too kind." She blushes.

Oh, wow!

"Liam, let's talk," I say.

He looks up at me.

"Now!" I say firmly, giving him a stern look.

He frowns and gets up. I lead him away to the kitchen, so we are out of earshot.

"Are you mad that I'm here?" He asks. "I came looking for you, and your mom invited me in."

"No, I'm not mad. I'm just a little confused."

"I just- I wanted to check on you." He shifts in his boots. "Did... did Emily say something to you?"

I frown.

Alarm flashes in Liams eyes as he waits for my reply.

"She said Ellyn is your ex. She said you two have a history or something like that."

"That's it?" He says, visibly relaxing.

My frown deepens.

What did he expect her to tell me?

"Why didn't you tell me she was your ex?"

"Liam, let's go out and skate!" Zach yells from the living room.

"I'm coming." Liam hollers back.

"It's complicated with her and I. But we are good friends now, nothing more." He tells me. "You have a brownie on your lips." He chuckles.

I narrow my eyes at him because I think he's just trying to change the subject.

He sighs and wipes the corner of my mouth with his thumb and shows me the small crumb.

Oh!

I give him a small embarrassed smile, but it quickly fades as I watch him bring his finger to his mouth and suck on it.

My eyes widen. My cheeks flush, and I squirm under his watchful gaze. His eyes travel from my eyes to my lips and stay there.

Out of nowhere, Lux starts barking and jumping up and down at my feet. I am beyond irritated when I bend to pick her up. Both Zach and Dean rush to the room and pull Liam away and out.

"You interrupted a very important moment, Lux." I whisper in her ears. "Mommy is not very happy with you right now."

I head to the living room with her in my arms.

"Where were boys like him when I was in high school? Good lord!" Mom says when she sees me, and I laugh, putting Lux down.

"So, you approve of the motorcycle and tattoos, huh?"

"I don't think appearance defines people. If he is good to you, then I approve." She says.

This is one of the things I love about mom. If my father met Liam, he would have a million opinions formed with in the minute. Not that I'd care. But luckily for him, we're not actually dating.

"So," She says, turning around to clean up the mess on the table. "How was it with your father? Did you two talk?"

"Yeah. He said he won't pay for college if I don't show up to his stupid party." I tell her, and she gasps.

She looks at me like she is waiting for me to say I'm just joking.

"He actually said that?" She asks.

"Yep!"

She shakes her head with a heavy sigh. I can tell that she is upset, so I decide to just play it off.

"I'll just go to his stupid party and embarrass him all night. No problem." I tell her.

She shoots me a troubled smile.

"Let me go see how the boys are doing." I pick Lux up once again and head out the door.

***

Hope you enjoyed this chapter. If you have any feedback feel free to comment. And don't forget to please vote.

I said please, so now you have to do it. :)

Love, Becca.


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