What's Left of My World (Book 2): This We Will Defend

by C. A. Rudolph

  Alan reached into his wallet and handed Lauren two twenty-dollar bills, which she took, folded, and mindlessly stuffed into her bra—to his astonishment.

  “Is that where you keep your wallet?” he asked.

  Lauren balked. “Um, no.”

  “Then I suggest you put that money somewhere else.”

  Lauren tilted her head and hesitated, to gauge her father’s level of seriousness. Alan’s voice deepened an octave in response.

  “Now,” he insisted.

  Lauren pulled the money from her bra and stuffed it into her back pocket and then sighed loudly. “Now can I go?”

  “Bring him over here so I can meet him,” Alan said while taking his eyes off his daughter and directing them at Hunter.

  “Seriously?”

  “Yes. I want to meet him,” Alan said.

  “Fine,” Lauren hissed. She opened the car door and stepped out, then slammed it shut behind her.

  Alan sighed and rubbed his forehead. He remembered how easy it had been to deal with his daughter when she was younger. Lauren had reached a defiant stage in her life, and even though he knew it was temporary, as most stages were, it was draining the lifeblood from him. Alan was a patient person, thanks to the virtues instilled in him by his mother, but even he had a breaking point—and he’d come dangerously close to reaching it recently. This movie-date thing wasn’t helping.

  He watched as Lauren approached the boy and gave him a hug. The boy lifted her from the ground and kissed her for what seemed like way too long for any kiss to last. The embrace started off as a friendly one, but as the boy let her down, his hands found their way to Lauren’s backside—and Alan quickly lost his mind.

  After a few minutes had gone by that felt more like hours, Lauren finally led the young man over to Alan’s car. As she went to open the passenger door, Alan turned the car off, opened his door and stepped out. Lauren’s eyes widened as he approached. Hunter stood just behind her, as if to use her as a shield. He displayed what could only be described as a shit-eating grin on his face.

  “Aren’t you going to introduce us?” asked Alan.

  Lauren sighed. “Sorry. Dad, this is Hunter. Hunter, this is my dad.”

  Hunter turned around and spit a large wad of something on the ground and then smiled. He held his right hand outward and Alan accepted it into a handshake.

  “Nice to meet you,” Hunter said, with an overly exaggerated grin.

  “Are you sure about that?”

  “Excuse me?” Hunter questioned, his eyes narrowing.

  “You must really like my daughter, don’t you?”

  Hunter tilted his head backward. “Yeah. As a matter of fact, I do,” he said arrogantly.

  “That’s good. That’s good,” Alan said. He paused for a moment while still gripping the boy’s hand. “She’s got a nice ass, doesn’t she?”

  Lauren’s eyes became as wide as saucers. She was mortified.

  “Um, what?” Hunter reacted.

  “My daughter. Your date. She’s got a nice ass, doesn’t she?”

  Alan’s grip tightened. Hunter didn’t know how to respond and started scanning the crowd, looking for some way out of this. Alan watched the boy as he fretted, deducing that he was the popular type who required an audience to cater to his ego. With his friends not around to back him up or egg him on, he was nothing.

  “Dude, I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Hunter said, finally able to jerk his hand away from Alan’s grip.

  “Dad—” Lauren broke in, trying to end the confrontation.

  “That’s funny, Hunter,” Alan continued. “You must be suffering from short-term memory loss. You see, not even two minutes ago, both of your grimy palms were glued to my daughter’s butt.”

  “Dude, what are you, some kind of a pervert?” Hunter retorted. “Talking about your daughter’s butt—that’s pretty messed up, if you ask me.”

  “No one asked you,” Alan dared. He then reached out suddenly and grabbed Hunter by his ear. When Hunter instinctively tried to retaliate with a punch, Alan caught his hand in midair and twisted Hunter’s arm, causing him to wince in pain.

  “Did you just attempt to assault me, Hunter?” Alan quizzed.

  “DAD!” Lauren shrieked. “Are you crazy? Let him go!”

  “Dude—my arm!” Hunter gasped. “Get the hell off me!”

  Alan pivoted around and noticed that some of the teenagers in the crowd had started to look his way, but the confrontation hadn’t yet gone viral. He methodically released his grip on the boy, and as Hunter pulled himself together, Alan moved nose to nose with him. He formed a solid knife hand and poked Hunter’s chest several times to get his attention.

  “Hunter—let me make myself clear, right here, right now,” Alan said. “If I ever…see you touch my daughter in a disrespectful way or put your hands anywhere else they don’t belong, it will be the last thing you ever do with your hands.”

  Hunter stood silently, rubbing his wrist. He looked as though all his confidence had been sucked out of him.

  “Nod your head if you understand, Hunter,” Alan said.

  Hunter gave in and offered a slight nod while his eyes constantly scanned the crowd. Alan gave him some space and glanced down to his daughter, who was glaring at him with her arms crossed over her chest. She wasn’t pleased with him, and he knew it.

  “Are you done, Dad? The movie starts in like ten minutes.”

  Alan smiled and nodded. “Sure. You two have fun.”

  Lauren turned around and began to walk away while reaching to grab ahold of Hunter’s hand. When Hunter took one last glance at Alan, Alan gave him the coldest stare that he could muster and then watched helplessly as the two moved indoors and out of sight. As he turned to get back into his car, he saw two familiar faces and went to greet them.

  Alan smiled broadly. “What the hell are you two doing here?”

  It was Lee and John Boyce. Both were as surprised to see Alan as he was to see them.

  “We came to see the new Star Wars movie,” John said. “Why are you here?”

  Alan rocked his head backward. “Take a wild guess.”

  “Oh, that’s right. Lauren’s date with Hunter Shockey,” John said as he turned and smirked at his brother.

  “Hunter Shockey?” Lee asked. “Please tell me you’re kidding—that guy is a total douche bag.”

  Alan’s face sank. “Tell me about it. I just had the privilege of meeting him.”

  “Dude, he’s a spoiled, overprivileged prick. His family is super-rich. He plays lacrosse and he’s one of the best players because his dad pays a professional to teach him,” Lee explained.

  “That explains the handshake,” muttered Alan.

  “What?” John asked curiously.

  Lee smiled. “Did we miss something?”

  “No—it’s nothing, guys,” Alan said unpersuasively.

  “Dude, you don’t need to worry. Lauren is a total badass. She can handle herself,” said Lee. “Isn’t she like a black belt now?”

  “Almost,” Alan replied. “But it’s not her ability to fight off attackers that I’m worried about at the moment, Lee.”

  “Want us to keep an eye on her?” asked John.

  Alan glanced at John, then looked over to the theatre and then back at the two young men he’d known since they were little boys. They had earned his trust long ago and would’ve even if they hadn’t been the offspring of one of his closest friends.

  “I can’t ask you to do that, John,” Alan said. “It wouldn’t be right—and if Lauren found out, she’d hate me for a long time.”

  John smiled. “Then don’t ask me,” he said, and looked to Lee for his blessing.

  Lee shrugged indifferently. “Dude, you can do what you want. I came here to see Star Wars.”

  When the movie was nearing the end, John sat quietly in his seat near the rear of the theatre, snacking on what remained of a bowl of popcorn. He’d found where Lauren and Hunter were sitting, surrounde
d by a group of Hunter’s lacrosse buddies, along with several young, overly precocious females that John often thought of as Hunter’s ‘groupies’. While the movie played on, he’d seen Lauren and Hunter kiss each other. And every time he saw it, it’d made his blood boil. What he imagined was occurring beyond his field of vision only made matters worse.

  When the credits began to roll, John set the popcorn down in the open chair beside him and exited the theatre, careful to hide his face from the occupants. The last thing he wanted was for Lauren to see him there. He knew she’d be irritated with him for feeling the need to watch over her. John made his way to the exit door and stood silently. He brought his cell phone close and began mindlessly tapping the screen to appear occupied. As the thick crowd of teenagers exited the theatre, John relocated himself outside, again not wanting Lauren to see him. As he made his move, he glanced over his shoulder to see if she was behind him, and her eyes met his. His cover was blown.

  “Shit,” he said to himself as Lauren looked at him crossly.

  “John?” her voice called from behind.

  John stopped his advance and turned on his heel. “Hey,” he said innocently.

  “What are you doing here?”

  John pointed up at the sign above the theatre entrance. “Star Wars,” he replied while stuffing his hands in his pockets.

  “Oh, okay,” Lauren said, not sounding at all convinced.

  Lauren introduced Hunter and John to each other, and they exchanged adversarial nods. A second later, Hunter excused himself after saying something about plans to go to a party. Lauren watched him run off and then turned her attention back to John.

  “So…are you going to tell me why you’re really here?” she pestered. Lauren crossed her arms and pretended to impatiently tap her foot on the ground.

  “I just did.”

  “Oh, okay,” Lauren said. “I guess the movie let out early, then.”

  John gave her a quizzical look but didn’t respond.

  “Star Wars is like three hours long, John,” she declared.

  John looked up at the sign and nodded innocently. He knew he’d been caught.

  “What are you really doing here?” Lauren repeated.

  John paused to buy some time and think of an answer. He knew full well that no excuse would work with Lauren, and she’d already guessed what the answer was. She could read him like a book. That was the way it’d always been.

  The two had shared a closeness since the first day they’d met. The closeness that John felt was different though—more intense. But Lauren, for some reason, had given him a friends-only label, and John had been troubled with understanding why.

  John decided to come clean. “Lee and I came here to see the Star Wars movie. But then I heard that you and Hunter were here, and I decided to—”

  “You decided to keep an eye on me,” Lauren interrupted. “As per usual.”

  “Yeah, I guess,” John admitted, feeling somewhat embarrassed.

  “Did my dad put you up to it?”

  “No.”

  “Then how did you know we were here?”

  John stood there silently. Once again, Lauren was testing him. She was always testing him. She was only asking questions she already knew the answers to. If he lied, she’d know and hate him. If he told the truth, she’d respect him, and the fault would fall on Alan, and then Alan would hate him. Maybe.

  “We saw your dad on the way in,” John finally admitted. “He told us you were here.”

  Lauren shook her head in disgust and turned, only to find her father’s car idling in the parking lot.

  “I bet he never even left,” she uttered. “I don’t understand why he has to be so damn protective all the time.”

  Unable to control his response, John blurted out, “Maybe if you wouldn’t date douche bags all the time…”

  Lauren snapped to attention and placed her hands on her hips. “What? What did you say?”

  John’s only response was to turn away from her.

  “Hunter isn’t a douche bag, John. He’s a good guy. He’s cute and he’s nice—everyone loves him. He’s like one of the most popular guys in school,” Lauren chirped.

  “Okay,” John relented. “You don’t need to justify yourself to me, Lauren. Do what you want. You always have.”

  The two quieted down when Hunter slithered up to them.

  “So—there’s this party,” Hunter said. “It’s at Tommy Dodson’s house and it is supposed to be amazing. His parents are gone and he’s got a huge swimming pool and a shitload of beer. So…that’s where we’re all headed.”

  “Sounds like fun,” Lauren said, still eyeballing John.

  “Oh, hell yeah—it’s gonna be a blast,” Hunter said. “So, you’re coming, then?”

  “Yeah, right. You saw how my dad acted earlier. You actually think he’s going to let me go to a party with you?”

  Hunter shrugged. “The hell with him. Sneak out and go anyway.”

  John smiled and shook his head. He couldn’t help but laugh.

  Hunter glared at John. “You should come too, Boyce,” he mocked. “You’re a drinker, right?”

  John looked at Hunter from the corner of his eye. “Yep. I’m a drinker.”

  “Perfect. So we’ll see you there, then.” He turned to Lauren. “What are you waiting for, babe? Go over and ask your daddy’s permission if you can go.”

  Lauren frowned uncomfortably at Hunter, who just stood there in a tantalizing stance. When he noticed Lauren’s father approaching, he darted off and vanished into the crowd.

  “How was the movie?” Alan asked Lauren.

  “It was okay.”

  “Did you actually see any of it?” Alan joked.

  Lauren rolled her eyes. “Yes, Dad. I did. It was a good movie.”

  Alan studied her for a moment and then diverted his attention to John, noticing the tension between the two. “Everything okay here, guys?”

  Both nodded in the affirmative, but refused to look at each other.

  “Dad, is there any way I can go to a party tonight?” Lauren blurted out.

  Alan’s heart sank. Up until this moment he’d been fortunate enough to escape that question from his youngest child, but Lauren’s words marked the end to his stroke of luck.

  “What party?”

  “It’s at Tommy Dodson’s house,” Lauren replied. “They live in that nice neighborhood near the hospital.”

  “Are Tommy’s parents home?”

  Lauren sighed. “No.”

  “Then absolutely not,” Alan said firmly.

  Lauren huffed and stomped away in the direction of her father’s car, with both of her hands balled into fists. John only looked on. Alan adjusted his stance so that he could stand face-to-face with John. He set his jaw and crossed his arms.

  “John…who’s Tommy Dodson?” he asked.

  “His dad is a doctor, I think,” John answered. “They have a huge house with a pool in Meadow Branch.”

  “I take it Hunter is the one pushing her to go.”

  John nodded in the affirmative.

  Alan turned around and gestured to his daughter, who was leaning on the front quarter panel of the car, a rebellious look on her face. She was displaying the broadest frown he’d ever seen.

  “She’s pretty pissed with me,” said Alan. “She’s been making a habit out of it lately. It’s hard to know how I should be with her sometimes.”

  “Join the club,” John said. “She stays pissed with me. And all I’ve ever done was be a friend to her.”

  “Yeah…but I think for you, though—it’s being only a friend that presents the problem.” Alan paused as John looked on. “It’s not easy settling for something when we want something more.”

  “I guess,” John dismissed. His eyes were playing tennis, bouncing back and forth between Hunter and his friends and a highly irritated Lauren.

  Alan thought for a moment. “When she was younger, it was all about love. I loved her, and she loved me
. A father and his baby girl. Now, it’s just complicated. And everything I do makes me the bad guy.”

  “Maybe you should try being her friend in addition to being her dad.”

  Alan smiled and chuckled to himself. Good advice, he thought.

  “Maybe I should do just that,” he said after taking a moment to contemplate. “One thing is for certain. Both of our problems exist because we are both hopelessly in love with the same person.”

  John gave Alan a puzzled look for an instant and then hung his head toward the ground humbly. He nodded but said nothing.

  Alan continued. “I’m her father—I’ve been in love with Lauren since I first laid eyes on her. I think in a way it was the same for you. And I’m not calling you out, either.” He paused. “Truth of the matter is I’d be proud to see you and her together someday. You’re a good person, John—way better than most of the kids today. You remind me a lot of your dad. You’re genuine and loyal, just like him. You know the right way to treat other people. And above all other things, you’re willing to protect the ones you love.”

  John nodded as he absorbed all of what Alan was saying to him word for word. “What should I do, then?”

  “There’s no all-inclusive answer when dealing with women,” Alan said with a smug grin. “Don’t smother her. Just be there for her if and when she needs you. Patience and persistence…goes a long way.” Alan motioned for Lauren to come over to them. “So does faith.”

  Lauren approached and stood at attention. “What is it?”

  “You can go to the party.”

  Lauren’s young face filled with glee. “Okay,” she pressed, holding back a smile. There had to be a catch.

  “But only if John goes,” Alan said.

  Lauren angled her head and turned to face John. She knew she didn’t need any words to pose the question.

  John shrugged his shoulders. “Sure. I’ll go.”

  Lauren jumped up and down happily, then gave her father a hug and thanked him. She tore off in the direction of where Hunter was now hanging out. He wasn’t hard to find. In the large circle of teenagers, he was the loudest, most exuberant of the bunch. Alan watched as Lauren gave Hunter the news and hugged him. Hunter looked up and caught Alan’s stare and gave him a thumbs-up. Alan lifted his hand up, formed his fingers to mimic the shape of a handgun, and aimed it at Hunter. An emotionless glare followed.