I pulled it out of my bag to see that my mother was calling me. I hit the answer button and waited for her to tell me something extremely annoying and irrelevant.
"Emily Nicole Marshall!" She yelled through the speaker, I had to pull the phone away from my ear for a second.
"Yeah, Mom?" I asked, confused as to why she was so mad.
"I am very disappointed in you!"
I narrowed my eyebrows and took a sip of my coffee before answering, "Why?"
She was silent on the other line, "Dylan came to the house today, he told me what has been going on between you two."
I felt my stomach twist into knots
"Apparently you had sex?"
Chapter 28
I had to tighten the grip around my coffee to make sure it didn't fall out of my hands.
"H-He told you that?" I asked, pulling my cross body bag back up onto my shoulder.
She was silent on the other end for a few seconds before I heard her take a deep breath into the speaker, "What did I tell you, Emily Nicole?"
I continued to walk towards the building into my class as I spoke, "Mom, I’m nineteen."
"That means absolutely nothing!" she yelled, "You know nothing about real love yet, Emily. You know the talk we had when you were younger? You don't do this unless you know for sure that you love the boy."
I was about to hang up but she began to speak again, "Listen, your father has been trying to call you."
I help my phone up to my ear with one hand and opened the door with my other. I didn't want to see my dad at all. I haven't seen him for years and I had no idea why he was suddenly reaching out to me.
"What does he want?" I asked, standing outside of the class door.
"He wants you to meet Chelsea."
I furrowed my brows. "Who is Chelsea?"
She was hesitant for a few minutes, "His fiancé."
I nodded my head slowly.
"Call him, sweetheart." she said, before hanging up.
All I could think about during class was how I was going to have to see my father after years without him. What if his fiancé was rude? What if she had kids?
When the professor let us leave, I walked back out onto campus and pulled out my cellphone. I scrolled down my contacts until I reached my father's phone.
The line rang four times before he actually picked up.
"Hello?" His voice filled my ears and it immediately brought back memories of when I was a little girl.
"Dad?" I asked, making sure I still had the right number.
"Emily!" he shouted happily through the speaker.
"Mom told me you wanted to talk to me." I cut to the chase. I didn't feel like talking to him even more than I needed to.
"Ah, yes." He remembered, "I want you to meet your future step-mother and step-brother tonight."
Step-brother? Oh great.
I sighed into the speaker before answering, "Where should I meet you three?"
"Upper East Side," he told me the address and we exchanged goodbyes before hanging up.
I looked at the time on my phone and realized I only had an hour to get ready and drive downtown.
I rushed back into the dorms and picked out a pair of dark jeans, a nice top and a pair of riding boots. I didn't know if I should dress up or keep it casual.
I walked downstairs towards my car and began to drive into the city.
Once I got to the restaurant, a valet in a suit helped me out of the car and I gave him my keys. I already knew the moment I stepped inside that I was extremely off with the dress code. Everyone in the restaurant was wearing dresses that cost more than my college fee.
I walked over to the table where I found my father. He was sitting by himself, looking down at his watch. I smiled as he looked up and our eyes met.
"Emily, sweetheart, haven't seen you in forever!" He kissed me on the cheek and gave me a hug. I wanted to pull away so bad but decided against it. I did not want to mess the night up already.
"Where is Chelsea and-" I blanked on the sons name.
"And Brandon?" Dad finished, I nodded.
"Chelsea was having trouble with Brandon, she was running late but she should be here any minute." He continued, as a waiter came and poured him a glass of wine. He then walked over to me and poured me a glass. My father was too busy looking down at the menu to notice.
Usually I would be hesitant about drinking wine but I’ve drank so much now it doesn't even phase me.
Suddenly, my father looked up towards the staircase and smiled as a blonde middle-aged women climbed the stairs onto the upper level. Her son stood beside her, he was handsome. He had golden brown hair, hazel eyes and was tall.
I take it they were Chelsea and Brandon.
My father kissed Chelsea as she approached the table and pushed a chair out for her to sit in. Brandon sat down next to me.
"Chelsea, Brandon, this is my daughter, Emily." My father introduced me.
"Nice to meet you." I put on a fake smile and took a sip of my wine.
Brandon smirked at me as he watched me take a sip.
"Nice to meet you, Emily, I’m Chelsea." Chelsea smiled and reached her hand out for me across the table, I shook it.
"Brandon," Chelsea gave him a glare, "Introduce yourself."
Brandon coughed on his water as I heard his mother kick her heel at him underneath the table, "I'm Brandon," he cleared his throat, "And I think you're still a little too young for this." He smirked, pointing down at my glass of wine.
My father glared at me. "How did you get that?"
I shrugged my shoulders. "The waiter gave me it."
My father pulled the glass away from me and moved the glass of water towards my plate.
The waiter came and we ordered our food. It took me at least ten minutes to try and pick an entree out. I didn't even recognize half the food on the menu.
While Chelsea and my father were talking, Brandon turned towards me and began to ask questions.
"So," He pressed his elbows on the table and pressed his hands together. "How old are you?"
"Nineteen." I answered.
He nodded, "I'm twenty one."
"Why are you still living with your mother?" It sounded less rude in my head.
He laughed. "I don't live with her. She just told me to come tonight because I needed to meet my new step-sister."
I stirred the straw in my glass and smiled. "Guess we were told the same thing then."
Once our food came, we all ate. The entree was so small I finished it in ten minutes. I was hardly even full.
Chelsea asked me lots of questions during desert and I tried my best to act happy and be all smiles.
Once the waiters cleaned off our table, Brandon tapped me on the shoulder.
"Huh?" I asked.
"Come with me." he said, pulling me up from my seat and dragging me towards the top floor of the building.
"Where are you taking me?" I asked as we walked into an elevator.
"The roof. I needed to get away from them. They were making me sick with all the kissing and sharing food." He made a fake puke sound and I laughed.
As we reached the roof he pulled off his suit jacket and threw it onto the ground.
"Do you always come up here? Cause it seems like you know your way around this restaurant." I asked, looking down over the led. We were pretty high up.
"Yes, my mother comes here a lot." He sat down on a bench of rock by the ledge of the building.
I sat next to him as he pulled out a cigarette.
"Does she come here a lot with men?" I asked.
He nodded.
"I understand."
"It's so annoying!" He yelled, cupping his hand over the tip of the cigarette and lighting it.
I inhaled the smoke he blew but I didn't mind.
"How many wives has your father had?" He asked, taking a drag of the cigarette.
"Just one, my mom," I answered, "But he's had his share of young girlfriends."
"This
is going to be my mom's fourth husband." He began, "If there is another wedding after this one I might actually kill someone."
I leaned my head back and laughed. "My parents have been divorce since I was twelve. They hate each other." I explained.
"Why?" he asked, handing the cigarette to me, I took it and inhaled.
"I found my father cheating with another woman." I told.
He didn't look shocked.
"My mother has had her fair share of guys like that, I know how it feels." He pulled the cigarette from my lips and smiled before continuing, "It's even happened to me."
I widened my eyes. "Really?"
He nodded. "It was my freshman year of college and I fell madly in love with this girl who was a year older than me. We ended up getting pretty serious but I guess she got bored."
I shook my head and looked up at the starry sky. "Relationships suck." I sighed.
Brandon put out his cigarette and looked over at me. "Has anything ever happened to you?"
Oh gosh, where do I start?
"Yeah, as a matter of fact, it happened a few months back." I began, "I ended up liking a junior from my college. My mother, being the sick human being she is, bribed the guy not to talk to me or see me right after we had sex. He ended up leaving me in the middle of the night. I was heartbroken."
Brandon just stared at me before muttering, "Damn."
I nodded.
"Are you still heartbroken?" Brandon asked.
I shrugged my shoulders. "It still hurts to think about it but I’m trying to get over it."
Brandon smirked. "I admire you, Emily."
I furrowed my eyebrows. "Why?"
"Because, so much has happened to you in your life, yet, you still manage to stay strong. I wish I could do that." Brandon looked out at the skyscrapers surrounding us.
"Trust me, I look strong. But I’m falling apart on the inside."
Chapter 29
I stood up as Brandon leaned over the edge of the building.
"Want to get real food?"
I nodded, smiling. "Please, I’m so hungry."
He picked up his suit jacket off the ground and ran towards the roof-top door. I ran after him, I was suddenly glad I didn't wear heels.
We stepped out of the restaurant and Brandon told the valet he wanted his car. The valet pulled up in a Range Rover and he gave the valet a huge tip.
"We have to be back in an hour because I need to drive my mother home." he said, starting the engine and driving deeper into the city.
I felt my phone vibrating in my pocket and I slowly pulled it out of my pocket. The screen read: Dylan
I slipped the phone back in my pocket but it didn't seem to stop vibrating.
"What's wrong?" Brandon looked from me to the road.
I shook my head, "he keeps calling me."
"That guy?" he asked. I forgot he didn't know Dylan's name.
"His name is Dylan. Should I answer? He keeps calling non-stop."
Brandon bit his lip. "Hand it to me."
I was hesitant at first but handed my phone to Brandon. He slid his thumb across the screen, "Hello?"
I heard Dylan's deep voice on the other end even though it wasn't on speaker. He asked who it was.
"She's busy right now."
"What the fuck?" I heard Dylan mutter through the other line.
"She's busy with me, dude. She'll call you later or something." He hung up.
My mouth hung open and I clasped a hand over my mouth. "You did not just do that!"
Brandon shrugged his shoulders. "He seemed pretty pissed. Why would he still want something to do with you if he left you that night?"
I took a deep breath. Should I really tell Brandon everything? I mean, he was going to be my soon to be step-brother. The sooner we got to know each other the faster we will get along for the future.
"This all started because his mother has cancer." I began, "She's dying and doesn't have much longer but she could have a pretty good chance of staying if she received chemo. Dylan's father just refuses to pay for it. When I took him to my house and he met my mother, she hated him. My mother heard that his mother needed chemo so she told Dylan 'if you want your mother’s chemo I will give it to you. But you have to stay away from my daughter'-"
"-he chose the chemo?" Brandon finished for me.
I nodded.
He stopped at a red light and turned to face me. "Look I think if any of us were in the position we would choose our family over our friend."
He did have a point. Even though I probably wouldn't choose my mother over Dylan, lots of other people would do the same mistake that he made.
"You're right, but he has these friends."
Brandon started down the street again before turning parallel parking in front of a small hotdog joint.
"Let's get out food and we can talk about it while we ate." Brandon said, stepping out of the range rover and throwing his suit jacket into the back seat.
I agreed, laughing as he struggled to take off his tie.
As we walked inside we ordered hotdogs, fries, and milkshakes. We sat down outside. It was a bit chilly but we could handle it.
"God I love this food." Brandon said, biting into his hotdog, "I'm so sick of that French crap."
I laughed, taking a sip of my milkshake.
"Okay," Brandon wiped his hands. "Continue about Dylan's not-so-good friends."
I almost forgot that we were talking about them earlier in the car.
"Well, all of them are party-goers. They have parties at his frat house almost everyday. That's how I met him, my friend Jasmine met Dylan's best friend Natasha and she invited us. I was dragged into playing suck and blow and ended up kissing Dylan-"
"-whoa, whoa, whoa, hang on, you kissed him the first night you met him? Did you even know his name yet?" Brandon laughed.
"No." I frowned, Brandon shook his head.
"Proceed," Brandon smirked, taking a bite of his fry.
"Anyway, one night at one of his parties, I was given this drink. I drank it, being the stupid person I am, and got drugged."
Brandon choked as he took a sip of his milkshake. "What?"
I nodded "Natasha drugged me because she wanted Jasmine to herself and Max, another one of Dylan's friends, just wanted to hook up with someone that night."
Brandon leaned back in his seat. "That's so messed up I don't even know what to say."
I chuckled, finishing my hotdog.
"What other things have you done with Dylan?" he asked.
"I drank, smoked, and partied."
Brandon rested his elbows on the table and stared towards me. "Listen, I think if he really wants you back. You should take him back." he started, "But, don't get involved with his friends. You can go to parties just don't play any games and only drink something that you grab and is from a closed can or needs a bottle opener."
I nodded. "That's a good idea."
"Hey! What are big brothers for?" Brandon threw his hands in the air and collapsed back in his seat.
I laughed.
Suddenly, as I looked across the street towards the small club where the loud music was coming from, I saw Dylan. He was leaning against the brick wall and smoking a cigarette as he looked down at his phone. I held my stare too long because he looked up and did a double take. As soon as he saw Brandon sitting across from me he clenched his jaw.
"Shit, Brandon." I said, finally turning away.
"Hm?" he asked, trying to finish the bite of his hotdog.
"That's him."
"Well, he just seems to be everywhere, doesn't he?"
I nodded. When I turned around he was walking back into the club. He aggressively pushed the door open and disappeared inside.
I let out a deep breath as Brandon laughed.
Brandon looked down at his Rolex to check the time. "Shit, we have to head back."
I nodded finishing the last of my fries and taking the milkshake with me in the car.
Brandon drove
back towards the restaurant.
"So," I started, "Now that you know everything about me. Tell me about you."
Brandon nodded, "Well, my father was my mother's first husband. When they got married she and my father had a pretty large age gap. When I was seven my father died from a heart attack. My mother was devastated and so was I-"
"-no, tell me about your most interesting relationship." I smirked as I chewed on my straw.
Brandon stopped at a long red light and thought.
"Got it,"
I waited for him to start.
"When I was seventeen I lost my virginity to an older girl who was a freshman in collage. She wasn't very mature. We hung out all the time and she got me in serious trouble and sooner or later, she brought me into it. I got into serious trouble a few times and had to go to rehab for a few months just so I could sober up."
My mouth hung open. "Oh my god,"
Brandon shook it off and started to drive as the light turned green. "It didn't hurt that bad."
"Like I said before, relationships suck."
Brandon nodded, pulling up to the restaurant, "I agree."
I stepped out of the car and hugged him goodbye. I then walked over to Chelsea and hugged her goodbye. As she and my father were exchanging a very long farewell, Brandon shook my hand before stepping back into his range rover.
I felt a small piece of paper in my palm. I quickly unfolded the paper and read: If you ever need someone, I’m always around
- Brandon, the actually cool step-brother
He left his phone number underneath his signature and I smiled as he drove away.
I turned towards my father and waved goodbye as I took my keys from the valet, gave him a tip and drove away back towards the dorms.
Chapter 30
Dylan's Point of View
I walked back into the club, shoving the door open. I was so frustrated. Was she really like this? Call it quits and then after one day she already has someone else?
Un-fucking-believable.
I pushed my way through the crowd, not even caring that I was shoving drunken girls and causing them to fall over onto the ground.
As I approached Natasha at our table she was talking to some guy. I rudely interrupted their conversation telling him to leave.
Party Boy Love Story Page 12