Bad News

by Lilly James

  I frown. “I’m cool with it. It’s what she wants.”

  “What if she wants to meet your dad in return? You know what girls get like. ‘You’ve met mine, so can I meet yours’ type of thing.”

  I glance away from him and clench my jaw. The mention of my dad hypes me up. Always. “I’ll tell her he’s busy. Besides,” I push my chair back and get to my feet. “Blondie isn’t like other girls.”

  “I can tell.” Jaxon nods. “She’s special, just like my Avery.” The way he smiles fondly at the mention of his girlfriend’s name would normally force me to make a childish gagging noise, or better still, rib him for it, but now I see where he’s coming from, I can only relate.

  “She sure is.” I pat him on his shoulder on my way past and head for the shower. Since when did we become sentimental bitches?

  Louisa

  I make a call to my dad before I drive down to his place, and make sure it’s fine to bring Hunter along tonight.

  “Dad, Happy Birthday,” I say cheerfully, even though I know he hates a fuss. Just like me.

  “Thank you, sweetie. Are you on your way down?”

  “I’m just about to leave.”

  “Great, because your sister isn’t coming.”

  “What? Why?”

  I can almost hear his jaw clenching. “Said she has stuff to do.”

  I clutch at my hair before letting it go. My sister can be so selfish. She’s unbelievable. “I’ll talk to her, dad.” I leave the silence hanging for a few seconds, then I just go for it. “Would it be so bad if I brought someone along?”

  “What, honey?” he says, then I hear Valery in the background asking him which dress he prefers. “The black one.” He says. “Sorry, Lou. You’re bringing a friend?”

  “Uh… a boy… friend.”

  The line goes silent, and I can only imagine that his hopes for his oldest daughter to become a 40-year virgin are slowly crumbling.

  He clears his throat. “You have a boyfriend.” It’s not a question, it's rather a comment to try and make himself come to terms with the fact. Get over it, Richard.

  “Yes, can he come? I’d love you to meet him.”

  “Louisa has a boyfriend?” I hear Valery asking in the background, then it’s her voice I hear next.

  “Course you can bring him. Ignore your father, Louisa. We’d love to meet him.”

  It’s all formal and trying too hard with Valery, but I won’t knock her for it. She’s only human. A human that my dad fell in love with a month after my mother died. But still human.

  “Great, I’ll see you tonight. Oh,” I quickly add before she hangs up. “I will talk to Bree, try to get her to change her mind.”

  “Oh, it really doesn’t matter if she’s busy. See you later.”

  I hang up and sigh at the fact that Valery would rather go ahead with this birthday meal without Bree. I know Bree hates her and can be tough, but she’s still family.

  I find Bree’s number and give her a ring.

  “Hi,” she says flatly. Yep, she’s still mad at me.

  “Hey, you coming to dad’s birthday dinner tonight?” I act like I haven’t already talked to my father, but Bree knows me too well.

  “You already know I’m not, so if this is you calling to persuade me to change my mind, then you’re wasting your breath.”

  I sigh heavily to make it clear she’s being difficult. “Come on, Bree, it’s for dad. Besides, Hunter is coming, and I need a backup in case dad gives him the third degree.”

  “Hunter’s going?” she says, her tone of voice quickly flipping from dull to surprised.

  “Well, yeah, he is my boyfriend.”

  I hear Bree inhaling through her nose. I know she is trying to calm down before she says something out of line. Again. “Fine. I’ll come. I’ll pick you up at 8pm.”

  “B–” she cuts me off before I get to say bye. I know she’s running around right now, trying to find the sexiest dress to impress Hunter. It’s sad that my sister would do that, but whatever.

  I’m just putting the finishing touches to my makeup when my phone rings. It’s Bree.

  “I’m outside.” And she hangs up.

  Jesus, Bree being ready before me is rare.

  “Woah, are my eyes deceiving me or are you totally wearing a dress.” Bree stalks the black dress I have on as I climb into her car. It’s fitted, just below the knee with a small slit down the side. It’s one of Fallon’s, I would never buy something like this myself. I kind of like it, though.

  “You’ve cut your hair?” I touch Bree’s new bob in approval. It looks gorgeous on her.

  “Looks good doesn’t it.” She pouts into the mirror. “Giles mentioned that it would look great on me, so I went with it. Kept it blonde, though, because he likes blondes.”

  “Who's Giles?” Of course, it’s another guy she’s dating, but I feel a little offended she didn’t tell me. We tell each other everything.

  She glances at me quickly, and I can see a wry smirk on her lips. “Giles Boris.”

  Giles Boris, Giles Boris. I’ve heard that name before. Oh, yeah, I know. “That’s Hunter’s ex-girlfriends brother?” Jesus that was a mouth full. “Isn’t he dating Nicki Summers?” Nicki is the girl I sit next to in my business class.

  She grins. “Not no more.” Then she turns the music on dismissing any further conversation. I am seething right now. I hope to God that Bree didn’t sleep with Giles while Nicki was still with him.

  Bree pulls into the road, and I pull my hair to one side needing it off my neck. I am burning up, almost shaking with nerves. I keep cracking my knuckles in my lap, and I’m glad for Bree’s music because she would most definitely tell me to stop doing it. It annoys her, just like everything does.

  “So, tell me.” She finally speaks, turning down her music. “How’s it feel to go out with the hottest guy on campus?”

  I roll my eyes and glance out of the window. “He’s just Hunter to me. Kind, caring, funny Hunter.”

  Bree’s scoff means she doesn’t believe me, even though she absolutely has no reason to doubt me. I am not one of those girls who does things for popularity, that has never been me, and she knows it. Seems to me she just wants to take a swipe.

  “Yeah right. You don’t notice all the girls looking at him like they want to jump on his dick? Ha,” she laughs. “Most of them have.”

  I crack my knuckles even harder. Not because I do notice girls looking at him that way, because I am not a jealous person and can’t hate them for admiring him, but because she talks about Hunter like he’s just an accessory to college life, and he’s much more than that.

  “What’s that got to do with it? I’m Hunter’s girlfriend, and he doesn’t entertain those girls. I have nothing to worry about.”

  “Hmm.” She murmurs. “Have you seen him punch anyone in the face yet? I’m sure you have. His temper is crazy, isn’t it?”

  My sigh is a frustrated one. “He isn’t violent, Bree.”

  “Sure. Whatever you say.” she smirks, ending the conversation again. I hate this. Hate that she’s allowing a crush to get in the way of our relationship. Why can’t she just be happy for me?

  We pull into Florence’s parking lot, and already see my father’s Jaguar across the lot, so fancy and unnecessary. I close the car door and quickly take my phone from my purse. Hunter said he would meet me here, so I’m wondering if he’s already inside.

  “Hey, I’m running a little bit late.” He says when he answers. I can hear commotion in the background, but I can’t quite make out what it is because the voice of Valery’s mother is bellowing across the parking lot. I turn, and my face drops when I see it is her. Bree glances at me the same time I glance at her, and she flares her nostrils in distaste.

  “I’ll see you soon.” Hunter hangs up, and I am left staring at Roberta, who is pointedly looking me up and down.

  “Hi,” I smile politely. “Nice to see you again.”

  Oh, God, that was such a big fat lie. />
  It’s rare if I ever come across someone who I ‘don’t like’, but Roberta is an exception. She is one of those women who gives expensive gifts just to gloat about how much they cost. She brags about her twenty holidays a year, and that she travels in first class because she couldn’t possibly travel in economy with peasants–her words. Roberta is always dressed in black, saying that she’s still in mourning over her late husband. She has been dressing in black for six years. It’s only for show, because give her a little sherry and she’s telling us how much she hated him.

  Roberta plays the poor old widow act to people she doesn’t know and told my father that she knew exactly what he was going through when they met. I bet she didn’t even listen to my father long enough to get the facts on how my mother died because the conversation always retracts back to her.

  “That’s a bit revealing, Louisa.” Roberta is looking at the small slit in my dress, and all I can do is smile, I am way too polite to say anything rude. Bree is different, though.

  “This isn’t the 1900’s, Rob.” Bree steps by my side, and I’m glad for her big mouth sometimes. Although she is my little sister, she was always the one who stood up to bullies if I got picked on at school for wearing glasses, or that my freckles showed in summer.

  “Roberta.” She corrects Bree like she always does.

  “Rob–whatever.” Bree links arms with me, and we walk into the restaurant, leaving her and her 8-inch heels trailing behind.

  “My girls.” Dad opens his arms when we get to his table, ready to hug Bree and I at the same time. Bree unlinks her hand with mine and ducks under his arm. My dad looks back at her, ready to snap, so I hug him quickly to distract him. “No boyfriend?” He says, looking over my shoulder. I know he’s trying to hide his relief.

  “Oh, he’s on his way.” I smile as he pulls out the chair for me to take a seat. I say hi to Valery, then she gets up to air kiss her mom before she takes a seat next to her.

  “Glad you could make it, Bree.” Dad says, holding his glass of water up to her as a toast.

  Bree doesn’t acknowledge him when she mumbles, “Hmm.”

  The waiter comes around with our menus and tells us the soup of the day, then he notices the empty chair next to me. “Shall I give you a few more moments?”

  “No,” my dad says politely. “We should go ahead an order. That alright, Lou?”

  “Sure.” I smile, picking up the menu. “I can order for Hunter.”

  “Hunter?” Valery pipes up. “Is that his name?”

  “No, it’s something she made up.” Bree quips.

  “Hunter?” Roberta joins in. “Well, it isn’t a grand name, really is it? Like Edward, or Rupert.”

  “I like his name,” I tell her on another damn fake smile.

  “Well someone has to.” Roberta snorts. I glance over to Bree, and she’s making a gagging expression.

  Our drinks are brought over, water for me, Coke for Bree and wine for everyone else. I order a beer for Hunter, then check my watch. He’s been over an hour. The conversation is boring the hell out of me. I mean, I don’t want to talk statistics of the next president, nor listen to it, and Bree is so engrossed in her phone she doesn’t want to talk either. I check over my shoulder again and I see our appetizers are about to be brought out, then I see him walking through the glass doors. He’s looking around for me, so I wave a hand. He has the biggest grin on his face when he spots me, so he jogs towards us, and takes down the hood on his sweater. You’re normally not allowed to wear casual in a place like this, but it only makes me smirk because Hunter does not give a damn.

  I can almost feel the eyes digging into us both when he finally reaches me and bends down to plant a long hard kiss on my lips.

  “Missed you.” he smiles, then stands up to glance around at the table. I don’t even have to look behind me to see that my dad, Valery and Roberta are looking horrified at his choice of clothing. Hunter makes a yikes face. “Sorry about this,” he pulls at his sweater. “I lost my key, couldn’t get in to change.”

  I finally turn around, and I see that the look on their faces that was in my head, is exactly right.

  “I think you look hot.” Bree rests her cheek against her knuckles, flirting with my boyfriend.

  “Dad,” I glance over to my dad and nudge my head.

  My dad seems to shake himself out of whatever he is thinking and stands up to greet Hunter. “Nice to meet you.” Hunter shakes my dad’s hand, then is greeted by Valery who gets to her heels and gives Hunter a polite kiss on the cheek.

  “Take a seat.” She smiles, pointing to the one next to me.

  “I ordered for you,” I tell him.

  Hunter sits, takes another look at my family then swipes his beer into his hands. “Nice to meet you all.” He tips the head of his bottle towards the middle of the table, takes two huge swigs, then places the empty bottle down.

  “Did you not have anything better to wear? This isn’t a gymnasium after all.” Roberta snorts.

  “Aren’t you smart.” Hunter grins, pretending to act innocent.

  Roberta gets herself all in a fluster, so Valery places her hand down on her mothers to calm her down.

  “Where did you get to?” I ask him when he stops becoming the main attraction for a second.

  “It was my brother’s soccer game. Sorry.” He bends to kiss me again, and I hear my dad clear his throat. Hunter ignores him and kisses me anyway.

  “You look good.” I smile.

  “You smell good too, Hunter. What is that?” Bree clearly leans over to inhale what his cologne. I glare at her, wondering why she’s making a fool of herself.

  Hunter shrugs. “Tom Ford, I think. Have to smell nice for my girl.” He winks at me.

  I can feel the anger radiating off Bree. She’s clenching her palm around her fork so tightly she may even bend it. I can also feel the heat radiating off me. Hunter’s presence does strange but great things to me. The more time I spend with him, the more I fall.

  “So, what’s your major, Hunter?”

  “Sports science.” He replies to my father’s question.

  “Same as me.” Bree happily points out.

  My father just nods, and I hate that Hunter isn’t getting the recognition he deserves. “He also works in Metro’s Gym to teach kids how to protect themselves from an attacker or bullies.” I peer over at Hunter. “He’s quite something.”

  Hunter flaps a hand, genuinely not liking the attention on him. “It’s nothing.”

  “Metro’s Gym? Isn’t that the rough side of town? Those kids don’t need to learn self-defence, what they need is a good kick up the backside.” My dad and Valery agree with Roberta, and I am almost bending my fork just like Bree.

  “That’s not true,” Hunter says. “Those kids on the ‘wrong side of town’ are good kids, they want someone to stick up for them because they don’t have anyone to do that. They want to be taken care of because they come from abusive or broken families.”

  “Ha,” my father scoffs. “I never understood why mothers have kids if they can’t love and support them to begin with.”

  “That’s because they can feed off welfare with our,” Roberta points to her chest, “hard earned money.”

  Hunter is clasping and releasing his fist around his beer bottle. “And that is the child’s fault, is it?”

  “Well,” My dad retorts. “I am simply stating that some children grow up bad because their parents are bad.”

  “Maybe those parents can’t all be as great as you, Mr Dawson.”

  My dad glances over at Hunter, not quite sure if he’s being sincere or if it was a quip. I don’t think I’m sure myself.

  “If that was a compliment young man, then thank you.” My dad says, straightening out his tie. My dad is a man that says he doesn’t like to blow his own trumpet, yet he plays it better than the late Louis Armstrong. “I know what’s best for my daughters.” He continues trumpeting. “Although, I do wish Louisa would have chosen Harvard
Medical School instead.” He looks over at Roberta proudly. “They offered her a place, you know.”

  “What a silly girl to refuse.” She says, almost hiccupping on her sherry.

  “I can do just as good at Newbrook dad. Business is what I want to study.”

  He shakes his head and cuts into his food. “Harvard is number one, Louisa. You would have been more focused there.” The way he looks at Hunter when he finishes his sentence doesn’t go unmissed.

  Hunter refrains from holding his tongue. “I think what matters is Louisa’s happiness, don’t you?” It’s a direct question to my dad, one my dad doesn’t take very well.

  He places down his knife and fork. Does that mean the gloves are off? “And do you make my daughter happy?”

  Hunter takes my hand but doesn’t look at me. “Why don’t you ask your daughter?”

  My dad’s eyes land on our hands. “Louisa?”

  I smile over at Hunter, and I feel my eyes welling up. “He makes me very happy.”

  Hunter’s smile is warm when he looks at me, and a flash of something that I can only describe as adoration passes his features. “I’m glad I can be of assistance.” He winks. “In more ways than one.”

  I close my eyes and pray that my dad didn’t hear that. Hunter has been on his best behavior so far, I almost forgot that he is a wild cracker and has no filter.

  When I get brave enough to glance around, it doesn’t seem like anyone noticed, well, someone did, my sister. She’s gaping at me; eyes and mouth open like she’s traumatized.

  “You slept with him?” She mouths so no one can hear.

  I just nod my head then immediately tell her to keep it down.

  “We need to talk.” Bree gets to her feet, rounds Hunter and grabs my hand. She’s pulling me up, pulling me through tables and into the restroom.

  “You fucking slept with him?” She shrieks when were safely behind a closed cubicle.

  “Why are you so mad?” I don’t get it. Or maybe I do.

  “Lou, God.” She’s clasping her hands to her mouth. “How could you be so stupid?”

  “Stupid?” I scowl at the word she uses. “Why is that stupid? Stupid is losing it to some idiot at the age of fifteen on a park bench.” I yell. I already gave her a lecture about it when she told me. I was so sad for her. So, sad that a boy she liked–that she was going to apparently marry–pressured her into doing it.