“Thursday night, I have plans.”
He frowned in confusion. “Then change them.”
“It’s not that simple, I made a promise and?—”
“I don’t care what you promised.” His voice was low. Little more than a snarl as he leaned in so his face was inches from mine. “This is important to me—you. How can you not see that? This is your future. It’s all that matters.”
“Jack,” my mom hissed. I thought for a moment it was because she cared about sticking up for her only son but when I saw my mom’s gaze flit around to the oblivious bystanders, I realized she didn’t want a scene. Of course. Chrissy clutched my left hand and to my right I could feel Collette. I knew what she wanted me to say, but…
It wasn’t that easy.
“I made a commitment,” I repeated like it was somehow going to change my dad’s mind.
“Then you will apologize and break it.” The words came out harsh and over-pronounced. “I’ve given you too much leeway with your after school practices and all this ridiculous ballet crap. But this is non-negotiable. Do you hear me?”
He didn’t move. Neither did I. Neither did Collette.
My jaw worked as I fought a wave of anger and humiliation that everyone around us was watching. That Collette was watching.
My dad wouldn’t move away until I was defeated—I knew this. “Fine,” I muttered.
My father’s posture eased, and he straightened the collar of his jacket. “Good,” he said, forcing a jovial tone once more. “Now, we’ll let you get to your celebrations.” He wrapped an arm around my mom’s waist and placed a hand on Chrissy’s shoulder. “You deserve it, Son.”
They turned and walked away. Chrissy glanced behind her and gave me a soft smile. She was the only part of my family that I liked. And most times, her smile was what brought me back from the insanity that was my father.
But tonight, I knew I had to face someone else and no smile from Chrissy was going to change that.
I stared after my family, feeling the seconds tick by. I knew I needed to look down, to face Collette. I just wasn’t ready. I knew she wasn’t going to let this go. That wasn’t the kind of relationship we had. But after our texts, I really wasn’t sure what kind of relationship we had.
My life was a big, giant heap of crap.
When I did finally turn, I saw Olivia backing away with a wary look. Her gaze kept flicking from me down to Collette and then back up to me. I didn’t have to see Collette to know she was upset. I could feel her anger. It was potent and pronounced.
“I’m just gonna…I’ll be over…” And then Olivia was gone, darting down the hallway toward the exit as Collette and I turned to face each other.
Those big blue eyes were filled with so many emotions I couldn’t begin to name them. I watched her swallow and then she looked away. “So…what? You’re just going to bail on Ryan?”
I drew in an inhale with a hiss. This girl definitely didn’t pull her punches. I scoffed as I shoved my hands into the front pockets of my jeans and shrugged. “I have to. I’m a Morrison.” Saying Dad’s line felt like acid on my tongue. It was lame and a cop-out but what else was I supposed to do? Her jaw worked as she crossed her arms over her chest. “You could have told him. You could have tried to explain.”
I shook my head in frustration. Out of everyone I knew, I would have figured that Collette would understand why I had to bail. She understood the pressure I felt to please my father.
But what did I know? After all, I thought she was single and I was apparently very wrong about that. I was such a fool.
“Explain what? That I like playing guitar? What would that change? He still wouldn’t have let me skip the most important meeting of my life.”
Was I exaggerating? Maybe. But that was how my dad would see it. This was everything I’d been working toward. This was everything he’d been dreaming about.
“This is your first chance to play with the band. You’ve been practicing every day, to do what? Never play live?” she said, scowling up at me like I was the enemy here. “What’s the point of practicing if no one will ever hear you play? Is that the kind of future you want?”
Was she serious? How could she say these things to me when she was doing the exact same?
It stung, hearing these words escape her lips. How could she ask me to pick between my future and music? How was this any differentthan what my father was doing?
“The meeting with the recruiter is my future,” I shot back. I looked around, noticing the stares we were starting to get and let out a long exhale to relax. Why was I even defending myself? Of course I’d rather play with the band then stand around being scrutinized by my father’s friends at his ridiculous party, but for some reason, her reaction to me had me on the defense.
This was stupid. We needed to talk, somewhere away from all the prying eyes.
“Come on,” I said, snagging one of her hands and dragging her after me as I took off toward the locker rooms. There was a back exit that led directly to the parking lot but no one went out that way, preferring instead to gather up front to mingle and congratulate the team.
