“Adam bows low enough to kiss your shoes, and Allie would’ve invited me out with her plastic-fantastic friends. I wanted to be alone. Chase dumped me.”
As you already know,Dad.
Frank regards Allie, Adam’s girlfriend, as my best friend because he introduced us two years ago. We get along well, I guess, but I wouldn’t call it friendship. She’s the embodiment of a mafia woman. Always immaculate, always smiling, always lacking twenty IQ points. She overuseslike, andoh my Godto the point it drives me crazy.
“Why?”
“He’s gay.”
That’s not news to him, but I play along, aware of the eavesdropper drinking in our every word. There’s a reason why Frank controls my life; why he chooses who I date, who I’m friends with, and what I look like.
“Another one?” He chuckles, playing his part too. “You only need a transvestite then you’ll have them all.”
What the hell are they? Pokémon?
“You should’ve thought twice before choosing Delta last night,” he snaps, morphing back into a heartless bastard. “From now on, you’ll have a full-time bodyguard.”
“Frank!” Jess opposes from the garden, her high-pitched shrill like needles prickling my eardrums. “You’re overreacting. Layla’s an adult. You can’t watch over her like she’s still your sweet little girl.”
Sweet little girl? Trynuisance, Mom.
Frank raises his hand, breathing the air through his nose like an enraged bull ready to charge. “Dante’s not stupid, Layla. I’m sure by now, he knows you were there. I won’t risk that he’ll use you against me.”
I could try until I’d turn blue, but I know there’s no changing Frank’s mind about the bodyguard idea. He doesn’t do negotiations. If he says the sky is pink, then the sky is pink, end of story. He’s spiteful, stubborn, irrational... like father, like daughter.
“I’d be surprised if he didn’t know I was there,” I say, ready to make him bleed. Metaphorically, but still. He deserves a bit of pain after all the shit he put me through and still puts me through. I want him wounded. I want chaos in his head. His own blood, his only daughter, fraternizing with the enemy. “He joined me for a drink. We talked all night. As you can see, he didn’t torture me. He’s quite nice.”
His lips form a thin line. He grips his cup tighter, turning red in the face, then snatches his phone off the table, probably to call Adam or some other goon to babysit me. I don’t need to hear it. I take my coffee, joining my mother in the garden. The chilly fall wind whips at my clothes, swatting my hair as it forms tiny waves on the pool’s surface.
So not the weather for sunbathing.
“Don’t worry.” Jess peers at me from above her designer shades. “He’ll get over it. Oh, I almost forgot. Happy Birthday.”
That’s my mom and her motherly affection at its highest point. I cringe, unsure whether the lump lodged in my throat is the start of bubbling laughter or a sob.
“Thanks, Jess. I’m surprised you remembered.”
“You were awfully bitchy last year when I forgot, so I set a reminder on my phone.” She beams, pleased with her doubtful cleverness.
My parents have treated me with reserve my whole life, but there’s no denying their indifference hurts. I can only dream about a hug, even if it is my birthday. They were never loving or caring... never proud of me. I can count how often I heard them say, “I love you.” It made me self-sufficient. I don’t need them or anyone else. I’m resilient and deal with problems on my own, but I’m not made of stone.
I crave their closeness. I wish they’d take care of me at least a little bit. I wish they’d worry about my safety, not how much trouble I can bring upon my father or how my actions can threaten his business.
I sit on an oversized daybed under a natural canopy of grapevines. They’re dry now, leaves falling to the ground, but this place looks like a postcard from an exotic location during summer. Too bad grapes attract colonies of wasps.
“What do you want for your birthday?” Jess sets the sun reflector aside. Short, blonde hair frames her petite face, the disproportionately large eyes surrounded by too much eyeliner. “A shopping trip? A week in Bali? Spa weekend?”
Frank joins us, dropping a car key with a pink ribbon attached to the loop on the table. “Happy Birthday. You’ll find your gift parked outside.”
“You bought me a car?”
“If I knew what you planned on doing last night, I would’ve thought twice about it.”
He’d fall ill if he’d just answer with ayes.
“Thank you.”
“Don’t get too excited.” He checks the time on his watch. “Burly will be here in ten minutes. He’ll be your shadow which means he’ll be driving you around everywhere.”