Page 50 of Valentine Dare

20

Jenny

It had beenthree days since we’d been in New York, and tomorrow was Christmas. Apart from shopping and being scolded about what to eat or wear, I hadn’t seen dad. My phone was off, and I was in dire need to call the boys and tell them it had all been a big mistake. I had to put my pride to the side and get out of this shit storm before I completely broke down.

I was missing Tracey like crazy, and not being part of her family and everything which had become my world had been taken away from me. I was miserable. Damn right sad about being such an idiot and thinking I had to be with my parents.

I was eighteen, and I could do whatever I wanted to do. I wasn’t a minor anymore, even if they did treat me like one. Brent would scold rich people, saying that they had everything because they had money. He missed out on the one thing we didn’t have: love.

Not real love.

Not like he did in his household, which was priceless and something I was craving at the moment. To wake-up in the morning and have Prent’s pancakes waiting for me, or even Brent’s fry-up, and not worry about putting on an extra pound or two. I hadn’t thought about my weight for weeks, and as much as mom scolded me about it, I still didn’t care. And when she was out of sight, I would raid the mini bar like a kid in a candy store being given the freedom to take everything in sight.

A man stormed in and clapped his hands. I was alone in the suite so he took me by surprise. For a second, I thought it was Russell. But as he got closer, as he called out my name, I noticed only one person spoke like that; it was dad.

“There you are, my Cherry Topping. Oh, how I’ve missed you.”

I jumped up from where I was sitting in the living room, admiring the view, wishing I was anywhere but here. I felt like a gilded bird trapped in a cage, surrounded by all the riches under the sun, but miserable because she was unable to be free. Not like before. I could go to the store, school and all that had been taken away from me, because I’d been an idiot once again.

Dad had lost so much weight, and wore clothes he would never be caught dead in. Unlike mom, he wasn’t all dressed in designer clothes but a polo and jeans. Something he would wear on the weekends.

“Dad?”

He approached and hugged me. “Yes darling, it’s me. Sorry I couldn’t see you. I had to check in with the parole officer every day, and most of my time has been spent with Russell.”

I wrapped my arms around his frame. “I can’t believe you’re here and mom too.”

“Yes, we’re all together. like we should be.”

I sobbed in his arms. He smelled differently too. It was as if he’d aged thirty years in the five months since I last saw him. Memories of that day flashed through my mind as I remembered him being handcuffed by the FBI agents and dragged out of the country club.

He pulled away from me. “You’ve put on a few pounds. It suits you. And I always loved you in red.”

Dad wasn’t so cold to me. Not like mom. He was more sympathetic and loving when he wanted to be - not all the time, but on occasion.

“Mom keeps telling me that I’m fat. She’s driving me insane.”

He shook his head. “I’ll never understand the relationship between you and your mother. She used to complain about her mom nitpicking on her all the time and promised she wouldn’t do the same to you, but that’s exactly what she does. I can’t change her. You know that. Right, Cherry?”

I nodded my head Dad was the only one who called me by my middle name, something he did all the time. He said that when I was born, I looked like a little cherry. It used to annoy me when I was younger and the kids would make fun of me, but here and now it reminded me of why I came here in the first place. I had to put all my anxieties in the past and think of the future without the wedding bells and Kurt being in it. I was here to be with dad and for us to be a family. The boys were better off without me. After all, they only wanted us to be fake. They didn’t offer me anything. I shouldn’t think of going back to them. I had to stay. This was where I belonged. I’d been doing it for most of my life. A little longer, ‘till I went to college, wouldn’t hurt anyone, as long as I kept my mouth shut and maybe stuck to water and salad, like mom said I should.

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