“Pretty damn bad. I’m not used to talking about things like that.” My face was still burning hot, so I put my arm over my eyes so I wouldn’t have to look at her. I didn’t think I’d be able to get this out if I had to look her in the face.
“Ohhh, now I’m curious. Spit it out.” The mattress shook as she moved.
Before I could change my mind, I blurted, “My dad is an absolute asshole.”
“Your … dad? Anything specific happen, or is it general assholishness?”
“Both, sort of. He’s never liked Colt, from the second he met him. I know my dad, he’s always wanted to see me with a different kind of man, and he’d rather I was engaged to someoneappropriateright now so he could get some kind of benefit out of it.” Huffing, I expelled air from my lungs.
“Wow, yeah, sounds like a real asshole if you ask me.”
“Anyway, he heard that Colt and I are together now, and he’s freaking out about it. He’s been texting me every day saying I don’t know what I’m doing and that Colt is a bad choice. I don’t know, it’s just weird. He even threatened that if I didn’t go on these ridiculous dates he keeps setting me up with, he’d pull my school funding. You know who he set me up with last time?”
“Who?” she asked, her eyes wide with intrigue.
“Fucking Nico, you know that jackass from the diner I toldyou about? Ugh! Now I have to somehow explain to Colt why I have to go on a date with some random douche, and I haven’t even told him about my dad’s threat and all the messages he’s been sending. I don’t want to drag him into this whole mess. We’re supposed to fly home for Thanksgiving, and I have no idea how to handle it if my dad treats Colt like shit. I wouldn’t put it past him.”
“What about Colt’s family? And your mom?”
“Colt’s family is great, I really hope we get to spend most of our time with them. My mom is … not like my dad, but she does let him manipulate her. He knows how to wrap people around his finger, and I honestly think my mom has gotten so comfortable in the life they lead that she’d ignore a lot to keep it.” I lift my arm from my face and lean on my elbows.
Ella sits up and shakes her head. “Sometimes, people do the strangest things.” She tightens her ponytail and leans forward, resting her elbows on her thighs.
“I guess you’ll just have to wait and see—”
“Funny, I think that’s exactly what I just told you.” I nudged her with my elbow.
She regarded me with a demonstrative sideways glance before continuing. “Whatever. Like I was saying, I guess you’ll just have to wait and see, and if he’s a dick, just stay with Colt’s family and steer clear of him.”
My head falls back, my chest heaving with a frustrated breath, and I purse my lips. “Guess that’s probably the best plan. I just still can’t believe he would say things like that. Today, he seriously demanded I end it. Yeah, right, as if.” I scoffed.
“He didn’t say that.” Her eyes got huge as I swiveled my head in her direction.
“Yes, he did.”
“Yup, I’d be furious too if I were you.” Her hair swings back and forth as she shakes her head in disbelief.
I sit up, clucking my tongue and stretching my arms over my head before rising to my full height. “It is what it is. I have to finish getting ready now; I’m supposed to meet my study group in half an hour. Lost track of time with all the bitching.”
“Right, I completely forgot. Well, have fun.”
I smirked. “Sure, because as Ron put it, ‘That’s what Hermione does. When in doubt, go to the library.’ And that’s exactly where I’ll be.”
***
On my walk back to the dorm, I decided to call my mom and see what the hell was going on. Phone pressed tightly to my ear, I tried to control my breathing, but as soon as my mom picked up, her chirpy “Hi, honey!” shattered what little composure I had left.
“Mom,” I began, the words tumbling out, “do you realize what Dad is making me do? He’s forcing me to go on a date with some random guy — for what, just to please his business partner? Do you understand how fucked up that is?”
There was a pause, then the sort of sigh that always told me she wasn’t going to take me seriously. “Hailey, it’s just a date. It’s not like he’s asking you to marry him. Your father only wants what’s best for you.”
“Forme?” I snapped, the anger rising in my chest. “This isn’t about me. This is about him trying to secure his business deals. He doesn’t care what I want, and you just stand by and let it happen.”
“Hailey, calm down,” she said, her voice soft but dismissive. “You’re overreacting. Your father is under a lot of pressure right now. This is really important for all of us. Can’t you see that?”
“Allof us?” I stopped pacing and planted my feet on the carpet. “Don’t bring me into this.Ididn’t ask for any of this. I didn’t ask to be used as a pawn in his little power play.”
Her sigh this time was deeper, like I was the one exhausting her. “Hailey, if you just go on the date, everything will be fine. Your father has promised us a summer house in Italy if this goes through. Just think about it, Hailey. A villa on the Amalfi Coast! Doesn’t that sound amazing?”
