Who Gets The Girl?

Chapter 18

I got home rather late and I could vividly see dad’s car parked outside the house as I matched my way inside. A sigh escaped from me with a crease forming over my brows as I moved towards the door, pulling it open, and dreading whatever was in store waiting for me.

I first caught sight of the Betty sitting at the further end of the dining table and had a cunning glint tugging the edges of her lips. I eyed it for a second before scanning through the gathering. Dad was sitting at where he usually sat, a seat that has been empty for quite a while. Mum was sitting next to him and she was obviously very annoyed.

“Kathy—”

Mum wanted to scold me but dad cut her. “Let her be”

His warm grey thirty-nine year old eyes landed on me and I blinked, a smile slowly creeping over my lips. “Dad”

“Welcome home”

His eyes moved over my frame, taping the empty seat at his right. “Come over here. How have you been?”

A relief washed over me when I realised that he wasn't angry. I nodded, making my way to the seat and I thought I caught sight of Betty frowning at me.

Well—she always did anyway so it didn't exactly matter.

“Anne told me you've gotten rid of the scar”

He muttered even when obviously looking me in the face and I simply nodded. Mum was very quiet for the better part of the meal after I joined, and Betty was well—betty.

Everyone ate in an awkward silence for a while before betty’s voice cut through the silence. “Dad”

“I'm going to handle the party this year, right?”

She uttered, already claiming the birthday preparation before he could even say a thing. I mean, who asked for a position that way. Dad was quiet for a moment, slowly turning his eyes to mine wanting to check if I was alright with the arrangement.

I gave him a rehearsed smile even when I felt anything but happy. I didn't want to handle the birthday preparation but one thing I wanted handle was her ass, how dare she make a poster of me looking like that?

I was really trying to calm myself down and focus more on the bowl of cereal in front of me. This time, it was mum that spoke. “Kathy, are you alright with that?”

Finally. She remembered that I was her child too.

I merely nodded, for some reason feeling my heart knot a little. I think things were getting to me really easily these days. “How did the business proposal go, dad?”

I asked trying to divert the whole topic from Betty and I, for once. He didn't seem too happy to say the least and I could see him briefly exchange a silent glance with Anne before faking a smile and uttering. “Great”

I frowned, wondering if I was missing something here. I felt that something was not right but then, I glanced at Betty only to see that she was busy curling the edges of her hair with her fingers and not catching anything.

I sighed inwardly. “Oh”

I muttered, picking up the spoon from the bowl and moving on with my food. We were all quiet for few seconds again before dad, stud up apparently done with his dish. His phone rang shortly after that and he picked it up from the table and excused himself.

Mum’s face was covered in a slight frown and I could spot hints of worry as she shifted her gaze to trace after the frame of her husband. I blinked, wondering what was going on and what they were keeping from us. Soon after, she was getting up also telling us that she wanted to use the restroom and Betty and I were soon left at the table all alone.

I frowned, thinking that this was the perfect time to address the recent ‘issue’

“Betty”

I called her and she slowly glanced up, casting me a glare that penetrated into my skin. I didn’t back down. “I saw the poster”

She was quiet just staring at me b***h-faced as if she didn’t hear what I just said and I felt even more frustrated that she was ignoring me. “I know you can hear me so stop pretending to be deaf”

I said in a bitter laugh and that was enough to fuel her to say something.

“And what about the poster? If you don’t like it should I make another one?”, she uttered flashing her lashes at me like a innocent person and I blinked, hating the paradox.

“Why are you doing this?”

She smirked. “Doing what now…”

She met my eye line and I was about to say something when she cut me abruptly. “If you mean showing you how pathetic you are…then you can’t blame me. Blame karma for catching up with you”

She added. “Which looks ridiculously amazing by the way”

My frown deepened. “Karma? What do you mean now?“

“Oh please..”

She sprung to her feet, slamming her hands on the table, eyes wide and nostrils flared. I shivered within as I met her taunting gaze. “You know what? Act like you don’t know what”

She muttered before walking out right after leaving me stunned and apparently confused. Karma?

What was she saying going on about now. I sighed, slowly pulling out my phone from my pockets to check the time. It wasn’t too late, which meant that I could sneak out the window to get a good book to read. I think that could do something to my present mental state.

I needed to shake things up a bit or else or I wouldn’t make it till the next morning with this much confusion going on here and there. I cleared up the table when I was done with my meal before walking upstairs and entering into the warm and comforting space of my room.

***

I made my way to the bookstore, hoping to find a place of peace and quiet outside my seemingly bubbling life. I walked through the door, the receptionist boy was not on seat, so I just checked in and continued walking. I knew what I wanted to read today. I wanted a novel, a care-free one even cliché. I pulled through the books, tugging and placing back almost everything cause they weren’t in tone with what I wanted, soon my hand made its way to a book with orange book cover. ‘Who gets the girl’

I smirked at it, wanting to read the blurb but the back space was blank. A little crease formed in my brows, eying the book for a while but then still deciding to read it. I was about to move myself into a comfortable seat and enjoy the comfortable atmosphere for a while when a familiar tall guy came towering over me. I glanced up, meeting the same dark eyes and I groaned internally.

“Hey! Cupcake”

He winked and I rolled my eyes legit three-sixty. He seemed to be the one trying the hardest to get me into his bed. “Why are you here?”

I asked because it’s not a regular thing to see guys in black jackets crashing at libraries “I came to find you”

Cliché. “Try again”

He smirked, moving closer to me and on cue I moved behind. “Fate had led me to you”

Still cliché and for the record, I know I said I wanted cliche tonight but he was taking it in full swing. “Try again”

I groaned out and his smirk widened, somehow managing to pin me against the bookshelves, and I think I inhaled a bit when he leaned himself closer to me. Crap.

What was going on?

I could feel his cologne, seeping into every corner of myself. He turned to whisper into my ear, his breathe burning against my earlobe. “You’re my destiny”

Err. What nonsense was he saying tonight? Did he drink and get drunk. I was about to jerk out of his gasp and ensemble my disoriented self when someone appeared from behind, muttering into the silence.

“Section six, creative writing”

My eyes widened. I knew that voice. Aiden and sure enough, when Cade tilted behind a little, I could see his frame eyeing our statures from where he was. This moment felt real deja vu.

There was a glint of something in his green eyes as they walked over us for a while, then it suddenly landed directly in my eyes. “I thought you said you were busy”

His voice was low and deep. I blinked, instantly trying to clear up any assumption that must be going on in his head. “Yeah. I had to go H-O-M-E.”

I muttered stressing my last word because for some reason he kept looking in between Cade and I which kept me somewhat confused as the Cold-hearted, arrogant Aiden that I knew, Should have walked away by now but he was merely standing, a glint of something in his eyes, and staring not particularly at anyone.

Cade sighed. “I think you can keep walking now”

A frown covered my face on an instant, wondering why the bookstore was getting filled by irregular people today and by that I didn’t only mean Aiden and Cade as from my peripheral vision. I could see Luke walking in through the glass door.

My eyes turned to meet his and he made a small brief at Aiden and Cade before he was instantly diverting his gaze away.

Right, after our little brawl, he has been avoiding me real good.