Chapter 4.

"I have never been so embarrassed, Alfie! Never in my life!"

A smirk pulled at the corners of my lips at the sound of my mother bursting through the front door. Her voice, laced with mortification and verging on the edge of hysterics, was music to my ears.

"But what happened, honey? I can't understand anything you're saying if you don't tell me."

I could hear mom groan. I could practically see her rubbing at her temples in annoyance at poor dear old dad, who was just trying to understand, after all.

"What happened? What happened?! Oh my God, everything was a complete disaster Alfie- that's what happened! Your daughter- she... she- ugh, she makes me so mad!"

Dad's weary sigh could be felt all the way to my room. The smirk tugging at my lips pulled tighter until a smile formed as I imagined him rolling his eyes at mom's dramatic antics. The sound of her stomping through the living room, her angry mutterings filling the entire house as she went, followed by her heavy footsteps as she made her way up the stairs sent me into a flurry. I knew exactly where she was going and I didn't want to have anything to do with it.

Slipping on the headphones I'd kept around my neck, over my ears, I pressed play on my phone, turning the music up to full blast. And not a moment too soon because just as the first strum of the electric guitar began to fill my ears, the door to my room burst open.

For the second time that week.

Busying myself with the nth draft of the first chapter to the new manuscript I'd started I allowed the heavy beats of the drums, the sexy riffs of the guitars, and the scratchy vocals of the singer to wash over me. It was just me and the computer; the keys at my fingertips, the glow of the screen against the lenses of my glasses and the numbing music rushing through my veins.

Okay Cash, so where are you going with this? What is it you want this poor little orphan to do first? Slit the throat or snap the arm bones clean in half? Hm... decisions, decisions, decisions...

"-stand!"

"- alm down,"

"-isten... me..."

I frowned, pursing my lips as I stared at the glowing screen in front of me, the curser at the end of the last sentence I'd completed blinking silently as if to mock me. Exhaling through my nose I refocused my attention on the screen before me. Once again my fingers tackled the keys at rapid fire speeds. Horrified screams, agonizing cries, violence and bloodshed all materialized before my eyes the faster I tapped away at the keyboard. 

"-ina... -st relax"

"Cash!"

Muffled noise. Muffled voices. Muffled cries of outrage and utter humiliation somehow managed to pierce through the blaring music at my ears, destroying the little bit of concentration I'd managed to gain. With a click of my tongue, I reached for my phone again and turned the volume up as loud as it would go.

Instantly I was assaulted by the crashing sound of drums and guitars and the beautiful vocals of the song. My ears felt like they were going to explode, my brain was on fire, and yet... oh, what bliss...

Until the headphones were ripped right off my head.

"I can't believe you'd do that to me, Cash! I can't believe you'd do that to poor Rio! God, why can't you ever just talk things through like a sane person? Instead, you have to go off the wall and explode, raining down all kinds of chaos on innocent people. What fault did he have for you to do something so-so-"

"Wait, what did she do?"

Both mom and I turned to look at dad.

I suppressed the urge to smile while mom gave him a look that could burn a hole through a wall.

Oh, Dad, you can be such an airhead.

Alfred Huxley, or otherwise known as Alfie by his loved ones, was a gentle giant of a man with smile lines around his milk chocolate eyes from spending all of the forty years he'd been on this earth smiling and basically enjoying what life had to offer. He towered over both mom and I, at nearly 6ft- a height my lucky sisters unfairly inherited from him. Yet he wasn't intimidating in the least. Unlike mom, he didn't have a mischievous bone in his body and was beloved and liked by anyone who met him, including his boss, who from what I'd heard was a tough cookie to crack. 

I think that if there was anyone on this planet who could defuse a bomb with a smile on his face while still managing to keep the people at peace, it was him. That's just who he was. He didn't sweat the little things or the big things. Alfred Huxley was as chill as a chest full of ice.

When I raised a brow and motioned to mom, who was busy shooting icy daggers at him, he simply shrugged, his gaze shifting from mom to me and finally to mom, one of his thick dark brows arched meaningfully. With a shake of my head as I stifled the laugh that nearly slipped past my lips, I put on the good old poker face and finally turned to face Nina Huxley.

Mom was practically on the verge of bursting a vein. Her face was a bright shade of crimson, her eyes glassy with outrage, the little vein at the top of her forehead bulging dangerously close to the surface, while her hands shook at her sides. For a second I couldn't tell if all that anger was still because of me or if it was due to dad's obliviousness. When she snapped that golden gaze on me, as if somehow sensing that I was looking at her, I didn't have to wonder anymore. It was definitely still me.

"Hey dad," I smiled, ignoring the blistering heat scalding the right side of my face. "How's it going?" Dad frowned, his lips pursed into a thin line. He crossed his arms over his chest and cocked his head to the side. I know he was trying to play the role of the stern parent here but... the slightly upturned corner of his mouth kind of ruined the whole thing.

"Well, what'd you do, Cash?" He asked, one of his hands reaching out to gently rub mom's back, the expert bomb diffuser at work.

I shrugged. "Well, you know, nothing much. I just-"

"Oh no, don't you dare, Cash Huxley. I am not reliving that disastrous moment again! I don't want to hear you so much as even breathe a word about what happened back there. It's too disgusting to think about!"

With a sigh, I turned my sights back on mom again. Her hair was disheveled, her eyes wild and crazed, her brightly made-up lips trembling. I cocked my head to the side and raised a brow as I looked at her. She really needed to take a chill-pill, like stat.

For a moment no one said a word. Mom and I had come to a standstill of sorts, locked into a silent battle of hard unblinking stares. Then of course dad, being the ultimate airhead that he was had to interrupt.

"Uh, so... is anyone going to say anything?"

Mom frowned, her lips twisting into a grimace. I smiled sweetly. Batted my eyes innocently before turning to face dad.

"I kicked him in the balls, dad."

Mom's mouth dropped. I could feel the heavy weight of her gaze as she stared at me in utter shock. Her cheeks flushed an even brighter shade of red, if that was possible, while her tiny hands balled into fists so tight her knuckles turned white.

I winked at her before turning once in my rollaway chair then getting up to pad over to my bed.

"What? It's the truth. I'm not going to deny it, like someone here."

At that jab mom sighed, reaching out to pinch the bridge of her nose while squeezing her eyes shut. As she took in another breath I could hear the start of the fake hitching sobs that were her go-to whenever things didn't go her way. And even though I knew and mom knew they were fake, dad was innocent and naive enough to believe them. The moment I plopped onto the bed he caught my gaze and gave me a look. He might not have thought what I'd done was worth all the fuss mom was making but from his pursed lips (without the tilted corner this time) and arched brows, he didn't think I was in the right either.

I rubbed at my eyes and sighed. She'd got him.

"Look, Dad, before you start with the lecture, let me just say one thing: he had it coming. They both had it coming. Or what, you're gonna sit here and think she's gonna take me on a blind date, without telling me, and simply expect everything to go all hunky-dory? Really? As if she doesn't know exactly who she's dealing with. Please." I shook my head, crossing my arms over my chest as I glared in mom's direction. "I believe my actions were justified. So there, I've said my piece and now I'm putting that topic to rest- got it, mom?"

Mom sniffled. She made a show of dabbing at her eyes as if to wipe away the non-existent tears there. I had to fight the urge to roll my eyes.

Oh, brother.

"Cash," Dad sighed wearily. "While I might not agree with the way your mother went about things, I also don't think you were in the right here kiddo. Granted, it was wrong to lie and trick you into going to that date, but you also have to learn how to control yourself kid. You're technically an adult here, which means you have to learn how to possess some self-control. Now, I'm not about to tell you to change or how to go about your life, heaven knows that ain't gonna work."

That's for sure.

"But that doesn't mean I can't give you some much-needed advice, you know, so you don't make an enemy out of every person you meet."

He chuckled. Mom scowled. And I rolled my eyes.

"With that being said, I think you owe Mr. Asheton an apology. Err, I uh mean, young Mr. Asheton- what'd you say his name was Nina?"

Mom rolled her eyes as she turned to give Dad a look. "Rio, hon', Rio."

"Yeah, there you go, Rio. So yeah, you're going to apologize to the poor guy, Cash. Say what you want and think what you will but let me tell you something baby girl, ain't no man out there who deserves a kick below the belt... unless they really earned it, of course."

My eyes widened. "What?! You can't be serious dad. There's absolutely no way in hell I'm going to do that. And you can't make me, because guess what, like you said, I'm an adult. An adult who makes her own decisions."

Dad's eyes glittered, his lips stretching into a smile so radiant it was blinding. He took a step forward and then another and another until he towered over me as I sat on the bed that suddenly felt really, really small in comparison to him.

"Oh, is that so?"

Great, I really had to go there, didn't I?

I swallowed. "Um..."

The sudden weight of dad's giant hand on my head, his thick fingers playfully rustling my hair, were enough to make me swallow again, hard.

"How 'bout we try this again, Cash."

With a frown, I nodded. My jaw ached so much from grinding my teeth to keep from saying anything that might set him off. Finally, I settled on the one word that I just knew would be my downfall.

"Fine."

With a chuckle and another quick tousle of my hair, dad nodded. "That's my girl."

I just shook my head, irritated as hell that I had to do something so stupid.

When I looked up and saw mom standing behind him, her eyes glittering with smug triumph, it took all the strength I possessed not to smash the bedside lamp.

"See, that wasn't so hard Cash. And trust me, apologizing isn't going to be any skin off your bones either. The sooner you get it done, the better though, don't you think? Then you never have to worry about... uh..."

"Rio, Alfie." Mom added in annoyance.

"Yeah, you'll never have to worry about Rio again. Easy."

I looked at dad skeptically but said nothing. Instead, I just nodded and plopped back onto the ultra-soft mattress with a grunt.

"Okay, okay. We'll get out of your hair now. Nina will take care of setting up the meeting with young Asheton 'kay, and only that, ya' hear Nina?"

Mom placed a hand on her chest and had the gall to look offended. "Wh- but of course, what do you take me for Alfie? I'm not the bad guy here, remember that."

Dad chuckled. "It's because I know you hon' that I'm telling you not to meddle anymore."

"Hmph." Mom pouted.

As they left, I could hear Dad chuckling followed soon after by mom's giggles. Their hushed and whispered voices carried all the way down the hall as they climbed down and settled in the living room. While all I could do was curse the helplessness I felt at being forced once more into something I didn't want anything to do with.

Still... it wasn't like I had a choice in the matter once dad stepped into the picture...

Sneaky play, mom.

Alfred Huxley might be a gentle giant and just as cuddly as a teddy bear 365 days a year but when he was in a bad mood, which was very rare, he was a force to be reckoned with. I didn't inherit his height but I sure inherited that temper. And sure, I was explosive and quick to flare up, but it was nothing compared to the old man. When he lit up... oooh, let's just say everyone beware.

Biting down hard on my lip, I squeezed my eyes shut and balled my hands into tight fists.

"Fuck!"