Chapter 4

He clearly hadn't heard me come in because he jumped in his seat and looked at me with a startled expression written across his face.

"Rhett, I wasn't aware that you had arrived."

Of course not. Why would he take note of anything I did or said?

He stood, coming over to me and offering me his hand to shake... I ignored it. He looked older than I remembered. Streaks of grey tainting his once inky black hair and fine lines had made their appearance on his face.

"I arrived over an hour ago." I admitted coldly.

He dropped his hand and looked me up and down.

"You've... changed." he said, indicating the eyebrow piercing.

I had planned on adding a tongue piercing to my facial decorations just to piss the old man off, but I decided against it. I had a better use for the cash I had stolen from Terry's wallet.

"I've grown up." I replied in the same tone of voice.

He nodded to me and took his seat, gesturing for me to sit in one of the two empty seats on the other side of his grand mahogany desk.

"Your mother said that she was going on tour with her boyfriend."

"Yeah, Terry's a musician in a really amazing band. I would have gone too but Mom said that school was more important," I lied. 

Terry was the back-up drummer for a really crummy band which was touring pubs and clubs across the country in the hope of getting noticed... like that would ever happen. I wouldn't be caught dead tagging along with them – not that Mom would have wanted me there. Having a kid my age gave away her real age which was rather unflattering apparently. I had begged her to let me stay behind in the flat and let me carry on at my old school instead of having to move miles away to my father who I didn't get along with and to a new school which I dreaded. It hadn't worked and she'd even sublet our apartment to make sure I didn't run back there once she had left with Terry.

"Terry sounds like a great guy."

Clearly my father was picking straws now, trying to find a topic to prolong the agony of our interaction.

"Yeah, he's awesome" was my sarcastic reply.

There was a pause as I could see the uncertainty on my father's face, unsure of if I was joking or being serious. I didn't clarify.

"I trust you have something decent to wear? We've been invited to dinner by the Summers family - my friends and neighbours."

I nodded, thinking of the awesome denim jacket I had "borrowed" from one of Mom's exes. Or maybe it would be better to go with leather for this classy occasion.

"Yeah, I have."

Another awkward pause.

"Well, I'd better let you get back to your getting settled. You know where I am if you need anything." he said roughly in a way to get rid of me.

Quite frankly, it just made me want to stick around longer. I nodded to him before pushing myself out of the chair and heading out of the door, closing it firmly behind me. I found myself heading outside to the back porch where my father's two Dalmatians lay in the afternoon sun. One lifted its head, barked a quick welcome and then went back to enjoying the sun. I found myself smiling at it and went over to pat it.

"Looks like you're my only friend here, spotty." I told the dog, pulling my phone from my pocket and reading the missed call which had come through earlier.

A single glance at the number told me who it was – Diana, my current girlfriend. I sighed and returned the call begrudgingly.

"Hey baby! I was waiting for your call." she said as she picked up on the first ring.

"Hey. Yeah, been a bit busy this side."

"I miss you already, boo-boo."

I rolled my eyes, wondering how on earth I had ever been trapped in a relationship with this one."

"Yeah, Di... I have to go. Will call you later."

All I heard was "I Lo..." before I hung up.

I needed to end it with her, and fast. Long distance relationships never worked, and it seemed as if our brains were light-years apart. Hell, the only reason I dated her in the first place was so that she'd stop stalking me – and quite frankly the physical perks of it were amazing. I was just her pathetic form of rebellion against her parents who had baulked when she had come home with a delinquent boyfriend a year older than the rest of my grade. 

"It's time to say goodbye to Di." I muttered to myself.

"Woof."

Clearly the Dalmatian agreed. I patted its head again and was rewarded with a slobbery lick on my hand. I didn't mind. I love animals, they seem to get me when no one else does. The dog followed me as I went back inside, his paws making clicking sounds as his nails tapped against the tiles.

"Out, Milo." Mrs Porter scolded the dog, chasing him outside with a wave of her hand.

She shut the door firmly and turned her gaze onto me. I felt as if I should cringe, but I didn't. I refused to. I had been beaten up by bruisers bigger than Mrs Porter and I refused to be chastised by the little lady, no matter how terrifying she was.

"Dogs stay outside, Rhett. I won't have their muddy paw prints all over my Persian carpets. Dinner is in an hour so you'd best go and get dressed." she smiled at me, without even raising her voice.

I did as she told me to do. After a quick shower using soap which smelled distinctly of lemons, I styled my hair with care and put on my best clothes – ones I had brought with me and not those that Mrs Porter had bought me this morning. My black skinny jeans moulded themselves to my legs as my white t-shirt clung to my muscles I had worked so hard to define. Last of all, I tugged on the pair of black Converses (which I bet Terry didn't even realise had disappeared) and the black leather jacket I had won in a pool game at the bar down the road from my place.

I wanted to make an impression. I wanted to show those stuck up snobs that I can take care of myself, without my father's money. Hell, without my father too.

The old grandfather clock downstairs chimed, signalling the time for us to head over to the nightmare-dinner. I checked myself out in the mirror once more before I went downstairs confidently.

My father was dressed in a pair of grey slacks and a white polo shirt, completely the opposite of my attire. I didn't really care. I didn't want to look like him any more than I had to, to tell you the truth. It was bad enough that we shared the same inky black hair, blue eyes and build.

"Ready?" he asked, looking me up and down briefly without saying a word about my appearance.

I nodded and followed him as we made our way next door. The Summers' house was just as I remembered it – neat and well looked after. The manicured garden and stepping stones which lead to the front door were perfectly placed and created an ethereal quality. Even the moss which grew between the grooves of the stepping stones added to the garden's look. My father knocked once on the front door before he opened it.

"Hello? Anyone home?" he called out as he stepped inside and urged me in after him.

"In the kitchen, Bill." a deeply masculine voice replied.

My father motioned for me to follow him as he headed toward the room which was filled with laughter and warm chattering of voices. The room seemed so welcoming, and yet I felt as if my legs had turned to cement... I couldn't move.

"Come on, Rhett." my father said with an emotion in his voice which I couldn't read.

I nodded and commanded my legs to obey, taking step after precarious step until I landed up in the kitchen.

"Ah, Rhett! You've grown into a strapping young man." Mrs Summers beamed at me, kissing my cheek.

"Thank you, ma'am." I heard myself reply, as if from a dream.

I shook hands with Mr Summers.

"Dinner is almost ready." Mrs Summers called out. "Boys, why don't you make yourselves scarce so that I can finish this up without interruption? Show Rhett the new pool table or something."

I hadn't even noticed the three scowling faces which were seated in the corner of the room. The Summers boys, and possibly the only mortal enemies I had in this side of the country, stood up and one by one left the room. Mrs Summers shot me a glance and I realised that I was meant to follow them. I pulled my composure together and followed the guys to dimly lit room. In fact, the only lights in the entire room were two hanging lights which hung directly above the pool table.

"The pool table." one of the twins (I'm not sure which one... but he wore a blue shirt) gestured.

The other one chuckled and rolled his eyes, forcing me to remember their mother's suggestion to "show" me the new pool table.

"It's great." I replied dryly, not willing to let them see my agitation.

"Oh come on Matt." the oldest Summers said to the twin in blue. "Be nice."

The twin smirked and looked at his identical counterpart dressed in green, a knowing look written all over his face.

"Hey Mike, care for a pool game?"

The twin in green grinned and pulled out a pool cue.

"Against who?"

"Against Dan and Rhett. They seem to be good friends."

The twins looked at each other and smiled before they turned to Daniel and myself. I heard Dan groan softly but chose to ignore it.

"Okay. You're on." I accepted the challenge.

I should have known it was a set-up. Daniel was useless when it came to pool and I found myself being the only capable one on our team against two guys who actually knew which side of the pool cue to hold. The twin in green (who I'd come to know was Mike) hit the white ball and I watched as it bounced expertly around the table until it hit the black ball into a corner pocket.

"Beat!" Matt cried out, whacking Mike on the back.

Dan didn't utter a word, he placed down his cue and headed to the mini-fridge by the bar, handing out bottles of ginger beer to each of us.

"Dinner's ready, "Mrs Summers' voice called from their grand dining room. 

Starving, we all dashed into the room and stood behind our assigned seats, trained not to sit until the women in the party sat.

"Is Lana not joining us?" my father asked.

Mrs Summers flushed and turned to Dan.

"Be a darling and go and hunt down your sister for me."

Sister? The stuck up snobs have a sister? A faint memory of a girl with bright ginger hair, stacks of freckles and braces assaulted my mind and I shook it away... no wonder they'd locked her away every time I had come around!

"I'm sorry, Lana seems to disappear on us. Please, sit while we wait." Mr Summers said brusquely, pulling back his wife's chair for her to sit.

I had prepared myself for the same gangly girl I had stashed away in the back of my memory, but instead I was confronted with a girl not that much younger than I was - if at all – who was completely opposite from what I had expected. Her hair was a rich auburn which shone in the candlelight, a few faint freckles could be seen on her nose and her blue eyes lit up as if filled with laughter. Dan lead her to her seat between his seat and mine.

"I do apologise. Time ran away from me." she blushed prettily.

"Not a problem." my father smiled with warmth unlike the cold hatred he had shown me every day since I could remember.

As she sat, I mumbled under my breath "took you long enough".

It was a spiteful remark and I instantly regretted it, but she didn't seem to have heard me so I guess that didn't matter. I sat in silence for most of the first course, not daring to open my mouth in case I said something stupid or ill mannered.

"Mikey told me that you're from a city across the country." Lana said sweetly.

I nodded.

"And they didn't teach you manners there?" her voice dropped to a near whisper.

Suddenly, I knew that she had heard me. I had to resist the urge to smile.

"Oh they did." I retorted, leaving the rest to her interpretation.

She remained silent, picking at the salad on her plate. I could tell to the second when she figured out that I had secretly insulted her. Her fork stabbed at a piece of feta with a violence I could tell she wished to use on my neck.

I smirked silently, chewing the rather bland food.

"Matt, please pass me the salt." I asked the twin in blue across the table.

He smiled at me and handed me the salt without a word. From the corner of my eye I saw Lana's eyebrow quirk briefly, but didn't pay it much notice. I should have. One shake of the saltcellar resulted in a pile of the white substance all over my food as the saltcellar's lid came off.

"Oh dear!" Lana gasped.

The twins covered their laughter with artiful gasps as their mother rushed to hopefully rescue my food. It was beyond saving.

"Oh well, I'll make sure you get more of the main." she smiled at me, squeezing my hand.

Giving up on the one twin, I turned to Mike. He seemed to be a bit more grown-up than Matt.

"How did you learn to play pool like that?"

Worthless chit-chat but at least it would stop my father attacking me for not being friendly.

"Oh, you wouldn't know it." Matt replied, not giving his brother a chance to open his mouth.

I immediately felt my blood boil.

"I asked Mike." I half snapped.

Mike looked at his brother, a confused look plastered on his face.

"But, I am Mike." the twin in blue said.

Realising what they had done, I groaned internally and remained silent until dinner was over.

"Care for a nightcap, Bill?" Mr Summers asked my father. "I have a few things I want you to look at."

"Oh certainly, John." he replied, following him.

I helped carry dishes into the kitchen while the Summers boys blew out candles and cleared the table.

"Thank you for the great evening." I thanked Mrs Summers who kissed my cheek in response.

"I'm rather tired now, so I'd better be off. Please tell my father that I have left."

She smiled at me and told me that she'd see me again. I escaped as quickly as I could, shutting the door firmly behind me. I was half way down the path when I heard footsteps rushing up behind me. Poised to fight, I swung around and came face to face with Lana.

"What do you want, bitch?" I asked viciously.

She was certainly in her brothers' plans to get me into shit with my father again, just as they had last time.

Eyes wide and mouth opening and shutting like a goldfish, she stared at me. Then, without warning her hand shot out and slapped me hard across my cheek before she turned and rushed back inside. Swearing silently at her, I walked back "home", cheek red and stinging from her assault.