I try not to approach Lo’s father. I don’t want to talk to him without Loren present. Because he wouldn’t want me to. My dad keeps him in a long discussion about stocks, but I feel Jonathan’s hot gaze on my body, most likely glaring.
Rose stands still, fingers clenched around her champagne glass, full now. A new one again? She seems utterly poised, though. A string of pearls choke my mother’s bony neck, and she has hair nearly identical to my sister’s dark chocolate. Maybe Daisy’s comment in the car has been stirring Rose too—about being so similar to our mother. No one in their right mind would want to be compared to her.
“What is your problem?” our mother snaps. “You’ve been incredibly rude to your date. Olivia Barnes heard you from across the room, scolding him like he was a child.”
“He is a child,” Rose retorts. “You set me up with a nineteen-year-old who has never switched on the goddamn news in his life.”
My mother grabs hold of the nearest chair, as though Rose physically impaled her with that curse word. “Language, Rose.”
“Grow up, mother,” she retorts. “I have.”
I take a step towards them to ease the situation, but the door opens and Aaron slips through and begins to walk over to me. In order to dodge him, I glance at my father and decide to take a seat beside him.
“Hi, Dad,” I say with a smile, scooting onto the same couch.
“Hey, sweetheart.”
I sit on the edge of the cushion, anxious and timid, especially as Aaron waits by the bar, wondering if he should approach I guess. And all the while, I feel Jonathan staring between me, Aaron, my father and my sister, taking in everything with scrutiny I do not enjoy.
“Should you break them up?” I ask my father and scratch my arm.
“They always fight,” he says. “Better to just let them work it out.” He grabs my hand. “Have you been biting your nails? You haven’t done that since you were a kid.”
I shrug, keeping an eye on my mother and sister. “With Lo gone…” I trail off, not able to say the rest or tell him the whole truth. I shrug again, a go-to response right now.
My mother’s voice escalates. “And what did he say that was so bad?! What could it have been Rose?”
“He didn’t know who David Cameron is!”
I frown. I have no idea who he is.
My mother looks equally lost.
Rose chokes on a laugh. “He’s the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, mother.”
“That doesn’t make him unintelligent.”
“It does to me,” Rose tells her. “I don’t want to share someone’s company if they can’t count to five. I’d rather hang myself.”
So dramatic. And I’m assuming family gets a pass on Rose Calloway’s incredibly high friendship standards.
I swear I hear my father mutter, “That’s my girl.” He nudges my arm. “How is Lo doing?”
Jonathan’s muscles twitch at this question, and as I look over, his eyebrows rise, waiting for me to answer.
“I’m not sure,” I say truthfully. “I haven’t been in contact with him. I’m not supposed to until he gets further into the program.”
My father nods. “I think what he’s doing is admirable. Really admirable. Not many young kids realize that they have a problem when they do.”
I glance to Jonathan. “Do you…feel the same?” I wonder, gaining a little confidence.
His lips upturn in that bitter, amused smile, so familiar that my breath knocks from my chest. It reminds me so much of Lo—that’s the scary part. “I think he should have come to me first. We could have solved it together. That’s why I’m so angry, Lily. I gave him the life he has, and he walked away from me.”
“That’s not entirely true…” I trail off, scared of his pulsing eyes. He took away Lo’s trust fund. He refused to believe that Lo had a problem. He may have wanted Lo to stay in his life, and maybe he was frightened by the idea of admitting that he has the same addiction. Maybe he didn’t want to confront his own demons. And in the end, he left Lo no choice but to leave and seek help elsewhere.
Before Jonathan responds, I feel Aaron sit by my side. His arm wraps around the back of the couch behind me, as though we’re together. I stay stiff and wiggle closer to the edge of the cushion, not wanting to touch any part of him.
He introduces himself to Jonathan and my father, and they all act cordial. But I am utterly frozen inside. To make matters worse, Rose and my mother’s fight has increased to new levels.