Stuck between two bad boys

I was pissed that Mom was trying to hide what was going on. I walked out on her and returned to the room.

I stayed there all afternoon waiting for Emily to return. I went back to the sitting room to grab a plate of chips when the door opened and Emily walked in with shopping bags.

At last, my girl has arrived.

She held three shopping bags and when her hands could not contain the rest, James held the remaining bags for her. It was obvious that they were gifts from James.

“Thank you,” Emily said smiling at him.

She stopped halfway in the sitting room and wore a wide smile. James returned the smile and Mom stood there uncomfortably.

I could see the worry on her face and the wrinkles that formed on her forehead. She quickly dabbed her eyes and tried to hide the tears.

“Mom?” Emily turned when she heard her mother sniff and saw her wiping her eyes.

“Mom, are you crying? What’s the problem?”

“No Emily, my eyes just hurt. It’s nothing.”

“Your eyes?”

Yeah, was she going to lie about that too?

“And have you gone for a check-up?” James chirped.

Opps, she did not not lie. Someone actually did the lying for her.

We all turned our face in his direction. Mom looked angry at his question but she didn’t show it.

“Uh Xavier and Emily, can you guys go upstairs? I need a minute.”

“Why?” Emily and I asked simultaneously.

“Please- I need to talk to him.”

“Fine.”

Emily turned to leave and I stared at them. Mom gave a nod asking me to join her and I reluctantly did. I followed Emily but I stopped halfway. I couldn’t just leave like that, I wanted to know what Mom wanted to discuss with him.

“And what the hell do you think you are doing?” She flared the moment she saw we weren’t in sight.

“I’m only-”

“Only what? James you’re trying to take her!”Published by Nôv'elD/rama.Org.

“I’m not doing that.”

“You are! Just take this house already. Take the roof off our heads since you’re hell-bent on taking my daughter!”

“You need to relax.”

“Don’t you dare tell me to relax when you want to take my joy.”

“I don’t understand what you are driving at.”

“James it’s okay to deny but I’ll appreciate that as a grown man, you say things with honesty. Let’s talk as adults,” Dad said and James smirked mockingly.

“I don’t need a low life to tell me what to do,” James blurted and turned to Mom. “I didn’t ask you and Emily to leave my life for a low life!”.

Woah! was that what happened?

“My husband is not-”

Before Mom could finish her statement, I was already there. I pushed James with my hands and had him stagger backward.

“Don’t you fucking call my Dad a lowlife.”

“Take your hands off me,” James said but I was too mad to leave him.

“Xavier,” Dad called.

“Xavier please.”

“I’ll kill you if you ever call my father a low life.”

“Get him off me,” James said and his guards walked in with heavy footsteps. They yanked my arms and pushed me to the floor. Emily ran down at that point and met the scene.

“I promise you that!” I fired as the guards made me fall to my knees and tightened my hands behind me.

“James don’t hurt him,” Mom pleaded but I didn’t care.

“He’s only a kid-”

“Just a little lesson.”

I turned my face to Emily who looked pissed at what she saw.

“You have no right to call my Dad a lowlife,” she flamed. “As long as I remember the low life has been the one taking care of me and treating me like his daughter.”

“I didn’t mean to,” James defended himself.

I was hoping she’d tell James he didn’t have the right to order his men to manhandle me too but she didn’t. Instead, she threw a glance at me and returned her face to James.

“Who is the low life? Isn’t that what men who abandon their families are called?”

“Emily I didn’t abandon you and your mother.”

“Well, I don’t remember this. All I know and remember is that this man here is the one who made me feel what a father’s love truly is.”

She took a deep breath and continued. “He makes sure Mom is okay, he makes sure I am okay. He does everything a father should do and you call him a low life?”

“Emily,” Mom called trying to calm her down but she wasn’t having it.

“Don’t tell me to stop. He needs to know who the low life really is. Tell me, do you have any fucking idea what my favorite color is? Do you know the size of my shoe? How about my birthday?”

She raised her hands and requested an answer. “Tell me, James, do you know my birthday? Of course not. You have no idea and that makes you the perfect dad in the world.”

My jaw clenched as she turned to me again. I needed her to say a word about me, to tell them to fucking leave me ’cause my hands hurt from getting twisted but she wasn’t worried about me.

She had this cold stare whenever she looked at me and I just hoped it wasn’t what I was thinking.

“I need an answer James, do you know?”

“No.”

“Perfect! Good thing we now know who the low life is.”

She said that and walked away. I remained on the floor and looked at Dad. He hadn’t said anything since James called him a lowlife. I was hoping he didn’t feel bad because of the hurtful things James said to him.

Truth is we’re humans and no matter how hard we try, some words will always hurt especially when they are coming from a person like James or that asshole, Devin.

James remained calm and turned to leave. He had nothing else to say and Emily already spat out everything in her heart.

The guards let go of me and pushed me to the floor. I staggered to stand up and when I did I growled at how my arms hurt.

“Why did Emily stare at you like that?” Dad asked.

Fuck, they already noticed the cold stare and how she was acting towards me. I had no idea what I was going to say, I couldn’t tell them the exact reason Emily was mad at me.

“Uh-”

Just then my phone buzzed in my pockets and I reached for it. I checked the caller and it was Sky calling.

“Uh, hey Leah,” I called the moment the call connected.

“Can I call you back? Uh, okay. I’ll be there.”

I disconnected the call before Sky had the chance to say anything and just told my parents I’d be right back.