Ready or Not (Ready #4)(69)

“I’m so glad you made it,” he said, pulling me into his arms for a tight hug. He pulled back and gazed at me as if he were studying my face. “You’ve grown into such a beautiful young woman, Livvy Lou.”

“Livvy Lou?” Noah said from behind me, giggling at my nickname.

“Shut it,” I grumbled.

“And who might this be?” my father inquired, a large welcoming smile on his face as he turned his attention to Noah.

“This is my son, Noah, Senator.”

“Now, what did I say about calling me that, Jackson? Please, call me Doug.”

“I shall try,” Jackson replied, squeezing my hand when he saw me smirk.

“The boyfriend has a son?” a man next to my father interjected.

I’d been so focused on my dad meeting Noah that I hadn’t noticed anyone else joining our small group, but indeed, there he was—a stubby old man who had a snarl for a smile. He reminded me of Mr. Burns from The Simpsons.

“Is there a problem?” I asked pointedly.

“No, we’ll figure out a way to spin it,” he mumbled to himself before quickly walking away from our little circle.

I looked up at my father for answers.

He seemed embarrassed and promptly apologized, “Sorry, that is Ned. He’s one of my campaign managers, and he’s a bit quirky.”

Quirky wasn’t exactly the word I would choose to describe him.

“Is there something I should know?”

“No, darling. Please don’t think anything of it.”

“Okay,” I answered.

A quick glance over toward Jackson told me he was anything but okay with it.

In an attempt to defuse the tension, I suggested we grab some food. Food always seemed to make everything better, and if I knew one thing, my mother had spared no expense in that area.

“Holy—” Noah began to say. He quickly stopped when Jackson’s eyes darted over and gave him a death stare.

“This looks good,” Noah amended.

I tried not to laugh at his obvious language blunder.

Oh, to be young and impressionable again.

I didn’t think Jackson found it nearly as funny as I did.

We found an empty table under the shade and spent the next thirty minutes enjoying the expensive food, people watching, and talking among ourselves. Noah casually announced that he’d made a friend at school named Sam, who liked Xbox and played the guitar. Jackson and I looked up at each other, our eyes widening in excitement, but we tried to keep our cool.

“That’s great, buddy,” Jackson answered as he stole a canapé from Noah’s plate.

Watching the two of them, I couldn’t help but smile. Opening myself up to Jackson and Noah had made life a hundred times scarier.

What if I ended up hurt? What if I hurt them?

In retrospect, it had also made life a million times more exciting. My smile wasn’t just a smile anymore. It was a window into my soul because they made me feel completely alive.

“Where’s your mother? We haven’t had a chance to say hello yet,” Jackson commented. Sitting back in his chair, he sipped on his beer.

“She’s usually incredibly busy at these types of events. She sees to every detail. I guess it makes her feel like a part of the team.”

“Well, we should go find her and thank her for including us,” he suggested.

“Sounds like a great idea,” I agreed.

Leaving our happy spot, we all stood and wandered around, looking for my mother. She was nowhere in sight, so I suggested we head inside to continue our search for her.

Walking back into the air-conditioned house was like stepping inside a freezer. The cool air hit my body like a wall of ice, and my skin prickle everywhere.

“Here, take my jacket,” Jackson offered, sliding the dark gray blazer off his shoulders to hang on mine.

“Thanks. Why don’t we try my dad’s office? Maybe she’s paying one of the caterers or something.”

We rounded the corner, walking down the long hallway, and we stopped just outside the office. I held up my hand to knock when I heard my father’s voice, and I stopped.

“I can’t do anything about the fact that her boyfriend has a son. You figure it out. This was your idea.”

“Well, she wasn’t dating anyone when I suggested it, but we’ll work something out. Right now, we need your family intact. When your bid for presidency is officially announced, those reporters will start digging. An estranged, crazy daughter is exactly what we don’t need. Fix it, Doug. Fix it now.”

Tears stung my eyes, and wetness spilled down my cheeks. Jackson’s hard chest engulfed me, and my body buried itself into him. I barely remember moving. Everything felt slow and out of sync. As the hallway blurred past us, the last thing I saw was a family portrait. My own eyes stared back at me—warning me, cautioning me that one day this would all be over because every fairy tale must end eventually.

~Liv~

The phone rang for the tenth time that morning, and I threw it across the room. After the ninth unanswered call, shouldn’t people start to understand that I didn’t want to talk—ever?

I was the therapist, not them.

I’d sort through my own shit—eventually.

It just wouldn’t be today or tomorrow…perhaps not even this millennium.