Okay, Marnye, you’ve got this. Dad is sick, but he’s not stupid. You can trust him with this.
“Don’t be afraid,” Andrew says, appearing next to me with his chestnut hair buzzed short, a white polo shirt on over a pair of light colored jeans. He smiles at me, and I feel suddenly so much better to have a friend around who I’m not romantically involved with. He leans in close and whispers in my ear. “If I can tell my parents that I’m gay, you can so do this. It’s easy; you got this.”
Andrew moves into the kitchen and reaches for the wine before he realizes that he’s not exactly twenty-one.
“Oh, son, I know you kids all drink,” Dad says with a slight smile. “A glass of chardonnay isn’t going to kill you. Just don’t become an alcoholic like me.”
“Dad!” I choke out as Zack steps forward to stand by my side.
“Your daughter doesn’t drink, not at all,” Zack says, and Charlie’s smile gets just a bit sadder.
“She’s always been one to make prudent choices. Okay, Marnye, tell me what’s going on.”
“I’m … dating five guys,” I say, and what’s left of Dad’s eyebrows goes up. Dad … He glances over at Andrew, and he raises his own hands in defense.
“Oh, no, not me. Definitely not me. I’m more likely to date five guys than your daughter—not that she isn’t fabulous, just …” He shrugs and takes a drink of his wine. I need to know the whole coming out story, that is, if he wants to tell me. I’m going to at least ask. Knowing Miranda she’ll probably hound him relentlessly.
“So,” Charlie starts, looking at Windsor then Zack then Zayd … “These guys and … the Cabot boy, and …”
“And me,” Tristan says, stepping into the room in black shorts, a loose black shirt, and sandals. He doesn’t bother to take off his sunglasses, but he does at least attempt some semblance of a smile.
“You boys …” Dad starts, looking like he’s stuck halfway between fainting and thanking me for being honest. “I didn’t raise my daughter to date bullies.”
Tristan pushes his shades up into his raven dark hair, and I see a black eye there that he most definitely did not have when we left the academy campus on Friday.
“No, I’m sure you didn’t, Mr. Reed, but if you can forgive me for speaking frankly, I’d like to reassure you that your daughter not only handled herself in a matter befitting a lady, but she also kicked our asses before she forgave us.” He tucks his sunglasses into his pocket.
“Marnye has a big heart; she forgives too easily,” Charlie says, studying the group of them. “I swear, if you’re playing some sort of long game …”
“Long game?” Zack ask, and Dad glances his way.
A shock of adrenaline courses through me, and I lick my lips. If I said I hadn’t at least considered that possibility, I’d be lying. But … no. Not with Windsor around. Zack either, for that matter.
“If those three pull something during graduation the way they did at the end of first year, I swear to God, I’ll kill them all and put them in the ground. What do I have to lose? I’m dying anyway.”
“Dad!” I choke out, this dark thundercloud settling over me. I know he’s trying to use dark humor to cope, but shit, it hurts. It hurts so damn bad that I can’t even let myself consider it, not right now, not when he’s still here to smile at me.
“Seriously though, what’s the worst that could happen: life in prison?” Charlie chuckles, but I can’t laugh at stuff like that, not right now. “I mean it though, you boys better not be screwing around with my Marnye-bear.”
“Sir,” Zayd says, shaking out his shoulders and exhaling. “I understand your concern, but I want you to know that … I’m in love with your daughter.” He grits his teeth, like this is one of the hardest things he’s ever done. “I have been since Halloween of first year, I just … we’re all mixed up in a bunch of bullshit.”
Holy fuck, did Zayd Kaiser just announce his love for me? And in front of my dad, too? I’m not sure if I should swoon or maybe just curl up and die of embarrassment.
“But we’re trying to get out of it,” Zack adds, looking at Charlie. “I won’t let anything like what happened during first year happen again. I’m in love with your daughter, too, and … I can never say enough about how sorry I am over what occurred in middle school. I’m willing to spend the rest of my life trying to make up for it.”
Aaaand, another surge of emotion I don’t know what to do with. It’s like there’s a rainbow inside of me, an emotion for every color, all blending together. I’m just not sure what’s waiting for me at the end of it.
