Tame My Heart... Or Else

Chapter 23

I choked as I heard that name fall out of his mouth. I coughed, trying to cover up the noise, but my dad's sharp ears didn't miss anything.

"Ohhh, that struck a chord. Tell me, what's all the juicy gossip?" my dad said, turning into a complete teenager again.

Yeah, that's my DAD for you..

I finally caught my breath. "There is no juicy gossip. There was nothing going on between us in the first place, so let's just leave it at that."

"I think not." he said, his eyes shining mischievously. "I know when someone's lying, so spit it out. I want to know everything."

I just looked at him for a minute.

"Dad?"

"Yes?" he said eagerly.

"Grow up."

Suddenly, he laughed, the noise booming around he house. I just watched him in astonishment till he finally recovered, sitting up straight again.

"I guess I deserve that, son," he said, still smiling a bit. "but you can't blame me for being curious. It's not every day you come storming into the house in the middle of a school day. Though on the other days, it's a bit of a regularity, but otherwise..." he trailed off, raising his left eyebrow.

I couldn't help but cracking a small smile myself.

I got off of the counter and threw the empty banana peel into the garbage. "So dad," I said, turning around to face him again, "What are you doing home at a time like this? Shouldn't you be grading some papers or something?"

He chuckled. "Brent, I don't grade papers."

I just waited for him to continue.

My dad sighed suddenly, his eyes growing darker. "Somehow, I'm glad you asked, but at the same time not. Come with me."

And with that, he stood up and walked away abruptly. I stood still for a moment, but then followed behind him.

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My dad led me into his study, which I had only been in a few times. Dark wood panelled the room, and was lined with bookcases, the books themselves piled and stacked into every morsel of space possible. A large, looming desk stood on the other side of the thin, rectangular room. Only a little light filtered in through the windows, which were partially covered with deep green, musky curtains. There were two pitch black, leather couches that stood facing each other across the room, and they didn't look very inviting at all.

"Uhh, Dad? Why is it so dark in here?" I asked hesitantly.

He laughed a little, looking over his shoulder with a smile. "Well, when people come to visit, I have to at least pretend that I mean business."

"Oh, right." I said, settling into the chair on one side of the desk.

My dad walked over to the windows and flung the curtains apart quickly, letting light stream into the room, making the dark room seem much less creepy. I had almost forgotten that my dad had even created this room in the first place.

Then he did the strangest thing.

He spun his huge chair on the other side of the desk until it was facing away from me. Then, he sat in it, and then slowly, very slowly, he spun around, his face grim.

Confused, was the word to describe me at the moment.

"Do I look like an evil genius?" he asked hopefully, grinning suddenly.