Saving Annalise | ✓

xxv| Reminiscor

"How have you been? I'm assuming you've been keeping up the school work," Mr Black continued, attempting to be polite, even though I knew he hated the fact that I was sitting across from him.

And so of course, began the small talk, random questions about the business, about school, work and any other topics we could exhaust before things got awkward being held as we ate painfully slowly, the entire dinner being dragged out an incredible amount; every minute on the table increased my lack of patience and my fidgeting. I waited for Nate to bring up his decisions about his future, but as every second passed, I felt increasingly worried that the moment would never arrive.

I used my fork to pick at my food slightly, every once in a while taking some into my mouth and swallowing, however reluctantly it was. Most of the time I drank out of the cold glass of water, feeling uncomfortable in the situation.

"I know that you aren't at this table for no reason, so tell me why you're here. Have you and my son got back together?" Mr Black finally decided to be blunt, looking directly at me and then his eyes flickering towards Nate.

"Richard!" Nate's mother snapped from besides him, scolding her husband for his apparent bluntness, but Mr Black seemed to ignore her.

"It doesn't seem like you're together. You've been in the house for around an hour, Annalise, and you've barely spoken to my son, so either you're good at hiding a relationship or you're here for something else," he continued to observe. I almost scoffed at his comment about hiding a relationship, considering Nate and I dated without permission for months without him even realising.

"No," Nate finally responded, his voice sounding quiet and raspy in comparison to his parents' voices. "Lise and I aren't dating, she's here as a friend." I almost raised an eyebrow at the idea of being Nate's friend, but decided there was probably a better time for me to question the boundaries of mine and Nate's relationship.

"Why is she here then?" Mr Black responded, his voice sounding uninterested.

"Would you like some more water, Annalise?" Nate's mother interrupted, seeing my glass empty considering I had been sipping the water throughout the entire conversation.

"I'm okay, thank you," I responded quietly.

"I didn't get into any of my universities," Nate finally interjected, his voice sounding a lot firmer and stronger than it had been previously.

I closed my eyes, immediately regretting agreeing to this dinner.

"What do you mean you didn't get accepted into any of your universities? When the hell does that ever happen?" Mr Black was furious; if it wasn't from the way his voice was raised, or the harsh tone of his, then it was clear through the dropping of his fork which clattered on his plate before it fell to the ground. Mrs Black immediately picked it up and handed him her own fork, which took without hesitation.

"I knew I shouldn't have applied to all Russel Groups, but-", before Nate could even begin his justifications, he was interrupted by his father, causing him to purse his lips immediately.

"No son of mine is applying to a non-Russel group university. Do you think my business is a joke? I've groomed you to take over this company-" This time it was Nate who took over, his voice sharp.

"I've never denied wanting to take over the company! That's all I've ever worked towards, I didn't choose to get rejected by my universities!" He was angry, and it was moments like this where I could truly see the resemblance between Nate and his father. His father was short tempered and, though rare, I could see it in Nate as well. It was evident in some of our fights when we were dating when he would raise his voice, or when he punched Chase, and especially now.