Mr Kingston's Roommate | ꪜ

Mr Kingston's Roommate|34

Brandon's table was already set and surprisingly enough a lot of his friends were already there. I couldn't help but smile sadly as I watched them converse, wondering to myself how pathetic I must be to have a five-year-old out friend me.

I felt awkward just standing there, bouncing on my heels and looking around the familiar arcade as my dad and Patricia fell into conversation with parents and Brandon with his friends. And standing here now something dawned on me. 

I needed a job, a stable one at that too. 

 I've been using the money that I've saved up ever since I was probably eight years old to live the college life I'm living. I don't have the responsibility of paying off any school debt because my dad might have been a drunken idiot before but he never spent the money he and mom saved up for me over the course of my life just for my college tuition. And no matter how many times he's messed up, I still have to thank him for not making the big mistake of spending it all on alcohol.

But despite that, I still need a job to earn more money. I'm only growing older and eventually, my savings will run out. Growing tired of the awful sense of loneliness, I decided to retreat towards the washroom, and as I manoeuvred past waitresses, I didn't make it to the washroom on time before my name was called out.

"Leila, is that you?" 

Before I could reply my father approached us, his hands tucked down his jeans pocket, lips tugged into a wide smile. "Reece! Son, how are you? Long time no see, how come you never stopped by the house to say hello?" He chuckled as he shook Reece's hand. 

My father never really showed any interest in Reece during the course of our relationship. I mean he acknowledged him but he didn't really care what I did and with who I did. He mostly stayed out of my business and honestly I wish he hadn't.

I wish that he cared enough for me to not be dependant on this man who I once loved too much that in the end, he hurt me and it hurt bad. I don't regret dating Reece, I don't regret loving him, I regret loving him too much. I regret letting him be the one to take care of me. I regret my father not protecting me and kicking him out of the house when it was past ten.

I regret my father not standing at the end of the porch with a shotgun in his hand, threatening Reece to never hurt me. I regret my father not giving him the stink eye when his hands would trail down further past my waist and would snap back up when he recognized the intense gaze from his blazing eyes.

Because he never did all those things.

And instead, I fell in love too hard because Reese was the only man there for me.

"I didn't think I was ever invited, sir! I'm sorry, but it's nice seeing you out and about Mr. Hart, you look good." He chuckled incredulously, his eyes snapping towards me as his head cocked sideways. I knew what he was thinking, 'what the hell?'

I shrugged my shoulders and flickered my eyes away from them. "Are you joining us later or. . .?" My father trailed off as his eyes swivelled towards me. I shook my head slowly and peered up at Reece whose head was hung low, his lips tugged into his mouth. 

And then after a moment of awkward silence, he hissed and nodded his head in understanding.

I wanted to laugh, almost amusedly and bitterly but I held it in. Now he knew and I couldn't tell if he was happy or disappointed. I mean he was never there for our relationship but him being sober for months now maybe showed him that what we had was good and he never saw that until now when we were finally broken up.