PARADISE//mitchel cave

chapter twenty-two

It'd been about three weeks since the little 'incident' Mitchel and I had, and honestly things were better.

We talked more often and about more substance, it was the best a long distance relationship could get. I missed him like crazy, so many things reminded me about him.

The miles between us pulled on my heart and it was hard to keep it from completely flying out of my chest. Seeing him smile over facetime just wasn't the same.

A few weeks ago my dad called to check in on me, which was usually not good. He had heard Jake and I weren't together anymore and I informed him I was with someone else now. Of course, he was very disappointed in my decision to end things with Jake.

Jake basically had an automatic in with my family because our dad's worked together. He obviously had no idea what had gone on behind closed doors between Jake and me.

Upon my dad finding out I had a new boyfriend, he invited Mitchel and I to have lunch with him and the rest of the family upstate. I told him Mitchel was on tour which of course made his ideals of Mitchel go automatically down the drain.

He insisted it wasn't a real job and that there's no way he can provide for me. After arguing with him for a good 20 minutes I accepted his stubbornness and told him I'd try to get Mitchel to lunch. After that I called Mitchel who told me he'd love to use his day off coming up to New York and meeting my family.

I tried to warn him of their unpleasantness but he insisted that it was fine. I picked Mitchel up at the airport to see he was wearing his black patched jeans and a white button down tucked in. His efforts to tidy up his normal attire made my heart ache for him. He was trying so hard and there was no way my family would like him. It was almost heartbreaking.

We were on our way to the house now, my dad had sent a car for us. That's one thing about my life I kept pretty silent. My parents had a lot of money and believed that made them superior humans to everyone else. I got out as soon as I turned 18 and majored in Art which caused them to immediately reject me. They cut me off from most of my money and I had to learn how to get by on my own, which I didn't mind.

I was wearing a short spring dress with flowers on it. It was simple but more fancy than jeans, which was typically the dress code for these kinds of meals.

"You look amazing," Mitchel whispered in my ear as I hooked my arms through his to stay closer to him. "I wish we didn't have to go to this," I responded, wishing we were going anywhere else. "It won't be too bad," Mitchel tried to console me. "You don't know them Mitchel, this is going to be hell. Plus, I'd rather be alone with you. I don't want to have to share you on your day off."

He chuckled but I was completely serious. "After this we have the rest of the evening and tomorrow morning." I leaned my head on his shoulder, "I guess so. Just remember when we get there that's there's no point in trying to impress my dad and politeness will go a long way with my mom."

He nodded, as if he was taking mental notes. "What about your brothers?" He questioned, somehow remembering the rare times I'd ever mentioned them. "Pierce and Mason. Pierce is 25, he's married and has a new baby. He probably won't pay much attention to you, his hands are pretty full. Mason, on the other hand is only 16 and he's very protective over me."

Mitchel raised his eyebrows, "oh really?" I nodded, completely serious. "Yes, Mitchel I'm serious. He'll be an asshole to you until he's sure that he likes you and you're good for me." Mitchel clicked his tongue and shook his head, "so how do I get him to like me?"

I laughed, "talk about video games with him. When he tries to give you a talk about never hurting me or he'll kill you just act threatened and take it very seriously." I knew them very well, years of feeling like an outsider and just sitting and observing paid off.