Tainted Love | ✓

Chapter Seven

you don't drown by falling into the water;

you drown by staying there

.・゜-: ✧ :-　　-: ✧ :-゜・．

"THANK YOU FOR COMING OVER."

I stood with my arms crossed at the door, an awkward smile playing on my lips. I knew I didn't fit in here, and by the strange glances I was receiving, it was clear others thought the same way. When Tyler told me he wanted me to come over for dinner tonight, he neglected to mention that his entire family would also be present. And so, I had showed up in casual clothes - jeans, shoes and a simple cream jumper. However, his parents were dressed with eloquence and style. His mother's velvet dress was tight, showing off her curves. Her hair was pinned back into a simple bun with a few strands loose, to frame her face. She looked like she had walked straight out of a catwalk, with her hand curled around her husband's arm. His suit was buttoned up, a stern frown encompassing his face. I squirmed in discomfort at their subtle disgust as their eyes raked me up and down.

"No problem, Mrs Jones," I replied in a polite tone, somehow managing to keep my voice steady.

His mother cleared her throat and tugged on her husbands arm, indicating for him to follow her.

"We'll be in the dining room. Come in when you're both ready."

Not wanting to ignore them, I offered them a sharp nod in reply. Turning their backs to us, they sauntered off towards the dining room, but not before she shot one last glance back, eyeing me with distrust.

"Why didn't you tell me this was going to be something formal?" I hissed to Tyler as soon as his parents were out of earshot.

Tyler, who like me, was dressed down in simple clothes, gave a careless shrug of his shoulders, seeming to not understand why I was upset.

"I didn't think it was important."

"How is it not?" I reputed, annoyance seeping into my tone, "They already don't like me. I don't want to give them more reasons not to."

"Stop making a big deal," he rolled his eyes, "It's not like you own anything high end or fancy anyway."

Immediately, my face heated up in embarrassment and my eyes lowered towards the ground. My parents weren't like his; they weren't successful business owners. They didn't come from rich backgrounds. We were just a normal family, who sometimes struggled. So, while I knew Tyler's comment was true, it still left a sting in my heart at the harshness of his words.

"I. . . I just would have put in more effort," I finally responded when I felt like I could raise my gaze.

"It wouldn't have mattered if you did," he heaved a sigh when he noticed my sour expression and wrapped an arm around me, "You know I didn't mean it like that, Naomi."

Despite the lump in my throat that seemed impossible to swallow, I managed to craft a smile on my lips and nodded, "I know."

"Come on then," he tugged on my hand, "Let's not keep them waiting."

Feeling sick to my stomach, I didn't reply as he led me towards his dining room. My stomach was churning in nausea, still not having completely recovered from yesterday. Tyler had texted me earlier saying he had planned a small dinner date for us at his home, and even though I wasn't feeling the best, I didn't turn his offer down because it wasn't often that we did cute dates. However, on arrival, I knew this would be more of a nightmare.

My eyes widened at the amount of food that was displayed on the table. Laden with various different plates, three large, gold rimmed serving platters were solely dedicated to desserts.My gaze shifted to the feast-like table; whole roast chicken with sprigs of rosemary, bacon and rye bread, potatoes smeared with butter and spices, and all sorts of varieties of salads and side dishes. I couldn't stop my mouth from watering from the sight of all the deliciously looking food, while their strong aroma wafted past my nose.

His father's rumbled over the room, demanding attention, "Sit down."

Snapping out of my star fazed gaze, I quickly sat down in the seat across from his mother, with Tyler slipping into the seat beside me. His expression looked unbothered as he almost immediately began to scoop food onto his plate, while my palms were sweating more than if I had ran an entire marathon. I didn't know if I was the only one feeling the tension in the room, or whether it was that everyone else was used to it and looked unbothered.

"Dig in," she spoke, keeping her tone sultry, "There's plenty for us all."

With flushed cheeks, I gave a quick nod, "Of course."

Looking down, I froze at the amount of cutlery in front of me. There, laid four different fork sizes, two different spoons, with one laid horizontally at the top of my plate, while there was three different knives. I could feel my heart pounding in my chest, mainly from nervousness of which piece I was supposed to use. I tried to give a side glance over to Tyler, but he was leaned forward in his seat, his face only an inch from his plate.

Gulping, I raised my hand from under the table, trying to ignore the trembling, and grabbed the fork closest to my plate. Just as I attempted to reach over and grab a piece of sliced chicken, his mother cleared her throat.

"That's the salad fork," she informed with pursed lips. Her eyes were small and narrowed on me, while I froze with my hand mid-air, a surprised expression on my face. Unsure of what to do next, I retracted my hand and just stuck with reaching towards the salad bowl.

"Oh," was all I could seem to be able to come up with, "I. . . I'm sorry."

"It's alright dear," she smiled, stretching her red painted, thin lips, "I'm aware you wouldn't have ever come across something like this before. Enjoy it while you can."

Even though her words were sweetly said, accompanied with her sickly smile, there was an underlying, cutting edge to her tone. My jaw was tightly clenched, and I bit back the string of curse words I wanted to let loose. Tyler, like his father, were only focused on their plates in front of them, not even seeming like they could hear us.

Blushing wouldn't have been a problem, but I knew my face was the colour of beetroot. Like someone had turned on a heater in front of me, beads of sweat began collecting on my forehead and I poked at the green salad leaves in front of me in a pathetic attempt to distract myself. Under the table with my other hand, I dug the sharp edges of my nails into my skin, creating small, half moons.

My heart stopped beating for a moment when her calm voice spoke up again.

"Pardon me, it's probably the old age," she offered me a smile, "But what was your name again? I'm afraid Tyler doesn't mention you quite that often."

My hands were shaking and my voice quivered like a grass in the wind as I replied, ". . . It's Naomi."

"Mom," Tyler finally spoke up, interrupting his mother's next words. He didn't even look at me, but my heart soared in thinking that he would stand up for me. But that thought was crushed as soon as he spoke his next words.

"Can you pass me some of that rice? Oh, and some salt."

The hopeful smile that had been climbing up my lips, shot down as fast as it came. Surprised, I blinked in shock, my lips parting, but no words escaping. His mother noticed my expression, and one corner of her lip curled up before she reached over and passed the plate to her son.

It wasn't the first time this had happened, and while I hadn't had too many encounters in front of his parents, each time he remained silent when they spoke ill of me. With pursed lips, I tried hard to hold back the oncoming tears in my eyes. I didn't know why I was feeling so emotional and hurt, but I wouldn't give his mother the satisfaction of seeing me this affected. Being sick, I was already feeling nauseous and woozy, yet my mood was only worsening with each passing minute on the clock.

Perhaps, I was overreacting because I was sick. . . But, why was it, he never could just stick up for me? Whether it be now, or even in school when some of the girls called out insults, or the guys shouted crude words, he was always just silent, like he didn't hear them.

When Tyler looked at me, I knew he was everything I wanted. . . But, I didn't think I was everything he wanted.

.・゜-: ✧ :-　　-: ✧ :-゜・．