Brooks
"Did I mention how much I like Gen," Emma said next to me as I drove her home.
"Yes, for the hundredth time," I murmured exasperatedly. She spent the day with Gen and Mia at the mall, and ever since she got back. She kept talking my ear off about how much she loved Gen.
Don't get me wrong, I was glad that Emma and Gen were getting along, just as well as I hoped they would. But once Emma got started, she never stopped.
"Well, I do," her face took on a pensive look before she said. "She's nothing like I thought she would be."
I shot her an imploring look before turning my attention back to the road. "Really? What did you expect?"
She shrugged. "I thought she would be a bitch, that seems to be your type," she answered bluntly, prompting a startled laugh from me.
"How do you know what's my type? You've only ever seen me with Brielle and she wasn't a b-," I paused as Emma shot me a be-for-real look. I knew Emma never liked Brielle, but she's never been this vocal about it, until now.
"Okay, maybe Bri was a bitch most of the time," I amended. "But she had her good moments too." Brielle used to show me a different side of her, a sweeter, gentler side. That she never shared with anyone else. I think that's the main reason why I kept getting back together with her every time we broke up, which was often, even when I knew our relationship was toxic.
"I might've only seen you with Brielle, but I overheard Melody talking about her fling with you over the summer. Also, Alicia Jennings told me that her sister told her that the both of you hooked up at a party last year." She shuddered dramatically when she finished, her face twisting in disgust.
I grimaced, the last thing my little sister should be hearing about is the girls I fucked in the past. And what Melody and I had was hardly a fling. It was one night, but I wasn't going to correct Emma, this conversation was awkward enough.
Emma looked at me as she continued. "And what do all three of them have in common? They're all entitled brats, who think the world revolves around them. From the little time I've spent with Gen, I could tell she's the opposite of that. I can see why you like her so much."
She patted my shoulder, shooting me a stern look. "Just don't fuck it up."
"Do you ever shut up?" I murmured.
She rolled her eyes and playfully stuck out her tongue at me.
I chuckled, my eyes flickered to her face as my voice took on a sober tone. "I wouldn't fuck it up."
"Good," she said primly. "So are you bringing her to Dad's birthday party on the 9th?" She asked changing the subject, but she might as well have dropped a bucket of cold water all over me.
"Fuck," I cursed, my fingers tightening on the steering wheel.
"You forgot didn't you," Emma stated, rather than ask because it was pretty fucking clear that I forgot our father's birthday.
"Yeah, I just have a lot going on between football, classes, and mid-terms, it just slipped my mind." While all of that wasn't a lie, the truth was that since Gen and I got together. Besides football, she's held most of my focus, and I rarely thought about anything else.
"So are you bringing her?" she repeated with an expectant look.
"I don't know," I answered, and I didn't have to explain more because Emma nodded, as her eyes filled with understanding. She knew how fucked our family can be. And I'm hesitant about whether or not I wanted to drag Gen into that, so soon into our relationship. Emma and my dad were the only two people whose opinions of Gen mattered to me. Like Emma, I know my dad would like Gen once he met her.
My mother and brother on the other hand were another story. Especially, Alex, he'd fuck with Gen just because she was with me.
The conversation ceased, as I remained lost in thought for the remainder of the drive to our parent's house.
Parking in front of the large black gates, at the beginning of my parents' long cobblestone driveway. I lowered the window, stuck my hand outside, and typed in the security code for the gate.
I waited until the gates swung open and then I drove up the long driveway. I parked my car at the end of the circular driveway in front of my parent's massive stone mansion in Brookline.
Shutting off the engine, I climbed out of my car and followed Emma up the stairs and onto the stone porch. Emma opened the huge oak doors, and we stepped inside coming face to face with my mother, standing in the middle foyer looking down at her phone.
At the sound of the door, my mother's head snapped up, piercing green eyes locked with mine. She was dressed in a fitted Emerald green dress, with a high neckline that fell mid-calf under a long beige coat. Her ears were adorned in diamond studs, and her auburn hair fell to her chain in a sleek, sharp bob.
Claire Heyward was a very beautiful woman too bad the rest of her was fucking ugly.
"What are doing you here," she asked filling the silence.
"It's great to see you too, Mother," I said wryly sticking my hand in the pocket of my hoodie.
She rolled her eyes at my remark before her gaze moved to Emma, pinning her with a hard look that made her squirm a little where she was standing. "Why are you back so early, we weren't expecting you back from Ashely's until tomorrow," she said, her tone heavy with suspicion.
"That's my fault," I said, without missing a beat, as I threw an arm around Emma's shoulder and used the other to ruffle her hair. "Em's been bugging me to hang out with her for a while now. But, I've been super busy and I happened to be free today so I decided to drive down and pick her up at Ashley's house so we could spend the evening together." The lie rolled off of my tongue with ease.
"Besides, Ashley and Mya were being annoying anyway so I was all too happy to get out of there," Emma chimed in, adding an eye roll for extra effect.
My mother's eyes narrowed. "I hoped you didn't do anything to upset those girls Emmaline. Ashley and Mya are good girls to have in your corner."
Translation, Ashley and Mya came from two high-profile families, and she doesn't want to burn her bridges with people who has those kind of connections.
Never mind they were two little shits who didn't give a damn about their friend.
My mother opened her mouth, I'm sure to deliver another reprimand, but her response was cut off when another voice interrupted her.
"Brooks! I knew I heard your voice," my father said as he stepped into the foyer, his icy blue eyes identical to my own lit up when they met mine. He stepped in front of my mother, pulling me into a hug, and thumping me twice on the back before pulling away.
I was the mirror image of my father, while Emma was a mixture of both my parents and my brother who favored our mother with his pale complexion, auburn hair, and green eyes. I was a carbon copy of our father. We shared the same inky black hair, icy-blue eyes, bone structure, build, and height.
His eyes then moved to Emma, who was standing next to me. "Hey sweetheart, what are you doing back already, weren't you staying the weekend at a friend's house."
I told him the same lie and told my mother. Emma then made an excuse, about having to use the bathroom. But I knew she just wanted to get away from our mother, who was still eyeing her suspiciously.
"Well, it's great to see you son. I've been meaning to call you and congratulate you on that fantastic win against Pittsburgh. I wished you would've told me you were coming over. Your mother and I would've to cancel our plans with the Porters." I internally cringed at the mention of Meldoy's parents. Patrica and Thomas Porter were just as insufferable as their daughter.
My mother huffed, looking truly aghast that my father would suggest such a thing. "We can't just cancel, we've had these plans for weeks."
"It's okay, Dad. I'm coming to your birthday party next Friday so I could stay the weekend and we can catch up," I replied.
My mother perked up at the mention of my father's birthday. She shot me a deceptively sweet smile. I just knew I wasn't going to like whatever she had to say next, and she proved me right when she opened her mouth.
"Speaking of your father's party, I took the liberty of inviting Meldoy to be your date for the evening," she eyed my grey sweatpants and hoodie disdainfully. "So ensure you dress properly it's a formal affair after all."
I stared at her as if she'd grown two heads. "There's no way that happening," I snapped as my jaw tightened plainly.
"I don't get why you're so against it, Meldoy's a lovely girl. She's beautiful, well-educated, cultured, and most importantly she comes from a good family. It's not like we could trust your taste after the last time." There it was, my mother's not-so-subtle dig at my failed relationship with Brielle.
She did it every time we were in the same room together. She always found some way to say I told you so. At least, that was the only time I should've listened to her when she said nothing good would come out of our relationship.
But even so, It's funny how my mother only blames Brielle for what happened, but never my brother. To her, my brother was the only innocent one in that entire fucked up situation. He was manipulated and seduced while he was drunk and vulnerable by his brother's slutty, social-climbing girlfriend, her words, not mine.
"I can't bring Melody as my date because I'm already bringing my girlfriend," the words tumbled out of my mouth before I could stop them. Fuck! I should've run this by Gen first before I said anything, but it's too late now.
You could hear a pin drop at my admission. My father arched a brow and I watched as a flash of shock appeared on my mother's face before she covered it up "Girlfriend, Since when?"
"About a month now."
Her lips tightened with displeasure. "And you didn't feel the need to mention it to me or your father." She looked up at my father accusingly. "Unless you knew about this."
My father shook his head. "I didn't," he looked over at me with a genuine smile on his lips. "But I think it's great, and once you're happy then I approve."
"Thanks, Dad and she makes me very happy, she's great, I know you'll like her."
"I looking forward to meeting her then," he responded, and I knew my father meant it. It's my mother I was worried about.
I shifted my focus to her and was looking more and more displeased with every second that passed. Claire Heyward did not like being blindsided, she liked things to go exactly like she planned, and me getting a girlfriend that she didn't handpick herself was not in her plans.
"I didn't tell you because it's not like you ever ask about what's going on in my life, and I wanted to get to know her properly without you trying to insert yourself once you found out."
My mother rolled her eyes, but she didn't correct me. "So, is she from Boston? Do I know her?" She looked at me expectantly.
"No, you don't know her and she's from Long Island,"
"Long Island," her face twisted as she repeated the words. "What's her name?"
"Genesis," I purposely left out her last name. I knew my mother, if I had given her Gen's last name, she would have her people run a full background by morning, and I wasn't about to give her all the details to invade Gen's privacy.
Her eyes narrowed, she knew what I was doing, and she also knew that was all the information she was going to get out of me today. "I don't like this Brooks, a lot of prominent people will be in attendance that night. Your father also invited a very important guest, and I want us to make a good impression. And you bringing some plaything you've known for only a month is not a good look. Melody grew up in this world, she knows how to act accordingly sh-,"
"Enough with the Melody thing," I hissed angrily. "It's never going to happen, and plaything? Seriously, you don't even know her. She's my girlfriend, and I don't fucking appreciate you judging her before you've even met her."
"He's right, Claire," my father chimed in, attempting to defuse the already tense situation. "You've never met the girl. You have no right to say something like that, and when Brooks brings her, you'll be on your best behavior and treat her with nothing but the respect she deserves."
My mother opened her mouth to say something else, probably to argue with my father, but he spoke before she could. "That's enough Claire," he demanded his voice was hard as he peered down at my mother, who glared back at him. "It's time to go, Jackson just brought the car around, he's parked out front."
She broke the stare down first and with an aggravated huff. She shot me one last look that said, we were far from done with this conversation before spinning around on her nude heels and walking out the door. Leaving me and my father standing in the foyer alone.
My father sighed, after my mother's departure. "I'm sorry about your mother, I'll talk to her," he rubbed his fingers in the space between his eyebrows, it's a tick he does whenever he's frustrated.
I nodded, but there was only so much he could do, my mother always found a way to get what she wanted.
My father and I exchanged goodbyes before he left, leaving me alone with one thought running through my mind.
What the fuck did I just drag Gen into?
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This chapter is unedited. It may contain errors.