"My dad will be here any minute now"
Kris stepped out of the kitchen, wiping her hands with a napkin. It was just about an hour later, around 5:30pm.
The girls had spent the whole time in the kitchen, making dinner while Luka just waited in the living room, not quite sure what to do. Now, dinner was almost ready and their dad had texted he was almost home.
"Good" Luka smiled, finally getting up from his seat on the couch. "Cuz I'm done coming up with my whole backstory, it's pretty amazing, you're gonna love it" he assured her. "You know, this is really fun, coming up with lies..." He was trying his best not to laugh.
"Your neck tattoos are peeking out" Kris pointed out, cutting him short.
"Oh, shit" he mumbled, adjusting the collar of his jacket.
Kris was literally shaking with excitement, she couldn't stand still. Ever since her mum broke the news, she couldn't stop smiling. Whenever her dad came home, she always got to tell him everything. Things she wouldn't share with her mum. He was super nice, ever smiling and always ready to listen. His family was everything to him.
"Not to pressure you or anything..." Kris began. "...but if you screw this up, and somehow give my dad a chance to find out who you really are..." She continued, lowering her voice. "... You're going to completely ruin this amazing day for my family " she concluded with a smile.
That drained a good amount of Luka's excitement.
"Jeez Kris, I don't think you understand what the statement 'not to pressure you' means" he sighed, resting his hands on his waist.
He wasn't actually pressured before but Kris reminding him he could actually ruin the day for her family got him a little nervous. He saw how happy they all were and he couldn't imagine ruining that.
"Sorry, I'm just really excited " Kris rocked backwards on her heels. "So, let's hear the backstory" she clasped her hands in front of her.
"Ok, so get this..." His excitement resurfaced, ready to tell Kris what he had come up with.
He had way too much fun coming up with lies to dish Kris' parents in case they threw him any questions.
"He just pulled up in the driveway!" Kendra literally screeched, dashing down the stairs two steps at a time.
Angela sprinted out of the kitchen, yanking off her apron and adjusting her hair all at the same time. Kris's smile grew wider, if that was even possible.
The three of them stood side by side, facing the door, trying to contain their excitement while Luka just stood behind them, his hands clasped in front of him, silently praying things went well.
After about a minute of silence (minus the squeaking due to excitement from the girls), the door slowly creaked open and a tall figure stepped into the house.
You would never guess he had two adult daughters. He was forty five but he didn't look a day over thirty. He had on a simple black shirt over a pair of deep blue jeans and a small brown suitcase in his right hand.
Luka gulped and wiped off the sweat that had formed on his forehead. He didn't quite remember Kris' dad. Gary Harris definitely looked like the kind of dad who would stalk any guy that got close to his daughter and then mess him up if he tried anything. He couldn't imagine what would happen if Gary found out he wasn't who he was pretending to be.
"Wow, something smells amazing in here" he took in a whiff of the aroma escaping from the kitchen almost as soon as he entered.
"Dad!" Kendra and Kris yelled in unison as they sprinted towards their dad to hug him.
He almost fell at the impact but he wrapped his arms around both of them, trying his best to keep his balance. It was the same every time he came home.
"I've missed you so much girls" he ruffled both their hairs as they pulled away from him.
"We've missed you too" Kris beamed.
"Wow, Kendra" He looked down at her, faking surprise. "You've gotten so big" he exaggerated, flinging his arms in the air.
"Dad!" She yelled at him, folding her arms.
He only made the joke cuz he knew she was on a diet, trying to lose weight. "Just kidding" he smiled. "You look amazing" he added and then raised his head to face Angela who was standing just about eight feet away from them, her arms folded. "Sup" he nodded, raising an eyebrow.
"I'm cool" Angela replied with a shrug. "You know, just chilling" she added with another shrug.
Kris just closed her eyes and tried not to cringe to death. It had been her parents' usual way of greeting ever since she called her mum old and her mum went online to search for teenage slangs just to prove she wasn't old and she was just as cool as she was.
It was really weird for Kris and Kendra and kinda embarrassing too but her dad, being the supportive person he was, completely embraced it.
"Cool cool" he nodded and finally, his eyes darted to Luka who was just standing there feeling awkward as ever. "And who do we have here?" He questioned, turning to Kendra.
"Don't look at me" Kendra read the expression on her dad's face. He clearly thought she brought home a boyfriend or something "look at Kris" she told him.
Gary's eyes widened as he turned to Kris who was smiling sheepishly. "Kris?" He questioned.
"Good evening Mr Harris" Luka finally spoke up and he immediately cringed at his own words. Gary turned to face him, still surprised. "I'm Justin, Kris' friend" he introduced himself.
"Oh, friend" He repeated, making it obvious that's not what he was thinking. "I'm not gonna lie, he got my hopes up for a second there" he turned to Angela and they both laughed, clearly mocking Kris.
Kris rolled her eyes at her parents. "He was just visiting and mum insisted he stayed for dinner" she explained.
"Oh, speaking of dinner, I am starving, I barely had anything on the airplane to save up some space for the Turkey" he said, rubbing his stomach before turning back to face Luka. "It's so nice to meet you Justin, why don't we all have dinner now and get to know you" he added.
Luka just smiled in response. He didn't know how to reply to that.
It was about thirty minutes later. The five of them were seated around the dinning table already at the main course. Their dad had cracked a couple of jokes that sent them all laughing. It didn't even matter if they were funny or not, Gary was just the kind of person who knew how to lift people's moods. It was possible that anyone else could tell the same joke and send the whole room quiet.
"So Justin..." He began, raising his head to face Luka who was sitting beside Kris. "Tell us, where are you from?" He asked.
"Quebec" He replied and Kris froze in her seat.
It wasn't just her, everyone else was shocked.
"Canada?" Kendra questioned.
"Uh... yeah" he smiled.
"Wow, I could have never guessed you were Canadian" Gary said, still in awe.
"Yeah, he's just so full of surprises isn't he?" Kris said smiling at Luka. The smile looked pretty normal except you're Luka in which case it was a 'what the fuck are you doing?!' smile.
Luka ignored her and turned back to Gary. "Actually I'm Canadian, Italian and Swiss" he said and Kris choked on her food.
"Wow" Angela said with a mouth full of turkey. She had always told Kris and Kendra never to speak with their mouths full but at that point, she had to.
"Yeah, my dad's Italian, my mum was Swiss and I was born in Canada" he explained.
At this point, Kris had just given up.
"Was?" Kendra questioned. "Did your mum pass away?" She asked, in probably the most insensitive way possible and Kris face palmed herself.
"Yeah, a couple years back" he replied.
Well, that's one truth. Kris thought.
"Oh, so sorry about that" Angela shook her head in pity.
"It's fine" Luka replied.
"I'm guessing you speak Italian" Angela dropped her fork, now very interested.
Who wouldn't be?
"Yes, fluently" Luka nodded.
"Wow" Kendra said softly, staring at him with those dreamy eyes before her mum jabbed her elbow into her side.
She winced and Kris rolled her eyes.
"So Justin, where does your dad work?" Gary asked. You know... the usual questions a dad would ask his daughter's boyfriend.
"He manages an oil company in Montreal" he said smoothly like he wasn't lying at all.
"Wow, you got any siblings?" Angela asked.
"Yeah, five brothers, they all live with my dad in Montreal" he replied.
Kris sharply turned to face him, her eyes almost bulging out of her sockets. "Five brothers?" She questioned through gritted teeth, clearly telling him he was taking it too far.
"Yeah Kris, I already told you this before" he replied with a smile.
"So why are you here in America then?" Gary asked.
"I'm a foreign exchange student actually, I live with my host family in the outskirts" he replied.
"Wow" Gary said, genuinely fascinated. "Do you mind telling us a little more about yourself Justin?" He dropped his fork.
"Oh jeez" Kris sighed.
She shouldn't have let Luka come up with a back story. She should have known he would go overboard.
"Well, um, lets see..." He placed his hand on his chin, a thoughtful look on his face. "I lived in Italy for three years" he began. "I'm a musical prodigy, I've been playing the piano since I was five..." He continued. "I also play saxophone, drums, guitar and the clarinet" at this point, everyone around the table had their jaws hanging. Well, everyone except Kris. "I was in an orchestra back in Canada and I also played in churches"
"Well damn boy" Kendra said before she could stop herself.
"That is so impressive" Gary commented.
"Thank you" he smiled.
"See Kris, this is the kind of friend you should keep" Angela said.
"Mum please, not tonight" Kris shot back, not even ready to deal with her complaining about Julian.
She was even trying her best not to think about him.
"Honestly, I just asked you where you were from because I thought you looked familiar" Gary said and Kris' eyes widened a bit. "But now I know if I've seen you before, I would definitely remember" he added.
Luka opened his mouth to say something but he was interrupted by the sound of his ringtone. He cursed under his breath, before slipping the phone out of his pocket. The caller Id read, Archer.
He raised his head to face everyone. "Please excuse me, I have to take this" he said before excusing himself from the table.
"Wouldn't he just make the perfect boyfriend?" Kendra said immediately he left the room.
"Oh jeez, please shut up" Kris sighed.
"I'm serious, back me up dad" she turned to Gary.
"Hmm, I don't know, he's got neck tattoos" Gary shook his head.
He saw them? Kris thought. Damnit I told him to cover them up. She mentally facepalmed herself.
"Come on Gary, there's nothing wrong with just a few neck tattoos" Angela waved him off and Kris rolled her eyes again.
Of course she was willing to ignore the neck tattoos after all the lies Luka had served them.
"Oh my God, he's literally in the next room!" She yelled at them.
"No yelling at the table" Gary warned.
"Ugh, I'm sorry" she leaned back into her chair.
Then Luka finally walked back in, slipping his phone into the pocket. "I'm really sorry but I need to go now" he told them.
"Oh, thank goodness" Kris sprang up from her seat, downing a glass of water.
"But why?" Kendra asked.
"They need me back at home, it's kind of urgent" he replied.
"I hope nothing is wrong" Angela said, looking concerned.
"No, everything is fine" he smiled. "I'll visit some other time" he said.
"Or not" Kris retorted, walking towards him. "Come on, I'll see you to your car" she told him, literally pushing him out of the room.
They finally stepped out of the house and Kris closed the door behind her.
"What the fuck was that?" She questioned before he could even take a breath of fresh air.
"What?" He questioned. "I just simply made myself the guy any parent would want their daughter hanging around" he shrugged. "And I'm pretty sure I impressed the pants off your parents" he nodded, proud of himself.
"Well, what if they had wanted proof uhn?" She questioned as they began to walk towards his car. "What if my mum had asked you to speak some Italian or something?"
"Well I actually do speak Italian, maybe not fluently but I can make simple conversation" he replied. "Devon is half Italian so he made me take Italian classes back in London" he explained. "Also I do play the piano and clarinet, I'm pretty sure that's enough"
"You didn't have to lie so much tho" she shook her head.
"Come on, you have to admit meeting your family was a success" he threw his arms in the air. "also, I've always wanted to be more than just American and I got the chance tonight" by that time, they were already at his car. "You know, this was really fun, we should do this more often, do you have anymore family members you need me to lie to?" He asked.
"No I don't have any more family members you need to lie to" she laughed. "Why are you leaving so early?" She asked after about ten seconds of laughter.
"Wow, you want me to stay longer?" He raised both of his eyebrows.
Kris facepalmed herself again. She actually wished he could stay a little while longer but she wouldn't admit it.
"Devon's party is in less than two hours and I have to be there" he told her.
"Oh" she mumbled.
"So I guess I'll see you in school then" he said.
"Yeah, bye Justin" she waved her hand in his face.
"Ok" he laughed. "Bye" he opened his car door and stepped in, closing the door by his side. He pushed the power button and the car started. Then he slid down his window to look at Kris who was still standing there. "Why aren't you going back in?" He asked.
"I want to watch you drive off" she shrugged like it was really obvious.
"What if after I leave, someone jumps out of the bushes and kidnaps you?" He questioned.
"That's not going to happen " she resisted facepalming herself again.
"Just go back in" he said.
Kris sighed, not even ready to argue. "Fine, goodnight "
"Goodnight " he replied and she turned to walk away.
He watched her walk away with a smile on his face but as soon as she stepped into her house and closed the door behind her, his smile slowly faded away.
He leaned back into his seat with a sigh and his window slowly slid up. It was really fun with Kris' family but it reminded him that he didn't have one of his. Well, he had siblings but seeing how Kris' face lit up when she heard her dad was coming home made him wish he had parents who would lift his mood like that.
He knew there was no way in hell that was happening and that killed him. Being with Kris' family made him happy but now that he was alone, the sadness was overwhelming.
He finally decided to pull himself together and he began to drive but then he stopped again in front of Kris' neighbor's house and looked up at it.
It used to be his. His once happy family used to live there.
As memories of the last few days they spent there began to flood his mind, he knew he couldn't handle it. He couldn't just ignore the sadness and go down to Devon's party.
He had to do something and he knew exactly what it was.
He picked up his phone and scrolled through his contacts before stopping at Trixie. He clicked on the number and it began to ring.
"Pick up, pick up, pick up" He muttered but soon it stopped ringing and went straight to voicemail.
He tried two more times but it was the same. Then he flung the phone aside.
He sighed and took a few seconds to rethink what he was about to do before deciding to do it even though the cons outweighed the pros.
He opened his glove compartment and picked out his inhaler, a lighter and a stick to weed.
*****
Thanks for reading 😊.