||Harry||
"Why do you go back to visit him every year if it's so awful?" I ask her once the train is moving.
"Because I'm all he has left." she answers. "I just can't abandon him."
"I think you're too forgiving."
I know she is. That's why I'm sitting here right now and I feel like an asshole for abusing that.
"At the end of the day, he's still my dad." she shrugs.
"What is he like when he's sober?"
"Serious and intense. He's a lawyer and he can make you feel like you're on trial. He's disappointed that I didn't go to law school and loves to bring that up."
"Why does it matter? You're doing what you want to do."
"He thinks I'm wasting my potential. Graduating high school two years early and getting into one of the most exclusive veterinary schools in the country doesn't matter to him, because I'm not a lawyer." she rolls her eyes
"You graduated two years early? I ask, surprised.
"Yeah, I wanted out of that house. So I buckled down and doubled up on my classes. It worked. I got to leave for Cornell when everyone else was getting their driver's license."
"And yet, you're going back."
"It's just once a year. Like I said, he's still my dad."
We arrive in Albany a few hours later. After slipping away long enough to take my meds, we hail a cab and make the short drive across town to her dad's house. We pull into the driveway of a large brick house surrounded by a variety of perfectly manicured shrubs. Arden pulls our suitcases out of the boot while I pay the driver and then we make our way to the large front door.
"My dad can be pretty abrasive. Just don't take anything he says to heart." she preps me once we reach the doorstep.
"I'm not promising anything." I answer as I knock on the door.
"Harry.." she warns, but is interrupted by the door opening.
"Dad!" she exclaims and leans in for a hug. He gives her a stiff hug as his gaze falls to me.
"This is my boyfriend, Harry." I hold my hand out to shake his. He stares at it for a moment before turning around and walking into the house.
"Sorry." she whispers
"I'm your boyfriend, huh?"
"I, I don't know, I meant..." she stammers.
"It's fine." I lean over and kiss her forehead before walking into her father's house. I'm usually not a fan of labels, but I would be lying if I said I didn't like her calling me "my" boyfriend. We walk into a large foyer and Arden is immediately greeted by an older woman.
"Arden!" she exclaims and pulls her into a hug.
"Has he got your working on Thanksgiving?" Arden asks.
"You know your dad. I'm about to leave, I just wanted to see you first." she pulls away from Arden, keeping her hands on her shoulders and looking her over. "The city really agrees with you, you look good." She turns to me. "And who is this?"
"This is my boyfriend, Harry." she flashes me a sly grin when she says 'boyfriend'. I hold my hand out to shake hers, but she pulls me into a hug.
"No, you get a hug." she says. "I'm Jane. I'm Allen's personal assistant." I assume Allen is Arden's father. He never introduced himself.
"Jane has been working for my father since I was fifteen." Arden explains.
"Got to watch this brilliant lady grow up. I remember when you used to hole up in your room studying for hours on end. And it all paid off, look at you now." she beams.
At least someone here is happy to see Arden.
"You can put your bags in your old room." she instructs.
I follow Arden up the staircase and down the hall. I'm disappointed when she opens the door. I was hoping to find a time capsule of her childhood, but am instead greeted by a standard guest room.
We go back downstairs to the kitchen where Jane and Arden's father are standing around the island, drinking glass of wine. Arden pours herself a glass and offers me one. I decline, Oxy and wine sound like a recipe for disaster.
"What do you do for a living, Gary?" her father demands. The first thing he's ever said to me and it already feels like I'm on trial.
"Harry." I correct. "And I work at a casino in Atlantic City."
"That sounds interesting!" Jane interjects, trying to break the growing tension.
"A casino?" he scoffs. "Well, I'd imagine it would be hard to get a real job with your arms all marked up." he gestures to my tattoos.
I open my mouth to rip into him, but am stopped by Arden grabbing my arm. She looks up at me, eyes pleading. Against my better judgement, I abandon my attack.
"Which one do you work at? And what do you do there?" Jane asks, turing the attention from Arden's father.
"The Triton and I work in security." I lie. Her father is stares me down for a few moments before setting his glass down and walking out of the kitchen. Jane small talks with me for a few moments asking about the inter workings of casino security.
"I have to go." Jane says to Arden once our conversation dies down. "My son is waiting on me to start dinner. Your dinner was delivered while you were upstairs and it already in the dining room. It was really nice to see you." she hugs Arden before turning to me.
"And it was really nice to meet you, Harry. Don't let Allen get to you. He's just been in a bad mood for the past twenty years." she gathers her things and leaves, waving to us one last time before exiting the front door.
I follow Arden into the large dining room. He father is already seated at the head of the large wooden dining table with a plateful of food in front of him.
Arden seats herself in the chair directly to his right and I sit in the chair beside her.
"How have you been, dad?" Arden asks, breaking the awkward silence.
"Slammed with cases." he answers, mouth half full of food. "So where is this going." he demands, using his knife to point to Arden and I.
"What?" she asks, confused.
"Is this a fling or what? Please say yes, you've already thrown away enough of your life on that joke of a career."
I open my mouth to respond, but am silenced by Arden squeezing my thigh under the table.
"I love my job." she mutters.
"You're just as foolish as your mother. Shame she couldn't be here today." he stares at her for a moment before returning his gaze to his plate.
I grit my teeth and glare at him, waiting for him to meet my gaze. I clear my throat, only to have Arden squeeze my thigh a second time.
"Please." she whispers to me.
"Your mother always did love making the Thanksgiving turkey. She would wake up early and spend the entire morning in the kitchen. It seems like you would do more to honor her memory, given how things turned out...."
I shift in my seat and clench my fists. Arden squeezes my thigh again, signaling me to let it go, but with ever syllable that comes out of this asshole's mouth I feel the rage building.
"That's enough." I growl.
"....and it was a complete waste of an Ivy League education to study veterinary medicine. You'll never get ahead in life...."
"That's enough!" I interrupt again, rising from the table and slapping my hand down on it's surface.
"She won't say anything because for some reason she loves you, but I don't. If your wife was still here she would have left your miserable ass years ago. Arden has worked hard to be where she is and if you're not proud of that you don't deserve to have her in your life. Apologize." I demand, leaning across the table, my face level with his. He looks me in the eye, but doesn't say a word.
"Apologize." I growl a second time.
He continues to stare at me as he takes a sip of his whiskey.
I stand up and turn around to face Arden, knocking my chair over in the process.
I grab her hand and wait for her to stand up. I lead her silently out of the front door, refusing to allow her to subjected to this asshole any longer. We walk silently hand in hand for several blocks until we reach the main road outside his subdivision.
"Are you okay?" I finally ask
"No." she answers, her voice catching and her eyes welling. I lead her to a park across the street and we sit at a picnic table. She buries her head into my shoulder.
"Why doesn't he love me?"
Her words feel like a shot in the chest. I rub her back and allow her to continue to sob. My mind wanders to that manilla envelope that's in the bottom of my suitcase. I want so badly to share it with her, but I can't. Especially after what Louis said last night.
"I don't know why he can't see how amazing you are, but I can. I love you." I whisper. After few minutes she sits up and begins wiping the tears from her eyes.
"I'm sorry." she says, embarrassed.
"Hey." I pause for her to find my eyes. "It's okay. You don't need to apologize for your feelings." After seeing what she grew up with today, it's especially important that she never feels like she has to apologize to me for expressing emotion.
"I love you."
"I love you too. Let's go find somewhere to eat."
We walk for a little while before we finally find the only place that appears to be open today: a McDonalds. We walk into the the empty building and order. Arden argues with me when I go to pay for her food, but finally relents.
"You've never really told me about your family." she says to me once we're seated in a booth with our food. "You've met my train wreck of a dad, so it can't be worse than that."
"My parents kicked me out when I was fifteen. I'd gotten expelled from another school and they told me they were done."
"That's awful."
"I just kinda drifted and did odd jobs for a few years until I was given the opportunity to come here."
Odd jobs like selling drugs and collecting on debts for suppliers.
"I'm glad you decided to come here."
"I am too." I just wish it were under different circumstances. But if going through all of that is what it took to get me right here, with her. I'd do it over again in a heartbeat. Because I'm selfish.
After we finish eating, she talks me into seeing an awful horror movie at the dollar cinema across the street. We have the place to ourselves and alternate between shouting and throwing popcorn at the screen and making out. After the movie is finished we catch a cab back to her father's house and I go inside to retrieve our suitcases while she waits in the car.
I make it to the guest room without running into him. I grab both suitcases and roll them down the hall behind me, keeping my pace quickly. As I round the corner into the foyer, my eyes meet his. He's staring at me, clutching a bottle of whiskey.
"You don't deserve her."
"You don't either." I shoot back and push past him out the front door.
Arden meets my by the boot of the cab, helping me lift the suitcases. Her father stands staring at us through the window in the dining room. I glare at him one last time before climbing into the cab with her.
After a few tries, we finally find a small hotel that has a vacancy. After getting checked in and paying for our room - another argument I won - we go upstairs and get settled. Arden wants to go to bed early, exhausted from the day with her asshole of a father and because we have to be up early to catch the train back home.
Once she's asleep, I slip out of the bed and creep to the bathroom. I pause at my suitcase and quietly retrieve the supplies I need to change my bandage. I take my shirt off and turn so I can see my back in the mirror. I know from past attempts that it is in a very tricky spot to reach, but Michael isn't here so I'll have to manage.
I lay all the supplies out on the counter and get the new bandage ready so I can put it over the wound as soon as I get the old one off. I reach for the bandage several times, and can't seem to get a grasp on it. I have a hard time looking over my shoulder in the mirror.
I finally manage to peel away the top half of the bandage, but the bottom half is still firmly attached to a spot on my back I can't reach. I wince as I try again, to pull the rest of the bandage off; I can feel blood running down my back.
"Harry, what are you doing?" I quickly turn around, so my back is facing away from her.
"I just had to use the toilet."
"Are you bleeding?" she rubs her eyes and walks behind me. "What happened?!" I stare at her face in the mirror. "Harry, what happened?"
"I got hurt at work." I mumble. That's not technically a lie.
"You said you pulled your shoulder. This looks like a gunshot wound." she makes eye contact with me in the mirror.
"It is."
"Why did you lie to me?"
"Because I don't want to lose you."
"What are you talking about? Hand me that." she points to the gauze laid out on the counter. She silently cleans my wound and changes the bandage while I try to avoid her gaze in the mirror. Once she's done, we both return to the bed. I lie beside her, too scared to say a word.
"Why didn't you just tell me?"
"I didn't want to ruin our trip."
Partially true. I didn't want to have to back out of this after I already said I would come.
"My dad already did that. Your health is more important. You should be at home resting. We could have just stayed at your place. It's not that big of a deal." she kisses me on the forehead before snuggling against my good shoulder and falling asleep.
It is that big of a deal. It's only a matter of time before all of this blows up in my face. I have Louis and the DEA breathing down my neck. The fact that she just keeps letting me get away with this proves how much I don't deserve her. I'm no better than her father.
A.N. So I ended up pulling an all nighter Thursday night doing a project for work I procrastinated. So that threw everything off. Sorry for the late update, but I hope it was worth the wait. I'm still checking for typos, but I wanted to get this up.
I surpassed 500 votes this week as well as hitting 3k reads. You guys are incredible. <3
Allan Hollis - Jeff Bridges
Jane Sharp - Sally Field