My parents were stood in front of me, dressed in formal attire with unimpressed expressions on their faces. I couldn't even speak right now.
"Well, let us in?" My mom said to break the awkward silence.
"Nice to see you too, mom." I scowled, but she scowled back.
"Sorry.. Come in." I said quietly. Both my parents pushed through me, a mixture of expensive perfume and cologne intoxicated my nostrils.
"Did you want tea or.."
"No. Your father and I had tea on the way here." She said as she crossed her arms.
"What are you wearing?" My dad said as he judged my choice of attire. His breath smelt of tobacco. I suddenly felt insecure about being dressed in only Harry's shirt in front of two adults dressed in black satin.
"Oh.. uh I just woke up-"
"Just woke up? It's nearly two in the afternoon." My mom narrowed her eyes. "And frankly, that's quite slutty to wear to bed if you ask me."
"Well, I didn't ask. And what am I supposed to wear? I have better things to use my money on than an Egyptian silk pajama set." I rolled my eyes.
"My money." My dad said as he cleared his throat.
"That looks like a men's shirt. Do you have a boyfriend now or are you just going through another phase? Please tell me it's neither." My mom said cattily.
"Neither." I half-lied. Harry wasn't my boyfriend but I certainly wouldn't see anyone else right now.
"You're a bad liar Alaska." My mom replied as she took a bite out of an apple from the fruit bowl.
"I'm not even ly-"
"This place is kind of a mess, Alaska. I knew you would find it hard living without parents who cleaned up after your mess." My dad butted in.
"It's not even messy. Why are you back so early?" I asked.
"Because christmas over in France is absolutely hectic so we came back to spend it here." My dad responded.
"Christmas in France is breathtaking, actually. Wait. You went to France?" I said. I was shocked. I knew they were in Europe, but I just didn't think France.
"Yes. How did you not know? It boggles my mind that you don't know these things." My mom rolled her eyes at me.
"I don't know "these things" because you never bother to check in and tell me how you're doing. You haven't given me a call since what? August?" I exclaimed.
"Hey, don't raise your voice at me missy. Your dad and I are busy. We are busy so you can get a good education and live up to our standards." My mom said sternly. I sighed.
"Why did you even come here anyways? To just yell at me?" I said defeated.
"We came here to ask how you were doing at Cardozo Law, Alaska. To make sure everything is going how I want it to." My mom replied. My heart sunk. I never transferred to Cardozo in October; she doesn't know that.
My mom walked over the mirror just across from us to fix her hair, her back turned to me.
"Well...?" She said as she readjusted her earring and reapplied her red lipstick.
"Good." I lied.
"What?" She turned around to snarl at me. My mom was a human lie detector. It's partially the reason why she was so successful.
"Everything's.. Good." I lied again, not making eye contact.
"Is that so?" She crossed her arms.
"Yessum." I said, looking at the ceiling.
My mom walked closer to me.
"How would you handle a situation where you and your supervisor disagreed about an issue or course of action?" She threw at me. What?
I had no idea how to even answer that. At least not on the spot like this.
"I-"
"I-" I stuttered
"You spoiled brat. Look at me." I did not look at her.
"Look at me." I looked up at her. Her eyes were angry and her teeth were clenched.
"Do you even go to Cardozo right now? Are you enrolled like I asked you to?" She hissed.
"I-"
"I never transferred." I looked down, tears welling up in my eyes.
"You little brat. I can't believe you would deceive us like this." She stood tall in front of me, my dad watching intently as all of this went down.
"Look at me." She said. I looked up, but I wish I hadn't.
Suddenly her hand slapped my face, making me wince in pain. Tears from my cheeks had fell onto the floor as I caressed my skin attempting to cool the redness.
"At least i'm going to school you know?" I yelled. My voice was muffled from the tears.
"You're a liar." She said.
"You know i'm top of the class? You know that i'm doing excellent in my courses right now? You know that i've been called an extremely talented young artist? Did you know that?" I screamed at her.
"Art is a hobby. Art is merely a hobby. You will never survive as an artist in our world." My mom hissed at me.
"In your opinion. That's merely an opinion. If I'm good, I can get recognized and create a career doing what I love." I said, trying to calm down. I was always so vulnerable around my parents, more specifically my mom.
"You are naive. You are going to law school. No more objections." She said as she pulled out her phone. For the first time in my life, I've decided to say this to my mom straight on.
"No." I said. But not quietly like the victim I was my entire life.
"Pardon?" She looked at me.
"No. I am not going to law school. I will not, because I don't want to." I crossed my arms.
"Shut up." She said.
"I'm 19. I can do what I want now. I don't even live under your roof anymore."
My mom threw her phone down onto the counter in a fit. She walked even closer to me. Her black heels making loud sounds on the floor.
"You are not my daughter. A daughter of mine would never go against her mother this way."
I could feel the tears coming again. My heart was in my throat so it was becoming difficult to speak.
"How could you say that? Because I don't want to go down the career path you want me to go down?"
"Because you are choosing the path of failure. You will fail. And a Dwyer daughter is not allowed to be a failure. I can not call any girl my daughter who is soon to be living on the streets begging for money instead of being the one who owns it." She said. "That is not a daughter I deserve." She raised her voice. I exhaled deeply.
"You're right. And you are a mother I do not deserve. I deserve a mother who is loving, and you are everything but that. I work so hard towards my goals and get there every time, yet that means nothing to you." I spoke.
Suddenly I heard the door behind me open. Their eyes shot to Harry. My panic levels were through the roof.
"Who are you? Alaska who is that?" My mom
snarled at me.
"Her boyfriend." Harry butted in. "Nice to meet you I'm Harry." He said sarcastically, holding his hand out for them to shake, which they never did.
"You lie about your school, you lie about you not having a boyfriend. The list goes on." She said.
"I lie about this not being his shirt, I lie about being a virgin because i'm oh so focused in school, I lie, lie, lie." I rolled my eyes. My mother gasped. I said what I said to get on her nerves, but I don't know if I was sure that was the right thing to do.
"And to think I was to invite you for Christmas dinner. Originally your dad and I were; so we could brag about our tunnel-visioned, successful law-school student daughter. Not some slutty, starving artist who sleeps around with.." Her eyes scanned Harry. "Men who are much older than she is." She cleared her throat. My heart had sunk again.
"I refuse to pay for that. I will not. From here on in I am cutting you off. Your credit card is not linked with ours from this day on. Good luck paying for your apartment and school by yourself." She chuckled. My heart rate increased. "and your boyfriend" She laughed like an evil lady.
"Get out." I said. "Just go."
"Gladly. Nice seeing you Alaska." My mom smiled like a witch. "Don't bother coming to us for anything until you decide that law is the path you are going down, for good." Her and my dad exited the room, slamming the door behind them leaving me in silence, the only sound being my breathing. I could feel myself starting to cry, I couldn't take this.
Harry began to approach me and wrapped his muscular arms around my body. I tried not to cry in front of him again, but I couldn't help it. I turned around to face him and threw my arms around his neck, crying into his shirt and inhaling his cologne in attempt to slow my breathing.
"Shh" He cooed, rubbing my back and kissing my forehead. "Let it out" He said. His voice was deep and raspy, but it soothed me.
When my breathing slowed, I looked up to him. My cheeks were stained with tears and his shirt was wet from me crying. He caressed my hair as I played with the chain of his necklace that laid on the back of his neck.
He bent down and kissed my lips softly, holding me tightly against him and grazed my cheek with his thumb. He pulled away for a moment.
"You look so beautiful right now." He said, staring into my eyes.
"Anything but." I chuckled.
He picked me up so that my legs were wrapped around my waist, and kissed me again. He walked over to my room and placed me softly onto the bed. He left kisses down my neck and bit the collar of the shirt before coming back up to my ear to whisper some words.
"Let me make you feel better." He said seductively. I nodded.
He unbuckled his pants and pulled the zipper down, then proceeded to remove the shirt off my body.
He took his shaft between his hands before leaning down to kiss my lips. As he did so, he pushed it in. With every thrust I felt my worries leave my body along with the moans that left my lips. I gripped my hands on the skin of his back, being careful not to hurt him
like last time.
The pace increased and his thrusts became more forceful. He whispered sweet nothings into my ear and kissed my neck as he penetrated me. A mixture of moans filled the room.
After some time, he slowed down, and his thrusts became slow and sloppy before he pulled out and pulled me on top of him. He held my face to his as we kissed before both collapsing side by side.
--
My face was turned to his. He played with a strand of hair between his fingers.
"I don't know what i'm going to do Harry." I admitted. "I don't have an answer for this problem."
"I do." He said. I furrowed my brow in confusion.
"Let me pay-"
"No." I objected before he could finish.
"I'll pay for your tuition, Alaska." He didn't hesitate.
"Why would you do that." I said.
"Because art makes you happy. It's what you want to do. And I love seeing you happy."
He said as he caressed my cheek.
"H-"
"I have more than enough money. I don't want you to leave this school- I don't want you to leave me." He said again. "Plus it's talent gone to waste."
"I.." I struggled to find words. "Thank you Harry, so much." I smiled.
We both sat up. He looked over to the half-painted wall. Then back to me.
"You know what?" He said. "You should move in with me."
"What?" I questioned. "Thank you, but I can pay for the rent with a part-time job it's okay-"
"No, no. We can keep the apartment. You need it so you can still have a life outside of.. Well me; but it would be nice if you came to join me. It's awfully lonely there all the time. It's a house far too big for one man. You should move in, but also keep this apartment. It would be a shame to keep that wall unfinished anyways." He said. "Plus as your boyfriend, I think it's a good idea to move in with me."
Boyfriend? Was he serious?
I was speechless. For a quite a long time.
"Well..?" Harry said to break the silence.
"Yes of course." I smiled. He smiled back and hugged me, holding my body close to him, kissing my cheek as he did so.
"Looking forward to it, love." He said.
Harry and I both got up. I covered my body with a towel as I headed toward the shower.
"Alaska?" Harry asked suddenly.
"Mhm?" I turned around to face him.
"Have any christmas dinner plans?" He asked.
I smiled at him.
"Hmm.. Let me think." I said as I jokingly tapped my chin, searching my mind for an answer I already knew. "No, I don't."
"Great. It's at our place. My mom and sister will be there. They'd love to meet you."