He had to be kidding me right?
There was absolutely no way my dad was on his way here. No way. Right?
I started panicking.
What was I going to say? What was I going to do?
I felt tears forming in my eyes.
I literally told him I was going to be working tonight! Now he's going to find out I was lying. This was not going to be good.
How the hell did they even get in contact with him?
Oh no, I felt nauseous. And dizzy. Not a good combination.
"Lake? Are you alright?" Charlie said, unhooking arm from where it was around my shoulder. He bent down and looked me in the eyes and I just nodded my head.
"Hey, don't worry, I'm sure it won't be as bad as you think," Jeremy said, patting my shoulder.
"Wait what's wrong with your dad showing up?" Carolynn asked.
"Hopefully nothing," I whispered and then there was a knock at the door.
"Maybe we should all take our seats," Owen said to us as Kenny walked to the door. He pointed towards the table on the right side of the room next to the kitchen and we all nodded. I took a second to run over what everyone was wearing. I wanted to make sure it was appropriate.
Not only was my dad about to find out that I lied about where I was, he was about to find me in a hotel room, alone with three other boys. Kenny and Carolynn wouldn't matter to him. The fact that they were of the opposite sex. Don't even get me started on when he finds out that they're in a band.
Oh no, oh no, oh no. This was not going to be good.
Owen was wearing a plain white t-shirt with jeans. I quickly grabbed his hat and threw it across the room.
Jeremy was wearing a navy blue striped polo shirt with matching shorts, and Carolynn's dress wasn't that short. I breathed out a sigh of relief. That was easy.
I inhaled sharply when my eyes focused on Charlie. "Charlie," I hissed at him. "Run inside and change your shirt. Quickly," he was wearing a shirt with the sleeves cut off as usual. That was the first red strike. The second was the fact that it was a Metallica shirt with a huge skull all over the front. My dad would not take that lightly.
"What? No way. If your dad doesn't like me then that's his problem," he argued. I begged him with my eyes.
"Please." I whispered. I did not want the first time Charlie met my dad to be like this. He would be on his blacklist for sure. Charlie huffed before running inside.
I walked over to the table and took a seat next to Owen. I knew he would be able to save the situation if things got bad.
God I hope this was going to be fine.
Charlie ran back out with a grey hoodie on and took a seat on the other side of me. I gave him a weak smile. "Thank you," I said grabbing his hand and squeezing it. I let go as soon as I saw Kenny walk in with my father.
"Lake?" My father asked instantly confused.
"Um, hi dad," I said, trying my best to remain eye contact. I could see he was already getting mad.
Oh no. He was going to blow up. I didn't want them to see this. It was going to be embarrassing. How pathetic was my life? I already knew the answer to that.. Extremely pathetic.
"What are you doing here?" He asked me and then his eyes travelled to the two boys seated on either side of me. I knew that the wheels in his head were turning at full speed.
"Please, have a seat Mr. Baker," Kenny said, pulling out a seat for my father. Kenny took the seat at the head of the table, and my father was seated to his right. Jeremy was seated at the opposite end of the table facing Kenny.
I felt myself start to shake, instantly I felt a hand on each of my legs. I looked down and both Charlie and Owen's hand were on my knees. My eyes widened and I swatted their hands away, praying to god that my father didn't have X-Ray vision and could see through this table.
Now was not the time for this.
"Would you guys like anything to drink?" Carolynn asked. She looked at me and gave me an encouraging smile. Bless her, I really needed all the support I'd need.
I always hated confrontation, especially when it came to my dad. I always tried to take the easy way out with him. Like saying sorry just to get him off my back, even if I really didn't do anything wrong. Or tip toeing on eggshells my entire life so I didn't upset him.
I was really about to stand up for myself right now and tell him that I wanted to leave the nest. Well, technically it was Kenny and the guys pushing me to stand up for myself, practically doing it for me but, Shit. I still couldn't even believe it.
"Thanks honey," Jeremy said to Carolynn. She leaned down and gave him a quick peck on the lips and my dad's eyes widened in horror. He turned to me and frowned.
"What is this, Lake," he hissed.
I rolled my eyes at him. "Calm down, dad, they're married!" I sighed. He turned his head and Carolynn and Jeremy were holding up their hands, showing off their wedding bands. That obviously was not enough to calm my dad down.
"Look, Mr. Baker, I wanted to talk to you about a few things. Did you know that your daughter is extremely talented?" Kenny asked
"Is she now?" My dad said through gritted teeth. I sunk down in my chair.
"Yes she's an extremely talented songwriter," Charlie said.
"And singer," Owen chimed in.
"Songwriter? Singer? That's absurd. I'm sure I would know if my own daughter could sing. She couldn't even try out for the choir at our church," my dad said laughing at them, waving his hand and dismissing them.
"Sir, with all do respect, maybe you don't know your daughter all that well," Charlie said and I kicked his leg under the table. "Ouch," he screamed, glaring at me.
"And you are?" my father said, eyeing him suspiciously. I watched his eyes dart back and forth between us.
"I'm Charlie, Sir. Charlie Gillespie," Charlie held out his hand and my dad just stared at it. Charlie awkwardly pulled his hand back to his side. I shot him an apologetic look.
"Mr. Baker-" Kenny started.
"Please, call me Joshua," My dad gave him a small smile. I knew he was trying to be polite despite the fact that he was furious with me right now. He didn't like to be caught off guard.
I prayed this went well. I wasn't sure what I'd do if he didnt. I'd probably hide out at Sawyers for a couple of days until he cooled off. Yeah, that's what I'll do.
"Joshua, I flew all the way here to offer your daughter a job. I think it's a really great opportunity if you'd just-"
"What kind of job?"
Kenny went on to explain who he was and what he did for a living. I could tell with every word Kenny said my father was just growing father and farther away from agreeing. I prayed in my head that there was still hope.
"And so, I want Lake to come on tour with the band, and help them write music," Kenny smiled at my father. I admired how confident he was. If only it was enough.
"Tour? With a band? To write music?" My father spat, saying each of the words like they were poison.
"Dad, maybe if you just listened-" I began to say
"No actually, I think I've done all the listening I can take for today. It was a real pleasure to meet you Mr. Ortega, however I'm going to have to decline your offer. Boys," my father said, titling his head to each of the boys. "Miss," he said to Carolynn. "Lake. I'll be seeing you at home," my dad said in a low voice that made me want to crawl in a hole and die.
He turned on his heels and stalked towards the door, making sure to slam his door on his way out.
"So that's it?" Charlie yelled, getting up and kicking his chair in frustration.
I just stayed in my chair, closing my eyes, the defeat slowly creeping up on me.
Owen reached over and grabbed my hand. Kenny stood up and walked over to me, rubbing my back.
"Don't worry, Lake. We'll get to him somehow," Kenny said.
If only they were right.
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Hope you liked this chapter!!
Do you think they'll be able to convince her dad? What do you guys think Lake will do 👀