That One Summer: A Collection of Steamy Contemporary Romance

Chapter 14

“What the hell?” Oliviascreamed and rushed back out of the room.

“Pause,” her father barked out, stopping her in her tracks. Her father’s voice was the final straw as she came back to reality, like a bucket of ice water poured over her.

“Dad! Hello. Good morning,” she said in a falsetto, going for nonchalance but failing miserably.

Her brothers, Zayn and Jax, snickered behind their father.

“I told you to not say anything. Didn’t I say that?” Her father asked in a very calm-before-the-storm kind of voice. She was very familiar with this tone because it’s one where he ended up blowing up so much it took the sheer strength of willpower to make it through talking to him.

“You mentioned something like that, yes,” she said as she resigned to her fate by moving into the kitchen and taking a seat next to Jax.

Jax and Zayn were twin heartthrobs and a favorite in Hollywood. Unlike her, though, they had the autonomy their father could not allow her, especially since their mother passed.

Jax wore black on black with a touch of eyeliner highlighting his dark green eyes. His red hair combed back and held in place by hairpins. He wore rings and earrings that always made him stand out. On the other hand, Zayn was wearing all bright colors, in the stereotypical vacation shirt and shorts, which was made even more ridiculous by the lime green band he had around his red hair. Everything her brothers did was to rebel against what their father wanted, so she had no doubt that this was what it was right now. Although, she couldn’t tell sometimes if what they did was to rebel or if it was simply something they wanted to do.

In contrast, their father wore a pressed suit, probably custom-made, right down to his name-brand shoes. His dark hair cropped short on his head and his green eyes, much like his children’s, glared at her with the intensity of all the suns.

“My exact words,” her father started, “were do not, under any circumstance, address this bullshit. Did I not say that?”

“Not in those exact words,” she grumbled, but stopped at the glare her father sent her.

“Do you know what you just did? The mess your little charade caused?”

“By mess, he means that the heat is on him now,” Jax said in a bored tone that was very reminiscent of the same tone their father adapted when he was dismissive.

“Hey, stay out of this,” their dad glared at Jax. “Olivia will fix—”

“There is nothing to fix, Pops,” Zayn cut in as he poured himself a second cup of coffee. “Aren’t you the one who always says ‘we shouldn’t address the rumors’?” He deepened his voice to quote their father’s usage of that sentence every time rumors came up about the family.

Except this was of their own making. Olivia wasn’t sure that same argument stood. She wasn’t sure what people were saying and, based on her father’s reaction and the fact that he was here, it couldn’t have been good.

And yet, she didn’t feel bad about what she did. At least not as much as she should have.

“It will go away,” Jax added in a tone Olivia knew was mocking their father. She wanted to laugh at this turn of the tables, but one look at their father’s red face and glare at her brothers let her know she should keep her comments to herself. “Besides, I think Liv here did good,” Jax added, sending a proud smile her way as he squeezed her shoulder.

“Did good? Her little video is dragging our family name through the mud!”

“Typical Dad,” Zayn tsked. “More worried about what other people have to say than what his children have to say. Did you even watch the video, or did you stupid publicist give you cliff-notes?”

“Watch yourself,” their dad warned, glaring at Zayn.

“No, you watch yourself, Dad!” Zayn said as he squared up to their father. “You don’t get to come here and throw blame without acknowledging the part you had to play in this whole thing.”

“Your publicist is the one to blame for this clusterfuck. And, just like we thought, you are blaming our little sister for this. We won’t let you. You want to fix this mess? How about hiring a better publicist for starters? And, maybe, be a better father?”

“You will not lecture me on what to do, young man,” their father all but shouted. It never really took much to set him off, especially when it came to his sons. Of course, at this point, her brothers were now squaring up and glaring at their dad with the same intensity he was giving them.

Olivia had forgotten that, as much as her father pushed her buttons, no one knew how to push his like his sons did. They never knew how to have an amicable conversation. Case in point. But she was glad her brothers had come because it would have been a hell of a lot harder to deal with him on her own.

“Well, someone has to!” Jax threw his hands up. “You have forgotten what it’s like to be a father ever since Mom—”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa!” came a random voice, interrupting what Olivia knew Jax was going to say. “What’s going on here? What’s with all the yelling?”

Oh, dear heavens! Olivia had all but forgotten that Nikos was still in the house!

“Who the fuck are you?” Jax and Zayn asked in the same annoyed tone.

“What are you doing here?” their dad asked.

“Nikos!” Olivia gasped.

“You know this man?” Jax and Zayn asked once again, turning simultaneously to look at her.

“Stop that!” She shuddered at their in-sync twin thing that they usually fell into.

“Liv? Are you okay?” Nikos rushed to her side, ignoring all the other Clarkes in the room.

“I’m fine,” she smiled up at him despite herself.

He cradled her face in that manner he liked to do. “Are you sure? Do you need backup?”

“Back up?”

“What the fuck?” she heard her brothers say, but she ignored them.

“I’m good.” Olivia smiled. “You’re dressed. Are you going somewhere?”

“Yes. Papous needs me to run some errands. Are you sure you’re okay?”

“I will be.” Olivia couldn’t help but smile.

Nikos searched her eyes with a mix of concern and genuine care. His fingers gently traced her cheek, as if trying to read the emotions etched on her face. She was well-aware of the incredulous looks she was getting, but she wanted to exist in the brief moment of relief Nikos’ presence had provided.

“If you need anything, just let me know. I’m here for you,” he reassured her.

“I know, and thank you. I’ll be okay. Just take care of whatever your Papous needs. I’ll take care of my family.”

Nikos nodded in understanding, then leaned in, kissed, and hugged her. That time, she could not ignore the bewilderment in the room. Olivia reluctantly pulled away and chanced a look around the room. Her brothers were rightfully confused, but their father was now glaring daggers at Nikos.

With one final reassuring smile, Nikos turned around and acknowledged her family like he didn’t just shock them with their actions. Then he headed outside, throwing one last look at Olivia. She couldn’t help but notice the protective glint in his eyes. It brought butterflies to her stomach despite herself.

“Dad,” Olivia began as a way to explain the situation, but also draw her father’s glare from being directed at Nikos. “That was—”

“Absolutely not!”

“You didn’t even let me explain.” Of course, he wouldn’t.

“I understand perfectly what’s happening and I reject it,” her father declared firmly, crossing his arms.

“I’m sorry, you reject it? Reject what, exactly?” Olivia questioned, her eyebrows furrowed in barely concealed anger.

“This,” he waved at her, then waved when Nikos went out of the room, “whatever is going on with that man.”

“I like him,” she glared up at her father.

“You’ll have someone better,” he responded dismissively, like that was the end of the conversation.

“You mean, someone that you picked out for me?” Olivia wouldn’t let it go as she matched his stand.

“Yes,” he responded like it was a no-brainer.

Olivia scoffed right in sync with her brothers, this time at the ridiculousness of their father’s statement.

“Do you even hear the words coming out of your mouth sometimes?” Zayn asked. “Like, do you actually listen to yourself?”

Their father glared at Zayn. “First of all, I did not authorize that relationship,” he pointed at where Olivia and Nikos had been standing just moments before. “Second, we have a plan to turn all this unneeded attention around—”

“Un-needed because the attention is on you now?” Olivia interrupted.

“And,” their father continued like she had said nothing, “it involves you being in a very public relationship with a celebrity of your caliber. Not some nobody.”

“Since when did our lives become some publicity stunt?” Jax interrupted, pinning their father with a glare. “You have your head so far up your ass that you don’t even recognize what you are doing to your own children.”

“I’ve had enough of the two of you!” If they had neighbors, they would definitely have called the police now because their father shouted so hard he could have blown off the roof. “This has nothing to do with you,” he glared at Jax and Zayn.

“Oh, but it does. It is, after all, our family name we need to protect. That’s all you care about, isn’t it, Pops? Not the fact that you’d rather have your child sad and miserable to protect the family name rather than see her happy with someone that she might actually like?”

“We all have roles to play. And if it involves a few unfortunate relationships, so be it.”

“What about what we want, Dad?” Olivia spoke up before her brothers could jump in. “What about our happiness? Does that ever factor in with these plans and roles you would have us play?”

“No, he’d rather win public favor than think about that. Right, Dad?” Jax’s tone was mocking and did the opposite of what Olivia had wanted. “I mean, screw having a functional family. Who cares about that when the public loves you, right?”

They ended up yelling and shouting at each other to the point Olivia just faded into the background and let it happen. Her brothers were intent on saying as many hurtful things as they could while their father played the “I’m the adult, you must obey me” card. Of course, Jax and Zayn were so against being told what to do that had only encouraged them further until their father left.

“Do you have to goad him so much?” Olivia sighed once they heard the door close with a loud bang.

“Until he learns, we are people with feelings and not property to do with as he pleases, I’m afraid so.” Jax took a seat next to her.

“Besides, you don’t do it enough. You let him get away with far too much.” Zayn added.

“I’d rather maintain the peace.”

“Exactly,” they said at the same time.

“God, I hate when you do that.” They sat in silence for a while and Olivia was lost in thought. Her brothers and father had differing opinions on her video, and she wondered if it was the same with the public. What did Ava think? Of course, this did not encourage her to check out the feedback. If anything, she had decided that she would not check them out. But she had to know. “How is Ava?”

“It’s going to take some time, Liv,” Jax responded. “Her family took a lot of damage.”

That much had been obvious to her based on her last conversation with Olivia.

“Not to worry, she will bounce back in no time. That Ava Reid is feisty.” Zayn said, and she turned to see him with a goofy faraway look on his face he always got when talking about her best friend.

“Hey!” Jax slapped the back of his head. “Stop that.”

“Stop what?” Zayn asked, as he rubbed his head while glaring at his twin.

“That stupid look. I know what you’re thinking.”

“I wasn’t—”

“I would rather not know what you are thinking about my best friend,” Olivia held a hand up to stop Zayn.

“What I want to know is who was that tall glass of water?” Jax asked, now wearing the goofy look his twin had.

Zayn scoffed while Olivia said, “His name is Nikos and he’s off-limits to you.”

* * *

“I thought you had left.”

Olivia and her brothers had spoken some more about Nikos, her video, and their father before she’d checked if he was still around many hours later.

It had taken her a while, but she finally found him by the beach in a semi-secluded area. His tie and jacket were off and he looked deep in thought, so her presence had surprised him.

“I couldn’t reach my driver,” he said, holding up his phone.

Olivia braced for his confrontational mood; he seemed to adapt when he interacted with his children. When it didn’t come, she sat close to him in the hot sand. “There’s no network here.”

“I remembered,” her dad laughed. Olivia mustered up the energy to crack a smile, but it was barely there. This was already weird, and they hadn’t even exchanged three words. “I watched the video you made,” her father said, surprising her. “Do you really feel like you’re caged?”

“Yes,” she responded in a tiny voice as she peered up at him, not wanting to set him off.

“Explain it to me,” her father requested, slightly turning his torso to look down at her.

“Really?” Olivia raised a skeptical eyebrow, trying to gauge what her father was playing at.

“Really. Your brothers said some... things. And then, you said some things in your video. I simply want to understand.”

“I don’t like acting,” Olivia started there, feeling the soft sand beneath her feet as a distraction.

“Really?” her father responded in surprise. “I thought acting was your dream.” He slid the sunglasses that were on his head over his eyes to cover them, probably to shield him from the sun as he glanced around the landscape.

Olivia did not grab a pair, instead using her hand as a shield when she looked up at her father.

“It was when I was a child and had zero interests. I haven’t wanted to be in any more movies since we shot the musical. I told you this.” A gentle sea breeze ruffled her hair, and she welcomed the gentle respite from the burning heat.

“I thought you didn’t want to be in musicals anymore? That’s why I didn’t accept any scripts that are musicals.”

“No, Dad. I said movies. I thought you understood, but then you came to me with a new script every day after that I gave up on telling you this wasn’t my dream.”

“Why didn’t you tell me?” He sounded frustrated, and Olivia couldn’t tell if he was being funny.

“Because I never see you unless you’re telling me what to do.” Half the time, she interacted with him through their publicist.

“Right.” He grew quiet, making her wonder what was going on in his mind. “What do you like then?” he asked, eventually.

“I like to sing.”

“You do?”

“Why are you surprised?”

“Because you said you don’t like acting in musicals. It makes no sense.”

“Dad, two things can be true. I can love singing without being in musicals,” she laughed, a seashell crunching underfoot as she shifted in the sand.

He looked bewildered. “I feel like I don’t know who my children are anymore.”

“Because you don’t.” She wanted to say that gently, but there really was no easy way to tell someone they are a bad parent.

“Your mother was always the better one out of both of us.” He smiled sadly.

“You are too. Or, at least, you used to be. But, it’s like ever since mom died, you haven’t cared about anything but what she wanted. And that has blinded you to what we actually want. Dad, you can’t keep pleasing her because Mom’s not here anymore. We are.”

“I care about what you want,” he sounded offended.

“You care about what you think I want. What you think we should want.”

“Do your brothers feel the same way?” he asked after a brief pause.

“Jax wants to be a jeweler,” Olivia gave her father a reality check. “Every piece of jewelry he wears, he’s made on his own. Zayn is interested in studying forensics science. But I bet you didn’t know that.” Of course, he didn’t—going by his dropped jaw and bewildered look on his face. “Dad, to you, I’m supposed to be your obedient little girl who plays her role to a tee. You never give me a chance to react to anything because you already have everything mapped out for me. You don’t have control over the twins, so you push all responsibility on me.”

This had always been a place of contention for them. She hated him most days for it, and yet, she loved him too because he was her father. It was a very disturbing feeling that never truly sat right with her.

“Your grandfather said that we needed an agent to keep the family in line. That’s all I’ve been doing since Mom died. I’m trying to do as good a job as she would have done to keep everything in place.” He looked down at her like he hoped she would understand, but it was hard for Olivia to understand any of her father’s past actions—not when her heart felt heavy and her throat burned as she held back her true feelings.

“I get that. You are trying your best. But, Dad,” her voice wobbled, “we don’t need an agent. We need our dad. It’s hard enough not having Mom, but it’s like we lost you as soon as we lost her.”

Olivia’s words hung in the air between them as they both turned around to look at the waves gently clashing with the bank. It had been a long time since Olivia had a heart-to-heart with her father, or even just sat down and spoken to him, that she was exhausted from releasing years of resentment and frustrations in only a few words.

She had always imagined she would scream these words out to get him to understand, but she didn’t have to. Although she didn’t find the peace she thought she’d get when she laid herself bare.

“I’ve been so focused on keeping things together that I didn’t realize I was drifting away from the ones who needed me the most,” he admitted, a mix of regret and vulnerability in his voice.

Olivia didn’t know if it had been her words, what her brothers had said, the video she had made, or maybe a combination of different things, but something had finally pierced the hard shell their father had built up. It looked like he was coming off the high he’d been riding on for years.

She was not about to question why or what it was, but all she could remember in this moment was Nikos’ words: True connections aren’t bound by circumstances.