Chapter 25 – Drama
Saturday
I stared at Axel’s face. I was waiting for him to say “just kidding” or something. But he looked so sincere down on one knee. And maybe a bit nervous.
“Say yes,” Axel said. “Be mine forever.”
There was a part of me that wanted to say yes. Because I’d dreamed of this moment since I was two. But this wasn’t real. “Are you...joking?” This had to be a joke, right? A cruel one, but it must be. “Axel, stop messing around. Get up.”
“I’m not messing around.” He stayed down on one knee staring up at me.
I turned to RJ. “Is this some kind of prank? Because it’s not funny, guys.”
RJ shook his head. “This is definitely not a classic Hunter Stevens mess around.”
“Axel, what are you doing?” my dad said firmly.
“Dad, he’s just joking.”
“Actually, he’s not,” RJ said. “I found something the other day, Scarlett. But I didn’t think you wanted to see it because you were into your kiss thief.”
“Your kiss what?!” my dad said.
RJ pulled out his phone. “Axel’s countdown started on the day cued up in this video.” He turned his screen to me. There was a video paused on his phone. “Luckily there was footage from your security feed that day. And this is...rough.” He went to hit play, but Axel stood up and grabbed the phone.
“Don’t play that video!” my dad yelled.
Axel glared at RJ. “I knew someone had been in my room. What the hell, RJ?”
“Parker helped.” RJ pointed at her.
“Parker!” Axel hissed.
“What?” Parker shrugged. “You were being bad dating other girls that were stupid and I hated them.”
“I was trying to make Scarlett jealous so she’d ask me out!”
“What?” I said.
“Because I wasn’t allowed to ask you out,” Axel said. “You asking me was my only loophole to get out of this whole fucking mess.”
“Axel,” my dad said. “Stop talking right now.”
“Why?” Axel said. “So you can let your daughter date Jacob instead of me? What the hell was that, by the way? Fucking hypocrite.”
My mom was staring at my dad like she didn’t even recognize him.
“And I hate to break it to you, Uncle James, but that whole thing was fake. To make me jealous.”
My dad looked really pissed about that. “Excuse me?”
“What?” Aunt Brooklyn asked.
Wait, she didn’t know?
“Jacob, what the hell is he talking about?” Uncle Matt asked. “Is that true?”
“No.” Jacob shook his head. “I mean... Yes, it started out fake.” His eyes met mine. “But it wasn’t all fake.”
I forced a laugh. “Yeah, it became real for me. But not him.”
“That’s not true, Scarlett,” Jacob said.
“Of course it’s true! You broke up with me in front of the whole school because I’m not your type!”
“I broke up with you because when I took Axel home from that party, he was high and drunk out of his mind and he finally confessed he’s been in love with you his whole life.”
I shook my head. “No. You... But you were so...cruel.”
“Because you wanted to keep dating me. And if you didn’t hate me, I knew I’d cave and say yes to you.”
“Excuse me?” Olivia said.
Jacob ignored her and kept staring at me. “And I couldn’t do that to my best friend.” He gestured to Axel.
He’d said all that stuff so I’d hate him? Not because he hated me?
“He loved you first,” Jacob said. His eyes looked a little watery. “And you loved him first. Who was I to step in the way of that?”
“I can’t fucking believe this,” Olivia said.
“I’m so sorry,” Axel said. “About all of this. But none of this would have even happened if Uncle James...”
“Great,” my dad said in a really weird voice. “Glad that’s settled.”
What the heck was settled? What the heck was even happening right now?
“Shall we get the rest of these picture taken?” my dad said. “The dance is going to start soon and...”
“What is my son talking about?” Uncle Tyler said. “Did you say something to him?”
“No,” my dad said. “I think they’ll make a fine couple. Dating. Not engaged of course. They’re teenagers, for Christ’s sake. That would be insane. Let’s take those pictures...”
“I want to see that video,” my mom said.
“No,” my dad said.
“I second Penny,” Uncle Tyler said.
“You would,” my dad said beneath his breath.
Uncle Tyler ignored my dad and walked over. So did my mom. And Aunt Hails was hot on Uncle Tyler’s tail.
“Please don’t play it,” Axel said.
“See, Axel doesn’t want anyone to see it either,” my dad said.
“Play the video,” Uncle Tyler said to RJ, ignoring his son.
“Um...I don’t know what to do right now,” RJ said.
“Play it, little Rob,” Uncle Rob said. “Oh. Better idea.” He walked over and grabbed the phone. And he did something to sync it to the TV so we could all watch it.
“Huzzah,” my dad said and stepped in front of the TV. He sounded weirdly like Uncle Rob. I think something in him had snapped. “Jacob and Axel both love my daughter.”
I was completely frozen in place.
“And now she gets to choose who to date. Not marry. I think we have some dessert in the kitchen. Where is Ellen? Ellen?!”
Ellen walked into the living room. Her eyes were round like she’d been eavesdropping on this whole strange conversation. “James,” she said in a voice she used to scold me in when I was little.
“I didn’t do anything, Ellen.”
“We’ll see about that,” Uncle Rob said. “I’m not hungry anyway. Actually, Ellen. Some peanut butter and jelly sandwiches might be nice.” He hit a button and the video started playing.
A much smaller Axel was pacing in front of our doorway with a bouquet of flowers.
And I instantly knew which day this was.
He was wearing a gray t-shirt and dark jeans.
The same outfit he was wearing when we’d gone to that party in sixth grade and played spin the bottle.
When he’d kissed Ava Williams. His first kiss. The one that I’d wanted so desperately.
Had Axel’s countdown really started on this day? Why?
My dad opened the door in the video and Axel stopped pacing.
“Uncle James,” Axel said. “I need to talk to Scarlett right away.”
“Why?” my dad asked.
“Because I made a mistake. We were playing spin the bottle at the party and my bottle landed on Ava. I asked Scarlett if I shouldn’t.
But she said no, that it was fine. And then Ava was pulling me into the closet and...
” He shook his head. “I don’t know if Scarlett loves me.
But I love her with all my heart. I always have.
And I want her to be my girlfriend for the rest of my life. ”
“So that’s why she came back from the party crying?”
“I’m sorry, Uncle James. I didn’t expect her to say no.”
“Well, I don’t know what you’re doing here then,” my dad said. “She already told you no.”
Axel shook his head. “But I think maybe she wanted to say yes.”
“But she said no.”
“But maybe...”
“She said no, Axel. No means no.”
Axel looked down at his sneakers. “I just want to apologize.”
“Anyone who makes my daughter cry isn’t good enough to date her. Period.”
Axel sniffed and looked up. “I didn’t mean to make her cry.” Axel looked like he was about to burst into tears now.
“But you did.”
“I won’t make her cry ever again. I promise.”
My dad just stared at him. “You shouldn’t make promises you can’t keep.”
Axel sniffed again.
“Look. No one is allowed to ask my daughter out any time soon anyway. Not until she’s legal and whoever it is is serious enough to propose.”
Axel looked up at him. “What is legal?”
“Eighteen.”
“Okay, I’ll propose then.”
My dad shook his head. But then stopped. “Okay,” he said slowly. “Sure. But if you ask her out any time before that or tell anyone about this conversation, I’ll kill you. Got it?”
Axel’s eyes grew round.
“Got it?” my dad repeated.
Axel slowly nodded.
“Are we done here?” my dad asked. “Because I need to go check on my daughter who’s been crying all evening.”
Axel didn’t respond.
And then my dad slammed the door in his face.
Axel stared at the door for a moment, and then dropped the bouquet onto the ground. His shoulders hunched forward as he walked toward the elevators.
“Told you it was rough,” RJ said as he hit pause.
My eyes were full of tears. “Dad,” I said. “How could you?” That day had haunted me half my life. And Axel had come here to apologize? And to ask me to be his girlfriend? And I’d never known? I turned to Axel.
“I’m so sorry,” Axel whispered to me. “I was so focused on the loophole. He said I couldn’t ask you out.
But he never said you couldn’t ask me out.
I’m so sorry that I hurt you. I just wanted you to love me back.
I thought that if I made you jealous you’d finally see me the way I saw you.
It seemed like it was working. But you never asked me. I didn’t know what else to do.”
He’d had his own operation this whole time? The same kind of operation I’d used against him. How had I not seen it? I’d loved him every second of every day. Why had I never asked him out? What was wrong with me?
“I was joking,” my dad said and forced a chuckle. “Clearly I was joking.”
“He was twelve,” Uncle Tyler said. “He didn’t know that you were joking. Obviously.”
“But I was,” my dad said. He forced another laugh. “This is all just a big misunderstanding.”
Axel stepped forward. “Joking? There’s no point in lying now, Uncle James. I came to you several times since then and begged you...”
“All kidding,” my dad said. “Just...shenanigans. It’s not my fault the kid is gullible...”
“James,” my mom said. Her voice was barely a whisper. She was staring at my dad like she didn’t recognize him. “How could you?”
My dad threw up his hands. “He made my daughter cry. I was just trying to protect her. Scarlett told Axel no, and he didn’t get it. He’s just like his father.”
“Excuse me?” Uncle Tyler said.
“What? You didn’t think Penny told me what you did at that frat party? And this isn’t about you, it’s about your son.”
Uncle Tyler stepped forward, but my mom held up her hand.
“We both know this has nothing to do with Axel,” my mom said. “You said in that video that no one was allowed to date Scarlett before she was 18 and you stood in our living room popping champagne when Jacob started dating her.”
“Because that was Jacob! He’s a good boy.”
“I mean, he is a good boy,” Uncle Mason said.