Chapter 1 ~ Minho #2
Silence fell over the dinner table. Yeseo is looking at our dad like he’s grown two heads.
I am glancing between both of them, waiting to see who cracks first. That’s when my sister throws her head back, shoulders shaking, as she bursts into a fit of laughter, like genuine laughter that reminds me of what a witch would sound like.
Yeseo points her fork at him again. “My god, that’s a good one.” She then looks at me, eyes widening as she shakes her head, wipes tears from her cheeks and asks, “Remember the last girlfriend?”
She breaks into more laughter, and in truth, it takes all my willpower and restraint not to join in and laugh with her because Dad isn’t laughing.
No, the man is full-on smiling still, hands folded together on the table as if he is patiently waiting for something. What exactly? I don’t know, but I don’t like how calm he is when my sister is laughing in his face.
Yeseo’s laugh slowly dies when she catches on to what I am seeing, her frown a million reactions in one.
“Oh fuck.”
“Yeseo,” Dad warns, but nods.
“Oh wow.” I watch in real time as my sister comes to the same conclusion as me as she sits back in her chair.
“Oh wow,” she repeats, and I think our dad’s little surprise mentally broke her because she says the same two words three more times over as if they hold the answers to a difficult math equation.
The silence that falls over all three of us is thick enough to suffocate me, so I look down at my plate of discarded greens.
Huh.
A girlfriend—well, this is such unexpected water I didn’t ever see myself having to tread that now that I am, I have no clue what to say or do. I’m not upset with this predicament. If anything, I am a little ecstatic, not entirely excited as I would have thought I would be.
It’s just an unexpected turn of events. On one hand, now Dad will have someone else to bother at three in the morning because he needs help with the lawn. On the other hand, I don’t know how I feel about him replacing Mom.
It’s been four years since she left.
No letters.
No texts or calls.
Just gone without a word.
And since she departed from our lives, Dad hasn’t dated anyone, not seriously anyway. That pregnant one didn't count in my books, as I found her to be a gold-digging—
It doesn’t even matter.
For the last four years, it's been the three of us against the world, with Dad constantly away for hockey games, Yeseo causing unnecessary drama for fun, and me existing somewhere in the background behind a book.
And yeah, some days were tough, but Dad tries his best to keep us together.
I understand why he needs these dinners, and I guess a part of me can appreciate them for keeping us as close to how things used to be as possible.
I just wish I didn’t feel invisible when I came to this house, sat at this table or slept in that bedroom upstairs that used to be my sanctuary growing up.
Who knows? If this new girlfriend can cook, this could turn out to be a blessing in disguise, and I will have worried for no reason.
No offence, untouched meatloaf.
“So...” Yeseo starts, clearing her throat. “You have a girlfriend?”
Dad’s smile widens. “Yes.”
I pick up my fork and stab a green bean a little too violently. Okay, maybe I am not entirely fine with this predicament.
Cool. Great. I’m fine with this; I have to be. Things change all the time, and I just have to accept that this is inevitable. I mean, I could be a fluke. His last girlfriend didn't last long, so why would this one be any different?
“How long?” I hear my sister ask.
“Six months.”
I paused my fork midway to my mouth, then set it down. Six months? Fantastic. I love this for him—I think.
Six months feels... longer than I would have expected him to last in a relationship that isn’t with my mother. That's what? A hundred and eighty-two days of dating, of my dad sneaking around so we wouldn’t find out until today, because let’s be honest, that is what he was doing.
That many months of dating mean it matters; it's long enough to make things—feelings— real. Well, fluke this is not.
Damn.
“My God.” Yeseo leans forward in her chair, pointing accusingly in Dad's direction as if he is in trouble. “You’ve actually been dating some mystery woman for the past six months.”
Dad looks like he’s almost swallowing his guilt when he takes a long gulp of his beer. “I wanted to make sure what we have was serious first.”
That makes something in my stomach twist a little. He said serious, not casual or a temporary fling—serious.
Across the table from me, Yeseo folds her arms, eyeing our dad as if he’s a suspect in a murder, and I have to say, I would hate to be on the other end of her stare. “Who is she?” she asks.
Does it even matter?
Apparently, it did because our dad’s smile softened, and I knew then that whatever came next would change everything forever.
“Her name is Vicky Maddox.”
Yeseo’s gaze snaps to me in that moment, and mine lock with hers instantly after hearing the last name “Maddox” because there is no fucking way. My sister laughs, and I am sure it's because my face must have turned fifty shades of red.
“Are you talking about the mayor's ex-wife?” I ask, already dreading the answer, before our dad even acknowledges the question. “Victoria Maddox?”
“Holy shit, Dad,” Yeseo breathes.
He nods. “Neither of us thought it would last long, but it did, and I have to say, Vicky is perfect.”
Well, this is unexpected and highly unwelcome. I am pretty sure I am going to die. Not because my dad's newest girlfriend makes him happy, but because of who her son is—Bellamy fucking Maddox. Also known as my life's current tormentor, no matter how hard I try to avoid him on campus.
I don't even know why he picks on me specifically, especially since my dad is his coach, and I know he wants to be captain. One word from me, and that would never happen.
I hate this.
This can’t be happening. But it is, and as much as I wish I could pinch myself and wake up from this hellish nightmare, I know this is real.
My dad is dating the devil's mother, and he waited until things were serious to bring this to our attention.
When my sister gets into an argument with my dad about why he should have told us sooner that he and the mayor's ex were seeing each other, I pull out my phone and glance at the screen until I scroll to my text thread with my best friend.
Maybe I should have cared more for the conversation that is being had at hand in front of me, but I can’t think about what this means.
It has to be temporary, and perhaps the thought alone made me a terrible son, but my dad can't for one second think I am going to sit idly by while he gets closer to the Maddox woman and let's be honest, her son, who plays hockey.
My God, hell froze over, didn’t it?
Nyla: Tell me you’re still alive; a thumbs up will do, or I'm coming over
I smile briefly when I read over Nyla’s last message, then I type.
Me: Define the word alive
Typing bubbles appear almost immediately, and a soft sigh of relief escapes my lips, knowing my friend is already texting back.
Nyla: Don’t be so dramatic
Me: Oh, trust me, you haven't seen me being dramatic until you hear the bomb that my dad just dropped onto our laps
Nyla: Pregnancy?
I’m typing before I can even know what I am going to say.
Me: Why is that you and Yeseo’s first guess
Nyla: I don't know if you’ve noticed, babe, but your family is the definition of a chaotic mess... in the best way.
I guess that is fair.
No, it’s definitely fair.
Before I can text a response to Nyla, my family’s voices ring out to me, and when I look up, Yeseo is getting up from the table.
“Did you even think about what dating that woman would do to our family?” she asks. “Fine, she’s nice, but have you not heard the stories about the mayor?”
I bite my inner cheek to keep from jumping into this. Everyone in Edenwood Cover knows what Mayor Maddox was doing to his wife.
It’s all fucked, really.
To touch a woman that way—it's vile. A shiver runs along my spine just from the reminder of what the article I read said about the divorce.
The thing that grosses me out the most is that Leonardo Maddox can remain the mayor only because his family owns this town.
Yeseo has a point.
Bringing that kind of bad news to our barely stable family is a lot and dangerous. And just the thought of Bellamy Maddox anywhere near my family makes me ill.
I glance down at my phone when I see that Nyla is typing.
Nyla: So, what is this bomb?
I don’t even sugarcoat it; I give her the answer before it becomes public knowledge, because if there is anything I know about the people of Edenwood Cover, it’s that they like to spread news like a disease.
Me: He’s dating Victoria Maddox
I turn off my phone before I can see whether Nyla sees the message. I don't think I can handle her making a joke out of this.
I push my chair back from the table, the legs dragging and screeching against the wood floor. “I think I am going to call it a night.”
Dad looks at me. “Goodnight, bud.” I give him a weak smile, then walk away as his sight drifts to Yeseo, who diverts her gaze from him and walks away.
“I'll see you tomorrow when you hopefully have more sense,” I hear her say. Her footsteps fade to the front foyer before she opens the front door and slams it shut behind her.
Fuck my life.
Victoria and Bellamy haven't even set foot in this house, and already their looming presence is breaking us apart. I get things in life change all the time. But Dad and Yeseo are all I have, and I won't let anything come in between us.
Not even Bellamy.