Chapter 7
7
Bryce- 18 years old
H aruki looks pretty in the dress that we bought yesterday. She’s wearing an ankle-length wrap dress with heels, her ombré green hair styled in an updo at the salon before we arrived here.
She looks up at me, flustered, as we walk into my house. “Are you sure this isn’t weird? The two of us met just a few weeks ago, and now I’m your date for your dad’s engagement party?”
I can’t help but snort out a laugh. My dad is getting married to a woman he just met a few months ago. This pales in comparison. “It’s not weird, I promise,” I reassure her, resting a hand on her lower back. “Besides, it’s not a real party. It’s just going to be us, my dad, his fiancée, her daughter, and some of their friends.”
My dad and Astrid not only sprung the news on me that they were engaged during the dinner we had that night, but they also used the chance to invite me to this weird get-together to celebrate the two of them, us becoming a family, and Astrid and her daughter moving in here. The audacity of that woman is something else. She actually invited me to my own house for a housewarming party. In a house that she hasn’t even moved into yet. I haven’t even met her daughter. Becoming a family my fucking ass…
“Son,” a familiar voice greets me when we step through the front door. “Glad you could make it.” His eyes move from me to Haruki, offering her his hand to shake. “I’m Arthur Simmons, Bryce’s dad.”
“I’m Haruki. Nice to meet you, Mr. Simmons. Congratulations on your engagement.”
My dad looks at both of us and gives a small smile. “At least one of you is happy for me.”
He gives me a nod and walks away to join his friends before stopping and coming back in our direction. “When you go over there, do me a favor. If anyone asks, tell them you’d already met Lillian during our dinner. Astrid is a little concerned about what people will think if her friends find out that we’re engaged, but our kids have never met before.”
I grab Haruki’s hand and walk over to the pretentious buffet spread the caterers have set up. Trays and trays of finger food lay on our kitchen island. “Make us a plate, yeah?” I tell her.
My eyes scan the room and I smile when I find what I’m looking for. I take one of the chilled champagne bottles from the ice bath and call out to Haruki, tilting my head to the side, telling her to follow me outside once she’s done. One thing I’ve learned about her—that girl is a foodie. I’m going to let her be in her element for a while. She can pick out her food in peace and I can calm my irritation down before meeting Astrid. Win-win.
The further I am from the house, the clearer the muffled conversation in the pool house becomes. Looking in through the window, I can see the devil herself in a brown pantsuit and blazer, yelling at a girl wearing braces who looks just like her.
“Can you just please, for my sake, stop with the brooding? We are supposed to celebrate happiness today, Lily. Aren’t you tired of crying all the time?”
“Mom, I don’t understand, why are we even moving here?” the girl asks Astrid. “Aren’t you going a bit too fast?” Looks like she and I might get along.
“I love Arthur and he loves me. Sometimes you just know.” Astrid delivers her defense in such an irritated tone; her daughter’s expression is morphing from sad to angry.
“His body was barely even cold, and you were already?—”
“You na?ve child. I did this for you. Now, for the love of God, please stop moping around in here. What will other people think of us? What will Arthur think of us? Behave yourself and act accordingly. Don’t be ungrateful.”
I had a feeling about her when we met, and I was right. This woman is going to cause trouble. Astrid is about to say something to her daughter—something vindictive, probably—when she stops in her tracks the second she sees me walk into the pool house.
“What’s going on here?” I ask.
Astrid straightens her blouse and swipes the loose hair strands on her face to the side. She attempts a smile. “Bryce, I didn’t see you arrive.”
“I bet,” I sneer at her. “No wonder you were being a bitchy witch to your daughter so casually.” Both of them look at me wide-eyed, but the younger Lee has a smirk on her face. A smirk she’s trying to hide.
“Don’t meddle in business that is not yours,” Astrid says, her sugar-sweet persona from our initial meetup now completely gone. I see you for who you are. Not only are you a gold digger, you’re mean.
“Well, since we’re going to be family and all,” I reply sarcastically with jazz hands. “You’re kind of hurting my sister’s feelings, Mom . As a brother, I feel the need to protect her.”
Astrid huffs before bumping her shoulder into me and marches inside the house, leaving her daughter and me alone. After what feels like minutes of awkward silence, she finally speaks up. “Thanks for that.”
“Don’t mention it. The enemy of my enemy is my friend.”
She laughs. I have a feeling this girl doesn’t laugh too often. She seems not to sleep too often, either. Lillian is pretty, but teenage girls her age are not supposed to look that tired. They’re not supposed to look that broken.
“What did you mean before?” I ask, curiosity getting the best of me.
“Huh?”
“You said his body was barely even cold. Whose body?”
Lillian looks at me, confused, before a tear drops from her eye. “My dad. He died at the beginning of the year.”
Now it’s me who doesn’t follow the conversation. “But that’s not that long ago.”
“I heard you’re a smart guy and are going to RadTech. You do the math. I’m sure you know why my mom tried extra hard to make your dad fall in love with her.”
Today, Astrid Lee taught me something. Lillian Lee taught me something, as well. Having a dead mother is a lot better than having a shitty one.