Chapter 12 - Emma
Chapter twelve
Emma
Boys who play with sticks for the win!
Oh, God. I can’t believe Greyson said that. In front of my parents, no less.
I’m horrified. It feels good to have someone stand up for me, but I was not expecting him to say that. I just want this dinner over with so we can go home. Where I feel good about myself and happy.
I knew my mother would make a comment about my clothes; anything that isn’t her style is ugly and not flattering in her opinion. It’s why I hesitated when Greyson told me I had to wear the dress. But seeing the look in his eyes when he saw me walking down the stairs in it was worth every insult.
We enter the dining room that has the table set for five as a staff member quickly enters the room and removes the fifth place setting. I always hated how pretentious this house felt with all its staff, but I guess that’s just the norm when you merge two wealthy families together.
“Oh, no. We forgot to pack Gracie’s highchair,” I tell Greyson as I watch my dad sit down with her still in his arms.
“All taken care of, Sunflower. When you told me Little Tulip would be coming to dinner as well, I made sure we had one ready for her. Greyson, if you wouldn’t mind, it’s right behind the staff’s kitchen door over there.” He points in the direction of the door.
“Not at all,” Grey says as he walks over to collect the highchair.
“That was very sweet of you, Daddy. But we could have just sat her on our laps if anything, it would have been fine.”
Greyson returns shortly, opening up the chair and placing it at the corner of the table beside my dad, who settles her in as I look at the empty seats around the table. This is the smaller of the two dining rooms we have, with this table only seating six, whereas the other seats twenty.
In this dining room, my father always sits at one end and my mother at the other.
The two place settings left are on the same side of the table, meaning someone has to sit by my mother and the other by my dad.
Since Gracie is already seated between my dad and the free chair, I let Greyson take that seat and settle in beside the woman who sadly birthed me.
At least I can somewhat be a buffer between the two.
I already have a feeling that Greyson isn’t a fan of my mom, and I don’t blame him.
She hasn’t even addressed him once, except for her pitiful ‘hello’.
She also hasn’t introduced herself to him, which is just plain rude even if you don’t like the person, and that alone makes no sense to me.
She knows nothing about Greyson, and yet she’s treating him like he’s garbage.
I never should have let him come. He doesn’t deserve this.
Once everyone is seated, food is brought out, starting off with a butternut squash soup. Greyson rolls up his sleeves beside me, exposing his ink as he prepares to eat. Most were covered up with his outfit, except for the one a little higher on the side of his neck. A snowflake.
From the corner of my eye, I see my mother looking at his arms with distaste. I glance down at my soup, twirling my spoon around with a quiet sigh. A hand appears in my line of sight just as Greyson pushes my loose strand of hair behind my ear.
I gaze into his eyes as they vibrate with affection, a small smirk dancing along his lips.
The more time that passes, the more I think Morgan was wrong.
Something is different between us. I can’t stop thinking about him, no matter how hard I try to shake it, but I still stand by my decision not to explore this further.
I grin in return, then turn my attention to my dad, who insisted on feeding Gracie her soup. He’s making airplane noises as he travels the spoon through the air and into her giggling mouth.
“Lance, that is highly unacceptable behavior at the dinner table. Honestly, I don’t think this is an appropriate place for a child,” my mother scolds him.
I turn to her abruptly, anger boiling inside of me.
I can handle her talking shit about me, but she has no right to disrespect an innocent child, certainly not my Little Tulip.
“She’s a baby, Mother. You seem to be forgetting that I was once a baby too and sat at this very same table,” I say through my teeth, trying to control my rage.
“No, you didn’t. You were with Gretchen in the staff’s kitchen,” she calls back like it’s completely normal to have the nanny taking care of your child when you’re home doing absolutely nothing.
“Of course I was,” I scoff and roll my eyes.
“And anyway, where is this child’s mother? Why isn’t she with her, instead of here?” she asks, completely ignoring my remark. Jesus, she’s so self-centered, she won’t even acknowledge Gracie by her name.
“Her mom died.” It’s all I say, I don’t even bother looking at her. I just want this all over with.
“Well, that’s a shame. A child needs their mother.”
I lean back in my chair and slap my hand down on my thigh loudly. “HA!” I turn to her, bitterness shining through. I’ve so had enough of her shit. “That’s rich coming from you. Because from what you stated just seconds ago, all I needed was a nanny. Not a mother.”
“That is enough, young lady. I don’t know what is happening with you, but I won’t tolerate this attitude. We didn’t raise you this way,” she says, slamming a hand on the table.
“That’s because you didn’t raise me!” I yell back.
My hands tremble as I feel myself losing control. I’ve never talked back to my mother like this, but fuck does it feel good. Greyson grabs my hand underneath the table and caresses the pulse point along my wrist with his thumb, soothing me.
“There you go being ridiculous again.” My mother sighs.
“When will you stop acting like a child who needs attention? Jesus, Emma. You’re twenty-seven.
First you quit your job, and then you leave a perfectly good man.
And now you’re playing dress-up nanny,” she scoffs.
“No man will want you as a wife with the way you are now. You really think Tommy will take you back now that you’re spending your time with a boy who plays with sticks for a living?
” She scrunches up her face with pure disgust aimed at Greyson.
“All right, that’s it!” Greyson takes his cloth napkin off his lap, balls it up, and throws it in the middle of the table.
“You will not speak to her that way. I don’t give a fuck who you are, you will not disrespect or degrade her like that in front of me.
” Oh, shit... normally I'd chide him for swearing in front of his daughter, but I think tonight calls for an exception.
“EXCUSE ME?” My mother goes to stand, wanting to show dominance. But what she doesn’t realize is that she’s fighting against a true Alpha. She won’t win this one.
“Sit your ass down! You’re gonna sit there with your mouth shut and listen to everything I have to tell you. I tried being nice and polite, tolerating whatever pretentious bullshit you wanted to show off. But now I’m done.” His tone is harsh and commanding.
My mother shakes with anger as she sits back down and looks at my father, who just leans back in his chair with wide, impressed eyes directed at Greyson. My dad is a good guy, truly he is, but he rarely reacts or puts my mother in her place.
Greyson makes himself comfortable in his chair, making them wait on purpose. He looks from my father to my mother before speaking again in a calm voice. It’s almost scarier than the one before.
“Did you know that your daughter believes she’s unworthy? Unworthy of being someone’s first choice? First love? That she always needs to put others before herself? That people always have someone better waiting around, something better to do?”
Well, what the fuck? Out of everything he could have said… I was not expecting that.
“It took me three weeks of watching her to figure it out. Why she hides behind this joyful persona, why she acts like nothing bothers her. Because she thinks that acting this way will stop her from getting hurt. That if she expects people to put her second, she’ll see it coming and can stop the pain of rejection before it happens. ”
He scoffs, picks up his spoon, and digs into his soup, as if he didn’t just reveal my biggest secret. One I never even admit to myself. When I dare glance around the room, my father looks pensive while my mother rolls her eyes. Typical.
“Which, if you ask me, is absolutely ridiculous. Because Emma is one of the most beautiful and amazing people that I’ve ever had the honor of knowing. Anyone would be lucky to have her in their life.”
Greyson takes one final spoonful and sets it down.
Then he grabs my cloth napkin from over my lap, wipes his mouth, and throws it on the table as well, joining his.
He sighs loudly, looking into my eyes with tenderness.
“But still, she believes that everyone in her life will always put her second. That includes you”—he looks at my dad—“but mostly stems from you.” He turns to my mother with revulsion oozing from his pores before focusing on my father again.
“Because you see, while you were off building your career and providing for your family, you made your daughter a second choice. As a father, I do understand your position, but that also means that you put your business first before her.” Greyson shakes his head in disapproval.
“You left her in the hands of a mother that should have loved and cherished her like she was her world. But that wasn’t the case, was it?
” he asks with venom in his voice as he directs the question to my selfish mother, who looks ready to blow.