Love Me? The Trust Me? Trilogy (21 page)

"I love you," he says, reassuring me. I squirt some of the body wash onto my hands. I rub them together, lathering up the gel, and he moves so he's out of the water. I feel nervous as I stare at his shoulders, gently rubbing the gel into his body, down his arms, and onto his chest. My breathing quickens from the mixture of excitement and fear, fear of him taking me aggressively once more. I get to his groin and stop. He looks at me and takes my shoulders, spinning us around so he's in the water and I'm out of it. I crease my brows because I failed to pleasure him. He smiles, easing my nerves. He lathers up the body wash and washes me thoroughly. At least this is progress.

We finish up in the shower, and he steps out, grabbing a towel from the towel rack and handing it to me. I wrap up my hair and he hands me another one, which I wrap it around myself, and then he takes one for himself. I look at him, feeling a mixture of emotions. Happy that I can let him back in but anxious about anything sexual happening in the shower.

He kisses my bare shoulder softly. "Thank you."

"For what?"

"For letting me back in."

"I'm sorry I stopped. I couldn't ... I mean I didn't—"

"Stop, it's completely fine. I don't want you to do anything you're not comfortable doing. I'm happy you let me in." He moves in to embrace me.

"Thank you."

"For what?"

"For understanding."

"I don't ever want you to feel the way you felt that night. If you had said no to me getting in the shower then, I would've been fine with that. I only want you to feel loved because you are—very much so—and I never want to disappoint you like that again."

I hold on to him tightly. Once we are dry and get dressed, it's time to head to Vinchenzo's for Aiden's birthday dinner. We have to pick Mom up on the way, so we head down to the parking garage where Mike is waiting for us. We get into the car and head to Mom's unit. Mike pulls up, Aiden hops out, followed by me, and we walk to the front door. I ring the doorbell, and Bella starts barking. I lean into him. Mom finally answers the door, holding a frantically happy Bella in her arms.

"Hi, honey. How are you?" She shoves Bella into my arms, and she licks my face while Aiden pats her on the head.

"I'm good, thanks, Mom. How are you?" She fumbles in her handbag to try to find her keys as Bella wags her tail manically.

"Good, thanks, honey. How are you, Aiden?" she asks, finally finding her keys. She takes Bella from me, gives her a kiss on the head, and puts her inside, shutting the door.

"Good thanks, Ev."

Mom turns around after locking the door and grabs us both into a giant bear hug, surprising us.

"Happy birthday," Mom says then she lets us go.

"Thanks."

Aiden leads us to the car and sits in the front with Mike, leaving Mom and I to catch up in the back. We arrive at Vinchenzo's ten minutes late. As we make our way inside, we see Sarah and Chris are already at the table, as well as Alistair, Callie, Brielle, Adam, Blair, Benjamin, Nana, and Bill. Everyone stands up to greet us when we walk in. Sarah looks at me and then shoots her eyes to Alistair and rolls them. I smile and give her a hug.

"Ev, you remember my mother, Callie, and this is my father, Alistair."

"Hi, guys, great to meet you Alistair."

"Great to see you again, Ev. You have a wonderful daughter," Callie says to my mother.

Alistair huffs when Mom puts her hand out for him to shake; he ignores her hand and sits down at the table.

"Can't even be on time," Alistair mumbles under his breath.

"Charming," Mom says, looking at me; I shrug and we make our way to the table.

Mom sits next to Alistair, which I think is a bad idea, but I can't say anything in case Alistair overhears. I sit next to her and Aiden next to me.

"Ev, I want to thank you for having such a wonderful daughter. She truly has made my Aiden happy," Callie says.

He takes my hand and kisses it." Yes, she has."

"I can't take all the credit. She's a very bright, independent young woman, and she's made herself into the woman she is today."

I shake my head and roll my eyes.

"Yes, she's amazing." He takes my hand under the table, and I smirk at his use of
our
word.

"Are you kidding me?" Alistair mumbles.

"Alistair, behave," Callie snaps at him.

I look at Mom, who doesn't look amused.

"We should order," I say, interrupting the staring contest between my mother and Alistair.

"Yes, good idea," Aiden says, looking at me apologetically. Chris calls over a waitress, and we place our orders. She comes back with some drinks.

"Chris, it's nice to meet you. Jeni's told me so much about you. It's great Sarah has finally found someone worthy of her," Mom says making Sarah blush.

"Thanks, Ev."

"Great to meet you to," Chris says.

"Whose stupid idea was it to come to this dump, Aiden? Guess it was hers?"

Chris looks at Alistair and shakes his head. "Not even worth it."

"Father, for your information, this is where Chris works, and I love it. It was my choice to come here and if you don't like it, then leave. No one is stopping you."

I bite my lip, holding back a smile. I feel proud of my man for sticking up to his arrogant ass of a father. Alistair huffs, folds his arms, and sits back in his chair.

The tension mounts as silence engulfs the table. Everyone is waiting for someone to say something. I take a sip of my wine and look at Aiden, opening my eyes wide and tilting my head in a gesture for him to say something.

"Hey, guys, I want to thank everyone for coming tonight. It means a lot to me and Jeni that our families and friends could meet," He raises his glass.

"Happy birthday, Aiden," Brielle says, raising hers. Everyone except Alistair raises their glass.

"Happy birthday," we say in unison and clink our glasses together. We break off into smaller groups, talking amongst each other at the table. Everyone is having a good time except for Alistair, who is still sitting with his arms crossed, leaning back in his chair, frowning at the miserable world.

The waitress comes along with our plates of food, and we start to eat. Alistair plays with his spaghetti, twirling it around on his fork but never actually eating.

"What do you call this
shit
?" Alistair asks, looking down at his plate.

"
Father, leave!
If it's so horrible for you, then just go."

"I'm not going to leave my son's birthday just because the place is a
shit
hole."

"So he
is
your son now. Not just mine then?" Callie asks, shocking me.

"Don't talk to me like that, woman."

"
That's enough!
" Mike yells.

"
What?
Who do you think you are talking to me like that? You're just the lowly help," Alistair yells.

"Father
leave
. No one wants you here," Blair says.

"
Shut your mouth.
You're nothing but a raging poof. Who would take you seriously?
I'm ashamed to call you my son,
" he yells at Blair. The rest of the restaurant is now looking over at us as the argument starts to escalate.

Benjamin stands up to talk, but Blair pulls him by the arm to quiet him. Blair stands up and they both walk off and leave the restaurant.

"Is this what you put up with, Jeni?" Mom asks, waving her hand at Alistair.

"Put up with? I'm the one that puts up with
it.
That
thing
you call a daughter is a leach. She's nothing more than a money-hungry
slut
who has taken control of my son and is going to drain him for all he's worth."

"Excuse me?"
Mom yells back at him.

"Are you deaf as well as stupid?" Alistair retorts.

"Oh my god! Jeni told me you were bad, but she didn't tell me you were a complete moron."

"What did you call me?"

"Are you deaf as well as stupid?" Mom asks sarcastically.

"Listen here, wench; you and your stupid, parasitic daughter are the morons."

"Alistair!"
Callie calls out, looking at my mom sympathetically.

"
Shut up,
Callie
, this
doesn't
concern you," Alistair snaps at her.

"I've had enough of your
crap
." Callie stands up and walks off.

Mike jumps up and takes off after her.

"That's right. Leave when the going gets tough," Alistair calls out to them, standing when they walk off.

"
Fuck you
!" Mike yells out.

"
You can't talk to me like that. Remember you're nothing but the help
," Alistair yells mockingly.

"Oh, of course. Sorry.
Fuck you
,
sir
." Mike walks off.

I try to hide my smile, but Alistair sees it.

"What are you smiling at? You're the cause of all of this.
Do you realize that, you little bitch?
" he yells at me.

Mom stands up in front of Alistair.

"That's enough! My girl doesn't have to put up with this
bullshit
from a pathetic control freak like you."

"She does if she wants to keep her job." A smug grin appears on his face.

Mom picks up her glass of wine and throws it in Alistair's face. I can't help but laugh as he reacts. He huffs and picks up a napkin, wiping away the liquid.

"Listen here, you'll pay for that. Do you hear me?"

"Bring it on," Mom says, rubbing her hands together.

"Father, we're here for Aiden's birthday. Can't you calm down a bit?" Brielle asks softly, tugging on his arm.

"
Brielle, stay out of this,
" he says then shakes her off violently. She falls and hits her head on the table, causing drinks to fall over and spill. Sarah rushes to her side and helps her up as Brielle starts to cry. She stands up, blood gushing, which is dripping to her chin from the wound on her head. When she stands up, she stumbles slightly. My hand rushes to my mouth with shock.

"Bree, are you alright?" Aiden asks, rushing to her side.

She stares at Alistair angrily, and he shrugs. Nana gets a napkin and holds it to Brielle's head.

"Come on, darling. I'll take you to the hospital." She wraps her arm around Brielle as Adam glares at Alistair.

"Alistair, I raised you better than this," Nana says harshly then they walk away.

"Are you serious? Now you're intentionally physically hurting the ones you supposedly love?" Aiden says.

"It's the only way I can get my point across."

"I think it's time you leave," Chris says, taking Alistair by the arm. He pulls out of Chris' grasp and pushes him hard. Chris shakes his head and comes toward Alistair, threatening to punch him.

"Don't you touch me, boy, or I'll have you arrested," Alistair yells at Chris as Sarah grabs his arm and holds him back. Chris looks at Sarah and calms down.

"You think you can come into my restaurant and act like a
dick?
Get out before I call the police," Chris says to Alistair.

He huffs. "Gladly."

The rest of the restaurant claps as Alistair storms out and makes his way to the parking lot.

"I'm sorry, Chris," Aiden says.

"It's all good, dude. Don't worry about it, and don't apologize for him."

Sarah takes Chris by the arm, and we walk out of the restaurant leaving our unfinished meals behind. We get to the parking lot, and Alistair is waiting by his chauffeured vehicle. We walk past and Mom can't help herself.

"You know; if you're that unhappy with your life, take it out on yourself, not other people. That's common sense. Oh, but that's right, you don't have any of that, do you?" she asks him while we walk past.

He storms over to us. "Listen here. You and your trashy daughter better stay away from my family or else—"

"
Or else what, Father
? I swear to God, if you're threatening Jeni and her mom, I'll leave the business and take all the clients with me."

"
Don't you threaten me, boy. Know your place,
" Alistair yells.

"How about you know yours. Rot in hell, you worthless pig," Mom says back at him.

"Worthless pig? I'm wealthier than you could possibly imagine, bitch, at least I'm not a slum dog like you."

"I'm happy with my life. Sad that you're not happy with yours. You think that you need to be this tough, superior person to be wealthy and successful? I tell you now, you may be wealthy, but you don't have anyone who loves you. Not
one
person in this world loves you the way you are; at least I have family and friends that I care about as equally as they care about me."

Alistair gulps and winces. "Look, I don't need people to love me, woman, and I look after number one. Me, myself, and I. As long as I do that, my life is great, thank you."

"You keep telling yourself that," Mom says.

"I will. Aiden, your
slut
is fired; I don't want her in my office ever again."

I look at him, my eyes wide and mouth open.

"Father, if she's fired, so am I."

Alistair's eyes open wide, as though he's struggling with his thoughts.

"Fine, she stays, but I swear to God, Aiden, if you don't start acting your age—"

"You'll what, Father?"

"Just act your age, son."

"How about you act your age, Alistair?
Stop hurting the people you love just to keep up this bravado, or you'll end up alone and lonely for the rest of your God-forsaken life, and you and I both know you don't want that, do you?
"
Mom yells.

Alistair exhales. "You don't know what I want."

"Then what do you want?"

"For my son to follow in my footsteps. I've worked hard to get Aiden to where he is today, and your daughter is tearing him away from me and our business."

"He's in love, Alistair. Nothing you say or do is going to change that. My daughter is his soul mate, and I know, deep down, that you wish things were different. You wish you could let down your walls and your tough exterior. You wish you could tell Callie how much you love her. You wish you had control over everything, but you don't, Alistair, and that's no one's fault but your own."