5 Chapter 5

“So you stayed the night?” I knew Mr O’Connor meant that as more of a statement rather than a question. We sat by the round glass table placed next to the kitchen the next morning and conversed while having breakfast. Stella had already left for work and Mrs O’Connor was entranced in her work so it was only Mr O’Connor and I sitting around the table right now.

“Yes.” I casually confirmed. Mr O’Connor and I had a weirdly friendly relationship with each other. He treated me like his son and I really felt like part of their family because of it.

“What’s the deal with the scarf?” I still had Stella’s red scarf draped over my shoulders. I put it around Stella last night while she slept but I woke up this morning and saw that she had placed it around me again so I decided that I was going to keep it. She had over enough of my clothes so it was only fair.

“Stella didn’t want me getting cold last night so I took the scarf to keep me warm.”

“She loves that scarf. She made me buy it for her when she was 10.”

“How did she manage to do that?” Mr O’Connor loved telling me stories about Stella when she was younger and I heard most of his stories but I don’t think I’ve heard this one so I was really interested now.

“She stole my wallet and only gave it back to me when I promised that I would buy it for her.” Both of us released a chuckle at that. I could picture Stella doing that so I knew he wasn’t lying. She did something similar to me when she wanted me to buy her a stupid flask warmer. Why did flasks even need a flask warmer? Aren’t they supposed to keep whatever is inside them warm regardless?

“Definitely sounds like Stella.” I agreed as our laughter died down. “She didn’t exactly put up a fight for the scarf though so maybe she doesn’t love it as much anymore.”

“It’s because she loves you more.” Suddenly the words in my mind got lost in my throat when I tried to reply. Her father always approved of our relationship and even encouraged it when I asked him for his permission to date Stella but the way he casually said that last sentence suddenly made me nervous. Yes, I loved Stella. I was in love with her, but hearing Mr O’Connor point it out unsettled me for some irrational reason. Maybe it was because he was Stella’s father and not some random person or maybe it was because of what I’ve been wanting to talk to him about for the past couple of months.

“Mr O’Connor, there’s something I want to ask you.” The sudden increase of nerves made my voice sound a lot scratchy than I wanted it to. The older man gently lowered his right hand which firmly held his fork as he looked at me. I hoped he wasn’t thinking of ways to kill me with the metal utensil because I was already paralyzed with nerves.

“What is it?” He’s emotionally blunt tone sounded intensely threatening right now. I knew he probably didn’t mean for it to be threatening but I was scared out of my skin right now. Why did I have to bring this up now? It wasn’t too late for me to chicken out, right?

“You know how much I love and respect your daughter. I’d do anything for her and I would take down any obstacle that stands in the way of her happiness. In saying that, I would like to ask for your permission, again, to marry Stella.” I said it, I didn’t runaway from it surprisingly. It was finally out there but everything around me suddenly became ghastly quiet as I waited for Mr O’Connor’s response. He’s face was impossible to read. The thoughts in my mind were running wild right now. I was almost positive that a bead of sweat was going to run down my forehead any second now.

“Will you take care of my daughter?” Not the response I was hoping for. I needed approval or rejection right now because my overwhelming nervousness didn’t allow me to articulate a proper thought.

“With my life.” I responded as I tried not to give in to my emotions. The fork in my left slightly shaking as I lost control of my body. This was definitely not going great for me. I looked over to Mr O’Connor who calmly began eating again. It really didn’t look like he cared as much about this conversation as I did but then again, he was the one in control right now and I was subject to his will so he could afford to do what he wanted.

“Then you have my blessing.” Even though he said that, I had this giant sinking feeling in my gut right now. Why was I still nervous? I should be celebrating right now. Her father gave me his blessing so there is nothing I should be worried about right?

“Why do you look like I’ve said exactly what you didn’t want me to say?”

“Honestly, I don’t know.” I was always truthful to Mr O’Connor, well most of the time at least. I did cover for Stella once or twice but I always made sure that she wasn’t doing something that would end up landing her in hospital or jail before I agreed to it. My head was in too much of a mess right now to come up with a lie anyway so the truth was all I was capable of.

“If you’re nervous about proposing to Stella then don’t be. I see how much you guys love each other so my advice to you is to not wait for the perfect moment to propose to her but to make the moment perfect naturally or else you’ll be waiting forever and I want to be around for my grandchildren.” His words somewhat settled my nerves but it definitely didn’t go away. He did remind me of another situation I wanted to talk to him about.

“I don’t think we’re ready to be parents yet but I was planning on buying a house soon and I hoped that you’d allow Stella to live with me.” I was definitely asking a lot of him so early in the morning but if he gave me permission to marry his daughter then didn’t that automatically mean that he’s giving us permission to live together as well?

“By damn time.” He released a gentle laugh at that as he munched. He was way too calm about this situation even if he was in control.

“Mr O’Connor, if I may ask, why are you being so forthcoming?” I probably shouldn’t be asking that question. He was giving me everything I wanted on a silver platter so I should be grabbing it instead of questioning it.

“You and Stella have been inseparable for years now. If you’re not here then you’re by your house but you’re almost always together so it was basically like you guys were living together already. My wife and I honestly thought that you were going to ask Stella to marry you when she finished high school so we already discussed it. Why did you wait until now though?”

“I wanted Stella to live her own life and secure her own path first. I didn’t want her to marry me then be dragged into my family’s business if she doesn’t want to be. She’s always had her own dreams and I’ve supported them and I will always continue to support her as she chases after them but I want to marry her so that she’ll always have somewhere to return to and regroup if things get difficult. She has to go along her own path but I will always help her wherever I can.”

“The same goes for you. She’ll always be there for you and support your decisions. If you want my honest opinion then I honestly don’t think there is anyone who is better suited for my daughter than you.” I could hear in his stern but understanding tone that he really meant that and I appreciated. It gave me some much needed courage and actually made me look forward to proposing to Stella and committing the rest of my life to making her as happy as I could.

“It goes without saying that I would be burying a knife in your back if you break Stella’s heart.” Just like that, my courage was instantly replaced with fear. At least it overpowered my nerves so there was a weird upside to it.

“I’ll never break her heart sir.” Sir? I really was scared of him if I went back to calling him ‘sir’. Suddenly I felt something moving against my shin under the table. I directed my attention to the floor and immediately spotted the cream colored fur of Stella’s pug. She got him for her 13th birthday but he basically became my dog as much as he was Stella’s. I walked him, washed him, fed him if Mrs O’Connor didn’t put he’s food out yet; he was basically like mine and Stella’s first child.

“Morning Buddy.” The tiny dog resting against my left foot was definitely getting on with age. He was still very active, especially when Stella and I took him to the park, but at home he always looked drained.

“When you guys move in together then please take him.” I knew Mr O’Connor and Buddy didn’t really get along. His wife seemed to tolerate him and Stella definitely loved him so there was no chance they would get rid of him but Mr O’Connor seemed eager to be rid of him right now. Buddy must’ve done something bad this week I guess.

“I don’t think that Stella would move anywhere without him so it’s a deal.” I agreed. I smiled as I reached down and gently rubbed his thin coat of fur.

“Is there any traditions that your families do when it comes to weddings or proposals I guess? I want to do things properly so is there anything specific I should be aware of?”

“No, not that I know of. Just make her happy I suppose.” He had a bemused smile on his face as he looked at me but continued eating.

“Do you have a ring?”

“Yes. It was my grandmother’s ring that my parents gave to me. A family heirloom I suppose so I was going to use that.”

“Are you sure your family would approve of that?” That was another issue I had to deal with when I got home. I wasn’t looking forward to it but I wasn’t going to run away from it anymore. I had Stella’s parent’s blessing to marry her so my parents were going to have to accept my decision whether they liked it or not.

“It’s my ring so it’s my decision. If they don’t like it then that’s their problem.”

“You know Stella wouldn’t want to be the cause of you and your family fighting.”

“I know. She wouldn’t marry me if it meant that it angered my family but I plan on sorting that out before I propose to Stella.” I was planning on doing it today actually but that all depended on the availability of my parents. It was Saturday so they didn’t have to be at the office but somehow they always ended up with some sort of work that needed to be completed.

“I wish you all of the best then.” He gave my plan a slight nod of approval. I actually felt the realization of joy finally spreading throughout my body now. I knew what I had to do and I was excited at the prospect of waking up to Stella in my arms every day. The tingle of my lips still remembered Stella’s kiss she planted before she left for work earlier. Finally it was time for Stella and I to begin our lives together.

“If I want to be on my parents good side before I talk to them then I should probably leave.” I slowly began rising out of my seat, being mindful of the pug lying by my feet.

“I’ll see you later Mr O’Connor.” I casually greeted him while he replied with his usual ‘bye’ that came out as more of a grunt than anything. I made my way to the door as Buddy trotted after me before going to the couches and climbing onto his usual seat. It brought a smile to my face as I watched him struggle to get up the furniture.

The weather outside seemed to be a stark contrast to the way I felt this right now. The solid cloud cover created a cold and gloomy atmosphere while I joyfully strolled down the familiar ghostly streets. Usually my mood would be as unsavory as the temperature this time of year. Stella loved these cold and rainy seasons. She would go outside in the rain and play in the puddles when we were younger which would lead to her getting sick which ultimately meant that I would be sick. Maybe that’s why I despised the rain. I looked over me and the thick grey clouds certainly indicated that rain was on its way but that wasn’t going to dampen my mood right now.

I reached my house then carefully snuck around the side of the house. I made sure that no one heard my footsteps before climbing up the gutter than ran down next to my window. I broke the lock of my window the first time I snuck out of the house so it couldn’t lock thankfully and my parents never came into my room when I wasn’t in it so they didn’t know or else they would’ve probably had it fixed by now. I lifted the wooden frame up then set it so that it didn’t close on me as I crawled through.

“Take this!” I heard someone announce. I was about to stand up but then felt the person painfully squash my right hand between their bare foot and the wooden floor before slamming what felt like a book against my head. My right hand throbbed with pain as I clutched it against my chest on the floor. The pain against my head dissipated fairly quickly thanks to the overwhelming pain my hand was in right now.

“Hunter?” Michaela’s confused voice broke through as she realized who I was.

“What the hell is wrong with you?” I angrily asked her as I unsteadily stood up then went to sit on the side of my bed.

“What the hell is wrong me? Why the fuck would you crawl through the window like a damn thief? You scared the shit out of me. This is your damn house so why don’t you use the fucking doors like a normal person?” Her anger rivalled mine but hers was out of fear rather than pain. She closed the window so that the cool breeze couldn’t enter the space anymore.

“Because our parents don’t know I snuck out last night. Use your damn head.” I looked up at her in the darkness of my room. The only light in the room was courtesy of the morning sun trying its best to find its way past the blanket of clouds above us. She wore my grey tank top that stopped mid-thigh and clearly wasn’t wearing a bra by the looks of it.

“That’s not exactly the first thought that runs through your mind when you get woken up by someone sneaking into the room you’re sleeping in.” Our eyes suddenly met in the darkness and engaged in an

unspoken battle.

“Hunter, are you awake?” My mother’s words sounded from the opposite side of the door. My eyes immediately darted from the door to the clothes I had on. If my mother saw me like this then she would instantly know that I was out. I saw that my door was unlocked so I quickly took off my jacket and t-shirt and unwillingly threw it on the ground. Michaela’s expression clearly showed the confusion swirling around in her head right now but I had no time to explain.

“I’m coming in.” My mother informed me as I stood up and took off my pants leaving me only in my underwear. That shouldn’t be weird to my mother since I often slept in my underwear especially during summer. I made my way towards the door as my mother opened it then immediately flipped the switch on the wall next to the door. I instantly shut my eyes as the brightness flooded my unready eyes.

“Morning mom.” I grunted as my eyes adjusted to the new-found light in the room. I saw my mother’s eyes darting around my room before settling on Michaela and I.

“Morning you two.” My mother’s tone was filled with all sorts of emotions right now which irritated me already because I knew that an onslaught of questions were soon to follow. The one thing I was glad about though was that there was no hint of anger in her voice.

“Is something wrong?” I quickly snapped my mother out of her thoughts.

“Um… nothing is wrong. I just came to wake you guys up but I see I was a bit too late.” Her

mischievous smile clearly speaking the words she refused to say. “Breakfast will be finished in a couple of minutes so you guys should put some clothes on and head downstairs.” My mother turned around and gladly left the room. I closed the door behind her and clutched my aching hand against my bare chest while I rested my head against the door.

“Is something wrong?” Michaela asked me. I could hear that she was genuinely concerned right now but my hand was in too much pain to care about anything except soothing it.

“No. Get dressed and go have breakfast. I’ll be down in a minute.” I made my way to the bathroom without a glance at her then grabbed my first aid kit out of the bottom drawer. I sat down and immediately took out some ointment then gently rubbed it onto my right hand.

“You’re pretty good at wrapping your hand up, you get hurt often?” Michaela said as she watched me wrap a bandage around it. She walked to the mirror then began brushing her hair. I noticed that she was fully dressed again.

“More than I’d like to admit.” I decided not to continue with our battle that we had entered into earlier. It was pointless and it was bound to worsen our newly formed friendship.

“I’m sorry about what happened to your hand.” Wow, this was a complete turnaround but I was glad for the change of pace now.

“I’m sorry for scaring you as well.” I apologized.

“It’s okay.” A weirdly awkward silence suddenly dropped around the room. My mind was a complete blank and I honestly didn’t know what to say to her to not make things any more awkward.

“How was your night by your girlfriend?” That was one way to break the silence.

“It was kind of perfect. She has her first art exhibition today so she left early this morning but I will see her later.” I surprisingly found it easy to talk to Michaela about Stella. Maybe it was because they were complete strangers to each other and will probably not meet each other soon.

“Aren’t you going to support her?” Michaela turned to me with a questioning expression.

“I would love to but she left strict instructions to her parents, my parents and myself that we can’t go support her. She wanted to do this on her own and prove to herself that she can follow her dreams without having to rely on our help.” I finished bandaging my paining hand so I put everything in it’s place then put the first aid kit back in its place.

“She sounds like an admirably strong and confident woman. Don’t take offence to this too much but why would she want you as a partner?” I was very conflicted on how to answer that question. Michaela was being deadly serious when she asked that question. I took some offence to it but for the most part my mind was blank.

“What is so wrong with me that would make you ask that?”

“From what I observed; you’re completely ambitionless, lazy and carefree. I know you’re smart and you are definitely knowledgeable from your collection of books in your room but you don’t seem to want to do anything with it. Yes your family has money so you’ll be set for life but it’s like you have no motivation. Your girlfriend on the other hand is almost a complete contrast from what you’ve told me. She’s driven and ambitious and will do anything to show that she has what it takes to make it in life. That’s why I’m so confused as to what she sees in you.” She wasn’t all that wrong about me but I understood why she thought that about me. I honestly couldn’t care less about trying to change her opinion about me which is probably thanks to my laziness and carefree attitude. At least she got that part about me right.

“Honestly, I don’t know what she sees in me.” Most days I was surprised that she chose to be with me rather than any other guy. There were definitely much more handsome guys out there and more guys that had the same mindset as she did so I don’t know why she chose me but I made the most of the opportunity to make her happy every day.

“There has to be something though. Maybe she feels sorry for you.” I leaned against the counter as I watched Michaela try to figure out the question to the answer I’ve been asking myself for years. I couldn’t help but smile as I watched. She stopped brushing her hair and refused to let it go. She stared into the mirror but she wasn’t looking at her reflection. She seemed deep in thought.

“Why can’t it be for my good looks or charming personality?” I tried not to laugh as I asked her but she replied with a roll of her eyes.

“I think I hit you too hard with that book on your head.” This time I released a chuckle and I could see her relax with a smile on her face as well.

“We did basically grow up together so…”

“Now it makes sense. I think it’s called the ‘Girl-Next-Door’ syndrome. People who grow up together decide to give a relationship a chance and are so afraid of losing each other that they stay in the relationship no matter how unhappy they might be.”

“Or you can call it love.” I casually replied as I pushed myself off the counter then made my way into my room but she followed me out of the bathroom.

“Love is just a stupid label people use to make other people feel good about themselves.”

“You do realize that you have two wonderful parents who love each other and who love you.” I skeptically reminded her as I picked up my clothes off the floor and began dressing me again.

“They love chocolate as well.”

“So you’re comparing yourself to chocolate? If so, where can I trade you in for a slab right now?” I had a stupid smile on my face as she sarcastically shot me a smile before becoming serious again. She really had a problem with ‘love’ it seemed. I was honestly more intrigued as to what happened that made her turn against it so badly.

“Funny.” She took a seat on my messy bed as she put the brush down then began putting on her earrings. “But people use the term too easily.”

“Wait, let me just get this right. You’re not against love, you’re just against using the word lightly.” I tried to confirm.

“Yes.”

“What makes you think that my love for my girlfriend is not genuine then?” I questioned her as I finished dressing me.

“From the little I’ve heard about you guys, your relationship seems to be one of convenience rather than love.” She was overstepping her boundaries so far right now but I actually didn’t mind it. I saw it as more of a challenge that I wanted to overcome.

“What would you classify your relationship with your boyfriend as then? It’s clearly not love so boredom perhaps?” I picked up Stella’s red scarf and found myself smiling as I recalled her father’s words. Maybe ‘love’ was just a stupid label but the feeling was indescribable.

“The point is that love is just a label.” At least she knew that she was defeated.

“You should really learn to stop challenging me.” I tried my best not to smirk as I hung the scarf across one of doorknobs of my cupboard.

“I wasn’t challenging you.” She definitely was stubborn as hell but she was fun to talk to for the most part.

“Sure you weren’t.” We silently exited the my room but I didn’t like the animosity between us now. We did there always have to be an unpleasant vibe between us?

“What is it about my bathroom that makes us get along in there?”

“It’s clean.”

“Cleanliness is next to godliness apparently. That’s besides the fact that my mom would murder me if she saw my room or bathroom dirty.” That evoked a smile out of her as we descended down the stairs.

“If only that fear could exist with my brother. He really couldn’t care less about how his room or our bathroom looks.” So they had separate rooms but shared a bathroom. I probably shouldn’t be reading too much into that but at least we started a pleasant conversation now.

“We can gladly swap mothers.” I suggested before we reached the lounge where Zendé was spread across one of the long couches while playing on my father’s console. We walked past the lounge to our parents who were already seated around the dining table.

“Good morning you two, I’m glad you guys could make it down for breakfast.” Mrs Andrews had a sly smile on her lips as she said those words. There was clearly something she knew that we didn’t.

“Nice to see both of you with clothes on as well.” My mother added with a smile that matched Mrs Andrews’.

“On second thought, you can take our mothers and I will take our fathers.” I silently whispered into Michaela’s ear causing her to laugh.

“No more of that. If you guys want to talk to each other then you don’t have to whisper.” My mother instructed us as we took our seats next to her again.

“Zendé, stop playing and come have breakfast.” Mr Andrews ordered his son.

“Where’s Naomi?” She wasn’t seated around the table and I was pretty sure that Michaela and I were the last people who came down for breakfast.

“She’s at the hospital.” Mrs Andrews words immediately sparked my fear and concern for Naomi’s life. We weren’t exactly friends but Michaela and I had become friends I think and Naomi is her sister so it made sense why I was worried but it looked like I was the only one.

“Is she okay?” I could see most of them trying not to laugh at my question but I couldn’t understand why.

“She works at the hospital. She’s a surgical resident.” Michaela informed me.

“She’s a doctor?” Not that I was categorizing doctors but she Naomi didn’t look like one. She seemed like she was suited to more of an educational job to me. Looks like I really didn’t know her at all.

“Yes. Your hand looks like it needs one as well.” Mr Andrews reminded me of my healing right hand. I actually forgot about the pain that was radiating from it.

“It’s okay. I just fell on it in the bathroom earlier. I was a little distracted so I wasn’t paying attention to what I was doing.” That was a good story right? I didn’t want to get Michaela or myself in trouble so I hoped that she went along with my story.

“Luckily I helped him before he did anything to make it worse.” Michaela was following my story but why did she have to throw me under the bus?

“You guys were in the bathroom together?” My mother questioningly looked at us. She was clearly thinking something else but maybe we could use that to our advantage.

“We shared a bed last night so sharing a bathroom isn’t that farfetched. It was a good thing she was with me as well it seems.” It felt like all our parents suddenly focused their attention on me now and not in a good way.

“Can we eat or are you guys still planning on interrogating Hunter and Michaela’s bedroom activities?” Zendé asked. I could see that Michaela was giving him a threatening look now but I was gratefully for his interruption. It turned the spotlight off me and onto our parents so it was their move now.

“Let’s eat.” My mother thankfully suggested.