2 Oh How It Escalated

I did loose curls in my long blonde hair. I had put on a light blue form fitting dress, then finished the look off with some white wedges. I did some light make up, just some winged eyeliner and lip gloss. Justin wanted me presentable, and with his family the simpler was better. Especially for just a brunch.

I exited the bathroom, going to get Justin's approval on my look. He was sitting in a chair in the living room wearing a grey suit. I stood in front of him, he looked me up and down. He stood up to walk around. He was checking out the back of me as well.

"I approve." He finally spoke, "let's get going." He headed for the door of the penthouse.

I followed behind. We got into the elevator and went down to the parking garage. I got into the passenger seat of his silver Audi A6. Justin backed out and we were on our way. I dreaded arriving at brunch. That's where we would have to put on our act.

Around his family we pretended like we were in love. It made me sick to my stomach every time. To them the Justin I knew was one they thought was in the past. Having me around made them think he was finally being a responsible adult. Which is exactly what he wanted. His plan for his grandfather's approval was exactly where he had wanted it.

"You're going to behave, right?" he asked.

I glared at him. "You ask me that every damn time and you already know the answer." I rolled my eyes.

He reached over and grabbed a fist full of hair again, "You're going to behave right?" His tone was cold and stern.

I looked at him, surprised he grabbed me like this again. "Yes." I responded quietly.

We pulled into the long driveway of his grandfather's home. The man lived in a mansion. This place had so many rooms, in my opinion too many. He was the founder and CEO of Tipton Enterprises. He was well known around the city and practically had some type of ownership in everything it seemed. Everyone knew who Martin Tipton was.

We parked and got out of the car. Justin��s parents were already there. He grasped my hand tightly. We walked to the door where we just let ourselves in, we were expected so Justin didn't want to ring the doorbell. We walked into the living room. Justin's mother Ava was the first to greet us. "There's the happy couple!"

We smiled and said our hellos. Then we took a seat next to each other on the couch waiting for his grandfather to come down. It was about five minutes and then we finally were graced by the presence of Martin Tipton. "Hello everyone." he greeted coming in from the doorway. He then took a seat in the armchair of the room.

"Are we waiting for someone else?" Robert, Justin's father asked. Typically it was just the five of us and we would go eat once Martin was down. Justin had no siblings.

'"Damon is coming." Martin answered.

"What?!" Ava was shocked. "He never comes to things like this."

"I managed to get a yes this time. Besides dear Ava, when was the last time you've seen your brother? Justin only sees him at work." Martin responded.

She nodded in response.

Before another word was said the doorbell rang. Martin's butler went and answered, then proceeded to bring a man I had never met before into the room. He looked about thirty, he was tall and muscular. He had black hair, which he had slicked back and icy blue eyes. He was definitely attractive. His demeanor was serious and he practically oozed confidence.

"Damon, hello." Martin greeted.

"Hello." He responded, his hands in his pockets.

After Damon's arrival we proceeded into the dining room and began our brunch. There was an awkward silence while we ate. Usually things were a little more lighthearted, but there was some type of tension. I wasn't sure exactly what the deal was, Justin really didn't give too many details about his family except for how to impress them. All I knew was his uncle, Damon held the president seat that he wanted.

"So Kaydence," Martin spoke, grabbing my attention. "You and Justin have been together for a little bit of time. Might there be an engagement in the future?" he asked.

Damon raised an eyebrow while looking in my direction.

"Um, I'm not sure." I responded, immediately given a glare by Justin. Apparently he didn't like my answer. "I mean if that's what Justin decides." I added, hoping to get his glare off of me.

"What are your plans for yourself?" Martin asked.

"I don't really know." I answered. Justin's glare was back. "I've been so busy trying to keep tabs on my mother's health I haven't really figured it out." I further explained.

Martin nodded in response, Justin removed his glare from me. But I knew it was to not raise any questions if someone noticed. By the way his demeanor changed, I could tell I was in trouble. We proceeded to finish eating.

After the brunch Justin decided it was time to leave. We said our goodbyes and walked out of the door. He went from holding my hand to roughly grabbing me by the arm once we had made it off the steps. "You fool! Telling my grandfather you have no plans for yourself!" he hissed.

"You're hurting my arm Justin, please let go." I pleaded. He had taken me by surprise with getting physical again.

"Telling them you aren't sure about marriage. You dumb girl, you should know you're stuck with me if you know what's good for you." He sneered.

"Let me go." I was more stern in my tone this time. That only pissed him off.

Slap. My face stung where he had hit me. I brought my hand to my face, touching where it had hurt. I was baffled at what he had just done. I never thought he would go this far to be honest. He was mean but I didn't know he had it in him to hit me just because I didn't answer questions like he wanted.

"Is there a problem?" A voice asked, I turned around to see Damon looking sternly at Justin. Behind him was Justin's parents, looking in shock at what he had done. Our voices must've been louder than we thought to draw them out.

"No, we're fine." Justin faked a smile, trying to brush off the situation.

I looked back at him. I would take a lot, but this was too far even for me. "No. Justin it's over." I walked down the driveway.

I wasn't sure where I was going, and I wasn't sure what was going to happen. I felt good about walking away from him, but only for a minute. The guilt started creeping in, I just ended the agreement that was paying her medical bills. I called an uber, I had them take me to the penthouse before Justin returned. I collected my things, he had spent a lot of money for me to dress nice. All I could do is I hope I could resell to get enough money for my mom's next bill.