Chapter 2: April's POV
The next day was the day I'd meet Cole's dad. I looked at my outfit nervously in the mirror; a snug light blue sweater, a jeans skirt with white tights underneath and blue and white sneakers.
'I couldn't keep my big ass mouth shut, could I?' I thought. I picked up my black shoulder bag and placed my two daggers in it. "April, you ready?" Cole walked into the room. He was wearing a dark gray hoodie, black jeans and black and white sneakers. "Yeah...let's go." I took a deep breath.
What if his dad didn't like me? With a last name like Belmonte, he had to be used to classy, pretty girls, not clumsy, nerdy spazzes like me. Maybe I looked a little too young? With the sneakers on I looked like a teenager, not a grown twenty four year old woman. I took off my glasses and put on my contacts so I could get rid of my nerdy image but my short hair…Ugh, it had only grown three inches over all the years that passed so it still was in its boyish haircut.
As Cole and I walked down the hall that led to the deck, I stopped in front of Jayleene and Kai's bedroom. Her pregnancy was going well, but I estimated her due date to be only a few weeks away. "Let me check on Jayleene first."
Cole nodded and I walked inside, closing the door behind me. Jayleene lay on her back, running a small toy race car over her huge pregnant belly. "Can I come in?" I asked.
"Sure," she smiled.
Jayleene's pregnancy was nothing like Angel's. Angel was a raging bitch throughout the entire thing, but Jayleene…She was just calm and get this…Quiet. Whatever the kid was doing to her, I liked it. "So do you have any cravings of the sort?" I asked.
"Not really, but lately I actually like Cole's cooking."
Okay, the pregnancy had to be numbing this girl's taste buds, who the hell enjoys Cole's cooking? "Okay, has the child been kicking lately?"
"Yeah a lot, he or she is a pain just like their dad." She giggled, rubbing her stomach. I smiled. "Good, everything seems fine, but you're gonna' have to get a lot rest; don't stress yourself out and no junk food."
"'K." she nodded. "Thanks April."
I nodded and left the room, closing the door behind me. I noticed Kai was standing outside the door shaking like crazy. "I-is it safe…?"
"Kai, seriously Jayleene's pregnancy is nothing like Angel's own. She's just a bit more quiet and calm than usual. It's safe, I promise."
He seemed to relax slightly. "Sorry, I'm just scared. What if something goes wrong during the pregnancy, what if I stress her out or-"
I waved that all off. "Dude, your wife is pregnant, she has your kid growing inside her, go and spend time with her."
Kai nodded. "Thanks," he walked past me and into the room.
I rejoined Cole and we left the Bounty together.
…
Cole's old house was fair sized and nicely decorated with a small garden on the window sill. "Wait," I grabbed his hand before it rang the doorbell. "I change my mind, let's go now."
He shook his head. "Scared, huh?"
"Well…Yeah!"
He took both my hands. "Don't be." He leaned down to kiss my lips briefly before pulling away.
I hid behind him slightly as he reached forward to ring the doorbell.
A man opened the door a few seconds later. He had dark gray hair that obviously used to be black like Cole's, bushy eyebrows that were still slightly black and wrinkles and creases in his face. "Dad, how are you?" Cole smiled, hugging the man.
"Good, son," He hugged back and I continued to hide behind my boyfriend. Cole's dad pulled away from the hug and looked at me as if judging every part of my face and body. I just smiled. "Who's this?"
Cole grabbed my hand. "Dad this is my girlfriend, April Dawson and April this is my dad, Lou."
I gave a small wave. "Hi…"
Lou stared right at me and I looked away, avoiding eye contact. It was like the guy could smell my fear. "Well, come in." Lou finally said, walking back into his house. Cole pulled on my arm and forced me to walk inside, closing the door behind us.
Cole and I sat on a small couch in what looked like a dance studio. On one side of the room was a wall off mirror and a long medal bar to hold onto to while on the other side was a piano which Lou sat in front of. "So, April you're one of the ninja?" Lou asked.
I nodded. "Yeah, I'm the master of water." I was surprised I wasn't spazzing out yet. Lou played a soft tone on the piano and I recognized it as "Are You Happy Now?" by Megan and Liz. "Do you play any instruments?" he asked me.
I spotted a small violin in the corner of the room. "Yeah, I play the violin…" I stood and walked over to the instrument. I started playing the same song with Lou. I think I remembered the lyrics…But I never really tried to sing in my life, I only mumbled some music to myself so I could fall asleep. But maybe if I tried…A second opinion would be cool.
"She stood out in the crowd was a little too loud, but that's why we love her…She's not like other girls, she could've concurred the world until you broke her…Do-Ow-iiiown~…"
I was seriously afraid of messing up and pissing off Cole's dad so no matter how much blisters my fingers got, I kept playing.
"Are you happy now? That she's on the ground? And do you realize the words you say make bruises that won't fade away? Are you happy now? That you brought her down? And she's thinking that she won't fit in 'cause you said something's wrong with her…Are you happy now…?
He likes science not sports, he's not like you, you don't like that. Fifteen years down the road, he'll have everything you won't, but right now you're breaking him…Do-ow-own…
Are you happy now? That he's on the ground? And do you realize the words you say make bruises that won't fade away? Are you happy now? That you brought him down? And he's thinking that he won't fit in 'cause you said something's wrong with him…Are you happy now…?
I heard that it was done to you, is that why you do watcha' do? Well, there's no excuse nooo~…And if it felt like hell to you, then why'd you want to put them through what had you…? Are you happy now? That you brought them down…? I-I-I…I don't think so~!
Are you happy now? That they're on the ground? And do you realize the words you say make bruises that won't fade away? Are you happy now? That you brought them down? And they're thinking that they won't fit in 'cause you said something's wrong with them…Are you happy now…?
…
Are you happy now…?
Are you happy now…? ~"
We both stopped playing and I put down the violin, looking to Lou and Cole. "Cool," Cole smiled.
I looked to his dad, hoping for a good response from him too. "You're good, but you can be better. When you're on the chorus you have to hit a higher note than you did."
I raised a brow. Where had I heard that before…? It was the day I was being sent off to boarding school…
"You're good, but you can be better." My dad said when I stopped playing my millionth song on the violin.
"Dad, can I take a break please?" my arms were super tired so I nearly dropped the instrument.
"No, you'll never be able to be perfect until you play flawlessly."
"But, dad-" he put his hand in front of my face to say he didn't want to hear another word. Then I saw something stop in front of our house, a yellow cab. "What the heck? Dad, there's a cab in our driveway." I turned back around to see my dad holding three suitcases in his hand…My suitcases…
I backed away when he handed them to me. "What's going on? Where are we going?" I asked with wide eyes.
He sighed. "You're going to boarding school."
My heart sank. I was never a bad kid, I never did anything the kids in my neighborhood did, and I spent countless hours studying and playing the damned violin! "WHAT!?" I screamed.
"It'll be good, April. You'll be much more independent without me around and you get to have your own room and-"
"FUCK YOU!" Even I was surprised by my new found vocabulary, especially at the age of twelve. "I hate you!"
He sighed again and led me out of the house. He opened the back door of the cab and I whipped around to face him. "Dad if you push me into the taxi, I swear I'll hate you forever." He stared at me for a while before shoving me inside. It was like the motherfucker couldn't care less about what I thought.
I was shot back into reality when the memory vision stopped. "Oh, uh okay…I'll do better next time…" I smiled. "If there's a next time…" I mumbled under my breath.
…
"My dad likes you." Cole said as we left Lou's house later in the afternoon.
I nodded. "Yeah I guess he does…"
But I knew what was next…Cole had to meet my dad.
…
…
…
Fuck me.