Here's the final chapter! Thank you to everyone who has reviewed/favourited/followed this story. You're the best. Hope you enjoy the final rule!
Rule Ten- Be afraid. Be very afraid.
A few weeks had passed since Sophia's last attempted date that ended in a fight with Aaron. Aaron felt a little unsettled that there had been no teenage boys knocking at his door looking to take his daughter out. Sophia was also unusually quiet. Normally, she would parade around the house, chatting away, but there was something more reserved about her.
He sat on his chair in the living room tapping his foot and looking at the clock. He was prempting some boy's arrival, but nothing was coming. As his three other daughters sat around him, engrossed in their various activities, he wondered if this was just a short phase, and he prayed that Annabelle, Charlotte and Emma would only go through a short phase too.
Emily walked into the room and furrowed her eyebrows when she saw how uncomfortable Aaron looked. "What's wrong?"
"I'm just prempting some stupidly horny teenage boy rocking up at my door and me having to make sure he knows to be afraid."
"I think the whole teenage popluation of Washington DC knows to be afraid of you dad..." Annabelle piped in. "Sophia may as well become a nun, there's no hope for her."
"I just don't want her to get hurt..." Aaron said for what felt like the hundreth time.
Before anything else could be said, Sophia calmly entered the room, dressed simply in jeans and a t-shirt, with her jacket in her hand.
"You heading out honey?" Emily asked.
"Yeah... I have a date." She said with certainty.
Aaron eyed Sophia suspiciously. She had never been this calm before a date. She hadn't even kicked up a fuss about his rules yet.
"Wh-" Aaron began, but Sophia swiftly interrupted him.
"Don't worry daddy he knows to knock the door, not to touch me infront of you, to wear proper clothes that don't end up falling down, no sex, no small talk with you, no dating other girls while they are dating me, not to be impatient, take me somewhere in clear view of other adults, not to lie to you and most importantly... to be very afraid of you." Sophia said, rhyming off all of Aaron's rules.
"Man... this guy must really like you if he's willing to deal with all of that." Charlotte said, as Aaron sat with his mouth slightly agap, not sure what to say.
"Yeah... I think you're all really going to like this guy." Sophia said with a small smile.
"You seem happy Soph." Emily noted, pleased to see a look of contentment on her daughter's face.
"I am happy."
Before anything else could be said, the doorbell rang.
"Want to come meet him?" she said to her parents who both nodded their head and followed Sophia to the door.
As Sophia opened it, both Aaron and Emily felt calmer than they had in a long time at opening that front door on a Friday night.
"Peter" Emily said with a big smile.
"Emily, Aaron... or should I call you Mr and Mrs Shore now that Soph and I are dating?" Peter asked as he shifted awkwardly in his stance.
"Emily and Aaron is just fine" Emily said with a wink.
"Good... and don't worry Aaron, I know all your rules and trust me... I am very, very afraid." Peter said with a genuine fear in his voice. No one would mess with Aaron Shore's daughter and get away with it.
"Peter is that you!?" Emma shouted from the living room, excited to see her old friend.
"I uh... I should say hi to your sisters" Peter said as he walked into the living room, followed by Emily.
"So..." Aaron said, turning to Sophia, finally finding the words to say tonight. "Peter huh? You two made up?"
"Yeah... life's to short for stupid fights with your best friend... or I guess it's a little more than best friends now huh?"
"I'm happy for you honey. Peter is a good kid."
"I'm happy for you two dad, I don't think you'll be having to worry about stupidly horny boys showing up at the door on Friday evening." Sophia teased.
"Thank you Soph, really." Aaron said sincerely as Sophia giggled and hugged her dad.
"Thank you too dad... I know I complained a lot about the rules but... I now know how I deserve to be treated and that I deserve the best."
"That's all I want for you Soph. The best." he said as he kissed her head.
Soon after, Peter came back into the hallway with Emily.
"I think Emma's a little jealous that Sophia is the Shore girl you chose to date" Emily said as she wrapped her arms around Aaron's waist from the side and he rested his arm around her shoulders.
"She's still my favourite Emma." Peter joked back.
"Have fun guys" Aaron said as Peter and Sophia left the house, both with beaming smiles on their faces.
Aaron closed the door behind them and turned to Emily who was smiling brightly.
"Did you know?" Aaron asked.
"I had no idea, but it was the nicest surprise." Emily said sincerely. "I think he's it for her Aaron, I said it since the moment they met. Mother's intuition."
"Mother's intuition huh? Well I would be more than ok with that, cause it's one less daughter to worry about being a serial dater."
"Only three more honey... and Annie and Charlie will be dating at the same time so I guess that's double the trouble."
Aaron sighed and ran a hand over his face; "We're going to need to buy aspirin on bulk then. In fact, I think I already have a head ache thinking about it..." Aaron said as he kissed Emily and followed her back into the living room, to spend time with their daughters.