The whole rest of dinner was spent with Princess making sad faces at her ice tea while I sat stiff as a rod in my seat, glaring down at my plate of pushed around food. Everyone else at the table seemed to be fine as the old guys went on talking and drinking their insanely over-priced wine. If I only I could've had a sip of that stuff… but, of course, it would be wrong to ask for in this situation.
I honestly thought that they could have kept talking business all night until finally the bill was paid for and everyone started to leave. I was probably one of the last people to leave the room, my feet moving on autopilot as my eyes stayed on Courtney as she shook the hands of men leaving. There was one in particular that made my blood boil, watching as a guy probably around my age gently kissed Princess' hand before flashing a perfectly white smile and leaving. My stomach knotted as my gaze followed him, uneasy feelings settling in my stomach that I couldn't quiet understand.
I glared at his back as he walked over, my eyes narrowing more when I heard Bridgette laughing as Courtney turned pink. "What's so funny?" I asked after walking over to the girls. Courtney looked up at me and our eyes met as she blushed harder; probably embarrassed about being caught gawking at her mystery man. I quickly looked over at Bridgette instead, catching the way Princess' smile dropped slightly.
"Courtney totally has the hots for a fine ass man, and when I say fine ass, I mean it," Bridgette said to me, answering my previous question. My reaction to hearing this, eyes narrowing slightly and hands fisting within my pockets, actually shocked me with how violent it was. I mean, really, I shouldn't even care about any of this, or Princess for that matter. "Wouldn't you agree Courtney?" Bridgette went on as if everything was fine, and my gaze shifted to Courtney so I could read her expressions; clearly flustered and embarrassed. "I totally saw you checking out his delicious ass. You know, I'm sure if you caught up with him and pushed your cleavage together a little he'd let you smack it," Bridgette spoke unbashfully with a coy smile on her lips, hinting no shame whatsoever.
Courtney's jaw dropped after Bridgette's statement while my jaw did the exact opposite, clenching so tightly that it made my teeth ache. In the midst of my anger, I didn't realize what had happened until Bridgette screamed and there was a thud on the ground.
"Shit," I swore, quickly dropping down on my knees next to where Courtney had fainted. People started rushing back and I didn't even realize one of them was the hand kissing jerk until he was kneeled down on the other side of Courtney, looking pale despite his dark skin.
"You okay Princess?" I asked when she started to come around, slowly blinking her eyes before narrowing them at me.
"You might wanna fix your dress before you give these old guys a heart attack," Bridgette pointed out from behind me and I quickly looked at Courtney, noting how her dress had ridden up so much that I'm sure if I was standing by her feet I'd be able to see her underwear. I couldn't keep the smirk off my lips as Princess made a noise like that of a mouse before jumping to her feet and yanking the dress back down her legs.
"Careful. You shouldn't stand up so quickly. It could cause you to faint again."
Is this guy for real?
"How do you know?" I quickly asked, probably adding more bite to my words than necessary. Princess shot me a look while the prick just smiled at me.
"I'm a doctor," he said coolly before Bridgette squealed and I crossed my arms with a huff. A doctor, huh? My ass this guy was a legit doctor. Princess shot me another look before she turned her attention towards the oh so perfect mystery doctor, thanking him while at the same time coyly asking his name. She wasn't as innocent as she claimed to be. No, she knew exactly what she was doing.
"Ethan Adams," Mr. 'tall dark and hansom' told Courtney and I felt my back stiffen upon recognizing his last name. It makes sense that Ethan here would be the son of a total asshole.
"Well thank you Ethan for the advice but I think I'm good now," Courtney said, politely dismissing him. I couldn't help but grin a little at this, having to hold back laughter as she fed him some excuse about how she drank too much wine and that was why she fainted.
"My ass," I muttered, coughing after and feigning innocence as Princess shot me yet another one of her never ending looks.
"Is this your date?" Ethan asked suddenly, turning the attention to me. Courtney scoffed as she shot me a look, turning her attention back to Ethan.
"Of course not," she said much too quickly and I felt like someone had just punched me in the gut. Lamely, Courtney tried to make up for it by instead introducing me as the guy that saved her but the sting was still there and I felt like crawling into a hole and staying there for a while. I know that I'm not the greatest guy and that I don't make first impressions that well, but there's really no need to throw me under the bus after spitting on me.
"Well then Duncan, I guess I'm in your debt because if it weren't for you helping Courtney I might have never had the chance to ask her out for dinner," Ethan said to me and I felt my jaw tighten to the point where I thought my teeth would start cracking. This asshole was using me as a way to ask out Courtney! My senses are never wrong because I knew there was something off about this piece of work.
"That would be very nice," Princess said, blushing as Bridgette jumped around behind her like a crazy person. I felt my shoulders slump as I realized what Courtney had just agreed to; the smirk on the jackass' face telling me she'd just agreed to go on a date with him. My body felt unnaturally numb, almost like when I get into fights except I have a feeling that when I come out of this numbness the wounds will hurt so much more than they ever could after a physical fight.
"Oh my God Courtney! Is he perfect or what?" Bridgette squealed after Ethan had left before turning to me and asking if I agreed.
No, I don't agree at all. He's scum and just wants to get into Courtney's pants. I'm sure that before this night he'd never thought of Courtney as anything more than a spoiled girl with a rich daddy. Now he thinks of her as a spoiled dumb girl for having a crush on him with a nice body he'd like to get in and the fact that her dad is rich just tops off the whole god damn package!
"Yeah, perfect."
00-00-00
Tom offered me a ride back to their penthouse and as much as I wanted to deny it since Princess and Bridgette were driving home with him as well and no doubt would be gushing about Ethan the whole time, my ride and regular clothes were back at his place so I really had no choice in the matter. At least I was able to ride closer to the driver of the limo with Tom so that I didn't have to be stuck right next to the two girls. Nope, now I get to hear what they're talking about in echoes.
"So what'd you think of dinner?" Mr. Cliena asked me, breaking my attention away from Princess who was smiling so much it almost looked painful.
"I think that ordering Chinese and eating at home is a hell of a lot easier and not nearly as stressful or expensive," I muttered, running a hand through my combed down mohawk and doing a fabulous job of messing up any neatness that was there before.
"Ha, you look like you could use a beer," the man across from me said before reaching into a cooler that I hadn't even noticed next to him, and pulling out two beers. He handed one to me and I took it gratefully; twisting off the cap and chugging down a good portion of it in one gulp.
"Thanks," I said, actually meaning it too. The whole time I was stuck in that back room with all the rich guys, I just wanted to disappear with the help of beer and, if I could manage to steal it, some good vodka too.
"I was the same way at your age after my first forced dinner party with my father. I don't think I've gotten that drunk since," Tom admitted to me and I rubbed the back of my neck awkwardly, wondering why he was telling me this.
"You were born and raised into this fancy shit; shouldn't a business dinner have been like second nature for you?" I asked, swirling what little was left of my beer in the bottom of its bottle.
"Yes, I did have the advantage of knowing which fork to use first, but that didn't make me any less nervous. As I'm sure you found out tonight, these high class men can be very judgmental and show no pity for someone who isn't 'one of them'. I felt sick the whole dinner and ended up slipping up during the meal. Now that was bad; my father chewed me out a lot for that one. Gosh, you should have seen Courtney the first time I took her to one of these. She actually threw up before we left and when we got back she wouldn't stop talking about all the things she should have done differently and how much she messed up. She was only fourteen," Mr. Cliena told me, trailing off towards the end as I assumed he started reminiscing about his past.
"It's not like I'm not grateful for you taking me out to dinner and getting to experience what it's like to be rich for one night, but why? Why go through all the trouble if you'll never be seeing me again?" Finally I asked the question that had been on my mind all night. I actually felt better after getting it out there, but at the same time sick from worrying about what his reply would be.
"Duncan, you saved my daughter's life; I would give you my whole life's savings if you asked for it. As for why I insisted you come to dinner instead of just writing you a check and sending you off, it's because I like you Duncan. You're different and fresh and not egotistical like all of those guys that Courtney grew up around. While it's upsetting that you probably haven't heard this from a lot of fathers, I actually want you to be around my daughter; she could use a different kind of influence in her life than that of a bunch of old rich guys," he explained, chuckling when he was done. Although I was pleasantly surprised with this answer, I couldn't help but remain slightly repulsed as well by the back handed compliment.
"Right, because you want Princess to not be so much of a princess by making her hang out with a poor and dingy guy like me. It all makes perfect sense now," I bit out, unable to keep the resentment from my voice. Tom merely sighed and leaned back in his seat, folding his hands in his lap.
"If you want it to be like that, then sure. Duncan, every day people are told who they are by the judgments of others and eventually they just become what they've been told they are. I fear that Courtney is starting to become that way and loosing sight of who she really is on the inside, and I know that I'm the main cause of this. I'd like you to stay around so that Courtney doesn't loose sight of who she is because from what she's told me of you, you do a fine job of bringing out the best in her." My eyes flickered over to Courtney who was still in the back talking with Bridgette. Even though I could tell she was tired by the way her smile had fallen slightly and she blinked slower, Princess was still glowing.
"There's a car show tomorrow that I have two tickets for, but I doubt Courtney will care to join me especially since Bridgette is around again. Wanna go with me and see some of the most expensive and jaw dropping cars on the planet?" Mr. Cliena offered and I felt my mouth begin to water at the thought. If there was one thing I loved, it was cars.
"How does this tie in with me bugging Princess?" I asked, leaning back against my seat.
"You're a planner, I like that Duncan. If Starbucks doesn't work out, I think I have a place in my business where I could use a guy like you," Tom said casually before switching back to the cars. "Just stop by tomorrow around nine thirty and I'll make sure the front desk knows to let you up." The limo came to a stop and both our door and a door closer to the back by Bridgette and Princess opened up simultaneously.
"I'll see you tomorrow then," I accepted, standing by the limo with Mr. Cliena. He smiled fondly at me before sticking out his hand. I shook it, surprised by how strong his grip was but I guess it's from years or practice.
"Make sure when you come over, you bring your car with you. I think I have something in the garage that could really help bring out its beauty," the older man kindly offered with a wink and I couldn't help but grin like an idiot.
"Thanks," I said after releasing his hand.
"Anytime son. Now get home and rest up; tomorrow is going to be a long day," Mr. Cliena warned and I nodded, walking towards my car. It occurred to me, as I was driving off, that I never said bye to Princess or Bridgette.
Probably too busy talking about Ethan. I figured, a scowl setting onto my face for nearly the fiftieth time tonight. As much as I just wanted to pull out some beers and sit on the couch for a while, I knew that it probably was going to be a really long day tomorrow and there was no way I was going to ruin a minute of that car show by having a hangover.
Getting shit-faced will just have to wait until tomorrow night.
00-00-00
"Are you serious?"
I let out a huff of air as I rubbed my temples, cringing from the headache that was accumulating while trying not to jump across the coffee table and tackle DJ. "How many times do I have to say it? Yes, the room was bigger than my apartment and yes, her dad is taking me to a car show. Now unless you have a something really important to talk to me about, I'm going to bed," I declared, standing from my spot on the couch. I reached behind me to pick up the tuxedo jacket that I had slung over the couch before Geoff and DJ had come out to play twenty questions with me.
"So Bridge was there tonight?" Geoff asked me again.
"Yes, Malibu Barbie was there. From what it seems like, her and Princess and have friends for a long time. Why does it matter?" I snapped, turning around afterwards and noticing the dejected look on the blonde's face.
"She said she was going to be out of town for the next week," he mumbled sadly and I felt my face soften as I realized what this meant.
"Man, she probably just said that so that she could hang out with Princess without having to flat out tell you she'd rather be spending time with someone else." I wanted to slap myself in the forehead after saying that.
"She was probably just trying to protect you Geoff," DJ quickly said, helping me clean up the mess I had started. I shot him a thankful look which he just nodded at, returning his attention to Geoff.
"Guys I really need to hit the hay or I'll be a zombie tomorrow. You guys can crash here or head home; either way just make sure you lock the front door. I don't know what time I'll be back tomorrow, but if I get an estimate I'll call one of you and let you know so that you can come over and play twenty questions again." And with that said, I retreated back to my room and my awaiting bed; a lazy smile appearing on my lips when I saw it. The annoying tux was barely off before I flopped forward onto my bed and groaned; falling asleep shortly after.
00-00-00
I woke early in the morning, having shot up in my bed covered in a film of sweat and shaking. Trying to calm myself by taking in deep breaths, I ran my hand through my messed up Mohawk only to recoil in disgust when my hand came back covered in sweat.
"Christ," I whispered, swinging my legs over the side of my bed as I rested my head in my hands. My forehead was also covered in sweat which just made me feel all the more disgusted, but I just ignored it as I tried to push the thoughts of my dream out of my mind.
Go away, go away. I chanted, practically ripping out my hair as I tried to push out the images.
Blood. Blood on the floor. Blood on the walls. Blood on the knife. Blood on my hands.
"Oh God," I moaned before racing out of my bedroom and into the bathroom down the hall, barely making it before I started throwing up. When I thought I was done, I flushed down the expensive meal I had had for dinner and fell onto my side; the cool tile of the bathroom soothing my pounding head. I honestly have no idea how long I laid on my bathroom floor, eventually starting to shake from the cold but too exhausted to get up and go back to bed. It occurred to me then that Geoff and DJ had left because if not they surely would have been in here by now, asking me what was wrong. While they know what happened in my past, the true reason I went to juvy, I didn't want to have to relive it even if it was only through mentioning it.
Just seeing the images in my head was bad enough. Hearing the sounds of her screams; the sounds of his screams. Eventually none of that mattered though as it was drowned out by the sound of my own screams; screaming and sobbing and wishing I could stop but not being able to. The way my arm jerked as I raised it above my head, eventually causing me to dislocate it. Yes still I continued; screaming.
I threw up again, slumping against the sink when I was finished; too exhausted to even flush down the rancid smell. The taste of it should have been in my mouth too, but all I could taste was blood as the memories kept pressing into my mind. Eventually, I just gave up and let them come; silently sobbing myself into an uneasy and tortured sleep.
00-00-00
When I woke up again, the sun was just starting to rise and the bathroom smell alone almost made me throw up again. I flushed down my old vomit and slowly made my way out of the bathroom after rinsing out my mouth with some Listerine. As I was walking towards the kitchen so that I could get some food in my stomach, I passed by my hall way mirror and winced. It's safe to say that I had seen some better days; my hair mattered together and greasy looking with heavy bags under my eyes. Over all I appeared pale, but it also didn't really help that there were no lights on; the lack of it only intensifying the shadowed horror on my face.
Food. Just eat some good and things will start getting better. I tried to assure myself, pushing on past the mirror and into the kitchen. As I walked in, flashes of blood covered walls and floor danced before my eyes and I found myself letting out a choked cry as I nearly fell to the floor.
Why? Why are these memories coming back now? I wondered, relieved that when I opened my eyes again the blood was gone and instead I saw my plain and empty kitchen. There was no blender or coffee maker, no cookie jar or basket of fruit; just my plain old kitchen which I had never been so happy to see before in my life. As happy as it made me though, the thought of food still didn't excite me, but I forced myself to eat. Today was going to be a long day and I had a feeling I was going to need all the energy I could get. Seeing as I was already so rested, it only made sense that I get in a good meal as well.
"Toast sounds good," I muttered, turning towards my cabinets. There were just a couple of pieces left and as they were in the toaster I added bread to the list. If the dream I had hours before was anything like the dream I had years before, I'd be having toast for breakfast a lot over the new few weeks. Of course, just some toast with butter isn't exactly the tastiest thing to eat, or the most filling, but at the moment it was all my stomach could handle and it would just have to do until I started to forget about the dream around lunch time. That's when I'll have my big meal which will hold me over until dinner which I'll have very little of; it makes for less to throw up, after all.
"Great, it's only 7:30," I groaned, dropping my head down onto the kitchen table which wasn't really as good of an idea as it originally seemed; my head starting to pound. From where my head rested, I got the chance to really smell myself and nearly gagged; shooting back from the table with a look of disgust on my face.
Shower. Get the smell off, get the memory off. Shower. My mind reasoned and I quickly headed back towards the bathroom, glad that I had been able to make it to the toilet or I'd be cleaning up one hell of a mess right now. As I stripped out of my clothes (which also reeked of dried sweat), I noticed how sore I was from sleeping in the bathroom. I made a mental note that in the future I should at least sleep in the bathtub; much more comfortable than the sink or floor.
"Aw," I sighed, leaning my head back into the spray of warm water as it soothed my headache. The water was soon running all along my body, warming me to the bone and getting rid of the chill that had been there before. For a good ten minutes, all I did was just stand under the water, rotating my neck and rubbing out the knots in it as I slouched against the shower wall.
By the time I finally got out of the shower after feeling that I had scrubbed and shampooed enough to get rid of the smell, the clock read that it was a few minutes past eight. Glad that I had found a way to at least waste some time, I quickly dried off and dressed into a pair of dark blue jeans and a plain black t-shirt. I didn't feel like getting dressed up or anything, the only splash of color in my outfit that of my green hair and red Converse that I never went without. I even contemplated not putting in my piercings, but finally decided for it since it would just kill more time before heading over to Courtney's place.
Hmm, going to Courtney's place. The thought left a funny feeling in my stomach, like my guts were being twisted up but not in a horribly painful way. I honestly couldn't really find a way to describe it and instead just checked to make sure I had everything before leaving my apartment. As I was driving down the streets, I realized that it was probably a good thing that I had left so early because I made a couple of wrong turns and had to go around unnecessary blocks just to get back on the right path. To say that I was happy when I reached Courtney's penthouse building, or whatever the hell she wanted to call her place, would be an understatement. I actually felt in higher spirits as I went up to the front desk and told the woman who I was; her checking my I.D. before letting me go up to like the very freakin' top floor.
"Uh hello?" I asked, knocking on their 'front' door. "Mr. Cliena? Courtney?" I called out, continuing to knock. Eventually I heard footsteps and stopped my knocking, stepping back from the door and stuffing my hands into my pockets as I waited for the doors to be opened.
"Duncan! Well you're here a bit earlier than I expected, but more than welcome. Come in," Mr. Cliena greeted me, his smile warm and welcoming. I wanted to return the smile, but when I looked at the older man all I saw was splattered blood and it made a chill run down my spine as I quickly looked away.
"I still have to get ready and the show doesn't actually start until noon, so just make yourself at home," Mr. Cliena told me, already walking towards the kitchen. I didn't know what else to do, so I just followed after him; settling for sitting down at one of the stools around the island in the kitchen. "Want some breakfast? Coffee?" the man offered and I had to bite back a groan at the thought of food. Along with the thought of food came the memory of the nasty bile I'd upchucked earlier, so it's safe to say that I won't be eating much today.
"Uh just some coffee please, black," I quickly said before he could go around taking out all of these differently creams only to have to put them away again. I actually preferred my coffee with a bit of vanilla creamer in it because it adds some damn good flavor, but I didn't want to trouble Mr. Cliena since he was already doing so much for me, so I just took it black.
"Thank you Mr. Cliena," I said as I took the coffee, sipping from it and feeling at ease. If there was one thing that always managed to make me feel better, it was coffee. Why else would I work at Starbucks? Well… aside from the fact that they don't care about my criminal record, that is.
"Hey, this is supposed to be a fun day. Just call me Tom," the man reminded me before saying something about having to go get ready and that I should help myself to any food and the TV while I waited. While food was definitely the furthest thing from my mind, TV didn't sound that bad and I made my way over to their living room (which was honestly the size of my kitchen room and living room put together and then some) and sat myself down at the end of the white leather couch.
Shit, this guy is loaded! I thought, examining all the entertainment systems he had as well as all the movies and CDs; both classic and new lining the walls on shelves. It took a bit of hunting, but I eventually found the TV remote and was able to find the news. Despite being an over all 'loser', I actually watched the news almost every chance I got. If I had a therapist (ha, like I could afford one), they'd probably tell me that I watch the news so that I can see other people's suffering and feel better about myself or some shit like that. Well too bad for my imaginary therapist because today there wasn't a whole lot of interesting stuff on the news. No, the interesting stuff had just walked into the living room.
"Well well Princess. If I knew I would get this kind of show every time I came over, I'd have to move closer so that I can be here earlier," I teased, smirking as Courtney's eyes went wide before blush covered her face and she quickly crossed her arms over her chest.
"Duncan? What are you doing here?" she demanded, not nearly as pleased to see me as I was to see her. But then again, I guess no one is really happy to see the person that torments them.
Blood.
"I'm going to a car show with your dad today. He said I should stop by early so that I could see you before we go; something about loving me so much that he wanted to make me part of the family by getting you to marry me," I said casually, sipping from my coffee as Courtney started sputtering; her eyes wider than before.
"You're lying," she finally hissed, coming to her common sense, and had my hands not been holding my coffee mug, I would have congratulated her with applause.
"Well it's safe to say who here just woke up," I pointed out and Princess just huffed before heading into the kitchen. Seeing as the news was boring this morning and Courtney was just so much fun to get all riled up, I followed her into the kitchen and sat down at my previous seat.
"Dream of me last night, Princess?" I asked, watching her over the rim of my mug as I continued to drink the caffeine.
"Please, as if," she muttered. It was then that Princess bent over to get out of the fridge and I almost fell out of my stool as I noticed just how short her shorts really were.
"Are you wearing a thong Princess? Or maybe no panties at all?" I asked and Courtney spun around, her face red as a tomato as she quickly started pulling down her deliciously short shorts. Too late though, the damage was already done. "Either way Princess, I know what I'll be dreaming of tonight," I added with a wink.
Blood on my hands.
"You barbarian!" Courtney shrieked and I got the feeling that if looks could kill, I'd be six feet under right now. It was while I was studying Princess that I noticed something very, very interesting. A smirk came to my lips even as Princess continued to go on and on about how I was a pig and all that other stuff.
"Are you not wearing a bra Courtney?"
The kitchen fell deathly silent, to the point where if a pin dropped I'm sure the people in the rooms below us would hear it hit. I should have realized that that was just the calm before the storm and that I would soon be in a world of trouble.
"You-you-you," Courtney continued to stutter and I just smirked, sipping more of my coffee.
"Are you going to actually finish that sentence? I thought Princesses were always supposed to be perfectly articulate," I taunted and that seemed to be the final straw as Courtney's head all but blew off in a string of savage names and even some swear words. She went on ranting, pacing back and forth and getting dangerously close to me.
"You've got quiet a mouth on you Princess, I'd love to put it to some real use," I said, letting my eyes scan lazily over her barely clothed figure as Courtney just stared at me; wide eyed and mouth open like a fish.
"Daddy!" she screamed, making me wince as my head ache flared up again. There was a pause and just when I was sure she was going to scream again, Mr. Cliena came walking casually into the kitchen. He had his tie in his hands and shirt not all the way buttoned up, looking completely at ease. If someone had walked into this kitchen, they certainly would have been very confused about just what the hell was going on. There's Courtney, looking like she's about to kill in her shorts and perky breast; me sipping on coffee smirking; and then Mr. Cliena who reminded me oddly of that guy in that one prostitute movie, looking suave and at ease yet still in control of the whole situation. Yup, we were indeed a very confusing trio at the moment.
"What's with all the yelling?" A fourth voice mumbled, walking slowly into the kitchen while rubbing her blue eyes. I turned around in my stool and smiled upon seeing Bridgette. She too was dressed in shorts and a tang top, but she was also Geoff girlfriend, my long time friend, and wearing a bra so I felt no need to poke fun at her.
"Hey Bridge," I greeted her, sipping from my coffee mug as she took the time to wake up and finally realize who I was.
"Duncan? Why are you here?" she asked, covering her mouth with her hand as she let out a yawn.
"Would you like some coffee Bridgette?" Mr. Cliena offered. Yup, he's definitely that rich guy from the prostitute move… just black.
"Oh yeah, sure Tom; thanks," Bridgette mumbled back, still half way asleep. As Mr. Cliena went about making Bridgette's coffee, Courtney just continued to stand there in I think some kind of disgusted awe. This just made me smirk more as I looked over at her, eyed her breasts, and then winked. Hey, Mr. Cliena said that I should remind Courtney of who she truly is and right now I'm reminding her that she is in fact a female and that she should really not flaunt around her 'lovely lady lumps' if she didn't want people commenting.
"Oh yes, Courtney, you called for me?" Mr. Cliena finally acknowledged his daughter after handing Bridgette her coffee. She took it with a quiet thanks and sat down at the island next to me. I would have struck up a conversation with Bridgette, since it was only polite and all, but right now I was watching Princess to see how everything would play out.
I thought for sure that she was going to tell her father about me down right checking her out which I honestly hadn't considered her doing until after seeing her murderous gaze. It'd be a good way to get back at me since he'd probably not take me to the car show after learning about my non-innocent hints towards his only daughter. Just as I was preparing to explain myself, Courtney closed her mouth and shook her head.
"I just wanted to know where you were because I didn't have the chance to say good morning to you yet," she said, shocking me with how naturally she was able to lie. Hmm, I'll have to investigate that talent of hers further. Courtney walked over to her father, kissing his cheek as she told him good morning. "I'll be right back," I managed to pick up before Princess left the kitchen and headed down the hall.
"Well, if there are no pressing matters to attend to, I'll be returning shortly as well," Mr. Cliena said before excusing himself and leaving the kitchen as well. Now it was just Bridgette and I, sitting in silence and drinking our coffee.
"So I uh, couldn't help but notice that Courtney wasn't wearing a bra," I said casually, holding back my laughter as Bridgette starting coughing.
"Oh my God Duncan, you are such a pig."
00-00-00
I swear, I never get any sleep because of fanfiction. I hope that you're all happy I updated before two months had passed. I know that I can update quicker and that you'd all like that a helluva lot more, but you'll just have to deal because I do have a life outside of this site (sorry for any crankiness; it's almost 1 in the morning and I didn't get much sleep the night before).
Anyway! Thank you for all the reviews and thank you to my wonderful beta edwardandbella4evah; you're amazing for getting this chapter back to me and in such clean shape! Um… I don't really have a lot more to say except 'and so the plot thickens!' and I'm already pretty much done with chapter 11 so hopefully that'll be coming up shortly too as well as maybe another TDI story all together. Depends how quickly I can get these plot bunnies dancing around in my head to actually stay on paper.
Please review.
Kattie