Eight

Present Day.

Courtney had packed all of her bags (two full suitcases, an overnight bag, her briefcase from work with copies of the paperwork from the case she gave to Branson, and, of course, a handbag) and was shoving all of them into the back of her car, still not really sure exactly what she was doing.

It felt to her like she was running away, since the only things she'd left behind were things she felt were unimportant or that she would rather not think about. What she was running away from she wasn't really sure, since her husband wasn't home anyway and her job didn't even want her. Well, that's what it felt like.

She closed the boot of the car and sat in the front seat for a few moments, her hands clenched around the steering wheel, taking deep breaths and trying to prepare herself for whatever was going to greet her when she arrived at her old home. She almost got out of the car and unpacked all of her things and it took everything in her to turn on the car and start off in the direction of the town she grew up in.

Would Duncan still live there? Would she run into her friend's parents? What was she even going to accomplish while she was there? The more she asked herself these things the more she wanted to go back home, put on sweatpants and spend the first week of her leave eating ice cream and watching trashy reality TV. But she'd already started now, and once she started something there was no way she was going to give up.

Past.

Courtney wandered around the record shop, flicking through random records on the stands while she waited for Duncan to go on his lunch break. She didn't even like the style of music she was looking through, and two months ago this certainly isn't how she expected to be spending her Sundays, but being with Duncan was causing her to do a lot of things she normally wouldn't.

"Hey babe, you ready to go?" Duncan asked, coming up to Courtney from behind and putting his hands on her waist as he kissed her on the cheek.

"I've been ready for half an hour," Courtney said, rolling her eyes. It was a bit of an exaggeration but it had certainly felt like half an hour. She put down the record she'd been looking at and turned to face Duncan, her arms around his neck. She pecked him on the lips. "What have you got planned for us today?"

Duncan held up a brown paper bag. "Sandwiches and soda?" He seemed almost worried about it, as if expecting Courtney to blow up at him, but instead she grinned at him and gave him another kiss.

"Sounds perfect," she assured him. They headed out into the parking lot and sat in Duncan's car. He turned it on and played his music on a much lower volume than usual.

"Coke or Lemonade?" Duncan asked, holding the two cans up for Courtney to see.

"Lemonade," she decided. He handed her the can and one of the sandwiches, and the two of them downed their lunch so they could get down to what they really wanted to do.

As soon as they'd finished their final bites, Courtney jumped on Duncan and started kissing her neck, moving up to his mouth and running her hands through his hair. Duncan, thoroughly enjoying Courtney's touch, slid his hands up her thighs, careful not to go too high since he knew she wasn't ready to go that far yet.

Their make out session was over all too soon, though, as Duncan's lunch break was almost over.

"You will be there tonight, right?" Courtney asked nervously. "I don't want my parents to think you're tardy or... Anything unsuitable, really."

Duncan brushed her cheek with his thumb and kissed her gently on the nose. "I wouldn't miss it for the world. I'll even get ma to bake a pie," he assured her. Courtney smiled in relief.

"Good. I'll see you tonight then," she said, becoming her usual confident self again. She kissed him on the cheek and started her walk home as Duncan went back to work.

The doorbell rang five minutes before Courtney had told Duncan to arrive. She was sort of surprised at his promptness, but more than anything she was relieved that he had kept his word.

"I'll get it!" Courtney called to her parents, who were setting the table and adding final touches to the dinner. Courtney ran down the stairs and opened the door excitedly.

"Hey," Duncan greeted her. He was holding a pumpkin pie and wearing a very old suit with an atrocious checked tie. It was clear that he was uncomfortable.

"Hey," Courtney breathed in response. "Come in." She stood aside and gestured for him to come inside. He stepped in cautiously, looking all around and trying to take in his surroundings. "Um, it's just through here," Courtney told Duncan. She led him through to the dining room where her parents were standing awkwardly.

Nadine was the first to speak. "Hello Duncan," she greeted him, giving him an obviously fake smile. "So nice to see you again. What have you got there?"

Duncan looked down at the pie in his hands. "Oh, uh... My ma made a pie for you. It's pumpkin," he mumbled, forcing the pie into Nadine's hands. Nadine took it, trying to hide the sour look that spread across her face.

"Oh!" she exclaimed with fake excitement. "How thoughtful. I'll put this in the fridge and we can eat it later." She left for the kitchen and Courtney's father stepped forward and shook Duncan's hand.

"Nice to finally meet you," he said. "I'm Roger, but you can call me Mr Matthews. Courtney's told us exactly zero about you."

"It's probably just because there's not much to tell," Duncan laughed awkwardly. Nadine came back into the room and her and Roger sat down to their meals. Courtney and Duncan followed suit, and they all started eating.

"So where is it that you work, Duncan?" Nadine asked politely.

"At the record shop, just a few blocks away," Duncan replied. "I'm kind of hoping I can start my own record label when I finish high school."

"A record label?" Roger asked. "Well that just seems like a perfect waste of time. No one buys records anymore, son. It's all on cassette tapes these days and who knows how long it will be until something else comes along. You're better off spending that time creating the next thing. Everyone knows the music industry is completely unstable."

"Dad!" Courtney scolded.

"I'm just saying Courtney, where's the money in that?" Roger pointed out.

"Actually Mr Matthews, it isn't about the money. It's just something I enjoy," Duncan told him, narrowing his eyes. "And even though the music industry is constantly changing, it's still called a record label."

"And what about your parents, what do they do?" Nadine continued, as if the exchange had never happened.

"Well my mother works at a diner called Lazy Joe's and my dad doesn't live with us anymore, but the owner of the restaurant is kind of like a father to me anyway," Duncan explained. "It's just ma and I supporting us and my two younger brothers."

Nadine gasped. "That's just completely nonsensical! The wage of a waitress isn't nearly enough to support three children," she informed him, as if he didn't already know. "How you're getting by is completely beyond me. She should get herself a new husband just for the extra cash flow."

"Are you just going to sit here and insult me all night?" Duncan demanded, standing up. "Because if you are I might as well just leave now."

"I'm not insulting, I'm just giving suggestions!" Nadine defended. "But if you're going to get so defensive maybe it would be best if you left now. You know, if you can handle these questions you definitely can't handle our daughter."

"Mom, stop stirring him up," Courtney scolded, gritting her teeth. "And Duncan, sit down so we can continue this lovely meal."

Nadine raised her eyebrows at her daughter but remained silent, and Duncan sat down, still glaring at Courtney's mother.

The rest of the dinner went surprisingly well, and Roger and Duncan even found things they had in common to talk about. Nadine was mostly quiet and Courtney found she could start to relax.

It wasn't until Nadine brought out the pie when things got heated again. After she'd served everyone slices she thought she might start the conversation again.

"So Duncan, do you live anywhere near here?" she asked, scooping a spoonful of pie into her mouth. Courtney groaned, knowing what was coming.

"I live on the other side of town, next to the trailer park," Duncan answered reluctantly. He, too, could see that Nadine was just trying to find another way to pick on him.

"The other side of town? You mean the dodgy side?" Nadine said, clearly disgusted. "And next to a trailer park? Really it was quite clear you were poor but I had no idea just how bad it was. Courtney I know you can do so much better than that."

"Mom!" Courtney snapped, completely baffled by her mother's rudeness. Duncan stood up again.

"Gee, thanks," he said sarcastically. "You can keep the pie, and I guess you did your job because I never want to come back here. I'd rather be in my small house with my poor family than in this hell hole." With a scowl he turned and headed for the door.

"How could you be so perfectly insensitive?" Courtney wondered before hurrying after Duncan. He was at the door putting his jacket on when she caught up with him.

"It's pretty clear I'm not welcome here," Duncan told her. "So I guess this is it."

"No, Duncan please," Courtney begged. "I know my parents are complete jerks but anything they said tonight doesn't reflect how I feel about you."

"That doesn't matter. As if they're going to let you keep seeing me after tonight. It's over Courtney, your parents made that very clear."

"I don't care what they say," Courtney told him. "You don't get to leave me."

"And why's that?" Duncan asked exasperatedly.

"Because I love you," Courtney declared. It wasn't a soft 'I love you' or a sweet 'I love you', it was a strong and sure 'I love you', and that was even better.

Duncan's face softened at the words, and he almost smiled a real smile, not that smirk he always wears. "Really?" he wondered, almost disbelievingly. Courtney gave a sharp nod of her head in response. "I love you too, princess." Though the name had started as an insult, it was clear now that he meant is as a term of endearment. She was his princess.

"Good, now that we've got that sorted, I'll see you at school tomorrow," Courtney said. She gave him another sharp nod as a goodnight and returned to her parents in the dining room.

"I hope you realise what tonight means, Courtney," Nadine snapped as soon as Courtney entered the room. "You can't see that boy anymore."

"Why? Because he isn't rich enough for you?" Courtney demanded.

"There are so many other boys you could date that are more suitable," Nadine tried to reason. "What about that lovely Justin boy? His parents are so nice!"

"And by suitable you want me to date someone conceited just because they're well off?" Courtney replied. "I don't want to date another boy. I have a lot of fun with him and thanks to your strict rules about my schoolwork, I don't get a lot of that."

"Duncan is nice enough..." Roger began.

"Then what's the problem?" Courtney interrupted. "As if you two never dated someone your parents didn't like?"

"We just want you to understand that he might bring you down," Roger explained. "I understand that he wants to finish high school, which is more than I expected from him, but he just doesn't have the ambition that you do and I don't think you'll get as far in life if you continue to see him."

"I don't want to marry him, dad," Courtney argued. "I just want to date him. It might not even work out! But if it doesn't, I want it to be on my terms, not yours."

Nadine sighed. "Fine, I'll bargain with you," she offered. "You can continue to see him, but your studies come first. If your grades start to drop, the relationship ends on our terms."

Courtney considered this. It was better than she expected from her parents, and probably the best she was going to get. "Deal," she agreed.