CHAPTER 6: A DISASTROUS DINNER

The next morning, I was sat at the kitchen table, my head in one hand as I held a cigarette in the other, my cup of tea resting next to me on the table. I'd barely slept last night, the couch was VERY uncomfortable to sleep on. But that's not the only reason I hadn't slept. I'd finally texted Kate. Well, she'd texted me first, asking how I was after the whole thing that went down yesterday, and from there we both ended up chatting for most of the night, just having some casual conversation. I don't remember when I fell asleep, all I remember is waking up with my phone in my hand half on half off the couch.

And that leads us to now, where all I'd had for breakfast was half my tea and about 2 and a half cigarettes. I had been planning to make myself something proper to eat, but I just didn't have the energy to stand up and actually make it yet. When I eventually did have the energy to, I heard the sound of a door behind me open, and turned around, seeing that it was Megan, having finally gotten up for the day. I turned and looked at her with tired eyes before turning back around, not really in the mood to talk, but apparently she didn't get the memo.

"Elias…" She walked up and put her hand on my shoulder, making me look at her.

"What?"

"We need to talk."

"Do we really?"

"Yes. We do. Just, hear me out, please." I just sighed and sat down at the table again, drinking the end of my now-cold tea as she sat across from me and continued to talk.

"I… I'm sorry, ok? I'm really sorry for what I did to you yesterday. For dragging you away, for slapping you, for making you sleep out here. Now that I've had time to think about it and after getting a scolding from my dad, I now realize… I'm the one in the wrong, not you. I should have let you just talk to her and have food with her instead of letting my lapsed judgement get in the way, because my dad's right, you need friends. She seems like someone who makes you happy and likes to listen to your problems, and that is the kind of person you need to keep around as me and my dad can only do so much, and, at the end of the day, all I want to see is you happy and not suffering because of what you did for us. Yesterday definitely added to what you've already got on your plate and I hope saying sorry and taking accountability for my actions helps." I looked up at her, and she was looking pretty guilty, so I knew she was being genuine and honest with me in her sincerity. Who was I kidding, she was always genuine and honest with me. Probably what I loved most about her… No. Definitely what I loved most about her.

"It's… It's ok… I should probably say sorry for saying you didn't care about my problems or that you don't give me respect, of course you do, I mean, you were the only one who ever listened to my problems and tried to help me… and gave comfort when I needed it most in my darkest times…" I looked down slightly, the memories from when I first arrived here coming back into sharp focus in my mind, though only for a second as she began to talk again.

"It's ok, really. I knew you didn't actually mean it afterwards. Say, I haven't… Ruined your friendship with her, have I?"

"Luckily no, we're still cool, she texted me last night asking how I was and we chatted for a bit before I went to sleep."

"Ok, thank god… That was the thing I was scared of most because of what I did."

"Yeah, no, don't worry, as you said, she's a good friend to me, she wouldn't give up on me just because of what happened."

"Good. So… We're ok now?"

"Mhm, forgive and just move on." She smiled and got up, walking over to me and giving me a hug as I smiled and returned the favor, extremely satisfied that we'd managed to talk it out and forgive each other just like every other time we'd had a fight in the past.

"I'm not gonna kiss you because I don't want the taste of tobacco in my mouth… You seriously need to brush your teeth."

"I will after breakfast, promise. I still haven't eaten yet, only drank some tea. Was gonna make myself something but you walked in before I could start."

"Oh-! Well, do you want me to get started on breakfast? Alexis is still sleeping somehow so we've got some time to relax together until she wakes up."

"Sure, I don't mind. Thanks." She smiled and put her hand on my shoulder again before going off to make breakfast, leaving me at the table in a much better mood than I had been when I first woke up this morning. It was strange, I felt too happy. Like the universe had dealt me a good hand for once. Something bad was surely going to happen that would ruin my mood eventually, I just knew it.

And sure enough, as Meg was happily making us breakfast, she spoke up, saying something I was dreading to hear for the longest time. "By the way Eli… I was uh… On the phone to Sally last night whilst you were out here, and she told me that today… Well… She and your parents are coming to dinner here to catch up with you after all this time." As soon as she said that, I very well choked on the second cup of tea I'd made myself, a fair amount of it beginning to trickle out of my nose as I held my arm up to my mouth, coughing violently and accidentally knocking the mug of tea over in the process. Megan immediately rushed over to pat me on the back, trying to help me the best she could in the moment.

"Are you ok-?!"

"Eugh-! Jesus fucking christ… Sorry, sorry, but, why didn't you tell me this as soon as Sal told you?! I really don't want to have to confront my father again after all this time! He already hates me enough as is, he's never gonna want to see me again after he sees what an absolute mess I've become because of the guilt of it all!" I slipped my head into my hands again, about to burst into tears out of frustration.

"And that's why you're going to show him you haven't become a mess, because you haven't. You're gonna go have a long shower, brush your teeth and use mouthwash, try not to smoke as much as you can today so he doesn't smell the smoke on you, dress up sharp, and you're gonna impress him, show him he was wrong about you. Besides, Alicia and Sally will be there, so they'll probably try and keep him from making as many comments about you as possible. I'll be there too for you and I'll make sure he doesn't say or do anything. One step out of line and I'll kick him out." I simply just sighed, knowing I'd have to take her advice as there was no way of getting out of this.

"Alright, alright, I'll… I'll try my best to keep it together today, for our sake."

"As long as you try, that's all I care about." All I could do was nod at her as she turned back around to continue making breakfast, leaving me there to ponder about if I truly could keep it together tonight as I began to clean up the tea that I'd knocked over.

After breakfast, I took Megan's advice and hopped into the shower, taking a very long, hot one and making sure to clean myself top to bottom before moving on to brushing my teeth, doing my best to brush them and using mouthwash to get the scent of tobacco out of my mouth. Admittedly, my teeth had gone a little bit yellow because of my smoking habit, but there was nothing I could do about it but pray my father wouldn't notice it. I also didn't really have any so-called sharp clothes, so the best I could do is wear my cleanest clothes, which, unfortunately for me, meant some jeans and the band hoodie I'd bought at the concert. It's not like I really cared anyways, I wasn't royalty anymore, I didn't have to please them by wearing formal clothes if I didn't want to, and I didn't want to, so casual attire it was. I quickly looked myself over in the mirror, and, satisfied, gave myself a spray with some deodorant so I smelt good and then walked out of the bedroom to see what Megan thought.

"Do I… Look ok?" She quickly looked up from tending to Alexis to look at me.

"Yeah, you're good. The hoodie may be a bit risky though, you sure you wanna wear that around your dad?"

"It's not like I'm royalty anymore, screw what he thinks about my outfit. I'll wear what I want."

"Now that's the way you should be thinking about this. Ooh, this reminds me! Here, take this." She reached into her pocket and pulled out a pack of chewing gum. "This is for you. I really don't want you smoking today, I've already hidden all your packs somewhere safe so your family won't find them. If you get the urge to, try and subside it with the gum." I just grumbled slightly and took it from her, thanking her in the process before going to tip the excess of whatever cigarette butts were in the ashtray into the bin so I could wash it and hide it in a cupboard. I knew she was trying her hardest to help me, but I really did not think I would be able to go the whole day without a nicotine hit, I'd become too enthralled in it to just be able to go cold turkey like that. But, it was a sacrifice I'd have to make in order to protect myself and my family from scrutiny by my father.

And so the rest of my day was spent trying to distract myself so I wouldn't smoke… And from the gut wrenching anxiety I'd been feeling about all of this. To be fair to her, Meg had tried her hardest to keep me distracted and doing stuff all day like sweeping the house and cleaning the windows, but most of it was pretty fruitless in the end as I always still ended up craving a cigarette. By the time dinnertime came round I'd chewed through the entire packet of gum and was sitting at the table, hopelessly chewing the last piece as Megan rushed round, making last minute preparations for the dinner, silently praying my family wouldn't knock on the door now.

"Elias, can you set the table? Given you're sitting there already, I really need a hand with this all since my dad's watching Alexis for me." I looked up and nodded, beginning to set up the table, frantically chewing the gum in my mouth as to try and forget about what was about to happen. As I placed the last fork on the table, there was a sudden knocking at the door, and my stomach dropped. I felt sick. Really sick. Was I about to throw up? Not a bad idea to get me out of this actually…

"Shoot, they're here! Ok, ok, I think the food is ready anyways. Are you ready?" I turned to her and gave her that "I'm not ready" look, but then proceeded to nod, knowing I had no other choice. She gave me a quick last minute smile before walking to the door, and I followed, shakily reaching out and turning the doorknob, opening the door to reveal my mother, father and Sally at the door. My eyes widened slightly as I stared at my father. Oh man, he was already giving me that look, and his posture told me he did not want to be here. At all.

"Mother, father, Sally, how nice to see you again!" I wasn't actually lying, I was happy to see them again… Well maybe I was happy to see mom and Sally again.

"Elias! Hey! Maaan it's been ages since I've seen you!" Sally enthusiastically ran forward and gave me a big hug, making me smile as I returned the gesture. I seriously couldn't believe how much love she still had for me even after I abdicated and put all the responsibilities on her.

"Hey Sal, it's been a while, hasn't it? Why don't you all come in? Dinner is ironically just finished, so you arrived at the perfect moment." Sally nodded happily and walked inside, being greeted by Megan as I was left to look at my parents.

"You don't look too shabby. For once. Looks like you actually made an effort to be welcoming this time around." I couldn't tell if my father was trying to be sarcastic or genuinely meant it, but either way I took it as a compliment.

"...Thanks dad. Come on in, you both." And so they both went inside, though mom took a moment to put her hand on my shoulder and smile at me before following my father, a sign that she too still loved me and didn't hate me for abdicating. I hesitantly closed the door and joined them all at the dinner table as Megan brought the food over, beginning to serve it up. Despite being excruciatingly hungry, I could barely eat a bite of my dinner, so scared and nervous in case my father tried to talk to me or make any comments about me.

"So, Elias, have you been up to anything recently here?" My mom asked curiously, genuinely wondering if I had.

"Uhm… Admittedly, no. I don't really do much, just work or chill at home for the most part."

"So you still work that deadbeat job and laze around when you don't work? What a person you are. You seriously abdicated for this kind of life?" My father chimed in, his tone of voice sounding husk and harsh, making me wince slightly as my mom and Sally looked at him in disapproval.

"Max, please, don't start this now. You know Elias is not a deadbeat."

"Well he might as well be! No wonder he failed at his tasks as king time and time again if he's lazing around like this in his so-called new life! Tell me, boy, have you got any friends? Do people like you around here? I wouldn't assume they do, do they? They all know who you are, right? What you did? How you let them down time and time again as king?" I lowered my head slightly as he continued to talk. He was right. I didn't have any friends, most people around here didn't even acknowledge my existence and they all know what I did. I really was a deadbeat.

"I… No… I don't… Have friends here. I haven't uh… Had time to make friends. I don't really… Want to either. I'm happy having just Meg, Alexis and Joss with me."

"How pathetically sad. You don't want friends? How much of a loner are you really? Scared they'll end up hating you the way everyone else back in Knothole does?"

"Uhm… Sort of… As I said I'm… Happy to be… A loner…" That was not true. At all. I hated it. Hated it. Hated it. I wished more people would want to be friends with me, but barely anyone ever came near me since they all liked to keep to themselves.

"Max, that is absolutely enough! Give it a rest! I told you not to say anything like this when we arrived but clearly you do not want to listen to me as per usual!" I didn't say anything, but was glad mom was sticking up for me. God forbid I spoke to him like that, I'd be 6 feet under before I could finish the sentence.

"How about we change the subject? Let's see uhh… Hey, Elias! I did actually have a question for you. Was the place busy last week because of the Paramore concert? I heard that the next town over had so much tourism because they played in their stadium." I smirked slightly, remembering exactly what had happened the day the concert happened.

"I'm not sure actually, Sal. I uh… Wasn't here when the concert was going on… Because I was at the concert."

"You WENT to the concert?!"

"Yeah, I went! I met the lead singer, she was around the area and we ended up talking and she gave me a ticket to go. It was amazing! The atmosphere was so electric, we all had such a great time! Songs were great too, and I even got to go backstage after the concert because I'm friends with Kate. I have her phone number to prove it and we went out for lunch together yesterday." I looked at my father as I said I had a friend, looking slightly smug, and he gave me a look back in return and continued eating, clearly trying to block out the conversation occurring currently, and Megan also gave me a smile that I knew was thanking me for not telling them that she'd slapped me yesterday.

"Oh my god, that's awesome! You're friends with the Kate Swift! I heard she picked someone from the crowd to sing the final song with her at the concert!"

"Yeah, she did! This is the most interesting part… She chose me. I was the one who sang with her!" I saw Sally's entire face light up as soon as I said that. She was absolutely enthralled by this piece of information.

"That was you?! No way! I mean, I had a feeling since the article I read said it was a red-haired squirrel who'd been chosen, but still, no way! I'm guessing that's why you have the hoodie, right? What was it like? Being up there on stage with her? Singing with her? Getting to dance with her during that sweet guitar riff?!"

"Oh, Sally, it was so great! Words truly can't describe how it felt to be up there. It was like I was… Free. By the end of it I was craving to do it all again. If you want the real details, I'll start from the star-" as I was about to describe the full experience, there was a sudden sound of someone banging their fist on the table, scaring every single one of us at the table and making me spill my drink all over my front as I'd gone to take a sip before I started talking properly. I looked across the table, and it was of course my father who'd done it. Who else would have it been?

"That. Is. ENOUGH! I want to hear no more about this band, do you hear me?! They are no good, ragtag hooligans who spread nothing but propagandic music to destroy the family name! I do not care about this at all, so you will not be continuing this conversation. DO YOU BOTH UNDERSTAND ME?" I stared at him, rage filling up from within. The ONE time I want to share something exciting that happened to me in my damned life and he shuts it down just because HE doesn't want to hear it. What a big fucking joke. I was so tempted to stand up, scream in his face and throw him out of my home, but luckily Sally spoke up before I could do anything.

"...Yes dad, we'll stop. Sorry." And she went back to eating, her head hanging sort of low as if though she was genuinely hurt by what he'd said. I too went back to eating, ignoring my drenched hoodie, and didn't bother to make much conversation after this. My father had ruined the dinner, just like he always did.

Both myself and Sally stayed silent until dinner had concluded, though Megan tried her best to keep a conversation going. Once we had finished up, my father simply got up and walked out, not bothering to say goodbye to me or make any more conversation, though I didn't really care. I was glad he was gone. My mom and Sally stayed a bit longer after though.

"Elias, I am so sorry that your father bursted out on you like that. Believe me, I tried to convince him to just stay quiet and not say a thing, but clearly he didn't want to listen. Thank you for this dinner, it was truly lovely to catch up with you again after all this time."

"It's ok, mom, really, don't worry, it's not your fault, you didn't do anything. It was great to see you too, I do hope you'll come back soon enough… Maybe without dad? That way we can have a proper one-on-one chat?"

"I'd love that a lot, Elias, thank you. And thank you Megan for such a lovely meal, you really are such a kind girl."

"It was no problem at all, Alicia. I'm sorry I didn't say anything when Max was acting up, I didn't want to get involved in case he targeted me next."

"It's alright, dear, I understand. Now, we best get going. Are you ready, Sally?" I looked as Sally turned, giving our mom an uncomfortable look. She definitely did not want to go.

"...Is something wrong, Sal?"

"Yeah, I uhm… I was just thinking. Could I maybe uh… Stay? Tonight? I really, really want to catch up with you, Elias. I didn't get a chance to at dinner because of dad and… I really just want to talk. Brother to sister." I could hear the tone of her voice, she was desperate, like she really wanted a break from the castle to just be here with me. I turned to Megan, looking for her approval, and she nodded her head in agreement, and so I turned back to Sally.

"Course you can stay. You'll have to sleep on the couch though, I hope you don't mind."

"I'm fine with that. Is it ok, mom?"

"Definitely fine. I'll see you tomorrow, ok?" Sally nodded her head at our mom, and she smiled at us both before turning and walking out the door. So… Dinner could have been a little less disastrous, but I was glad of one thing; it was going to give me the opportunity to have a personal chat with my sister again.