29 - The chapter with Rose's Parents

Rose

When I finally parked in front of my father's house, Christian was already standing there being questioned by the two of them. I sighed, getting out of the car before walking over to them.

" Look, our little girl," Jack opened his arms, enfolding me in a warm hug before shifting his attention to Liam. “And you, I suppose, are the declared scoundrel.You came alone?”

" Mr. Campbell, I told you it's not me you need to worry about." Liam approached my parents and I took advantage of their distraction to check on Christian.

" Are you all right? I didn't know you were coming so soon," I lowered my tone.

" I'm fine, I was just getting to know your parents. They're... interesting," he glanced at the two who were still interrogating Liam.

I groaned in disgust, wondering what they had been up to when Theodore's Citroen parked right behind Brigitte.

" What had they done?”

" When his mother saw my jacket she asked if I'd be willing to give up my criminal record.” He indicated the jacket of the wandering hawks that he was wearing “Your father asked me if I had a joint to give him, and when I said no, your mother asked if I knew where to get one.”

" I'm sorry, I could say they're normal, but I'd be lying," I took a deep breath.

" I'm telling you, if she's sleeping with someone, it's not me. But you have three other prime suspects to interrogate," I choked as I listened to Liam.

" Interrogate? " Christian raised both eyebrows.

" You don't open your mouth, I'm going to kill Van Derr Waal," I warned, walking toward my parents who had already gone to the rest of the group.

" Look, I don't know about Rose, but my interest is in guys, so no, I'm not sleeping with her," I was flabbergasted to hear Skyller's blunt, natural statement to my parents.

I'm going to kill you both!

" What are you doing?”

" Meeting your friends, dear! " my mother returned.

" Mom!”

But she had already turned her back on me, turning to the group that practically had to look up to look my father in the eye.

" What's going on? " Harry asked Sky.

" I bet on the one with the accent," my father whispered to my mother.

" Sorry, but my only interesting is Skyller." Harry defended himself, turning their attention back to Theo.

" I don't want to teach you how to be parents, but if I had to bet on someone, I'd bet on the guy who gets your daughter hooked on the pretext of teaching her how to ride a motorcycle," Theo defended himself, making my eyes widen.

The two of them turned together to Christian, who stood beside his Harley not quite knowing how to act.

" So I got rid of the suspicion of drug trafficking? " Christian returned.

" For God's sake, don't make me regret coming home! " I stopped it before it got any worse “Dad, don't forget that you want me to meet someone important today and I can give back!”

We stared at each other for a few seconds, until Jackson turned to my friends with a friendly smile on his face.

" Why are we still here? Let's go inside! Addie, they're sleeping over at my place, right?”

I sighed with relief, walking over to Christian who had stayed behind while the rest of the group escorted the two of them into my father's house.

" Growing up with them must have been a unique experience.”

" You have no idea, shall we go? " I sighed, "We'd better get inside before they come back for us.”

As soon as we entered the room my father was introducing the house to the group, explaining how the available rooms would be divided.

" This house has four official bedrooms, I get the suite at the end of the hall, we turned the basement into a room for Rose a few years ago, when she decided she wanted something different from the room she has at her mother's house.”

" You have a room here and one at your mother's? " Christian whispered to me.

" Yes.”

" Aren't they neighbors? " Theo entered the conversation.

" Yes, we are neighbors, but we are both her parents and she should feel welcome in both houses," my father answered for me, without looking in our direction. “And yes, I have great hearing and will notice if any of you try to go down the basement stairs in the middle of the night.”

I groaned in disgust at the amused looks I received from my friends, but deep down I had been preparing myself for that kind of attitude from the two of them.

" I'd put the girls in the same room, but I suppose you'd rather be with your boyfriend.”

Liam didn't like the joke, but before he or even Sky could speak up, Harry stepped forward.

" Thank you very much for your understanding, Mr. Campbell.”

" We have a double bed in the other room and two great sofas in the living room, you can decide how it will be divided, guys.

" I'll take the bed," Liam said, receiving a cross look from Theodore and Christian. “What? Can you imagine me asleep on the couch? Because it's not going to happen.”

" You two can stay on the couches, unless Rose wants to take someone to her room, she would only have to mention one name," Addison probed.

I glared at my mother, who returned it petulantly, throwing back her long red curls.

" I can take over Rose's room without any problems, the name is Liam Van Derr Waal.”

" You'd better watch out, young man," my father gave him a sideways glance.

" I'm going to sleep alone!”

" Last chance, dear," my mother insisted, "no? Okay, I tried.”

" Okay, the boys will take care of the packing, I'll take each of you to your room, and Rose, your mother will need your help with lunch," my father instructed.

I followed her into the kitchen, already knowing what I was about to find. As soon as we arrived, she opened one of the cupboards and took out a glass of pesto sauce, handing it to me before pointing to another cupboard before pinning up her hair and going over to the stove, stirring a pot of soup.

" The packet of bread is there and you can get the butter and cheese from the fridge," she explained.

This was one of her specialties in the kitchen, grilled cheese sandwiches with pesto and tomato soup, this was my favorite dish in the whole world and she always made it when we spent time apart, whether it was summer camp or vacation trips.

" You seem to be having fun with your friends, they all look great," she commented.

" They are, Liam is Alicia's cousin, you know the…”

" The girl who called you a slut, yes I know. Did she go to her parents' house? Is she going to the party with you? " Addison came over to help me, buttering the slices of bread while I spread the pesto and put on the cheese and closed the sandwiches.

" No, she stayed at Grayfox Mills, we...we're not speaking anymore," I shrugged.

" How long did it last?”

" A few weeks. She joined a sorority and went back to being the same as always," I sighed, "I don't know why I wasted my time trying to be friends with her.”

" Because you are a better person than I am. I always told you that you should kick her ass. That's what I used to want to do to her mother every time I met her at a parents’ meeting," I couldn't help but laugh at my mother's remark.

She hated the way the other mothers, especially Allie's mother, looked at her at every PTA meeting. Whenever she and my father appeared together, they were called a bad example for being so young and unmarried.

" You have to remember that you are my role model," I sneered.

" I never said I was a good role model, I'm just a better role model than your father," she sneered.

We went back to work in silence, and soon my mother was at the stove, starting to grill each of the sandwiches.

" When do I get to meet Alex? " I asked.

" She's coming over later, she's great, and she's really looking forward to meeting you.”

" Is he happy?”

" So much, I haven't seen him this happy since Margaret " she quoted one of my father's first and longest lasting girlfriends.

" That's good, maybe I can afford another tattoo if he's in a good mood," I quipped.

Addison took the pan off the heat, turning toward me with both eyebrows raised.

" And will you ever show me this mysterious tattoo?”

I looked around, knowing that I would have to show it to my mother at some point, especially when summer came around and she saw me in a bikini.

" Wow, it's beautiful. Very delicate, I thought you would end up with a dreamcatcher on your back or something like that.I turned sideways, lifting the long-sleeved t-shirt I was wearing, causing my mother to come closer for a better look.

" Chris chose the design, I think he has more delicate taste than I do.”

" Ohhh Chris…”

I glared at her, not saying anything, hoping that she would forget about it.

" You haven't told anyone that you're together, or…”

" What? Mom, we're not together!”

" Rose, please. Your father and I know that he's the guy you've been having sex with lately," she mocked, causing me to put my sandwiches aside and stare at her dumbfounded.

" How would you know that?”

" First of all, no guy on a Harley like that is going to let a totally inexperienced girl ride one if there's nothing going on between them, and besides, he's the only one you bothered to try and talk to separately from the others," she replied.

For a second I thought of denying everything once more, but I knew that my mother would notice my lie, and besides, it would be good to talk to someone about what was going on between Christian and me.

" We are not together or anything like that, it's just a casual thing. We don't want anyone to know, because as you can see, my friends are not discreet at all," I shrugged.

" And how many times has this casual thing happened? " she put another sandwich in the pan before pointing to the pot " can you stir the soup for me?”

I walked over to the pot, stirring the contents, feeling my stomach rumble at the delicious aroma.

" Five... six times in the last two weeks," I felt my face heat up.

" SIX TIMES IN TWO WEEKS? " she stared at me dumbfounded.

" Mom!”

" Are you sure this is something casual?”

I felt my face flush even more at her question. Was I sure? Of course I was. He was still seeing other girls and so was I. The difference was that at this moment everything was new to both of us.

" Well, I don't have to ask if he's any good, after all, it's been six times in two weeks," she commented.

" For God's sake, will you stop repeating that?”

Her laugh was my response, and she finished making the sandwiches, turning off the fire in the pot of soup before turning to me with an amused expression.

" Your father will want to know all the details about him," she warned me as she carried the pot to the table in the dining room adjoining the kitchen.

" My father won't want to know anything until I approve of his new girlfriend," I returned.

" Use this to your advantage," she winked at me.

The two of us set the table in silence, getting everything ready for the group to come to eat, and I thought I was done with it, but my mother still had one last question.

" You are taking care of yourselves, right? I won't be a hypocrite and demand that you marry a virgin or stay away from casual sex, but I don't want to become a grandmother before I'm fifty!”

" Don't worry about it, we're always careful," I reassured her.

" It's good, because if there's an accident, your father will end up killing him, and I'll be forced to serve as an alibi, and in the end, as the ones responsible for killing the child's father and turning you into a solo mother, we'll have to help you with everything, and we'll never again be able to enjoy a night out in peace," she sighed, making me laugh.

" Let's avoid all this tragedy with me wearing a condom every time, okay? " I sneered, making my mother smile.

" That's my girl," she winked at me, "go get the others.”