61 - The chapter in which Rose competes with Jack

Rose

My father's look at Christian was still frowning, and I couldn't resist teasing him a little by placing my hand on the boy's knee, stroking his leg, and maintaining eye contact with my dad.

Okay, it wasn't in our plans that they would find out about the two of us, but I confess that I felt better this way. Since Thanksgiving I had missed being able to hug and kiss him whenever I felt like it.

Christian leaned towards me a little, before whispering in my ear.

" You want your father to kill me in a very painful way just to escape your promise, don't you?”

I looked up at him, not containing a dangerous smile before I answered him.

" Christian, I will always want you to die a painful death, but I would never break a promise.”

" I'll remember that," he returned in a voice laden with ulterior motives, and I didn't have to look at him to know he was smiling.

" I hope so.”

" Will you two stop whispering? We're in the middle of the game," Jack returned grumpily.

" Is this bad mood of yours just because you lost, Dad? " I stared at him.

" I didn't…”

" You lost," I returned slowly with a satisfied smile on my face, knowing how much it would affect him.

My father stood up, walking away with an annoyed expression. I could be ashamed of myself for my attitude, but he also liked to tease me.

" You could have let it go," my mother stared at me.

" No, I couldn't. Do you know how hypocritical it is for you to forbid me to participate in game night when you two are exactly like me? Who do you think I learned to be like that from? " I returned.

" Hey, I'm not like you," Addison complained.

" You may not rant like the two of them, but you cheated at cards," Liam warned.

My mother's eyes widened as she realized that she had been discovered. But before she could react, my father returned with a determined expression.

" Do you want to play, little girl? Let's play. And I doubt you can beat me," he pointed a finger at me.

" I know I'll beat you," I returned.

Addison rolled her eyes, beginning to put away the cards she had taken from the box. My father and I stood up, moving closer together without breaking eye contact.

" Just so you know, do we need to wear helmets? " Liam sneered.

" Chris, what's going on? " Cam whispered to his friend.

" Just a clash between two competing demons," he replied, but I ignored him, keeping my attention on my father.

" I want to see if you can beat me at foosball, or if that was just your boyfriend's beginner's luck," Jack challenged me.

I answered with a wry smile; I wouldn't let that cheap teasing get to me.

" Guys, just to be clear, she's not my girlfriend," Christian sighed.

I positioned myself at the side of the table, ready to start the match, staring at my father from the other side.

" Are you ready to lose again, old man? " I teased him.

" Shut up and let's get this game over with, Girl.”

Beating my father was harder than I expected, he left no opening for me to score, and as the game neared its end, I went to try to defend my goal, jamming one of my fingernails into the dolls' control, feeling the throbbing pain as the nail broke next to the flesh. And the worst part was that my father took the opportunity to score the last goal, beating me.

HE STILL MADE ME BREAK A NAIL!

" What the hell! " I closed my hand, punching hard against the side of the table.

The pain spread immediately through my hand, causing me to blink a few times to keep my eyes from filling with tears.

" She hurt her hand," I heard Cam whisper.

" I told you you wouldn't win, little girl," Jack crossed his arms with a victorious smile.

I pinched my fingernail with my forefinger and thumb, trying to ease the pain, seeing the damage done to my hand. I can't believe I have to cut it off!

" It's no good, you only won because I broke my fingernail!”

" Are you already starting to show what a lousy loser you are, Rose? " he returned with a satisfied smile.

" There are many more games to play, Old Man! " I replied with a frown.

" Rose, you hurt your hand, let me see." My mother called out, but I ignored her and went over to the ping pong table.

The situation between us became more tense with each game, I won the ping pong game and my father the pool game.

" Are you sure it's a good idea to let you both play darts? " Camille asked as we prepared for another game.

" Maybe it's time to wear some kind of protection, like helmets and a vest," Liam scoffed.

" Hey, don't distract me," I glared at everyone.

" Are you afraid of the inevitable, little girl? You know I'm going to win," Jack teased.

" For that you'd have to go back to when you could see well, old man," I returned, aiming well before throwing the first dart.

I still felt the finger of my broken fingernail throbbing, but I ignored it as best I could, concentrating on hitting all my darts, and to my delight, my father really didn't have the best aim, giving me the victory of the match.

" Great, there is nothing left to play here, we can declare a draw " Alex suggested while eating a piece of pizza.

" NO " my father and I answered together.

" You have no other choice of games, unless you want to try Jenga again. They were both equally bad at it," Liam pointed out, drinking what seemed to be his thousandth bottle.

" We'll break the tie, girl." My father looked at me, and I knew what was coming.

My mother was the first to understand what he intended, taking a deep breath and getting up before warning.

" Great, here comes the tiebreaker. I'm not taking care of anyone who is sick!”

My father went to the bag where they brought most of the games, while my mother began to gather everything necessary for our little marathon. Christian took advantage of everyone's distraction to approach me, taking my hand and then analyzing the damage.

" That looks like it hurts " he saw the living flesh where the nail had broken off.

" It hurts," I confirmed with a pout.

" Can you fix it? " he raised his eyes to meet mine, causing me to remember his reaction at Thanksgiving when I had threatened to cut my fingernails.

On that occasion he had said that he thought my hand was very beautiful. Too bad it's going to take a while to get it back to that.

" I'll have to cut them," I shook my head in the negative.

Christian caressed my hand lightly before turning away as he heard my mother begin to give instructions.

" Okay. I'll set up the course, Davis and Peterson will come with me to help me," she indicated, "Rose, you go get ready and meet us at the entrance.”

" Hey, you... the cute new girl," Jack pointed to Camille, "go with her, make sure she wears nothing more than a T-shirt and a sweater over her top.

" What? " Cam stammered.

" Come on, Camille, we have no time to lose," I smiled, taking her hand and pulling her out.

" What's going on? " she asked in surprise.

" You are about to witness a Miller-Campbell marathon, until I was banished, all our game nights ended this way," I explained as I hurriedly led her through the halls of the house.

" And you plan to do this outside? It snowed earlier! " she alarmed.

Yes, I knew the temperature was minus five degrees Celsius, and that was crazy. But I wouldn't let my father win. Not that easy, anyway.

" You picked an interesting day to join the gang’, Camille.”

" I did? You didn't give me any choice! “

That answer made me laugh. She was right about that, but we were the best option for her.