Devil In Disguise

Flashback

(Hey guys! So I posted this first part on Facebook and got some good feedback and decided to put it on Wattpad. Just to clarify, this part is a flashback. The first chapter, which I will hopefully post sometime later tonight, will begin the actual story line. I'm really excited to be writing this! Also the update schedule may be slightly erratic in the begining but I hope to be able to nail down a more regular updating schedule in the near future! Enjoy!)

        “Avery Lynn I forbid you to see this boy again!” my father yelled, slamming down his glass full of whiskey, or gin, or whatever alcohol it was that he’d chosen to drink tonight.

        “But Daddy…”

        “No! Just take a look at him!” he said, gesturing to my boyfriend of two years, Michael, who was standing in the corner and looking down at the floor. “Look at his tattoos! And the way he’s dressed! And don’t even get me started on the boy’s hair! For goodness’ sake, Avery! Where did you even find this…this…hoodlum?”

        “Tom…” my mother began, only to be silenced by his hand flying up in the air.

        “No, Penny. I don’t want to hear it. I thought we were in agreance that Avery would no longer be able to associate herself with this Michael character.”

        “Yes, but Tom, look at him. And look at her.”

        “I am. And what I see is a boy who is putting on a damn good act so he can continue to see our daughter and defile her. And I see our daughter, who is playing right into his trap!”

        “Daddy I love him!” I scream, tears flowing freely down my face. Michael’s head snapped up and he looked at me with that look…that look that forced my heart to drop into my stomach and turned my knees to jelly. The look that told me he loved me, too. I got so caught up in his gorgeous eyes boring into mine with all the adoration in the world that I almost missed the sound of glass shattering all over the hardwood floors in our living room. I almost missed the sound of my father’s fist driving into the drywall next to him. The sound of my mother’s scream as it all went down. Almost, but I didn’t.

        In the split second I looked up into my father’s eyes, Michael had come forward and wrapped his arm securely around my waist, pulling me back slightly into his body.  

        “YOU GET AWAY FROM HER!” my father roared, launching himself at Michael and I. My mother did nothing to stop him, she just stood there sobbing in the corner. Michael pulled me behind him and began a stare-down with my father.

        “Sir, I mean you no disrespect, but I truly do love your daughter. Avery means the world to me, and if you can’t accept that then…” he looked at me, asking permission to tell my father what I’d been putting off for nearly a week now. I placed my hand on Michael’s chest and turned to face my father.

        “Daddy, Michael and I are getting married. If you can’t accept the fact that we are in love, then I’m sorry but you won’t be invited to the wedding. You won’t be able to walk me down the aisle and give me away to the love of my life. I’m sorry that Michael isn’t the same person he was when you met him a year ago…no, actually I’m not. Because I love him even more now than I did back then, because I know he’s finally himself. When he joined 5 Seconds of Summer…” I looked up at him and smiled ever-so-slightly. “I’m not going to lie, I was concerned. But going to his gigs and seeing him with his bandmates made me realize that this…this was who he was and who he needed to be. Not the stuffy, uptight boy in khakis and polo shirts. This is a man who belongs in band tees and skinny jeans.”

        I reached up on my tiptoes to kiss him softly. When I turned back to my parents, the scene before me had somehow drastically changed. My mother was no longer crying in the corner, but had come to stand in front of me with her arms out, silently asking for a hug. I smiled and ran into her arms, knowing that she heard my short speech and was finally okay with me being with Michael. My father’s face was slowly returning to its normal shade of tan instead of tomato-red. His eyes looked droopy and tired, as if he’d aged twenty years right before my eyes. I reached out to him and he took my hand.

        “Avery…for twenty years now I’ve both anxiously awaited and severely dreaded the day you came to me and told me you’d found the man you want to marry. Because I knew that would mean that I’ve lost you, and that you’re no longer my little girl…I was so scared that this was the reason you called this meeting with all of us tonight, but now…after hearing what you have to say and seeing the way you look at him…and the way he looks at you…I couldn’t be happier.” He finally smiled, for the first time tonight.

        “I love you, Avery Lynn, and I just want you to be happy. I can see, now, how happy he makes you. And I can’t wait to give you away to this man.”

        I looked up at Michael, shock plastered all over my face, to see the same expression on his. He shook his head slowly, to clear his mind I’m assuming, then stuck his hand out to my father. “Thank you, sir…” My father took his hand but instead of shaking it, pulled him in for a hug. “Welcome to the family, son.” I heard my father whisper in Michael’s ear, and I couldn’t stop the happy tears from falling. I was marrying Michael Clifford. I will soon be Avery Lynn Clifford. My life was just beginning, but I don’t think it could be any better.