Love Lost

Chapter 1

  The Master of Ceremonies spoke into the mic, "Congratulations Class of 2019, and welcome to your first day as freshmen; welcome to MMU, I look forward to seeing all of your gifted minds put to the test." Everyone shouted with joy. I felt ecstatic; I was out on my own, and I was free. I was a freshman at the Manhattan Music University, and I was majoring in Music education.  Becoming a teacher was my life's goal, and I worked hard to get to where I am, so I wasn't going to get sidetracked. I looked at my schedule and then at the clock, I was running late for lunch with my father and a business friend of his.

 I rushed out the door and through the crowd of newly graduated teens like myself and into the black 1962 Rolls Royce car that waited for me. "Good morning, Joffrey." My driver always made sure I was on time and this time I was running late. It was my fault, but I knew that he was going to take the blame, and he'd probably have his pay deducted a little. Although I didn't think that was fair to him, Joffrey lived alone and had no children. He had taken care of my father when my father was young. Joffrey took care of me and my younger sister whilst my parents were away, normally on trips. I looked up to Joffrey, but some think it's a bit weird for the son of a multimillionaire to admire his driver.

  "Master Wilters, your father will be quite troubled by your lateness; also congratulations on making it into the school of your choice. This is very exciting for you." He looked at me through the rearview mirror; I couldn't help but smile ear to ear. Joffrey meant more to me than my actual father. Joffrey was like my father since my actual father was never really around, and when he was, it's like he wasn't aware of his children. My face turned in disgust thinking about my father. "Master Wilters, something bothering you?" I looked at him and smiled and shook my head.

   "Everything is fine, no need to worry." We drove for what seemed like forever, but in actuality, it was only 4 hours and 11 minutes to Syracuse to a new restaurant. I'm not a fan of French food. I looked down at my phone, and I had no missed calls or texts from my father. Maybe I don't have anything to worry about. I went to school in Manhattan, and he was in Syracuse, so the distance delay was going to be inevitable. "What is the name of the restaurant we're headed to Joffrey?" Joffrey looked at me with a puzzled look and then replied

  "Le d'Or Tour De Nourriture" I was impressed that Joffrey could speak French; I hadn't heard him speak any other language other than English and German.

  "How many languages do you speak Joffrey?" he cleared his throat and smiled.

 "I speak exactly 5. Young Master I'm sure you speak more than I do."

I smiled and looked down at my phone. Joffrey cleared his throat and I looked up and nodded.   Joffrey let the sliding glass window up, and it separated us, and for once I felt completely alone. I was alone with all of my thoughts, and this frightened me the most. When I was alone my thoughts had no filter, they did as they pleased, running amok and that scared me. My breathing picked up and my heart began to race.

 The voices were starting to rear their ugly heads, and I couldn't deal with this again. I tried to ignore them. "You're late once again, you're just a fuck up it's like your father says." I looked in the visor that hung above me, I saw my own reflection but when the voice would speak it wasn't me, who I had seen it was like a piece of the resentment that my father held towards me was living inside me. My reflection seemed as though it were become a reflection of him. I let the visor up and took few deep breaths and sighed. I knocked on the window, and Joffrey let the sliding glass down and looked through the rear view mirror at me. "Joffrey how far are we from our destination?" He started to pull the car over; we stopped, and he exited the vehicle and opened my door.

 "We've arrived Young Master" I looked out the window and sighed. Joffrey got out the car and open the door for me. I exited and looked around, and in front of me stood a grand and magnificent building. It looked as if it was made of gold. I nodded to Joffrey, and he closed the door as I walked away, and he got back in and drove off.

 "This doesn't seem like such a bad place" I walked toward the door and a concierge opens the door the smell of crapes, croissants, and pastries filled my senses I was being overwhelmed by the sensation of food. I walked in, and my father stood in the door and looked at me. He was a tall and broad man. He stood at a staggering 6'7". His voice was deep but not toad-deep more deep and warm.

 "You're late, I don't want any excuses. I understand the distance and traffic. But you need to be more responsible." This felt weird. I was expecting to be made a public spectacle and scolded, but he was being understanding. This is new to me; it was weird. Whoever we are meeting today must be important.