ᴍʏ ᴏᴛʜᴇʀ ʜᴀʟꜰ- ᴍᴀᴛᴛ ꜱᴛᴜʀɴɪᴏʟᴏ

ɪɪɪ

the next morning, camila spent several hours editing the new youtube video. it usually didn't take her this long, but she kept zoning out, reminiscing about how matt had grabbed her waist the night before. finally, she was done, just in time to get lunch with her dad.

it's not that she wasn't close with her dad, they didn't argue much, it's just that he was away so often. It was constantly work, work, work with him; even if camila thought she had his attention, a quick look into his eyes would reveal that his mind was a million miles away. she understood that he had an important job, and that he was the only one in the family earning money apart from her, but she wishes that he took a more active role in her life. fuck, he didn't even know camila was famous on social media until she hit five million on tiktok and his co-worker congratulated him. he still saw her as the thirteen year old whose biggest dream was to own a pony.

she drove to the restaurant he had suggested, some quiet, hidden place that they hoped nobody would recognise them. camila parked a few blocks away and walked through boston common. she rarely got the chance to be alone with him, and she was nervous about upsetting him. eventually, she walked in. she glanced around the cafe and saw a bunch of twenty somethings in baggy clothes smelling of weed. there were teenagers with heavy eyeliner and tall boots; tired looking old women having a cup of coffee; men huddled around a table exchanging money; and right at the back of the cafe: her dad.

he stuck out like a sore thumb. he was dressed in a smart black suit, with shiny black shoes and slick black hair. he bore a flashy gold watch and matching blacked out sunglasses with gold rims. as camila made her way towards him, he looked up from his laptop and shot her a rare smile.

"hey mila, how are you?" he asked, offering her his hand as if it were a business meeting. she didn't have the heart to tell him that nobody called her mila ever since she broke up with oliver.

"hi dad, yeah i'm pretty good, how are you?" she said, shaking his hand and sitting down.

"good good." he said distractedly "that lot over in finance have been dragging us into meetings all day."

"over what?"

"oh just the usual. boring corporate stuff you wouldn't be interested in. but enough about me, how are you and that oliver boy?" he asked, picking up a menu. camila's heart dropped, she had forgotten that he had been on a month long business trip when her and oliver had broken up. they weren't the type of family to share ground-breaking information over the phone, and by the time he'd gotten back she had gotten over it.

"oh yeah, um, well we kind of broke up." she said, playing with the tablecloth. she glanced up and saw her father's puzzled expression.

"nonsense, his father was just talking about you the other week."

"w-what?" camila spluttered. "are you sure he was talking about me?"

"your name is camilla, is it not?"

"well yeah, obviously, but-"

"but nothing, i don't understand why you would lie about something like that." he frowned, and then chuckled. "you almost had me there."

"no dad, you're not listening. we broke up. he, well, he kissed marianne. and as far as I'm aware they're dating now." her father stared at her incredulously.

"what a bastard." he shook his head. "telling his own father that he's still with you. honestly!" camila laughed, pleased that her dad believed her. all the tension at the table dissipated, and the remainder of the meal was spent with laughter and sharing stories.

it was perfect, until her dad's phone rang.

"my lord it's that woman from finance again. just give me five minutes mila, i'll shut her down quickly." he said as he walked outside. five minutes turned into ten, which turned into twenty, and eventually camila was left sitting for half an hour, with no signs of his conversation ending. she stormed out of the cafe, tears stinging in her eyes. she got in her car and drove. initially, she had no intention to go anywhere, but as the feeling of homesickness grew, she realised that there was only one place she felt like home.