WRITER IN THE DARK , neil perry

29

AS AMÉLIE opened her front door, she was taken aback when she saw her dad sitting on the couch. his head turned as he heard her enter.

"amélie!" he growled. he had a slight slur in his voice. he didn't seem that mad, but was more caught off guard by her entrance.

"dad." she slightly whispered. her cheeks were rosy. she was embarrassed to be caught in this situation.

"what are you doing home so late?" he got up and began advancing towards her, a stern look on his face.

"sorry, i should go to bed now-" amélie stuttered, beginning to scurry away. her dad put a hand on her shoulder, pulling her back.

"who was that fella driving you?" it was almost like he was interrogating her for a crime she was guilty of.

"who?" she plastered a fake grin on. her face was growing hot as she thought of lies to tell.

"girl, i'm not stupid. i saw you get out of that boy's car. now, who is he?"

amé quickly dropped the act, dropping her shoulders and changing her expression. she couldn't lie any longer. she was digging herself a hole. "his name is neil, neil perry."

"is he the one you said was your boyfriend?" she was surprised her dad actually remembered him, as their meeting was brief.

"yes." amé quietly said and nodded. she shut her eyes tightly, trying to imagine herself somewhere other than this.

"who's his dad?" her dad continued, coming up with the most ridiculous questions. they seemed to go on and on.

"his parents are split up. he lives with his mom and his grandparents."

"have i met him before?"

"i don't think so."

"has he ever been over to our house?" this question was more stern, amélie opened her eyes and quickly began to use one of her shitty excuses before her dad cut her off. "and don't you lie about this one."

she bit her lip. "once. i held a christmas party while you were away, and invited some of my girlfriends over eat baked goods and exchange gifts. he attended." her dad's expression didn't change as she talked. "we cleaned up the house after. there was no drinking." his expressionless face worried her.

once her dad finally spoke, she let out a sigh of relief. "i'm not sure about how i feel about this, boyfriend business. especially when it's some boy i don't know."

"he's a very nice boy, i promise. he treats me well, buys me stuff. he's set to become a doctor." amélie pleaded. she was lying through her teeth, but it was all for a good cause. most of it was true, anyway. she knew what her dad wanted to hear, so she supplied it.

after a few minutes of silence, her dad came up with a solution. "why don't you invite this 'boyfriend' of yours to dinner with us tonight."

"okay, sure." amélie gulped, nodding.

"he'd better be up to my expectations. i don't want you dating no trash boy." she quickly scurried away, immediately heading to the phone to call her boyfriend. she dialed in the number she knew by heart.

"hey." she anxiously said when he picked up.

"hi, darling." neil purred. his voice eased her stomach, making her exhale the stress.

"can you come over for dinner tonight?" she bit her lip. she could almost hear him light up.

"sure. i'll talk to my mom but we can maybe go catch a movie at the drive in again after if you want-" neil excitedly rambled, before getting cut off by a quivering voice.