Weigh Down on Me

|Chapter Six|

The wind whipped my hair around my face violently as I stood outside my front door waiting for the car my dad was sending for me. I could see a single light on in Noah's apartment, but I hadn't sensed any movement. He was probably upstairs on his couch writing in his notebook like always or at Charlies rehearsing for his gig tonight.

The sound of tires crunching gravel brought me out of my head, and I glanced over to see a black town car approaching me. The pretentiousness had my father's name written all over it.

I climbed into the back seat and the driver nodded at me through the rearview mirror before making our descent out of the parking lot. I tugged at the dress I had forced myself to put on and desperately wished I was still in my sweats.

Whenever my dad requested dinner, that meant it would be at a fancy restaurant downtown and I needed to dress the part. I hadn't seen my dad since my mom died, and I wasn't sure how this evening would end.

After what seemed like forever, the car rolled to a stop in front of my father's favorite Italian restaurant Antonio's. Images of my parents and me at this restaurant growing up ran through my head as I stepped out of the car, and I made my way through the stain glass doors.

The restaurant was quiet and there seemed to be only a few people sitting at the bar. I contemplated grabbing a shot but was interrupted by the hostess asking me what my parties name was.

"Taylor." I muttered reluctantly. Her expression changed from welcoming to slightly afraid, and she pointed me towards the large corner booth towards the back of the restaurant.

As I turned the corner, I spotted my dad taking a sip of his Negroni and flipping through the menu as if he didn't already know what he was going to order.

When I approached him, his eyes met mine and there was a coldness to them that I had tried to forget all these years.

"Lennon, have a seat." He motioned to the seat across from him and I slid into it easily.

The waiter asked me what I wanted to drink, and I replied with, "Double whiskey, please."

My dad raised his eyebrow in amusement and continued his perusing through the menu. "So, I heard you had quite the encounter with Ellie Folio."

His disinterested tone irked me, and I could feel the anger welling up inside of me.

Before I could respond, my whiskey was sat in front of me, and I quickly threw it back. The waiters' eyes widened as I motioned for a second round. If my dad was going to play dirty, I would at least take advantage of the free drinks.

"Lennon, our family has a certain reputation that we need to uphold and getting yourself involved with the Folios is not in your best interest."

"I don't need you telling me what to do anymore."

"Someone has to," He began with his icy blue eyes locked onto mine in an attempt to intimidate me. "We all know what happens when you make your own decisions."
The corners of his mouth turned down, and the wrinkles between his eyebrows deepened as he stared at me. It was almost as if he pitied me.

"You're one to talk." The words came out before I had a chance to think about it, but a surge of pride rushed through me as they did.

"You don't know what you're talking about." He stated plainly, completely unfazed.

"So then why don't you tell me your version of the story, because that is all anyone seems to hear anyways."

He shook his head slightly and took another sip of his drink. "Now Lemon, let's not rehash the past. I didn't call you here to do that, I wanted to make sure you knew who you were associating yourself with."