Family Ties

Chapter 1

Begrudgingly, I wait by the door of my uncle's apartment, in the American Gardens building, it's not the first time I've had to stay with him and probably not the last. Although I thought he'd be used to this by now, he's nowhere in sight so I'm sat against his front door picking fluff from my jumper.

My uncle is a man named Patrick Bateman, he works at Pierce & Pierce as an Investment banker... although I'm not quite sure what that is...even though my grandfather practically owns the business. Every few minutes I keep checking down the halls for the man, wondering what on earth would take him so long, surely he's just out for dinner with his colleagues or something which makes me sigh in disdain. It's not that I dislike my uncle or anything but I can't tell what is going on with him, he's not particularly family-orientated and we both know that if he had a choice, he wouldn't be the one to watch over me as my dad is recovering.

I remember birthdays when he'd sit in the corner and no amount of persuasion would be able to coax him out, him being happy in his mind, although that didn't stop little me from trying to get her uncle to be a part of her princess-themed celebration. Sighing, I look up at the lock on the door wondering why he doesn't just give me a key or something, Dad is always in rehab or something like it, meaning almost half of my year is spent in this building.

Footsteps clack against the smooth flooring down the hall, I look down in hopes it's him and thankfully it is, I wait for him to get closer and Uncle Patrick looks down at me and where I'm sat.

"Why are you on the floor?" Patrick's smooth voice drawls out, almost confused as to why I'm sitting there. Rolling my eyes I look up at him before getting up from where I made myself comfortable on the floor

"I was waiting for you! How long does it take for you to eat" I grumble in dismay, not even a 'Hi' or 'How are you' from my uncle, he lets me into his apartment and I make myself at home, spotting things I had left behind on my last stay over had remained untouched.

"I was at Dorsia with some colleagues" he claims and I nod, the smell of alcohol and cheap perfume reeks of a nightclub, not Dorsia.

"I bet" I whisper and lay on his white leather couch, his apartment freaks me out. The lack of colour makes for a peculiar atmosphere and my uncle's split behaviour does not help the place feel brighter, but I do my best to ignore it. In my peripheral vision, I spot him sitting in one of the black chairs behind my head he has a few CDs in his hand that he's going through. "Huey Lewis?" I question as I see a specific disk case in his hands, he looks up at me his face unchanging as he nods.

Adverting my gaze I decide to not try to strike up a conversation, knowing he's either tipsy or unsure of what to say to me. I decide to just go to sleep in the guest bedroom, which I've basically claimed as my own, knowing there won't be any interesting conversations coming from him.

Pulling myself up I go into the guest room, chucking my bags by the wardrobe and deciding to unpack it tomorrow. I change into pyjamas before jumping into bed and settling down for the night.

(TIMESKIP TO NEXT MORNING)

My legs are swinging back and forth as I'm sat at the table in the apartment, between the kitchen and the living room, Patrick walks in grabbing his ice pack from the fridge, I munch on some cereal as I watch him walk around and do his morning routine which I feel is a bit excessive. 

I'm already dressed for school so I'm waiting for him to get ready to drop me off, flicking through a magazine I watch him stretch on the floor...he just looks like he's rolling about...he looks at me and I smile at him. "Morning" I mumble with cereal in my mouth and he smiles back.

"Good morning." he says, getting up and then walking to the bathroom, he's in there for about 20 minutes and when he comes back out the atmosphere feels a bit colder, like he's a bit colder, which isn't unusual.

He's now ready in his trench coat and suit, so I put my bowl in the sink before pulling on my shoes and grabbing my bag. We head towards his car and I nestle into the passenger seat. It only takes about 10 minutes to get to school.

"Should I just go back to the apartment after school? Or are you picking me up?" I question, looking to my side to look at him, his gaze set ahead as he answers

"I may have reservations at Espace" he says, finally turning to look at me. I sigh knowing that either means I'll be alone for tonight or I'll have to try to convince him to let me come along.

"Can I come?" I start 

"No." He says quickly and I just nod, looking around as he pull into my school.

"Can I at least have a key then? I don't want to be sat out in the hall again" I grumble, slightly irritated as I recall last nights events, he shoves a key at me and a pocket it. "Thanks." I mumble before getting out and shutting the car door. I feel his gaze on me as I walk into school, I glance behind me to check if he's still watching me and he is. I quicken my pace and walk into school out of his sight.