Uncontrollable (Punk Luke Hemmings)

Chapter 18

I slip inside cautiously, despite my flippancy with Luke earlier about my father being home. My dad and I didn't exactly have a fantastic relationship when he left the country.

My dad is hanging over the stove, flipping something on the stove, singing along with the music. Classic rock is oozing out of the speakers somewhere. I stand hesitantly in the doorway for a moment before he notices me. He looks tan and well-rested, not exactly how one would picture somebody coming home from a business trip. I hesitantly scuff my foot, grabbing his attention.

He gracefully turns to face me, holding a spice jar in his hands. "Andrea. I've missed you sweetie." His crisp accent sounds genuinely pleased to see me, which throws me for a loop more than I could have ever anticipated.

"Hi dad. How was Amsterdam?" I ask cautiously, not sure if he was still mad at me from our fight before he left. It was the same thing as usual- i shouldn't hang out with only boys, that made a whore, blah,blah,blah.

His eyes sweep over my outfit, lingering on the oversized shirt that most definitely wasn't mine, or his, and therefore must be a boys. At least it wasn't Luke's-that would have meant more, though probably just to me. His cool eyes take in my slightly swollen lips, also curtesy of Luke, but he doesn't comment. Other than a slight tightening of his mouth, he says nothing regarding my current appearance.

"It was lovely, as usual. I quite like it, maybe we'll go there next." He says, going back to whatever he's cooking. I stiffen at the mention of moving again. We've been here only a few months, and I have ties here. Calum, Ashton, Chase, Michael, Rose, and Luke. Oh god. I couldn't move again. But he drops the subject, and I don't comment on it.

My dad continues, not caring about my silence. "And how have you been? Okay here alone?"

I play with the idea of telling him I wasn't alone, that Luke had been sleeping here with me, but quickly throw it out. My dad seems to have decided to start fresh with me, so I won't piss him off this early. "I've been fine. School, you know."

He nods like he understands exactly. "Ah, it ends on Friday, doesn't it?"

I confirm his statement with a nod.

He laughs. "Good. Maybe we'll have to go on a vacation after that. I'm thinking maybe Hawaii. Or Florida. We haven't been to the US in a while."

I lean against the doorway, not moving to go closer to him, just humming noncommittally, feeling slightly sick to my stomach. I didn't know my dad super well, but this was weird. I had no idea what to do with this version of my father.

My dad turns the stove off, pulling whatever he was cooking off the heat. "You hungry, Andrea?"

I don't even bother to correct him to Andy. "No, I already ate. I think I'm just going to go to bed. Long day." That was an understatement.

My dad smiles at me, settling himself down at the table. "We'll catch up later then. I left my gift for you on your bed. Good night."

I wave at him, walking quietly up to my room. I can't process everything that's happened today. With AJ threatening me, Chase and Rose taking me to the beach, Luke holding me as I freaked out, dinner with the boys, my conversation with Chase and Luke, and my dad acting the way he was all in one day, I felt like my brain was going to explode. But I can't just sleep yet- there's a box on my bed with my name on it.

Slowly, I remove the top of the box, digging through the swaths of tissue paper hiding whatever it was.

'It' turned out to be a pair of admittedly cute royal blue heeled ankle booties. I stared at them in complete shock for a moment. They're cute, but not my usual style. I didn't even have to check for a price tag to know they're also insanely expensive. And since when did my dad bring me gifts when he traveled?