Fragments

21 | Dinner Investigation

21 | Dinner Investigation

Scarlett nervously grips onto my hand as we walk into the dining room. My hand feels like it might break, but I squeeze back and smile. We take our seats around the table and she lets go. I sit between Scarlett and my father, leaving my mother adjacent.

The soft glow of the chandelier highlights the table. From the lace cloth, the silverware, and the array of food spread across the table, I grin. This is the perfect welcome home, especially now that Scarlett is here with us.

We never use this stuff unless it's a special occasion which usually happens when Dad brings clients home for dinner or birthdays. Otherwise, it's hidden away and forgotten about, which is like the ugly chandelier.

The idea was to remove it for something modern, but Dad got busy with work and my Mum clicked with her friendship groups. They hired a cook, cleaner, and a gardener to tend to the house and before I knew it, the house became a collection of unneeded help, bits, and bobs that made no sense.

But right now, this made sense.

"Where have you two been holding up?" Dad questions.

Mum reaches for the mash potatoes, but her eyes stay trained on me, waiting for the answer she's been bursting to know.

"Does it matter?" I shrug.

"Yes," my mother answers.

"Then I was held up in a motel." I suppose she at least deserves an answer.

"And you didn't think to call or message us?" Worry pierces her blue eyes.

"You know why I couldn't have called. Now can we drop this? I'm home now."

Dad places a comforting hand on her shoulder, but it doesn't do much to relieve the sadness plaster on her pale face.

"Scarlett, do you have a job?" Dad asks.

"Um." Her pea green eyes glance towards me before sharply returning to my father. "I worked as a secretary and cleaner at the motel. It's not the best job, but I enjoyed it."

"That's an excellent answer," he comments. "When I was your age, I started at the bottom and then worked my way up. Then I moved to create my own company."

"That's admirable." She blushes.

"I'd hope Pierce would do something with his brain. Get a job, make a name for himself." I resist the urge of rolling my eyes, of course, he's always had high expectations of my working career.

I think that's his way of caring – his attempt to connect on a deeper level.

"Pierce obtained a job at the diner across from the motel. He was a bookkeeper until we had to leave."

"A bookkeeper, hey?" His heavy gaze falls on me.

"More like a slush pile, but yes."

"Well, isn't that something." He grins proudly.

"Thank you."

The food is passed around the table and everyone is served a healthy amount of roast chicken, vegetables, and mash. The conversation fades into silence as knives and forks are scraped across plates.

It's a comfortable silence that I thank along with eating food that isn't fried in saturated fat. Bruce's breakfast meals are worth the drive to that section of town, but I could never give up a decent home-cooked meal.

Mum tosses her napkin on the plate then turns her attention to us. From the corner of my eye, I see Scarlett sink further into her chair. I reach under the table and place my hand on her upper thigh.

"I have a social function on tomorrow, it's a fundraiser for Audrina's charity. Something about monkeys? It would be perfect if you both attended." She beams with brightness.

"I'd love to, but I don't think that would be a good idea." I shake my head. "It's last minute and Scarlett doesn't have anything to wear."

Scarlett's leg tenses under my hand. I gently rub my rub over the rough material of her pants.

"But Pierce," she protests. "I can sort all of that out and Audrina would love more people to attend!"

"Then send my deepest apologies to Audrina."

"Considering the amount of stress and worry you've put me under Pierce Davenport, you better agree!" she huffs.

"You can't drag Scarlett into this," I warn.

"It'll be fun Scarlett," Mum promises. "I'll have dresses brought over, you can have your hair and makeup done. It'll be a wonderful pampering session. I could even book us an appointment at the spa."

"The spa might be pushing it."

"Don't be jealous, Pierce," she teases.

"Sure." Scarlett nods. "It sounds like lots of fun."

Even though she smiles, I can see the worry looming in her tense figure. I want to rub her shoulders, take the stress from them. My mother can be overbearing at moments, but she's a softy you just can't say no to.

I can see her playing dress up with Scarlett.

"Perfect! I'll make the arrangements."

Mum gets up from the table and quickly walks out of the room like a woman on a mission. Dad chuckles before shoving a piece of carrot in his mouth.

"Your mother is going to go overboard with this," he comments. "I apologise for my wife's behaviour."

"You don't need to," she meekly replies.

"Rachel really wanted a daughter."

"No pressure or anything." I laugh in an attempt to lighten the room.

"It also means she really likes you," he adds.

"Well then," Scarlett mutters. "I feel very lucky to have Rachel."

"Don't let her hear that." I groan. "She might just steal you away."

Mum wanders into the room, phone pressed against her chest. The excitement bubbles like a freshly poured glass of coke.

"I'm on the phone with my designer, what size are you, honey?"

"Uh, a ten to twelve?"

She twirls on her heels, muttering something on the phone. I look towards Scarlett to see her smiling.

"Maybe this won't be so bad?" she questions.

Dad and I laugh, she's going to be in for a surprise!

Scarlett continues to eat her food but this time, there's a smile plastered on her freckled face. The light mood and excitement of tomorrow's event take away the stress. It's almost like it never happened.

I know we're supposed to be running from a terrible incident, but it feels like we're running towards our future. 

Four more chapters! They are written, just need to flesh them out.

How do you think their charity event will go? :)