Tybee Island

Not now lana.

Following the excitement and adrenaline of just discovering i now had a 'boyfriend', sleeping was no longer an option.

Despite liam waking me up at a horrendous time of the morning, I couldn't help but smile and feel warm inside that I could now call him my own. The way how things had all panned out was bizzare, the personal aim of the trip being to get wasted every night while in reality I became to know my dad and experience a summer romance. I chuckled silently as it almost sounded like a romance novel.. a genre that had never appealed to me.

The necklace fitted beautifully, catching the light every time a ray of sun peeked through the curtains. To keep myself occupied I collected all dads work from the basement, taking several trips to save us from having to do it later on in the day. A hearty breakfast was then prepared including eggs, pancakes and fruit with black coffee to give dad some strength for his showing of his art work.

If I had been back home my intentions would have been to butter up mom into letting me go to a college party or supply money for my cigarettes. However, this was something i was doing out of generosity and kindness, creeping up to dads room with a tray of food.

Light snores could be heard from outside of his room as I delicately opened the door to find him sprawled on his back with one foot hanging off the bed. Struggling with balancing the tray I attempted placing it on his dresser however refrained from doing so, tactically picking up the plate, wafting it up to his nostrils. The reaction was priceless,his nostrils wriggling in response as he groaned lightly. 'Wake up daddy... big day.' I whispered. I watched as he turned off his back to me smiling brightly.

'I smell food..' he said croakly, his eyes landing on the plate in my hand. I rolled my eyed handing it to him.

'Good morning to you too!' I snorted back as I walked away letting him demolish my work of art. I was stopped in my tracks as he called me back, his eyes travelling to the gold item on my neck.

'Let me guess.. liam?!' he asked raising his eyebrows. I lowered my head in embarrassment, almost being smitten about the whole situation.

'Yes. I could guess you could say we're officially past the friend stage.' I gushed, cringing at my own words. He gestured me to sit on the edge of his bed, which I did obediently awkwardly staring into his plate of food.

'What now.. he isn't right for me... i am too young to have a boyfriend or i can do so much better?' I asked in annoyance.

'I wasn't going to say any of the three you just mentioned.' he said jokingly. 'I think he's a great guy having known him for a few months. Just...please don't forget about your old dad.. who will always be here for you...even if in the past it didn't seem like it.' Leaning forward I planted a kiss on his forehead, reassuring his anxious eyes.

'Dad.. don't worry. What makes you even think.....' Before I could finish, billy barged into dads room with bushy hair and a look of confusion plasted across his face, drooling over dads plate hungrily, something which he acknowledged.

'Go get him some breakfast. We have work to do.' dad ordered, sounding almost relieved at the prospect of not finishing our conversation. Bewildered I walked out behind billy, wandering what it was he meant by 'please don't forget about your old dad.' I could never forget about him.. even if I tried...

A few hours later and I was in my room peering into the mirror adjusting my maroon skater dress which I had threw together with my matching colour sandals, my hair sweeped in a bun, gold studded earrings and light make up. My eyes looked bold with thick layers of mascara and eyeliner while my lips were a similar tone to my dress. I needed to make some kind of effort considering I was supporting my dads passion.

I had aimed to go for a casual/dressy look which would ensure I looked somewhere in between as I wasn't completely sure on what others would be wearing. In terms of the guests attending, I had no idea with dad being scarily quiet about it, only ever referring to 'Just family and some friends.' Maybe I would even get to meet some family of mine.. that probably thought I was a hopeless, hormonal teenager..and mom.. maybe she was coming too??

I suddenly felt nauseous, steadying myself by sitting down, taking deep breaths. Damn.. what the hell was wrong with me... why couldn't I just calm down.. stop THINKING.

My thoughts were thankfully interrupted by billy prancing into my room in a tux. I observed from head to toe picking out the similarities between himself and dad, both having rosy cheeks and a unique jaw line. 'Do I look like James bond or what?!' he said flashing me a cheeky smile. He was showing off like dad too.

I stood up pulling him towards me, removing a chocolate stain from around his mouth with a wipe. 'James bonds younger cousin.. maybe.', I responded jokingly, rolling my eyes at his newly formed confidence. Disposing of the wipe, I squinted my eyes as I heard the distant sound of laughter. 'We have guests?' I asked heading to the top of the stairs to ease drop.

The voices were unfamiliar to me, muffled but were clear enough for me to pick out

their southern accents. 'You have told your kids right Steve....haven't you?' I heard from a female voice, Steve being my dad. 'No.. I don't think it would be right for me to let them know now... today is meant to be about art and my love of it.' I heard back, my palms sweating as I peered across to billy. 'What is going...'.. I put my hand over his mouth to avoid us being heard.

A series of muffles were heard once again which I failed to make out . Another voice then spoke who said 'Speaking of the kids...bring them down!' My body froze, quickly dragging billy back up to our rooms. 'Kids come down!!!!' dad yelled, my heart beating fast. With billy in front, we made our way back down, entering the sitting room.

Before us were a group of about 20 adults dressed in formal wear with glasses of wine in hand smiling at us both, my cheeks burning as I began to feel intimidating. The silence enhanced the awkwardness until dad, dressed in a shirt and trousers introduced the group to us, mostly consisting of ex work colleagues and his cousins, the final set of people being the most important to us.

'This is my brother Neal' he said gleaming, neal stepping forward to shake my hand which I rejected kindly. He was my uncle, not a business partner or boss. 'How about a high five uncle?' I suggested to break the ice, smiling at him as he smacked my hand whilst swinging billy in the air.

The last to introduce were evidently my grandparents, them being the oldest of the bunch and the male resembling a more aged version of my dad engaging in brief conversation in a friendly manner before walking away to grab a glass of wine to ease the stress.

Somebody grabbed me,turning around to see dad glaring at the wine I held. 'One glass... I promise...ONE.' I said in an exhausted manner. He sighed. 'I was just going to thank you for making an effort to speak to those close to me. It must be strange to see your grandparents for the first time at 17.'

'No problem... I..just... want you to be honest with me..' I whispered reflecting on what I had heard from the stairs about him needing to tell us something. His face dropped in response, the realization hitting him that I had heard parts of his conversation.

Frown lines began to form on his forehead. 'Not now lana..' he said my blood boiling. Something was seriously wrong yet he was trying to drag it out, hoping I would forget about it.

'Ok.. fine. Just let me know when your ready to be a man and open up to me like I have for you these past weeks.' I spat coldly slamming my wine glass onto the side.