Love Lines

15: Eat or Else

Chapter Fifteen

Nothing much was said as the three of us sat around the kitchen table eating breakfast. I wasn't exactly hungry but as I pushed around the food on my plate, my father cleared his throat and shot me a look when I glanced up at him.

It said 'Eat or else' so I quickly forked some eggs into my mouth. The silence lasted until my father was finished eating, his plate completely cleared of food, no crumb left behind. That was a sign of the house he grew up in. When they were younger, he and my uncle weren't allowed up from the table until their plates were clean. He wasn't that strict with me but he wanted me to eat this meal specifically.

"Alright, this is how it's going to work," he said clearly as he crumpled up his napkin and tossed it on his plate. "I can already tell the two of you will be spending more time together than ever before and since you are no longer children, there will be rules. Just like there is with Schylar." He looked pointedly at me and after I nodded, he continued. "Her curfew is eleven on the weekends and ten on weeknights. Clay has informed me I should amend this a little since Tales is now Elite but I'm inclined to keep it the way it is. I know your hours have changed and there will be periods when I don't see you. I remember clearly what it was like with Clay when he first went through this so I expect some common courtesy from the pair of you. I am not stupid. Both of you know I can tell when you're lying to me, I don't care how old you are or how long you've been away." It was Cecil's turn to get looked at. "If you're going to be out later than the curfew then be honest about it. Otherwise I will send Clay to find you and I will have him drag the two of you back and possibly have Cecil spend a night in lockup. I'm not joking around."

"Yes, sir," Cecil said.

I looked over at him and I could tell he was fighting off a smile. He was expecting this on some level. My father's 'talks' with my guy friends were infamous around town. Cecil had obviously heard all about them and wasn't too put off by it. Theodore Abernathy wasn't all that intimidating, at least to Cecil, but he respected my father enough to abide his rules.

"I expected this." My father looked from one of us to the other. "And even though I expected it, it's going to take a little getting used to on my part. Your mother was a very smart woman but unfortunately she didn't leave me a manual on how to deal with all of this. I have rules and I expect the two of you to follow them."

He was staring down at his plate, fidgeting with the napkin he'd just balled up. I got up from my chair and went over to hug him.

"Don't worry, Dad," I said softly. "We'll follow your rules. Cecil's big on rules, right Cecil?"

My former best friend now boyfriend quickly nodded. "You have nothing to worry about, Mr. Abe. I just got her back, both of you back really. I'm not going to do anything to jeopardize that."

"Alright. Now, who wants to tell me why you are both dressed and were standing in my kitchen at such a god awful early hour?"

And so it began, trying to tell the truth without lying.

"Where did the full moon myth come from?"

Cecil sighed and pulled the book back in his direction flipping a couple of pages before pushing the book back across the table.

"The first known werewolf was Lycaon of Arcadia. He offended Zeus who..."

"Wait. Lycaon...I've heard that before. Poseidon or Hades called Andrzej that..."

Cecil nodded. "That's because it's rumored Andrzej comes from that line. There are several more steaming from Romulus and Remus. You've heard of them right?"