Guarded

||twenty-one||

"Dad."

The man in the robe looks a little taken aback, but I know it's him. I'd recognize him anywhere.

"And you are...?" He says, taking a sip of the alcoholic beverage, which I assume is some sort of Scotch or rum, in his hand. He doesn't remember me. How could he not know me? Did he forget about mum and I?

"It's me. Cassidy. You're daughter?" I try to get him to recognize me.

His eyes widen. "Cassidy. You've grown up. What- what are you doing here?" He asks frantically.

"I came to talk about mum."

He draws back a little at the mention of my mother. "Oh. Who's the blondie? Did she get remarried? Is this your new brother?" He nods his head towards Niall.

"No, dad. This is my boyfriend, Niall." After I say this, Niall smirks and puts his arm around my shoulder. I smile weakly at my father.

"You have a boyfriend?" He grabs his stomach and laughs out loud. "You must be one crazy boy, Neil."

"It's Niall. And I'm not crazy. I love Cassie very much," Niall says, pulling me in closer.

"Ah, the 'L' word." My dad scratches the back of his neck and mumbles, "That's not gonna last."

"Don't be rude, Greg, invite the guests in," a woman's voice calls from the other room.

She shows up behind my father in a slutty outfit. "Christina." I nod.

"Cassidy, darling. How've you been?" She asks, pretending to care.

"I've been okay, I guess. How are the kids?" Why do I care?

"They're great. Jack is in seventh grade now, Linsday in fourth, and Alexander will be starting first grade next fall." She smiles. "We don't believe in kindergarten." I have to admit, Christina is a very nice lady, but she was also my dad's mistress, so I'm not too fond of her.

"Good to hear," I say, trying not to sound annoyed. "May I talk to my father alone please?"

Christina nods and walks away. Niall whispers in my ear, "Do you want me to leave?"

"No, I want you stay with me, please." I walk into my dad's mansion of a house and take a seat on his couch. Niall sits next to me and my father sits in a leather recliner across from us.

"Now, you said you came to talk about mum? What is it? Is she getting married again?" He teases. Niall sees the daggers form in my eyes and puts a warm hand on the small of my back.

"No, she's not getting remarried. She's sick." I bite the inside of my cheeks.

"With what? The flu?" My father chuckles at himself.

"Cancer," I reply blankly. His face falls flat.

"Oh, well, my sincere apologies to her. I hope she gets better." He takes another sip of his Scotch.

"Listen, I'm just gonna get straight to the point here- we need money for her medical expenses," I snap.

"You want money from me?" He raises his eyebrows. "Sorry, Cass, no can do."

Flames appear in my pupils. "What do you mean 'no can do?!' You claimed to love her and you can't do so much as to lend her a little money to save her life?!"

"Cassidy-"

"No, don't 'Cassidy' me, douchenozzle. You won't even attempt to help save your former wife's life?! You said you loved her! You lied and, frankly, I'm ashamed to call you my father. So thanks for nothing." I fling my purse over my shoulder and storm out of the house.

"Douchenozzle?" Niall says as we walk down the street.

"Yes, douchenozzle," I reply blankly. "Now, if you don't mind, I'd really rather just not talk."

"All right." Niall shrugs and falls silent.

We walk farther until we get out of the neighborhood and onto a main road.

"Hey babe, do you wanna grab something to eat?" Niall asks in a small voice. I clench my jaw but nod because I am insanely hungry. We walk into a small italian restaurant and sit down at a small table.

"Hello, my name is Elena, I'll be your waitress this evening," a curly haired waitress greets us. "Can I get you anything to drink?"

"Do you guys have coke products?" I ask, flipping open the menu and skimming over it.

"Yep." She smiles. "You want one?" I nod and force a smile.

"I'll take a coke, as well, please," Niall says. "Thank you." Niall hums a song as he skims the menu. He eventually looks up at me. "Wanna split something?"

"Like what?" I crinkle my nose.

"We could split a large plate of spaghetti." He smiles cheekily and shrugs.

"Like in the lady and the tramp." I nod, thinking I know where he's going with this.

"Maybe." He wiggles an eyebrow. "Why don't you find out?"

Elena comes back and sets down our drinks. "Are the love-birds ready to order?"

"Yes, we're gonna split the large plate of spaghetti." Niall smiles at Elena.

Elena raises an eyebrow. "Really? You take your lady on a nice date and order a plate of spaghetti. How cliché can you get?"

"Uh- well, I just-" Niall stutters. The sassy waitress holds up a hand.

"Can it, Blondie. I'll make your night magical." She winks.

I raise my eyebrows at her. "Oh my god, not like that. It wasn't supposed to be sexual, oh god, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean it like that-"

I burst out into laughter. "It's fine, calm down."

She smiles as her curly hair falls over her eyes. "Good. I'll go get your order."

A few minutes go by and two large men that look like chefs come by our table.

"We have a table set for you in the 'fancy dining hall,'" one of the guys says in a thick Italian accent. "Please, follow us, Mr. and Mrs....?" He waits for one of us to say a last name.

I almost tell him we're not married, but I get cut off by Niall. "Horan. Mr. and Mrs. Horan." He smirks and winks at me. I roll my eyes.

As we follow the two large men, Niall walks up behind me. "Hey, Cassie, guess what?" He whispers.

"What?" I whisper back.

"I love you." He pecks me on the cheek and goes to pull out my chair.

"I love you, too."

-

Dinner is served an hour later. Elena ordered us two large steaks in the shape of hearts with mashed potatoes and asparagus on the sides.

We eat it all of it and soon Elena comes out holding two large pieces of cake. She whispers something in Niall's ear that sounds something like, 'Tell her this part was your idea.' I pretend not to hear and admire the beautiful chocolate cake.

"Elena," I say before she gets the chance to leave. "This is all so nice and delicious, but we can't afford this."

"Don't worry, sweetie. It's on the house." Elena grins widely. "I saw you weren't in the best mood and I figured you could use some cheering up." She skips away.

"Wow," I say, taking a deep breath. "Everything suddenly seems so perfect. I'm here eating expensive food in a fancy restaurant in California with the person I love and the people here are so nice and generous. Well, except for my father, but that's a different story." I smile widely at Niall and he returns the gesture. My phone suddenly buzzes. I look at the screen to find it's a number I do not recognize. "Hello?"

"Hello, this is Dr. Jillian Spencer from the hospital. There's a situation with your mother."

~

cliffhanger ooooohhh

comment, vote, and take a mint on your way out please :-)

-Anna xo