daddy issues → brad simpson | ✓

26 - away

CHARLOTTE

My first impressions of Brad's father weren't the greatest. He wasn't pleasant to be around and the tension between the pair was evident throughout the entire conversation.

After Derek had informed us of the dinner schedule, he left promptly with Nat, finding her mother so Brad and I were left alone.

"He's a fucking arse," Brad mutters and I face him, my hands on his arms and he looks me in the eyes. "I'm sorry about that. He just pisses me right off."

"It's fine," I smile reassuringly at him. I reach up and press a small kiss to his lips and he closes his eyes briefly.

"I just want to get out of here."

"Before the free food? You should know better than that."

He chuckles and opens his eyes, taking his left hand in my right, "we can grab some food on the way home? I'll get some McDonalds or something—whatever you want."

"Or we can stay and eat the free food," I suggest and he sighs. "And then your dads gonna be like, 'I thought he'd leave because he hates me' and we'd prove that asshole wrong."

"You know what else is free? Walking to the car—"

"Stay here, please," I say and he sighs again, taking my hands in his as we face each other and fingers interlace with each other. "Is that a yes?"

"Only because you said please," he huffs and I give him another kiss on the lips, quickly. "I'm gonna regret this so much."

We end up walking around the hall, avoiding all the staring eyes as we look at the artwork hung around the walls. It was fascinating to look at and eventually everyone is called in to sit at the table.

Brad looks nervously down at me, "are you sure you wanna stay? We can take a beeline for the exit right now and not get caught."

"I'm sure," I nod. "I haven't even met your mother yet."

"That's a good thing."

I give him a disapproving look and he shrugs, showing me the way to our seats. Derek shook hands with people nearby and smiled at them while they sat down, and Brad slowed down as we grow closer to the head of the table.

His mother was sat down already, talking to Nat with a proud smile on her face and Brad's hand tensed in mine as we walk to our seats. There were pieces of card with our names in our places so we knew where to sat.

"We can still go. . ."

"Come on," I tug him forward and his eyes scan over the cards on the table with a small frown. "What's up?"

"I'm sat here," he states as we are a few seats away from his mother who hadn't noticed us yet. "But you're not sat next to me."

As though on cue, Nat looks up and spots us both a smile on her face, "hey guys! Charlotte, you're sat next to me."

I nod and give Brad a small kiss, him sitting next to his mother while I walked around the table, tightly smiling at Derek as I walk past him and sit next to Nat, opposite Brad.

There was a woman who must be in her mid thirties day on my left but we didn't acknowledge each other as she spoke passionately about her business with the man next to her.

Brad's mother looked young, and she smiles over at me as I sat down. It was obvious now where Brad and Nat got their looks from.

"You must be Charlotte! Nat was just telling me about you," she says and Brad rolls his eyes as he sulked in his cheer, playing with a fork in one hand as the other flicks his name card behind him. "I'm Anne, Brad's mother."