What Comes Next

Chapter 28: Antoinelle

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"Hey, Dad? I mean, umm, Kent. Yeah. So, do you want to eat dinner here tonight? Leo, Leonardo, he's...going to be here too. Unless you don't want that because we can just eat dinner by ourselves or I can go and get-" Beep.

"Dad?" I sighed and ended the call. So much for bonding time.

"What's up?"

I looked up at Leo and gave him a small smile. Not that he can't see through that but I just try for my own sake. "It's just...Kent. He left yesterday and all for that meeting or whatever and still hasn't come back and I just-"

The door to my apartment opened and I watched my father walk through the threshold. He wore plaid shorts and a polo, looking casual yet professional. He smiled at me and walked up saying, "Dinner ready yet?"

I stood there, gaping at him. Leo came up behind me and whispered in my ear, "I think the chicken might be burning."

I raised an eyebrow and tilted my head up, sniffing the air. I caught a faint whiff of something...rubber? I gasped and ran to the kitchen, making a quite spectacular jump over the couch and landing without falling. Opening the oven I checked the piece of pineapple poultry that I unsuccessfully made. I sighed, reaching out to grab it-- a wrong move, I unsurprisingly burned myself and screamed.

"Antoinelle, are you okay?" Kent tried grabbing my arm to pull me up.

I pushed away from him, getting up myself and shoving past him. I crossed my arms, annoyed. "What do we do now?"

Leo smirked. "Well, I'm just a spectacular fortune teller and ordered pizza. It's in the top oven keeping warm."

I pursed my lips and frowned. "So, basically you have no faith in me?" He shook his head and laughed, walking over to the already made table to sit down. I rolled my eyes and went to get the pizza out, pausing by Kent on the way. "You can go and sit down. I don't need any help grabbing pizza."

I went to move forward but Kent placed a hand on my shoulder. "Antoinelle." he said.

I shrugged my shoulder out from underneath his reach. "Dad, I'm fine." I stood there, waiting for him to make the first move. Eventually, I heard him sigh and felt his gaze turn away from me as he went to the table.

Why me?! I crouched down and massaged my forehead slightly. Why does all of this drama have to happen to me? What is this, Glee? I looked at the the pizza in the oven and touched it softly, checking to see if it was still hot. Seeing as it didn't burn me I grabbed it and brought it over to the table, setting it down and sitting next to Leo and across from my father.

Kent stared at for a second and raised his eyebrows at me. "Pizza?"

I cocked an eyebrow. "What now? The pizza isn't fancy enough for you? Wished that you were still with you're fancy business friends? How about, Mary Johansson." I raised up my phone and showed a video he had sent me last night.

In the video, he was obviously drunk and sitting against a pink couch on a wooden floor. Video Kent's words slurred together, "I am such a horrible father, aren't I? I guess it doesn't matter though." You could almost smell the alcohol through the screen. "And I'm drunk." He nodded his head, talking to himself.

A blond, leggy lady with shorts on came and sat down on his lap. Video Kent smirked but complained at the same time. "Go away! I'm talking to my...my...aunt? No, Antoinelle." He elongated the l.

The lady wiggled her fingers at the camera and giggled. "Hi auntie!" She giggled again. She must've been in her late twenties, early thirties. Video Kent laughed and fumbled the phone and turning off the video.