Complicated

Father Figures

Maya's POV

We were heading out the door when my dad started to stir.

"Who the fuck are you?" he croaked groggily.

"Dad, this is Shawn, mom's fiancé," I said nervously twiddling my thumbs.

"Fiancé," my dad sneered puffing his chest at him.

"That's right, and I'm taking Maya out to breakfast," Shawn said protectively.

"You," my dad pointed at me. "Aren't going anywhere."

"Don't even go near her," Shawn stepped between us.

My dad eyed Shawn up and down dangerously.

"Get out of my face," he growled sitting back in his recliner and opening up another beer.

"Come on, Maya," Shawn said leading me out.

"So, Hunter, what'd you want to do?" I asked after we wrapped our heads around what just happened.

"Have you eaten breakfast yet? There's a great coffee place I'd love to take you to."

Shawn took me to the coffee shop. It was a small little cafe, nestled just outside the neighborhood my mom and Shawn lived in.

"Let me guess, you're gonna get some frou-frou sugary 'coffee' drink?" Shawn asked cockily.

"Yeah, right," I said. "I'll take a medium dark roast, black."

I didn't realize why he was smiling so much when I said that until he ordered two medium dark roast coffees. He was smiling because we were already so similar.

I chose a table to sit at near a window looking out onto the street.

"Sorry for the wait," Shawn said bringing over our coffees.

"I'm sorry too," I said.

"About what?"

"About my dad. He's not usually like that," I lied to try and make the situation seem a little less dire.

"Listen, Maya, growing up, my dad was like that too. I always made things with him seem better than they were, I get it."

"What do you mean?"

"He was an alcoholic hopelessly chasing after the woman he loved. There was no off switch to his drinking."

"What's he like now?" I asked hoping Shawn would say things got better.

"He passed away years ago, he had a heart attack," he shattered my hopes.

"Hey, I didn't mean it like that," he said as if he just realized why I was asking. "Did I ever tell you about my brother?"

"You have a brother?"

"Yeah, his name is Jack. He works with some big-shot technology company."

"Is he a nerd?" I asked scrunching my nose.

"No, no, Hunters are not nerds," he definitively said. "It's more of the financial side, but he gets lots of cool gadgets. You should meet him sometime."

"Does he live around here?"

"Out in California," he sipped his coffee. " I was actually out on an assignment there recently and stayed with him."

"Do you think maybe I could go on an assignment with you?" I meekly asked.

"I wouldn't have it any other way," he smiled.