Nightmares

Chapter twenty: Harper

I lay on bed, daydreaming. Mum entered my room, giving me one of her looks.

"You've been acting different lately, baby." She stated.

"Different how?" I asked.

"Just different, I dunno. Happier." She said, eventually.

I just shrugged unable to keep a smile off my face.

She just watched me waiting for my response. 

"I dunno. I've met a boy. That's all." I tried to say it as casually as possible. But she still raised an eyebrow.

"Really? What's his name?"

"Carter." I said softly.

She smiled like she had won the lottery. "I knew it. Your dad so owes me twenty bucks." She punched the air like a kid.

"No. Don't tell him."

"Why not?"

"Because he'll get all protective."

"Well duh."

"I'll get protective of what?" 

Shit. Dad's voice seemed so unwelcoming at that moment.

"Harper's got a boyfriend." My traitor of a mother said with glee. "Pay up!"

I just glared at her.

"What a child." I muttered under my breath.

"What?" Dad asked, giving me a questioning look.

"He's not my boyfriend, daddy." I told him. "Just a friend who's a boy. I met him a while ago."

He studied me and I watched him back apathetically.

"How did you meet him?"

"Just, at the park." I said, hesitantly. Unwilling to say it had been in the dark.

He narrowed his eyes. "What's his name?"

"Carter." I told him with a sigh.

"How old is he?"

I didn't meet his eyes. I was unwilling to tell him I didn't know. I knew he was older than me. But I wasn't sure exactly how much.

"Eighteen or so." I muttered eventually.

His eyes darkened.

"Just go to bed." He said eventually. "We'll discuss this in the morning."

He turned to leave before turning back. 

"Oh, and Claire?" He said. "I believe she has to admit it before I pay anything." 

Mum pouted. 

My parents were so strange. 

~*~

The next day after school, Dad was waiting for me at home.

"Why didn't you tell me about him?" He demanded.

"Because I was still getting to know him. And I knew you'd act all 'dad-like' about it."

"What does that mean?"

"You'll get all protective over it." I said, giving him a look.

He pouted.

"When did you meet him?"

"A while ago."

"And you didn't think to tell me?"

"I didn't think it was that big of a deal."

"Meeting someone new isn't that big a deal?"

"So? You do it all the time." I said defensively.

He pursed his lips but didn't retaliate.

"How did you meet him?"

"I told you, at the park."

"When?"

"A few weeks ago."

"No. What time?"

"What's that got to do with anything?"

"Just answer the question."

I shrugged. "Evening, or thereabouts."

He pressed his lips together. He was angry. Why was he angry?

"What have I told you about talking to strangers?" He said.

"Don't." I replied.

"So why didn't you listen?"

"I meet new people every day." I told him as calmly as possible. "What's so wrong with him?"

"You shouldn't be meeting strange boys. You don't know what their intentions are." He said.

"That's batshit." I muttered.

"Don't you swear at me, young lady."

"We're just friends." I told him.

He just looked at me like he didn't believe a word of it.

"What's he like?" He asked eventually.

"He's serious and kind and he cares about me." I told him. He studied me intently.

"Does he treat you right?"

I thought back to our first proper meeting where he held a knife to my throat. I wasn't stupid enough to ever tell my father that. "Yes he does." I told him softly.

"You just make sure he does." He told me. "Or else he'll have to deal with me."

"Okay Daddy." I told him, leaning over to give him a kiss. He smiled and stroked my hair.

"You're too precious to lose." Dad told me. "I hope you know that."

"I do." I said cheekily, making him laugh.

"Oh you do, do you?" He said.

We shared a smile.

"I want to meet this devil who has stolen my daughter." He told me.

"Only if you behave."

"You mean I can't clean my gun before he comes over?" He teased.

"You don't even have a gun. We live in Britain."

"When it comes to their daughters, dads will always find a weapon. We don't want anyone hurting our little girls." He told me. "We also know just where to hide the bodies so we're never caught."

"Behave." I told him with a smile.