for, liar

Chapter 75

"The infamous Miles! How are ya?"

Dad offers his hand out for Miles who takes it without hesitation, but a sturdy grip to shake.

"Pleasure to meet you sir and happy Thanksgiving. Thank you for having me." Miles says.

He's never failed to be polite. Dad's a sucker for manners.

"The pleasure is all mine. This girl seems to think you're some hot shit so of course I had to see what that all was about." Dad replies.

Miles chuckles and his blush deepens. My heart is racing now. I wish he would take us inside already.

"Well that's good to hear because I sure do find your daughter astounding."

My dad smiles and shifts his gaze to me. "Oh, she is without a doubt! Now get in here so we can eat. Lunch is almost ready."

Miles reaches for my hand again. Intertwining our fingers and walking me through the door. It's nauseating how much his family decorates for the holidays. I don't even want to know how much of their money goes into this.

My step mother emerges from the kitchen wearing her hot pink  "kiss the chef" apron and I have to physically stop myself from vomiting.

"Breanna, how lovely of you to make it."

My mom can get away with calling me Breanna but this woman should know better. I have a feeling she's doing it on purpose. It's a holiday so I have to suck it up for the sake of my dad's happiness and my mental health.

"Thanks for having us." I respond overly politely with a smile.

"Make yourselves at home. The turkey is almost done and then we can eat."

She disappears from view. My dad pats my back and follows behind her. I take a deep breath and glance around the house. Not much has changed since I was here last year. My dad already put up his gigantic Christmas tree in the living room. It's like every year he puts it up even earlier. Next year it'll be up on Halloween.

"They seem nice." Miles says softly and tucks a loose strand of my hair behind my ear.

I shrug my shoulders, staring up at him. His eyes look dark in this lighting. Still piercing. Still beautiful.

"They have their days. My dad is really chill but his wife is just...obnoxious."

"Yeah, I get that vibe too." He chuckles.

I smile as Miles wraps his arms around my waist, pulling me closer to him. I relax and lean my forehead against his chest, taking in the faint scent of cologne on his shirt. A lot of men go overboard with their fragrance but he managed to get just the right amount to not be overbearing.

"Bree!" A shriek erupts from across the living room.

I flinch at the sound of my name and pull away from Miles' grip. My aunt Mandy makes her way over to me with arms out for a hug. I fake my third or fourth smile of the day and give in to the physical contact. Miles stifles a laugh when he catches my uneasiness.

"My goodness, don't you look stunning. How has work been? Your father tells me you might be moving up in the company soon."

Of course he did. I tell something to dad and suddenly the entire family knows.

"It's not a sealed deal but yeah, I did get an offer."

"Well that's wonderful! That little coffee shop has always been one of my favorites when I'm in town. You guys are hilarious! When I heard it was becoming a chain, I got so excited."

I don't want to be rude but my head is going to explode. Every time I'm over here all we talk about is work or school. Since I'm not in school anymore, it's only been about work. I know there is only so much you can talk about with your family, but I guess I was just hoping for a more personal interaction. Then again, Aunt Mandy has never really cared about what's going on in my life. At least she's acting like she does. It is flattering.

"How's Ella and Elliot? Did you not bring them?" I ask.

Ella and Elliot are her ten years old twins from her ex husband. They're mischievous and crazy but they make these events way more interesting.

"No, they're with their father this year but I'll tell them you asked about them!"

The doorbell rings, interrupting the meaningless conversation we forced ourselves into to pass the time. I could've sworn everyone was already here but it wouldn't be a shock that my father invited more people I can't stand.

"I got it!" I yell to dad and jog over to the door.

I pull it open and swear I'm having a fucking nightmare when I see Ben and his parents standing in front of me.

"Hi Bree!" His mom exclaims and jumps forward to squeeze me.

I'm so thrown off and don't know how to react so I just let it happen. What is he doing here? What are they doing here? Oh my God, my dad has a lot of explaining to do.

"Derek! Natalie! Benjamin! So great for you all to join us!"

My dad strides down the hall and over to his old high school friends. Did he really invite them when I told him I was bringing my boyfriend? I am so infuriated that my hands won't stop shaking. I don't know what Miles is going to do when he sees him.

"Lily said the turkey only has a couple more minutes. The table is set so we can all get seated."

Derek and Natalie pass by me to the dining room with my father. Ben tries to walk past me but I grab his arm and tug him back., dragging him to the empty hallway out from everyone's view.

"What are you doing here?" I hissed.

He yanks from my grip and huffs. "It's Thanksgiving, Bree. Your dad invited us over for lunch because our turkey got ruined." He answers.

I cross my arms and stare at him. "Ruined? How?"

He shrugs. "Who knows. Does it matter? We're here now."

I roll my eyes. "Well you shouldn't be. I don't know why my dad would do that if I-"

"What? Brought your new boyfriend? Did you ever think that maybe this isn't about you?"

Of course I know this isn't all about me but my dad wouldn't want anyone to be uncomfortable during the holidays so I just thought he would know better. We haven't had them over for Thanksgiving since we were still dating. I thought he caught the hint when I told him they weren't coming the year we broke up.

"Bree?" Miles calls out.

I screw my eyes shut for a second and walk back to the front door entrance.

"Is everything okay?" He asks.

"Sort of..." I begin.

Ben steps out from behind me and I can feel the smirk on his face before I even turn around. Miles turns fifty shades of red and looks down at me, waiting for an explanation. I wish I had a good enough one.

Revised;