Page 68 of A Little Bit Extra

"I am," I say, keeping my tone neutral, careful not to reveal anything he could use against her. I pull Cassie toward me by wrapping my arm around her waist.

“Well, it must not be serious enough if you didn’t tell us, son,” my dad says. He looks over at my mom.

“Honey, let’s let them enjoy their morning.”

He looks back at me. “Keep me updated about your next contract, Emmett. You can't be having—” His eyes linger on Cassie for a moment before refocusing on me. “Distractions.”

“Cassie isn’t a distraction,” I say, my tone laced with anger. Cassie’s hand tightens on my waist. “I’ll call you later, Mom. It’s nice to see you. We need to plan something soon.”

“Okay, sweetie. No worries. It was great to meet you, Cassie.”

Cassie smiles at my mom. My dad keeps looking from me to Cassie and back like he’s trying to figure us out.

On their way to the door, my dad stops by the end table next to the couch. He leans over to pick something up, turning back to me.

“What’s this? Are you daydreaming again, Emmett?” He scoffs, holding up a script I was working on.

“It’s nothing that concerns you,” I reply, trying to get him to ignore it.

“What do you mean it’s nothing?” Cassie asks, looking at me, begging me to stand up for myself.

I start to open my mouth to reply, but my dad interrupts me.

“You can’t seriously think you can become a writer, not without me backing you. Tell me, son, what are you doing next after this movie of yours is done filming?”

My eyes widen. This is not a conversation I want to be having right now. I’m not ready.

“I–I…” I stutter, not knowing how to respond. “I don’t have anything lined up.” My heart is racing a mile a minute.

“You don’t have anything? What about the contracts your agent sent?”

Of course my agent sent them to him as well, keeping my dad in the loop with all my decisions.

“I said no.”

“No? What do you mean you said no?” My dad starts pacing, still holding the script in his hand. His gaze is on the floor, but I can see his brows furrowed.

“I haven’t decided what I’m going to do yet.”

“And it’s all because of her.” My dad points to Cassie with his free hand and she shrinks, her body sliding down and back from mine.

“Mom?” I ask, pleading for her to say something.

For a moment, I think she might, but she looks at my dad first and when she turns back to me, I hardly recognize her. “Your father’s right, sweetie.”

“Oh, for fuck’s sake. I’m my own person, okay? Has it ever occurred to you that I might not want to be like you?” My voice is elevated and I’m furious. There is a void at my side, letting me know Cassie has retracted her hand. I whip my head to look at her, but she won’t meet my gaze. I reach out to cup her cheek with my hand. When her eyes finally meet mine, my heart shatters into pieces. She bites her lip, blinking rapidly to keep the tears in her eyes before shaking her head out of my hand.

I watch as she walks out of the kitchen and back toward the bedroom.

“You need to leave,” I snarl at my parents, not giving a fuck what they say to me.

“We won’t approve this Emmett. She’s not worth it,” my dad says like I care about his opinion in the matter.

“You know what? She’s worth everything. And fuck, I don’t want to act anymore. Okay? I’m a writer, Dad. A fucking writer. And if you can’t accept that, then I think we are done here.”

My mom’s jaw goes slack and her eyes widen with shock.

“You’re going to regret this,” are the only words my dad says before he leaves the apartment.

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