Page 23 of Unfinished

“Come in,” I shouted, and my father opened my door and came in. He closed the door behind him and sat down in a chair.

“Liam,” he started, and I raised my hand.

“I have dismissed dreams of what I wanted to do with my life for this family, for your business. I don’t think it’s too much to ask that I have one part of my life to decide for myself.”

“I agree, it’s not too much to ask.” My father agreed with me and I gave him a blank stare waiting for the other shoe to drop, and it did, “But you have to understand what a wife should be too. You will be attending awards, charity events, galas, premiers, and countless other formal events in which a wife will need to make you look good. That’s not even talking about the secrets this family has that she would be entrusted with.”

“Wow,” I shook my head, “do you and mom even love each other? Or was your marriage simply for convenience?”

“If she didn’t love me she wouldn’t have forced me to retire as CEO.”

“Don't mistake control for love. I want real love, if I happen to find it now or I find it in ten years. I will meet and love someone who lights me up and feels … honest. Someone who would never say to me what mom said about you downstairs.”

“Who’s to say that one of these girls won’t feel that way for you?”

“Because I’ve already met every single one of them, I’ve dated half of them, they only want me for a free ride while they pursue degrees in something frivolous that they will never use. I want someone who doesn’t give a rat’s ass about my last name, the family business or money. I want someone who has her own goals and will work for her own money because she wants to.”

“You found this?” He looked at me wide-eyed.

“I think so, and I will not walk away from it.”

“And she can fall in line and act how we all have to act in order to not fall under scrutiny?”

“Fuck, I’m so sick of this facade that everyone thinks we need to hide behind.”

“It’s how we survived,” my father stated.

“No, that’s how you end up having a heart attack,” I huffed. It was a low hit but it was the truth. My father’s heart attack was scary for all of us but it also put a lot of things into perspective regarding what I really wanted out of life.

“I can see this conversation is done,” my father stood and walked out of my bedroom. I looked at the time and decided I’d leave early to pick up Hannah. I could use a bit of the calming power she had over me.

“You’re early.” Hannah opened her door. I immediately pulled her in for a hug and picked her up. She wrapped her legs around me and I buried my face in her neck, breathing in her mango and vanilla scent.

“I couldn’t wait anymore.”

“Are you okay?”

“Parents,” I breathed and she nodded and squeezed me tighter. She didn’t need to ask because she already knew the struggles I had with my parents. We talked extensively about what my parents expected from me. It was also like she instinctively knew that all I wanted to do was hold her and she let me.

I didn’t know how long I held her like that, but when the last of my tension melted away, I set her down on her feet and kissed her long and hard.

“Do you want to sit and talk?” She asked and I shook my head.

“We can leave a little early,” I responded and she nodded. She grabbed her keys and shouted goodbye to Ashley.

We drove out near Joshua Tree and I parked in a vacated area. I blew up an air mattress with a pump and slid it in the bed of the truck, then arranged blankets and pillows on top.

I helped Hannah climb up into the back and followed her up. We kicked off our shoes, placing them near the wheel well and laid down next to each other in our comfortable silence. We gazed up as the stars twinkled into existence and filled the night sky. She was lying on me at a bit of an angle and I was holding her hand at her ribs while twirling her hair with the fingers of my other hand.

“This is beautiful,” she whispered.

“You’re beautiful,” I responded, and we went quiet again.

Hannah had been the only woman I ever felt comfortable sitting in silence with. I had no anxiety, we weren’t playing games, we were just us in a peaceful moment.

“I don’t get to come out here for this all that often,” she mused a couple of minutes later.

“I’ve never come out here for this.”

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