Page 121 of Encounter

“What is it?” I asked, trying to not sound guilty.Shit, why even am I guilty?! I’m almost twenty—I can spend the night wherever I want, with whoever I want.

“You’ve got some nerve asking that question. Where the hell are you?” Oh,wow. He sounded even more unpleasant than expected.

“What are you talking about Dad, you—”

“Did you forget about lunch? Or are you notadultenough for that?”

“Jesus Christ, what are you talking about?!” I nearly shouted, feeling like he slapped me in the face with all the unnecessary aggression. “Wh-what lunch?” There was no damn lunch, I was sure of that. I would’ve preemptively worried over something like that enough to remember it.

“I told you about it. Twelve-thirty, River Grove, family lunch,” he stressed those words, and as much as I was still trying to piece together what the hell was going on, I understood why his mood was so foul. By family, he meant the entire family—freaking great. That meant not only my grandparents driving him up the wall, but also Uncle Henry’s presence.

I ought to remember having to be part of something like that. A recipe for a disaster more explosive than TNT.

“You never told me about this damn lunch, Dad, I swear to God!”

Chast stared at me from the other side of the bed with his brows raised to the max.

“Do not argue with me about this.” Dad sounded like he was going to start full-on screaming at me any minute. “I would hardly fail to mention something like that, but in any case, you better get here right away, wherever you are!”

How was it my fault that he didn’t tell me about this?!

Before I got a chance to fight back, he ended the call. Barely containing myself from throwing the phone against the wall, I ground my teeth and felt too overwhelmed to do anything but sit there.

“Gale?” Chast crawled up to me, touching my shoulder.

“Shit!” Jerking up, I ran my eyes over the floor in panic. “I’ve got to get there before—”

“You don’t have to go if—” He wanted to calm me but did the exact opposite.

“Ugh, no! Of course, I have to!” I groaned with hands over my face. “You don’t understand, they’ll— Dad’s gonna lose his shit if I don’t come. My grandparents will eat him alive, and then he’ll be taking it out on me for the next month and—”

Crawling over the bed to get to me, Chast squeezed both of my shoulders and made me face him instead of pacing.“Okay. Calm down then.” His eyes softened, helping me center. “You go take a quick shower. I’ll call you a taxi.”

I don’t deserve him. I’m such a mess.

“Okay.” I nodded a few more times before I looked firm enough for Chast to let go. Picking up the clothes from the floor in a hurry, I ran out of the room and nearly killed Kitty who laid on the floor right in front of the door—probably in protest to how rudely we evicted her last night.

I was already getting sick to my stomach. Not even the cold shower helped.The only thing I had going for me was the clothes I came in—they were fancy enough to satisfy the snobby taste of my family, but something told me I wouldn’t get any grand entrance. No, I was dressing up for my own funeral, more like...

By the time I ran out of the bathroom, Chast was standing in the kitchen in his briefs, making coffee. I panicked in the hallway before remembering where my glasses were. I found them in the bedroom, put them on and when I walked out, I almost bumped into Chast.

“Hey, hey, hey!” He stopped me with a frown. “Try not to get a panic attack on the way there, aight? Your taxi’s gonna be here any minute. C’mere.” Holding my cheek with one hand, Chast ran the other through my hair, probably fixing the mess that it was. “All good.” He smiled.

“I can’t guarantee that,” I said, adjusting the collar of my shirt because it was already choking me. Not to mention I was sweating buckets.

“Fuck ‘em,” he announced confidently and wouldn’t let me to the door until I repeated it.

“Fuck... Fuck ‘em,” I murmured.

“That’s the spirit. Now go get them.” Meeting me for a deep French kiss, he stepped away as the taxi outside honked its arrival.

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