Perfectly Obsessed (5 page)

I don’t miss his bright smile at the mention of the boys and again, I can’t remember a time he smiled like that at the mention of my name.

He traipses up the stairs and my mother disappears back into the kitchen. I finish setting the table and look in the mirror. I mentally give myself a pep talk while I am alone. One dinner, that is all it is. I can do this.

Adam and Melanie are first to arrive with their two children, Louisa and Janie. Mark and his wife, Tanya are next to arrive. They have been trying for a baby for quite some time now with no success. The wives chat away, my brother’s catch my dad up on their last fishing trip and I remain alone, like usual.

“Can I help you with anything, Susan?” Melanie asks my mother.

When they first met, my mother couldn’t stand her. They argued about everything, from how Adam likes his tea made in the morning to how often she hovered the carpets at their house. Melanie fought her way in and now they are the best of friends. Me and her, not so much. I’m referred to as Auntie Cammie, the wild one, which is ludicrous. There is nothing wild about me.

“No thank you dear, I’m just waiting on the gravy and everything will be done. Why don’t you all take a seat at the table, dinner is nearly ready,” she smiles, affectionately.

My parents have always taken their seats at opposite ends of the table at meal times and tonight will be no exception. I sit to the right of my mother’s side and one away from her, leaving the both of us as a buffer for Drake, praying he will be safer eating next to her than my father.

“Who’s the extra chair for?” Mark asks, plopping down in the chair opposite me.

“That’s for Drake, Cammie’s friend. He will be joining us tonight, and speaking of which, shouldn’t he be here by now?”

I look to my mother and find her staring at the clock. It is five minutes after seven, Drake being late isn’t good in my father’s eyes.

“I’m sure he’ll be here any minute,” I say in his defence.

For ten further minutes everyone sits quietly around the table, I don’t meet anyone eyes and they keep their conversations low ready for when my father decides he has had enough.

They don’t have to wait long. His over dramatic sigh gets everyone’s attention first then he scowls at me.

“I’m not waiting any longer, everyone tuck in,” he barks, picking up his fork.

Just as he is about to shovel in his first mouthful of steak the doorbell rings.

“I’ll get it,” I say a bit too excitedly, not that anyone has moved to answer it.

I rush to the front door and breathe a sigh of relief when I see Drake on the door step.

“You’re late, where have you been?” I ask, dragging him inside and shutting the door.

He pulls me in and kisses me hard before he answers.

“I got held up at work, I’m here now.”

I take hold of his hand and lead him to the dining room which is eerily quiet now they finally get to meet the wild one’s friend.

My mother stands as he follows behind me and my father remains in his seat showing who the boss in this house is.

“Mr and Mrs Darcy it is very nice to finally meet you,” Drake says kindly, offering his hand to my mother. She accepts the offer and they shake hands, my father stiffly shakes his hand when Drake extends his hand in his direction.

I introduce him to my brothers and their wives but none of them move to shake hands. We take our seats and my mother begins her interrogation.

“Camila hasn’t told us much about you, is Drake your name given to you by your mother or some sort of nickname?”

Really? That’s what she wants to know first? And why does she have to use my full name? She knows I hate it with a passion.

“My mother named me,” he answers shortly.

“Are you close with your mother? I always think you can tell a lot about a man by how he is with his mother,” she rambles on.

“I visit her every week when I’m home and when I’m not around I make sure she is taken care off,” he tells her.

We haven’t spoken about his family before so this is new information to me.

This softens my mother and she passes him the gravy unasked. A sure sign she is warming to him. The woman doesn’t pass around her made from scratch gravy to just anyone.

I nibble at my food while Drake tucks into his steak after accepting the gravy and coating his dinner in it.

“What do you do for work, Drake?” she asks, continuing her interrogation.

“I’m a courier,” he replies, once again shortly but kindly.

My mother sees she isn’t going to get much more from him so she smiles around the table and raises her glass.

“Let’s raise a glass to your father and wish him…”

What a shocker, she is cut off by the birthday boy himself.

“I’m more interested in this man our daughter has brought into our home then toasting to my birthday, Susan.”

I see her jaw clench as she tries to keep her mouth shut, she knows my father won’t stop until he has gotten out what he wants to say.

Drake tenses beside me and I put my hand on his thigh under the table. I give it a little squeeze hoping he feels my plea to keep his calm because my father is about to push his buttons.

“Aren’t you a little old for my daughter?” he asks, disapprovingly.

“Dad, he’s only two years older than me. There’s more of an age gap between Mark and Tanya,” I point out but he completely ignores me.

He keeps staring at Drake until he answers him.

“Cammie doesn’t seem to mind,” he replies around a mouthful of potatoes.

I don’t know how he can still eat, this is turning into a battle and the last thing I want to do is eat.

“Yes, well, Camila doesn’t always make the best decisions, especially when it comes to the company she keeps.”

Drake throws his fork down on the plate with a clang and gravy splashes onto the white table cloth.

I keep my hand resting on his thigh and rub soothing strokes down to his knee remembering how he jumped to my defence yesterday at the coffee shop.

“It’s okay Drake,” I tell him.

“That’s a quick temper you’ve got there boy.”

Great, so now my father is goading him. I don’t know how long I can keep him in his seat.

“Tell me, has it ever got you into trouble?” my father asks.

Please, please, please just lie Drake.

“Not in the last couple of months, the first night I got out of prison I met Cammie. She has become my reason not to go back.”

Why oh fucking why?

The table goes silent and you could literally hear my father’s temper about to burst to nuclear levels. While it is sweet I am his reason to stay out trouble, why did he have to mention prison at all?

“But,”

Oh God, adding with a ‘but’ is never good.

“If you call me boy one more time, I’ll make an exception for you,” Drake threatens and the gates of hell burst open and all hell breaks out.

I am left sitting in my seat while my father pushes his chair over in his haste to stand, Drake does the same and my brother’s move to stand next to my father.

Melanie rushes the children out of the room and Tanya sits beside me watching the scene before us.

Tears begin to roll down my cheek. I expected this and yet my silent pleas for it to be different were not heard.

Yelling and threats bounce over my head so loud it is hard to hear who is threatening who.

“That’s it! Get out of my house!” my father roars.

“I’m going,” Drake assures him.

“You are not to see my daughter again, do you hear me?”

My breathing comes fast and the tears fall harder. No, he can’t order that.

Drake moves around his chair and pulls mine out. I quickly stand in front of him so he can’t leave.

He holds my head in his hands and uses his thumbs to wipe dry my eyes. He leans in and kisses my forehead, his lips linger there a few seconds too long and my father yells at him to leave again. Drake ignores him and rests his forehead against mine. He stares me straight in the eye and I wait for his goodbye.

“I have a question for you.”

My chest is heaving from sobbing but I concentrate on his eyes and wait for him to speak.

“Do you want to leave with me?”

“She is not leaving with you,” my father yells, adamantly.

We both ignore him and I nod, yes.

“Go and pack a bag and I’ll wait here,” he says, quickly kissing me before turning me to face the door.

I should be torn between my family and the man I am falling in love with but the choice has been made and with little mental debate. I cannot and will not let him be pushed out of my life. Drake has shown more compassion and love in a mere two months than my family has shown me in twenty-three years.

I run for the stairs leaving world war four commencing around the table and try to think of what I need to pack.

Scanning around my bedroom I grab my old gym holdall and stuff what clothes I can out of my wardrobe and inside the bag. I shove all my toiletries and makeup in too and quickly look around for anything else I might need. Most of my belongings are already at the hotel we’ve been saying at but I still want to take as much as possible.

“You should hurry up. I’m worried your boyfriend is going to go too far with your father.”

I jump around to see my mother standing in the doorway. Her tired eyes are filled with sadness and it makes me wonder how she has put up with my father all these years.

“I’m sorry but I have to go,” I cry.

“I know, I saw your face when you thought he was going to leave without you,” she says, softly, “Promise me, you’ll be careful and look out for yourself.”

“I will.” I promise, finishing packing.

I go to pass her and back track and very briefly cuddle her. I don’t know when I’ll see her again and out of everyone, I have seen her try with me and I will be forever grateful she didn’t make me feel completely alone growing up.

“Go now,” she whispers, ushering me to the top of the stairs.

I don’t need to be told twice. I am halfway down the stairs before I see everyone has moved from the dining room to the hallway. My father and Drake are in each other’s faces and when I hit the bottom step, I force myself between them facing Drake.

This time I hold his face so he looks at me.

“I’m ready, let’s go.”

A hand clamps down on my shoulder and Drake pushes over me to shove my father back.

“I don’t care who you are, you don’t put a fucking hand on her,” he yells and pushes me towards the door.

I don’t look back to see how my father looked, Drake walks close behind me until we are at the gate.

“Maybe you should say goodbye, you don’t know when you’ll be back,” Drake begrudgingly says, stopping me.

“Who says I want to come back at all?” I murmur, not bothering to look back.

It turns out it wouldn’t have made a difference, my father slams the front door shut and leaves me out in the cold like usual.

Drake takes my bag from me and throws it in the boot before coming around to open my door for me.

“I’m sorry that happened but I couldn’t stand by and take that for me or you.”

Placing my hand on his warm cheek I smile specially to show him that I am all right. 

I see the curtain twitching and know it is time to go before round two begins.

As soon as the doors are closed and the key is in the ignition we are driving away and I quietly say my goodbyes to a life I have been dying to get away from for years.

He pulls over on the side of the road after a few minutes, parks up and turns the engine off.

He goes to wipe my tears away but looks surprised when he doesn’t find any.

“I expected you to be upset,” he says.

“I feel…I don’t know, free now I think,” I tell him, unsure of the right word to describe how I am feeling right now. “I don’t know where we go from here and I don’t care.”

He nods and takes my hand in his, he pulls it up to his mouth and presses his lips on my skin.

“I want you to know that I will look after you, you don’t need to worry about anything. I love you Cammie Darcy and I won’t let anyone make you cry again.”

I would go through tonight a hundred times over if I knew I would be hearing those three little words from him.

“I love you too, Drake.”

“It’s just you and me now, babe. Are you ready?” he asks.

“Yes.”

“In that case Camila, I’m taking you home,” he grins.

I groan out loud and hide my face in my hands.

“Please, never call me that again. I hate it,” I moan, making him laugh.

“Whatever you say, babe.”

He turns the key and the car roars back to life and the back tyres spin out as we pull back onto the road.

My excitement of freedom and the many possibilities of how my life will now proceed far outweigh any other thoughts as we drive out of town under the darkening sky with Drake reaching for my hand.