I exhaled and shook my head slowly. “No, Dad,” I replied quietly, “I’m in love with Elise.”
He stopped moving, and his smile dropped just like that. It was like watching a bomb go ka-boom. “What?”
“I tried not to,” I explained hastily. “But the heart wants what it wants, right? It happened and…I can’t fight it anymore.”
His fork dropped from his hand, clattering on the plate. He stared at me in disbelief. “You’re in love with Elise,” he repeated. “Is that what I just heard?”
“Yes.”
“Does she know this, Aston?”
I chuckled dryly. “We love each other, Dad. We’re…together.”
He looked away from me for several moments, thoughtfully scanning the restaurant with an indiscernible expression. I was still nervous, but I felt like a weight had fallen from my shoulders. The worst was over. It was out there. He knew, and that meant no more hiding.
“How long?” he asked me solemnly, blue eyes back on mine. “How long has this been going on, Aston?”
“Several weeks,” I responded.
“So not long at all.”
“Long enough that we’re attached.”
Minutes passed. His mortification petered off, replaced with a morose look that was worse than disappointment.
He hated me. I felt it. I knew it. I was almost close to apologizing, but I couldn’t do that. I didn’t feel sorry for loving his daughter. Not at all.
“You can yell at me,” I told him sternly. “You can disown me. You can tell me you hate me. I’ll understand.”
He looked at me, startled. “Hate you? I could never hate you, Aston. I love you, always.”
“Then what is it?”
“I…I’m trying to figure out if I’m to blame for this. I guess…I always thought you both were too young, that you’d grow up together like…like siblings. I didn’t see this coming, and maybe I should have.”
“It’s no one’s fault.”
He took a steady breath, trying to maintain control of his emotions as he asked, “Have you…touched her?”
I kept my eyes on him as my insides raged with guilt. “Yeah,” I admitted. “I have.”
“In the house?”
I wanted to bite my tongue off. “Yeah.”
“Have you both taken it slow?”
“We…tried.”
Tried but failed, and he knew it.
He forced a nod, but his horror was apparent. More silent minutes passed, and while it was uncomfortable as fuck, I kept my eyes levelled to his, never breaking away.
After a century of this torture, he leaned over the table and said, “How is this going to work, Aston? This is a new relationship. What’s going to happen next? She’s staying here, and you’re leaving. Did you think about that?”
“Of course.”
“What are you going to do? There are a lot of problems already.”
“If this is about keeping an image and letting everyone know –”
“I couldn’t give a shit if the world knew you and her were together, Aston,” he cut in sharply, looking insulted. “Goddammit, I’m not like that, do you understand? Images are made to change. If the town hates us tomorrow, then we’ll give ‘em some pitchforks and let them have their say. I don’t care. What I care about is how this is going to work. So answer me. What are you going to do when you’re gone and she’s here?”
“I don’t have to go,” I told him confidently. “I’ll stay right here with her.”
His eyes hardened. “You’re going to stay? Here?”
“Yeah.”
“You’re going to throw it all away, you mean?”
“There’s a college here –”
“Don’t insult my intelligence, Aston. I’m not as bright as you, but I’m certainly not as clueless either. The college here is shit. You have a scholarship because you are destined for greater things. You could be the next goddamn Einstein, and you want to throw it all away to be here? I won’t allow it.”
“Then I’ll take her with me,” I retorted.
“You’d take high school off her?”
“She’ll go to one in the city.”
Dad exhaled, shaking his head. “Think about what you’re saying, Aston. What is she going to do over there with you? You know how busy you’re going to be. How are you going to find the time to be with her? You have to sacrifice one thing for another. Your brain dominates you. If you stayed here, you’d go stale. If you left with her, you’d neglect her.”
“I love her, Dad,” I told him adamantly. “With or without your approval, we’re going to be together. Even if we have to run away, we’ll be together.”