Trapped by My Crush's Dad

Chapter 32: Holiday Dreams

Mila's pov

"Mila, what are you doing? You could have gotten yourself hurt!" Robert sounded exasperated through his labored breath. It wasn't until I saw his wide eyes that I became aware of my impropriety.

"I'm sorry," I said, my voice trembling from adrenaline.

"Who are you trying to follow?" he asked in a raised voice.

"I-I..." I trailed off, unable to come up with a white lie on the spot. My mind was hazy from adrenaline and my mouth was dry. I was glad when he didn’t press and instead opened the door to go back inside.

The table Mr. Williams had been sitting at was the first one I saw. I shuddered with embarrassment. He could have interrupted our date just like he did before when Robert offered to take me to Mr. Adam. Why didn't he?

My chest burned with frustration as I racked my brain about how to handle this. He was pulling me in so many directions with little information to go on. It was like a game to him it seemed.

When we made our way to our table, my stomach churned as I saw the tiramisu still sitting there. It felt like a deliberate reminder of my naivetè. As Robert pulled his coat on, he glanced at the dessert.

"Do you want to take that?" he asked me. I shook my head with vehemence.

"I just want to call it a night," I said. He studied me for a minute but didn't ask me to elaborate. Instead, he grabbed his wallet, tossed some money on the table, then stuffed it into his pocket. Then we left and this time when I was outside, the air felt refreshing instead of suffocating.

Robert decided to drive me home instead of having me take a cab. When he dropped me off, I barely waved to him, I was so sidetracked. My mind was racing as I pulled on my blouse, fanning myself. Cold sweat trickled down my neck as I imagined what Mr. Williams heard.

There had to be a way to make this right.

As I waited outside, I wondered what to do. With trembling hands, I obsessively typed, deleted, then retyped texts to Mr. Williams. I didn’t send anything, however. I concluded this topic was probably something I needed to speak to him about face to face.

When I walked inside my house, my mother and father were gathered around a laptop.

"What's going on?" I asked, furrowing my brow.

"It's that time of year again!" my mother exclaimed with a bright smile. Gawking at her in confusion, she waved me over excitedly.

"We're picking out our air fare," my father said. At first, I didn't understand but then I remembered our holiday was about to begin, and my parents were discussing where the two families should go for vacation.

"Mila, do you have any ideas of a destination?" my father asked me.

"W-Well, let me take a look," I said, forcing my voice not to hitch. Sitting together with them, my mother scrolled through several resorts.

"I love this one," my mother said, pointing to a tropical destination. Check them out and tell me your pick.”

After marveling at the beautiful pictures, the crystal blue waters and powdery white sands had me hooked.

"This looks like an interesting place," I suggested with a shrug. I casually pointed to a seaside resort, in Placencia, Belize.

"Oh, Everett Sr. has an empty place there," my mom said. My heart began to pound at the sound of Mr. Williams' name.

"Maybe we could stay there. It would save some money on AirBNB,” I said. I knew my suggestion was grasping at straws, but I wanted to know more and of course, my response had to be one I’d normally say.

"That area is off limits, Mila," my father warned, sternly narrowing his eyes; it was almost as though he could read my mind. I glanced at him then back at my mother in question. She leaned in.

"It was where Everett Sr. and his wife met. It used to be her house. Ever since she left, we almost never go there." She pursed her lips and went back to looking at her laptop scrolling through more destinations. I could tell this was a touchy area.

"Mom, where did Everett's mother go, anyway?" I asked.

"She-" my mother began turning around to face me.

"That's not something we need to discuss," my father said, cutting her off. "Mila, you might want the inside scoop about Everett and his mother, but whether he wants to share personal details is his choice. Don't ask us to spread gossip."

The atmosphere fell sullen as my gaze lingered on his angry face. On the bright side, he thought I wanted to know so I could have some angle with Everett. But I didn't care about the impact it had on him. Mr. Williams was my only concern.

I was burning with curiosity to learn about his personal life, but I didn't dare to ask him directly. After tonight would he even care to see me again? My stomach was in knots. Suddenly, I felt very tired.

"I'm bushed. I think I'll head to bed," I said. My parents nodded. When I turned the corner I exhaled, glad to be left alone. As I trudged up the stairs, I heard my generic phone notification go off. As I pulled it out, I saw Everett's avatar.

Everett: Want to go to a party? It's the last one before the break.