“Going out?”

“Yeah...could I have the keys to the truck? I’m picking Caleb up in thirty minutes. We’re going out to eat.”

Robert cocked his eyebrows, as if he was worried about Caleb’s masculinity or something. “You’re picking him up? Shouldn’t it be the other way around?”

“He got his license suspended. He can’t drive right now.”

“He got his license suspended? For what?”

Shit. There wasn’t any use lying to him. “For a DUI.” I watched as Robert’s eyes widened “It wasn’t that big a deal,” I persisted, “he wasn’t even driving. He was drinking a beer in the cab of his truck, and he was going to sleep in the back. His sleeping bag was rolled out and everything. The cop just wasn’t very understanding. He should have been charged with underage drinking, not a DUI. He literally only had one beer...” He had also been caught smoking a joint, but if I were to tell Robert that I would probably never see Caleb again, let alone go to Sonic Emergence.

Robert crossed his arms in front of chest implacably.

“Caleb’s underage. He shouldn’t be drinking anything, not even a beer.”

“Stepfather-”

“Jesus Christ, Emily. I haven't even met this boy, and it turns out he has a DUI? The answer is no.”

Damnit. Roberts urge to protect me was going to fuck everything up. I could forget about my plans to steal Caleb's job. “It’s not like he’s an actual criminal or something,” I pleaded.

“Well, Emily, I’m sure glad my daughter isn’t dating an actual criminal. You made him out to sound like a good guy."

“Stepfather--”

“No Emily, that’s final. It’s not up for discussion. I’m responsible for your safety, and I’m not going to let you hang around with that boy. It’s that simple.”

“Fine,” I said. My lip was trembling a little, but I did my best to freeze the expression on my face. I turned around and walked to my room, fighting the urge to slam the door. Of course, I was still going to go to Sonic Emergence. I was going to get what I wanted. But now I would have to sneak around behind my stepfather’s back, and that was going to be a real headache.

****

It was movie night again. I was trying hard to hide how disappointed I was, but it wasn’t quite working. I’d been pretty cold to Robert over the past couple of days; I even told him to pick the movie this time, even though I always had, ever since we’d started this little family tradition.

I settled into the couch, not asking what it was. I pulled my phone out to shoot Caleb a quick text.

“Are you okay, honey?” He seemed pained by the way I was treating him. My indifference to him was taking its toll, just like I knew it would.

“I’m fine,” I responded, not looking up.

He reached out and touched my arm. “If something’s wrong, you can let me know, okay?”

“I just told you nothing’s wrong,” I snapped, injecting annoyance into my voice until it came out as a full-on bratty whine. I pulled my arm away. “God.”

He didn’t say anything. I stuck to my end of the couch, withholding my affection from him. Let’s see how he likes it, I thought. I flicked my eyes up to his face for a second, just to check out the results. Good. He was holding his hurt in. It was plain as day to me. Now all I had to do was twist the knife a little. It was totally unlike me, but I was pissed. Just because Robert thought I was his little possession, didn’t mean I was going to let him ruin my whole future.

“I can’t go to the cabin next Sunday, either. I’m going shopping with Melanie and Vanessa.”

He didn’t say anything. He watched the screen stonily for a second before he turned to me. “But you love going there. You were so excited about it.”

“Well I guess now I’m not.” I couldn’t believe the words I was saying. I was being such a brat. Robert’s face looked like it was being deflated. I’d never seen him look so hurt before, about anything. I felt an acidic pang in my stomach. There was no reason to take it this far. Just because I knew his only weakness, it didn’t mean I had to use it to hurt him like this.

“Okay, sweetheart. Are you sure?”

It felt wrenching to tell him, but I stubbornly forced myself to say the words: “I’m sure.”

“Okay.” The expression on Robert’s face was one of complete destruction. He turned away from me for a moment, ostensibly to adjust the cushion behind him.

I felt bad, but I wanted to get my way. I wasn't going to sit at home when I should be having a life.

I felt even worse when I saw the movie. It was Pitch Perfect, my favorite. I’d asked him to choose, and of course he had picked the one he knew I liked the most. I put my phone away guiltily and glanced at Robert again. He was staring straight ahead, his face expressionless. I melted a little and scooted towards him, taking up my familiar position on the couch with my head on his leg. I wanted him to play with my hair, or touch me, or do something. But he didn’t lift a finger; he just sat there coldly.

The movie ended, and I was still wide awake.

****

“Are you sure this is okay?” Caleb asked. I had just got off lifeguarding, and we were hanging around my house. I rolled my eyes.

“It’s fine. My daddy doesn’t get home for another two hours. He has a board meeting.”

Caleb took a sip of his yerba mate and shifted on the couch uncomfortably. “Why do you always call him that? Your daddy? It’s not like you’re a little girl.”

I was annoyed with Caleb--I didn’t always call Robert daddy; just sometimes. “Because that’s what he is. You should be kissing my ass right now. I managed to make him let me go to Sonic Emergence.”

“Really? You made it sound like he was really pissed about my DUI. Oh man, Sonic Emergence is going to be so heady! It’s going to be too trip!”

“He is pissed. In fact, I’m not supposed to see you again, ever. And he doesn’t actually know I’m going to Sonic Emergence. I told him I’m going to go shopping with Melanie and Vanessa instead.”

Heady. Too trip. I was so irritated.

“Why did you have to get that stupid DUI? You were at the beach and it was crowded. You knew the cops were going to be near. That was really stupid.” I felt like hitting him.

“It wasn’t my fault--” Caleb whined, just as the front door slammed open. I froze in my seat. Robert was standing there in his business suit with a phone pressed against his ear. For a moment, he seemed too annoyed with something to even look up at us. He loosened his tie as he walked in, and I swore I could see his veins bulging in his neck. That board meeting hadn’t gone too well, I gathered.

His expression didn’t change as he walked into the house.  Shit, I thought. Look at what Caleb had got me into now. Robert was clearly pissed about something already; he probably wouldn’t have any patience left over for me...or Caleb for that matter.

“Emily, what are you doing?” he finally hissed. This little annoyance of finding me with Caleb, on top of whatever shit storm had just occurred, would likely send him over the edge.  "Quit saying, 'I’m sorry',” Robert fumed to the person on the other end of the call. “Sorry isn’t good enough. How could you let them persuade you that reducing our equity was a good decision? You need to be talking to me. Look, I’ll call you back. Something’s come up that’s more important than your little fuck-up."

There was an exasperated moment as he put his phone away.

“Jesus Christ, Emily-” he began.

“He was just leaving,” I ventured, trying to keep my voice even. “He just came by because he was heading back to The Palms already, and I gave him a ride...

His face burned with the expression: Emily, get him out of here before I drag him out by his stupid dreadlocks!

“Come on,” I told Caleb, “you need to get going.” I dragged him out, then returned to Robert’s side.