Sangi and Chelsea spent the rest of the afternoon locked away in the bedroom. Chelsea knew somewhere below them Matthew was there trying to get through to his mother. She didn’t really see the point. As far as she was concerned, people didn’t change. She was still angry with Matthew as well. Lying was the quickest way to get on her bad side.
As the sun went down, there was a loud knock on the door. Matthew peeked his head in as if to test the atmosphere of the room. If she wasn’t so angry, Chelsea would have laughed. He looked like he was planning a retreat at the earliest sign of trouble.
“Your parents just pulled up.”
Chelsea brightened up at the prospect of seeing her parents. She brushed past Matthew, flying down the stairs until she saw them in the entrance. Her mother smiled up at her right away, dropped her bags and pulled her into a vice grip hug. She turned to her dad hugging him tightly. It felt good to be in his arms, like she was a little girl again. He kissed the top of her head. She never wanted to let go.
“Hey baby. We almost got lost trying to find this big ole’ house,” her mother touched her cheek. “Don’t you look beautiful. Where’s that fiance of yours?”
Matthew walked down the stairs, hand in his pocket, smile in place. Chelsea’s mother gave him a hug before he extended his hand to her father. For a brief moment, Chelsea thought her father was going to just ignore his outstretched hand. However, he soon sat the bags on the floor before gripping Matthew’s hand. The only indication he’d done it hard was the almost imperceptible wince that flashed across Matthew’s face.
“Okay, daddy! That’s enough,” Chelsea said.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Ayers.”
“That’s Colonel Ayers. I hope you’ve been treating my Chelsea right.”
“I try my best, sir.”
“Then why are her eyes all red? She ain’t smoked weed since high school, so I’m gonna guess, she’s been crying.”
The look in her father’s eyes was deadly. Chelsea felt a shiver run up her spine. Her father could pick things up about her so quickly it was scary. In her mind, he had barely glanced at her, but in that time he knew all he needed to know. Matthew’s mouth didn’t seem to be forming coherent words anymore as he mumbled.
“Well ah…you see…I don’t…”
“I’m fine, daddy. You know I have a tree allergy. It’s really bad here. Come on, why don’t we show you your room?”
Her father glanced at her a while longer, before he finally nodded. Matthew took her mother’s bags before they set off up the stairs. Her parents were just down the hall from her, in case they needed anything. Matthew placed her mom’s bags on the bed.
“There you are, Mrs. Ayers.”
“Call me Dorothy, please.”
Matthew flashed his charming grin. “Of course, Dorothy. Dinner will be ready in about ten minutes if you want to freshen up. Chelsea’s door is down there on the left. Just knock and we’ll take you down.”
Chelsea’s dad scoffed. She had to agree with him that time. Matthew was doing his schmooze control he used on all of his clients. While her mother was flattered, she and her father saw right through it.
“We’ll leave you two alone,” Chelsea said as she steered Matthew out of the room.
Once the door was safely closed behind them, Matthew leaned against the wall. Chelsea had to cover her mouth to stifle the fountain of giggles pouring from her lips. Matthew shook his head at her.
“Your dad is scary.”
“I told you. I’m his little angel,” she said batting her eyelashes.
“Yeah, right,” he looked at her until she felt self conscious. “Are you still mad at me?”
Chelsea nodded. “Yes. I don’t like liars. You said you would do something then you didn’t do it. If you had, you could have saved me a bunch of embarrassment.”
Matthew stepped closer to her. She let him massage her shoulders before she buried her head against his chest. The smell of his deodorant lingered with the smell of his skin. It was comforting.
“I’m sorry, I really am. I’m going to make it up to you. I meant what I said too, we can leave. Tomorrow if you like.”
Chelsea shook her head. “If we leave early, my dad will know something’s up. He’s kind of already on a warpath.”
“Why?”
Chelsea kissed his cheek before she started walking back to her room. “He doesn’t like you.”
Matthew hurried after her quickly trying to bombard her with questions. She let him try as she slipped into her room. Although her anger was lessening as the hours passed by, she still wanted him to know what it felt like, what she’d gone through upon meeting his mother, just a little. Chelsea had no real idea if her dad liked him or not. While he could just about always read her, it was very rare that she could do the same.