Situationship [Complete]

18 | I Had Fun

"How did the party go?" Mom asks to distract from Dad's grumbling.

"It was fun," I say, and I mean it.

I had fun. I enjoyed something at a wedding event. Either the world is ending or Heath is growing on me. Not sure which I prefer, to be honest.

Dinner at my parents' house on a Saturday wasn't in my schedule, not that they care about my plans. I needed to drop off my dress, and they caught me. No escaping other than the demands of their current case.

Even though we have a rule of no business at the dinner table, that doesn't work well when a big case gets tricky. And, when your clientele is mainly Fortune 100 companies on retainer, tricky is the name of the game. Corporate law is wild.

Dad comes in from the next room with a dazed look on his face. He must be losing sleep over it, too. He sits with a sigh and picks up his glass of brandy. It's a hard liquor kind of night.

"How's everything going with the case?" I ask him.

"Not well," he answers, then takes a generous swig from his tumbler. "Always keep a client happy, and always keep them quiet. That's my advice." Cool.

Levi, is cleaning the table from our meal. Rowan has already left the table for his room. I'm on my own with Mom and Dad, just waiting for my opportunity to leave.

"So . . . We got our grades back for the summer semester last night. Ryan and I got a high pass for our trial performance." The pride I feel must show on my face. I wait for their rare praise.

"Very good, Teagan!" Dad says.

"Yes! Great work, darling!" my Mom agrees. She reaches forward and squeezes my hand in hers. "My perfect little girl. You always do well and we know you always will."

My skin warms with their words. "Thank you." I live for their validation. But I also fear losing it.

"And you received the top score, no doubt," he says.

My warmth cools. "Well . . . one team scored higher, but that's still out of 11 teams."

He hums as if he's trying to solve a riddle. "I figured you would be first. You always come in first. Ryan is dragging you down with him," Dad's snide remark comes while his focus returns to his phone.

While that's not completely untrue, it wasn't because of Ryan's performance. "It wasn't his fault. Something happened right before we went in," I attempt to explain. "A security guard—" Dad's ringtone ruins my sentence.

"Sorry, my darlings, I have to take this," Dad says as he rises from his seat. "I'm very proud of you, Teagan."

My smile twitches back up, but it doesn't quite remedy the downhill slide of my mood. I cross my arms over my middle, fighting the urge to nibble at my thumb. I'll satisfy my oral fixation later.