Before the Car | Escapes #0.5

Chapter 7

"I'm hiring Charlie," my dad announced one evening. I looked up from my phone, my mind reeling. "He came to me to ask about running a store, so I told him he'd have to start off at the bottom just like my own son." He sat in his recliner. Just like that, he was signaling that he was done.

My mom didn't even look up from her crocheting. "That's nice, dear," she said in a monotone that seemed to imply it wasn't nice, but she wasn't going to argue. 

"Wait, wait, wait," I said setting my phone down and scooting to the edge of the sofa. "What do you mean, you're hiring Charlie? I've been looking for a job for six months! You're seriously going to hire him instead of me?"

Dad gave me a look that pinned me to the spot. "Yes. He's not a liability. You are. Her birthday is still three months away. I don't want to risk anything happening yet. Not until it gets closer."

I felt all the air go out of my sails. Liability? Seriously? "Dad, I haven't seen her since I passed her on my way home the last night at the furniture store. That's been six months. Six. Why do you think I'm still obsessed with her?"

He raised an eyebrow and pointed at me. "You remember exactly how long it's been since you've seen her. That tells me a lot. Son, Brayden, look. I know you like her and there's nothing wrong with that. In fact, I don't think you could make me happier than you could by marrying her. But I worry about you making a move on her right now."

My teeth clenched. I couldn't believe he had the nerve to tell me that. "I have no intention of doing anything. She doesn't pay me any mind and probably hasn't given me a second thought. It's ultimately up to her if anything happens between us, anyway, right?"

Dad sighed. "Brayden, I want to be safe instead of sorry. You're sweet and kind. That's the type of person she needs right now, and I think she'd easily fall for your personality. I don't want to take any chances."

He had a point there. If she fell for me, then I knew I would date her. Waiting for her to be legal was probably for the best. "Fine," I said, knowing my tone probably sounded like I was sulking. Which I was.

Silence settled on the room for a few minutes before Dad sighed. "You can come in and do some training with Charlie. He needs someone to show him the ropes. I think you can do that. But you're coming in during the day while Jenny is at school."

My frown deepened. "Dad, you know me and Charlie don't-"

"I know, but this time you're the one above him. You're going to be his trainer. He's never worked in the stock room. He's never restocked. You're going to be his personal manager for now and check after him. Just report directly to me instead of trying to straighten things out yourself. I don't want to put up with his grandmother whining to me about how you're not being fair to him."

The response surprised me. I didn't realize he didn't like his own family. That was when I realized something. "Wait, where is Charlie going to be staying? I'm in the guest room, and my old room is an office now."

Mom and Dad exchanged glances. "He's going to be in the gest house," Mom replied. 

I looked at her. "You knew about this? Why am I the last one to find out? Why didn't you guys ask me what I thought?"

They looked at each other again, and I knew they were going to be on each other's side. As they should be, but that just meant there was no one on my side. Again. "It's not your decision in the end," Dad said. "We already knew what your response would have been, and we took it into consideration."

I stood, feeling anger well up, sitting heavily in the pit of my stomach. "You knew my response, but it apparently meant nothing. I'm going to bed." I turned and walked out of the room, trying to ignore the people behind me telling me to stop being childish.