Chapter 12 Suck
Ava Reed
Lunch was exactly as I expected, awkward, stiff, and filled with the kind of silence that made the clinking of utensils against plates sound almost deafening. My mother had gone all out, preparing an elaborate meal that no one seemed to have the appetite to enjoy. My older sister, Naomi, had driven three hours to be here, and I could tell by the tight smile on her face that she was already regretting the decision. I felt sorry for her, she’d made all that effort just to sit through an unbearable family gathering that was clearly orchestrated for something none of us had been informed about.
We sat around the dining table with the tension practically screaming into the air. The food was great, but the mood was suffocating. Naomi and I exchanged glances, silently communicating our shared misery. She took a sip of her wine, leaning slightly toward me as she muttered under her breath,
“I should have stayed home.”
I smirked, stabbing at a piece of grilled chicken. “You and me both.”
Just as I was about to make another snarky remark, my mother cleared her throat. Loudly. The kind of deliberate cough that wasn’t for clearing her throat but for commanding attention. And sure enough, the table fell silent.
“Ava,” she started, her eyes shifting toward my father, “your father has something to tell you.”
My grip on my fork tightened. There it was, the reason for this whole charade. I knew this lunch was a trap the second I got the invitation. My father never initiated family gatherings, especially not ones that included all of us sitting down at the same table as if we were a functional, loving unit.
I forced myself to look at him, my stomach twisting in anticipation. He was chewing slowly, taking his time like whatever he was about to say wasn’t going to flip my world upside down. My father never spoke without purpose. If he called me here, it could only have something to do with my life and my plans for it.
Naomi, sensing my unease, placed her hand on my knee beneath the table. A small, reassuring squeeze. I barely had time to appreciate the gesture before my father wiped his mouth with his napkin, set it down beside his plate, and finally spoke.
“My star player needs in-live physiotherapist,” he said in that firm, authoritative tone he always used when making an offer that wasn’t really an offer. “And I’m willing to give you the job.”
I blinked. Once. Twice. The words didn’t immediately register, as if my brain was actively rejecting them. I turned to Naomi, hoping I had misheard, that maybe my imagination was playing cruel tricks on me.
But the wide-eyed look on her face confirmed that I’d heard him correctly.
The world seemed to tilt slightly, my pulse roaring in my ears. This had to be a joke. My father, the same man who had barely acknowledged my career, the same man who had dismissed my ambitions for years, was now offering me a job?
For his team?
Without making me feel like a total screw up?
I swallowed hard, as my appetite completely disappered. My gaze snapped back to him, searching for any trace of humor, any sign that this was some stupid prank.
“Are you serious?” I asked, my voice sharper than I intended.
He met my eyes with that unreadable expression, the one that always made me feel like I was a child seeking his approval and never quite measuring up.
“I wouldn’t say it if I wasn’t.”
I scoffed, shaking my head.
“You do realize I already have a job, right?” I lied
What was I doing? Diane would kill me right now
“A job? From what I know, you don’t and if you did, it’s barely paying you enough to live,” he countered smoothly. “This is a real opportunity, Ava. One that could put you back on track.”
Back on track. Like my current life was some kind of detour, a mistake I needed to correct.
I clenched my jaw, anger and disbelief swirling inside me like a storm. Naomi's fingers tightened on my knee, a silent warning not to explode. But how could I not? My father, the man who had all but dismissed me as a failure, was suddenly acting as if he was doing me some grand favor by throwing me a bone.
I knew it, this was him trying to make me feel like a screw up. He wouldn’t ever miss an opportunity to do so.
I let out a bitter laugh.
“So let me get this straight, you’re offering me a job? After years of telling me I wasn’t cut out for this?”
He exhaled through his nose, looking mildly exasperated as if my resistance was just a minor inconvenience.
“You have the skills. And I need it.”
“Now you do?” I challenged, crossing my arms. “What happened to physiotherapy not being an actual job?”
He held my gaze for a long moment before saying,
“My player needs the best.” He sighed, turning to look at my mother, like she had him on some kind of spell he was trying to resist “And I believe you can be the best
For a split second, something inside me wavered. The words I had been desperate to hear from him for years, acknowledgment, validation, were right there, being handed to me in the most backhanded way possible.
I hated how much I wanted to believe him. How much I wanted this to mean more than just a convenient business move for him.
But I wasn’t naive.
I glanced at Naomi, her expression carefully neutral but her eyes screaming at me to tread carefully. I sucked in a breath, then turned back to my father, schooling my expression into something unreadable.
“Thanks for the offer,” I said coolly, pushing my plate aside. “But I’ll have to think about it.”
His jaw tightened ever so slightly, a sign that he wasn’t used to being brushed off. But he didn’t argue. He simply nodded once and returned to eating, as if he hadn’t just thrown a grenade into the middle of the dining table.
Lunch continued in unbearable silence.
And all I could think about was how I had walked into this house knowing I’d leave pissed off.
I just hadn’t expected this to be the reason why.
“But lemons aren’t so bad for your health if you take them raw.” I hear Liam’s voice in my head.
It had been a week and he still hunted me, I could still feel him between my legs and smell him in my bed and now, I could hear his guru remarks now and well…
“You know what?” I look up to my father “When can I start?” I ask with a large smile
This was my lemon and fuck! I was going to suck this motherfucker!