“Wow, it sounds like your parents are tyrants.”

“Not tyrants. They just want the best for their children. Unfortunately they think that they’re the only ones who know what’s right for us. Trust me, it’s frustrating and sometimes ridiculous. But how can you get mad at them for caring?”

“I guess.”

“Doesn’t your dad worry about you?”

“If by worry you mean criticize then, yes, he worries about me all the time. Every single time I see him he’s worrying about me.”

I frowned at the bitterness in Nash’s voice. If his relationship was so bad with his dad, why were we going to see him for dinner? The answer was obvious. TO this day, Nash still wanted to make his dad proud. He wanted him to see how great he was doing making his own decisions. He, like everyone else, wanted his dad to be proud of him.

“So,” I said, trying to lighten the mood. “Should I wear a dress or pants tomorrow?”

“Pants,” he said with a smile. “They make your ass look better. And a sweater. It will make you look sweet and innocent.”

I grinned.

* * *

I ran up the three flights of stairs and down the hall, skidding to a stop in front of my dorm room. My hands shook as I grabbed the key and inserted it into the door.

“Sabrina you’re never going to believe what happened,” I said as I swung the door open.

I looked up and my bags fell to the floor with a thud.

“Mom? Dad?”

In front of me stood my parents, side my side, identical grins on their faces. My mother wore a fitted dress, ending at the calf, with matching peep-toe pumps and her hair was blown out behind her. My father wore khakis with a button down shirt and a cigar tucked in his pocket. His salt and pepper hair was slicked back, ending right above his collar. My mother stepped forward, her arms outstretched, waiting to embrace me. I stepped forward and let her arms curl around me in a loose, dainty hug.

“W-What are you doing here?”

Blood rushed through my ears as I ran my hand through my disheveled hair. It was nine in the morning and I crossed my fingers praying that my parents wouldn’t ask where I was or why I looked the way I did.

“We were waiting for you to come back,” my mother said. “Your lovely roommate told us that you went out for a run.”

Behind them, Sabrina winked at me.

“We wanted to see you, dear,” my father said. “We missed you and wanted to make sure that you were okay.”

“I’m fine, see?” I said and did a little dance in a circle. “Nothing to worry about.”

If my parents noticed how desperate I was to get them to leave, they didn’t show it. My father took a seat on my desk chair while my mother chose my bed. They both stared at me, waiting for me to say something. But what? What could I tell my parents? There was no way that I could tell them what was really going on at school. I couldn’t mention Nash, or the music, and I definitely couldn’t mention the drinking.

“How long are you here for?”

“Just tonight,” my mother said. “We were in the area and wanted to check up on our baby girl.”

Just in the area? Yeah right. But I sighed with relief. At least I would only have to cover my tracks for a little while.

“So tell us all about school.”

Sabrina stood up and slipped around my parents.

“Well, I’ll let you guys catch up,” she said. “I’m going to go get myself some food and then maybe see what Elizabeth is up to. Catch you later, Lily?”

“Definitely,” I said. “Thanks,” I added softly as she passed.

She winked and then let herself out of the dorm room, leaving me alone with my parents.

“Do you guys want to go out to lunch?” I suggested. “There’s a nice little bistro right on the corner.”

“That sounds like a wonderful plan,” my mother said and my father nodded. “Our treat. You work hard, after all, and you deserve a break.”

* * *

I nodded, gritting my teeth, as I picked up my bags and led my parents down and out into the street. This was not going to end well.

Ten minutes later the three of us were sitting at a table, under an umbrella, waiting for the food to be served. My mother drank a Malibu Bay Breeze, my father had a beer, and I nursed a Shirley Temple.

“So tell us about school, pumpkin,” my father said and put his elbow on the table. “I heard from your professors; they all said you are doing very well. I hear that you’re going to be on the Dean’s list.”

“All in your first semester too!” my mother cooed.

I stared at them dumbfounded.

“How do you know?” I asked.

“Your father’s friends with some of the professors and they did some looking into it for him.”

I balled my hands into fists under the table. My parents were checking up on me? They called my school to find out my grades? I felt… Violated. I thought going away to school was to get out of the scrutiny of my parents.

I should have known that they would do something like this. They never were going to think I was old enough to make my own decisions or let me do what I want without checking up on me.

“I’m glad to find out,” I said, trying to keep myself calm. “But I don’t like that you guys are calling my professors to check up on me.”

“We aren’t checking up on you, pumpkin,” my father said. “We just want to make sure that everything is going as planned. We want to make sure that you’re not drifting off the path.”

“The path?” I hissed. “You mean the plan that you created for me? The one that you want to see me accomplish? You mean the plan that I had no say in?”

“Don’t start, Lily,” my mother said as she sighed. “Your father and I are just looking out for you.”

“Yeah,” my father agreed. “We want the best for you, you know that.”

The problem was that I did know that. I knew that, deep down, my parents cared about me. They wanted to see me succeed and make something of myself. But they wanted me to make something of myself in a way that they agreed on. If it wasn’t something that they themselves didn’t think of then they didn’t tend to back the decision. It was vicious circle.

“I know,” I said.

There was no use fighting with them.

“I’m sorry. I’ve been under a lot of stress lately and I guess I’m just a bit tired.”

“It’s okay,” my father said as he patted my hand.

The waitress returned with our food, handing it out, and then disappeared. My mother picked at her food, stabbing her fork into the chicken only to move it to the other side of the plate. My father, on the other hand, gobbled his food up as if he hadn’t eaten in days. He barely looked up from his plate as he shoveled bite after bite down his throat.

“So tell us about the rest of college, dear,” my mother said. “There are no boys around, right? You aren’t running around at all hours of the night, are you?”

I bit my tongue and discreetly looked at my watch.

Only six hours and twenty-five minutes until they leave.

I only had to survive a little longer and then they would be gone.

* * *

I had finally made it through the next six and a half hours with my parents and was happy to lie down on my bed and relax. Sabrina and Elizabeth had gone to the mall so I was all alone and felt great to have peace and quiet. Before I knew it I had fallen asleep.

I probably could have slept all afternoon and night. A knock came from my door. I opened my eyes and rubbed them, trying to come back to reality. I laid there for a few seconds but someone continued to knock so I got out of bed and opened the door.

Standing in front of me was Turner and the red haired girl from the bar that was talking to Nash. I stood there speechless, not able to say anything. I knew Nash had lied to me the instant that I saw Turner with this girl. I could not believe it

“Hey Lily, this is my sister.”

Nash lied to me.