36~ Never Knew I Needed

I don't think I had been this nervous since I opened my letter from F.I.T, but here I am, about to meet my boyfriend's parents for dinner, as his girlfriend for the first time.

"You alright?" he asked me as he parked the car. I looked up at him and nodded.

"Yeah, why?" I asked back.

"Because you were the silent the entire ride and haven't stopped bouncing your knee since I picked you up." he replied. I then noticed my knee was shaking rapidly.

"Oh, sorry." I said.

"For what?"

"I don't know...I just feel like I'm...you know..."

"Like your back in the foster system, right?" it's like this guy can read me or something.

"They would make us look real nice, tell us what to say to make the hopeful parents like us. It was like going on trial; and when they turned you down, it was like they were telling you...you weren't worth the trouble. And because I'm not like...Emma Roberts or anything...I feel like I'm on trial again." I explained. Sebastian took my hand and squeezed it tight.

"I think...whether you look like Emma Roberts, Kayley Cuoco or Mila Kunis or not, to me you're the prettiest girl in Ohio." he said with a smile. I snickered.

"Are you just trying to boost my confidence so I'll feel better about having dinner with your parents?" I asked him.

"Depends, is it working?" he asked.

"A little,"

"Then yes." he said.

"Oh wow, Captain Cornball." I said and undid my seatbelt.

"You ready?" he asked.

"Absolutely not, but let's do this." I replied. We jumped out of the car and went up to his house, then ten seconds later, the door opened before Sebastian could even knock. There was a woman at the door, with mousey brown hair up in a tight bun, with thin rimmed glasses perched on her nose, and a warm smile on her face.

"Sweetie, it's so good to see you again." she said and gave him a kiss.

"Hi mom, and this is Reese." he said.

"Hi Reese, I'm Lenore." she said and gave me a hug...surprisingly.

"It's a pleasure to meet you ma'am." I replied.

"Come on in guys." she said and let us in. I was confident so far, until the father came into view. He was sitting at the dinner table and reading the newspaper.

"Richard, your son is home...and he brought his girlfriend with him." Lenore said to him. 'Richard' looked up from his paper, huffed, and stood up. So this was the state attorney he supposedly threatened me with.

"Richard Smythe, pleasure to meet you...?"

"Reese Lavek." I said and shook his hand. He gave me a confused look.

"Reese? Like Reese Witherspoon?" he asked. I'm not actress.

"Yeah but...I'm not a very good actress." I joked. Richard wasn't laughing.

"Right..." was all he said and sat back down.

"Well have a seat you two, I'm serving up dinner right now." Lenore said and went into the kitchen. Sebastian pulled out a chair for me to sit, then took the other chair next to me. Lenore came back with a dish of something colorful, with steam rising out from the top.

"Sebastian told me how your such a wonderful cook Reese, and I hope my casserole lives up to your standards." she said. I couldn't believe it, Lenore was such a doll, and Richard was the complete opposite.

"It looks delicious, it tastes even better I'm sure." I replied. Sebastian squeezed my hand under the table, a good sign.

Midway through dinner (which was delicious by the way), Richard decided to make an effort to get to know me.

"So Reese, my son told me you're attending a university in New York." he said.

"That's correct sir, I'm attending the Fashion Institute of Technology." I replied, hoping my answer was alright. A lot of people have told me fashion isn't a promising career.

"Reese is an incredible designer, she made her dress." Sebastian added.

"Really?" Lenore asked me. I nodded with a shy grin.

"Yeah."

"It's beautiful."

"Thank you."

"Reese how old are you?" that question came straight from Richard.

"I just turned nineteen sir. About a month and a half ago." I replied.

"Only four months apart and in a different year. Not a big deal right?" Sebastian asked. It was my turn to squeeze his hand under the table.

"I have another question. Reese, do you always have my son back up your answers for you?" he asked. Well, that was rude. Sebastian was nervous, couldn't he see that?

"Richard!" Lenore scolded.

"Dad!" that came from Sebastian.

"No it's alright. I do sir, but I'm just nervous and I'm hoping for your approval to make your son happy." I replied.

"Really? Can you put 'happy' in a bank?" he asked.

"Here we go again." Sebastian groaned.

"Richard, may I have a word with you in the kitchen?" Lenore asked her husband.

"After dinner Lenore." he replied.

"No, now." she said.

"I said after dinner!" he snapped, making his wife go quiet. This man was awful, how could she marry someone like that?

"Well son, I think that's quite noble of you. Saving your face for your mother and I by ending your little...phase we'll call it." he said to Sebastian. Phase? He thought Sebastian's bisexuality was just a phase? "But son, if anything...couldn't you maybe find a better cover? I mean Reese is pretty but...but she has her hopes on an unpromising career. I mean, what will people think?" he asked. Excuse me?

"Richard that's enough!" Lenore snapped and pointed a finger at him.

"Take that claw of yours out of my face!" he growled at her.

"You're embarrassing your own son in front of his girlfriend!" she scolded. Sebastian then facepalmed himself, clearly embarrassed.

"You can't run a business with only a girlfriend!" he snapped back. I had heard enough.

"Can you all excuse me for a minute?" I asked and left the table. I made my way outside to the front porch and sat on the steps, then started crying. I could hear the yelling from the three inside, I was scared, about what I was doing to Sebastian's relationship with his father.

"Reese? Are you alright?" that voice didn't belong to my boyfriend. I looked up and saw Lenore standing in the doorframe with a frown on her lips. I wiped away my tears and nodded.

"Yeah, yeah sorry about that." I replied.

"You have nothing to be sorry for." she said as she sat down with me, then she sighed and looked up at the starry sky.

"You know, I used to sit out here with Sebastian when he was a little boy, and he would talk to me about all the problems he was having, and I'd listen, and I'd help him. I love my son Reese, and to be honest, I've never seen him so happy with anyone with you." she said. I looked at her and shrugged.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"For a long time...my son had become somebody else. I didn't notice it at first, but one day I woke up and I watched him eating his breakfast, getting ready to go to school. It was like I was sitting with a complete stranger, I didn't know who he was. It was then I realised he was becoming cold, like his father. My Richard used to be a wonderful man, but he was thrown into the world of business and he just...he wasn't the same. I was worried the same was happening to my son." she replied.

"I know what that feels like; looking at a member of your family and feeling like they're a complete stranger. You don't know who they are anymore." I said.

"You know?" she asked.

"My mother was an alcoholic. One day I came home from school and she was passed out on the couch with a bottle of booze in her hand, and she just looked like a total stranger." I replied. Lenore nodded and wiped away her trickling tears.

"It all changed one day, about eight or nine months ago when my son came home from school, and he told me about this girl who showed him down in his school gym. It just kind of started from there. It wasn't until he came home from his date with you that I put two and two together." she said.

"You brought back my son Reese. You brought him to be the man I knew he was always going to be, and I don't know how to thank you for that." she cried. I pulled a tissue out of my pocket and handed it to her, she gladly took it and muttered a thank you.

"Well, it was your son who taught me what it meant to love somebody. I spent years tangled up in knots and not totally sure of what I was doing, and now I'm-I'm starting to see straight again." I said.

"You are a wonderful girl Reese, and I pray to God that my son holds on to you." she said. I was about to reply, when the door behind us was whipped open, and out came a fuming Sebastian.

"We're leaving." he said and took my hand.

"Um-okay. Thank you for dinner Lenore." I said.

"Come back again, I'll make sure Richard isn't home." she replied. Sebastian kissed her cheek, before taking me to the car. I heard Lenore gasp before I shut the door.

The ride back to my house was completely silent, not a word was spoken, but I was given more confidence about my relationship with Sebastian. Lenore's conversation stuck to heart, and it made me think that we were actually going to be okay.

When he pulled into the driveway, he just sat there.

"I hate my dad so much." he said, breaking the silence.

"Maybe so but...you're mom is a doll." I replied.

"Thank god for her. I'd probably kill him if it wasn't for her." he said and turned to look at me. It was then I realised why Lenore gasped.

Sebastian had a black eye.

"Oh my god, your dad did this to you?" I asked and stroked the spot. He winced and took my hand.

"It only hurts a little. It was an accident." he replied and looked away. I made him look my way with my hand.

"No parent has an excuse to hit their child, accident or not." I said. He understood what I meant, he didn't even have to ask.

"Listen I um...I know this is kind of forward but..." he trailed off. I knew what he needed.

"Yes, you can stay the night. I get it." I replied. He smiled a sad smile and kissed the top of my head, then we hopped out of his car and I took him inside my house.

"Are your parents asleep?" he asked.

"Yeah, but don't worry, they like you." I replied. We went upstairs into my room, with a slanted ceiling and a queen sized bed. I had old picture of me placed here and there up until I was age four...then the pictures stopped until I was ten years old. No beautiful pictures for six years.

"You're room is really sweet." he said.

"Thanks, it's kind of childish but whatever." I replied and went into my dresser. I pulled out an oversized camp t-shirt and a pair of sweatpants I was fixing for Ryan.

"I hope this works for now." I said.

"It works fine, thanks." he replied and took them. I made him change in the bathroom while I changed into a tshirt and a pair of volleyball shorts. He came back shortly to find me lying in my bed with a thin white sheet over me.

"Cozy?" he asked with a smile.

"Not without you. Come on." I replied and outstretched my arm in a needy fashion. Sebastian chuckled and crawled in net to me, draping an arm over my body and pulling me tightly into his chest.

"Hey, I'm so, so sorry about tonight." he said. I looked up at him and pecked his lips.

"You have nothing to be sorry for. Goodnight Sebastian." I said.

"Goodnight Reese."