I clench my jaw and say nothing. If Echo was here, he would tell me not to rise to the bait.
‘Where’s my dad?’ Hollie asks.
‘In his study. Watching in complete disbelief the video Dougie just brought to us. Dare I say it, my dear girl… likely drowning in disappointment.’
I hold onto Hollie tighter. I feel like we should have better prepared ourselves for a frosty reception. It was only ever gonna be this way.
‘Well, I suppose I ought to invite you both to sit down and have something to drink.’
I put down my helmet beside Hollie’s. Hollie pulls away from me but then takes me by the hand. ‘I’m going to find Dad. I want to introduce him properly to AJ.’
She pulls me further inside the house, but then, from a back room, Hollie’s dad appears. He’s tall, slender, with a straight nose. Kind of how I imagine a middle-aged British dude looks. He’s holding a phone in his fingers.
‘Dad,’ Hollie says, with a smile. ‘I want to introduce you to someone. This is my boyfriend, AJ.’
He looks me up and down, not with a scowl or anything, but maybe a little surprised by my style. Maybe it’s the jacket, or I put too much product in my hair. Either way, he looks wary, but still, he holds out his hand.
‘Nice to meet you, AJ,’ he says stiffly in that same British accent that Hollie has, and I shake it. Honestly, he’s got kind of a weak grip.
‘Nice to meet you, sir,’ I say.
‘I’m sorry I didn’t say anything before,’ Hollie says. ‘About this. About us.’
‘You’re from Rapture, I hear,’ Hollie’s father says, clearing his throat.
‘I grew up there.’
‘AJ was in my class at Eastvale High, Dad. That’s how I know him.’
Her father’s eyebrows crawl up his forehead, like this information has taken him by surprise.
Evelyn Wallace’s voice cuts in from behind us. ‘Rick. Why don’t you make everyone a drink?’
‘You two go and take a seat,’ Hollie’s dad says softly.
That’s when I notice the hurt in his eyes, when he looks over at her. Then I realize that I’m the first guy Hollie’s prolly brought home to meet him in, like, ever. I’mthatguy.
I glance up above our heads. Doug has disappeared. Slunk back to whatever dark, stinking hole he emerged from.
We take a seat in the fancy living room. Stain-free couches, three of them, in white leather. I wonder if the mayor went through some kind of catalogue for rich people’s furnishings when she got elected, ordering whatever she liked and getting somebody else to pay for it.
I remove my jacket and lay it over the back of the couch. Lower myself down next to Hollie, opposite Evelyn Wallace. I feel Hollie reach for my hand, and she squeezes my fingers tight, like this is torture for her also. This time, the mayor’s eyes home in on my tattoos.
‘So. AJ. What is it that you do for a living?’
I lean forward. Rest my elbows on my knees but keep hold of Hollie’s hand. ‘I’m an auto mechanic. I fix up motorcycles.’
‘Is that in Rapture?’
There’s no point in me trying to conceal the truth. ‘Yes. I work for Echo Salinger. He’s my boss; he owns the business.’
For a moment, she fixes my stare. Her chest rises, like she’s inhaled sharply. But she’s careful to conceal her true feelings – I can see that now.
‘I see,’ she says. ‘Did you go to college?’
‘No, ma’am,’ I tell her, but I guess that’s not news to her.
‘Do you have family in Rapture?’
