RP Moment | He Always Knows
"Something tells me the girls took quite a few of them." Her father's smooth voice told her as she crouched onto the ground, gathering the birthday gifts she'd received at her party, only to end up leaving them behind in her rush to escape the birthday blues and childish party tricks. "I tried to salvage the ones I thought you'd like the most..."
Alex picked up the small "love you" teddy bear and held it up for her father to see, "You mean this?" The smirk on her face was priceless.
"Well, you could always start making up for lost time." Her father smirked back, knowing full well his daughter didn't do dolls or furry toys. Alex just rolled her eyes in response and put it in the bag with the other gifts. She stood up and held the bad in her hands, twisting the handles as she realised her father was studying her. "Got anything to tell me?"
"Nothing much." Alex inwardly groaned at the white lie, she knew damn well her father could see right through her so she'd never understand why she'd always try to avoid it anyway. He didn't disappoint--he raised his brow and looked at her incredulously. "What?"
"You know what." He told her, it was clear to see where Alex got her attitude and determination from. "I may be old but I can still read the newspapers and I can still see when you're trying to hide something from me."
Sarcasm was the only thing to come out of her mouth, "I'm pleased for you."
"So you should be." He retorted with just as much sarcasm before sighing, "I know you and MJ were friends, so you don't have to beat around the bush in terms of that one. I met her once, remember."
Alex pinched the bridge of her nose, she'd been trying to avoid this conversation for many weeks. "I know you did, I haven't forgotten. But I'm fine, actually."
"Really?"
"Yes."
"You sure?"
"Yes."
"You're not upset or angry?"
"...No."
"Really?"
"Yes." Alex was trying not to let this wind her up, but her father wasn't slowing down with the questions.
"You're not bothered?"
"Dad! I can see what you're doing. It won't work."
"Really?" He asked.
"Yes. Stop it."
"It looks like it's working to me. You're getting frustrated." She just stared at him in response. "Alex, I just want to help you. You've been sick and that's unlike you."
"So I'm not allowed to be ill? I'll have to keep that in mind."
Johnny sighed, "You can be ill, but you know damn well I'm gonna worry about it."
"You can't assume my being sick has anything to do with recent... events."
"I never suggested it did." He couldn't help but smirk.
"You implied it." She argued, standing with one hand on her hip and the other tense at her side.
"I did not." Alex turned her head away, not falling for the trick, she rolled her eyes and clamped her mouth shut. "I won't let it go till you promise me you're not bottling up like your old man does--and by promise, I mean I have to be able to see you're telling the truth."
Alex turned back to him with a forceful look, "I have someone to talk to, you don't need to worry about me." She turned to leave but her fathers voice stopped her.
"Who?"
She turned back around, "A friend."
"Who is this friend?"
"A friend I can talk to."
His face held a smirk for a moment before asking, "What's going on?"
Alex hesitated, "What do you -think- is going on?"
John raised his brow and stared at her before skirting the subject slightly, "That's a pretty necklace you're wearing, you get that for your birthday?" Alex's straight face faltered slightly, a hint of red tinting her cheeks, enough to cause her father to look victorious for a moment, she tried to cover it up.
"It was a present, yes."
It was at that moment that her kid brother, Eric, decided to walk into the room. He immediately spotted the aggressive stance being taken by both of them and he paused. "Oh, is this one of those father-daughter moments that I always interrupt?"
They both turned their heads to look at the young man, "Yes, get out." Her father said, in a tough voice.
"No, I was leaving." Alex smirked, "And you owe me money." She pointed at Eric so there was no confusion, grateful he was in the room.
"You mean for the car?" He asked, as if he was unsure of what she was referring to.
"Yes, for the car!" She glared at him.
"Yeah yeah, don't worry. I have it." She held out her hand, expectantly. "Okay, well I don't have it on me this minute or anything." She pulled her hand back and sighed.
"Eric, you know that I only agreed to help you with the car if I got a share of the profit. I did not help you for free."
Eric looked at their father with a plea, "Dad, help me out here!"
"No can do. You entered a business arrangement with your sister. Act like the responsible adult for once and pay up." John was annoyed that his conversation with Alex had been cut short, he needed to know what was going on--he was sleeping less at night with all the worrying about her.
Eric groaned, frustrated and annoyed. "Fine. Tomorrow, I will have it for you tomorrow." Alex grinned, victoriously as Eric quickly left the room at the moment he saw his fathers glare. Alex slowly turned back to see John looking at her with his arms folded tightly.
"What?" She asked, feigning confusion.
John sighed, "Just tell me who he is. That's all I want to know." Has given up beating around the bush. "If you're okay and you have someone to talk to, just give your old man some peace and tell me who he is."
"What makes you think there is a 'he' here?" Alex asked, sticking to her stubborn nature like a moth does to a flame.
Her father smirked, "Well, last I checked you weren't a lesbian." She raised a brow and gave him an unamused look, he back-stepped slightly, "I mean, if you are, I have no problem with that."
Alex sighed, looked away from him for a moment and then said, "Fine. His name is David. That's all you're gonna get to know."
"Yeah? What does he do?" He completely ignored the last part of her statement.
In return, Alex never answered the question, she shook her head, "How do you always know? I never hinted, I never said anything. How did you know?"
"C'mon. Gimme some credit. I've known you your whole life. A father can tell these things ya know." He smirked, a proud look on his face.
"You can wipe that look off your face!" She told him, stubbornly.
He shook his head to disagree with a small smile on his face. Alex gripped the bag she was holding and shook her head amused, "Right, see ya later, Dad." She started for the door.
"I'm gonna want to meet him."
"...Hell, no."