Finding Daddy

Normal P.O.V.

It was silent after I had told Autumn the whole story with Charlie. Finally she broke the silence with, “So do you want me to kick his ass?”

I choked on my laughter. “No, Autumn! He’s only twelve anyways.”

“That doesn’t mean anything. I’m serious though, I’ll kick his ass. Just distract Matt and his wife and this punk’s mine,” Autumn told me, emphasizing her words by punching a fist into her open palm.

“I don’t doubt it Autumn, but I’d like to try to get on his good side, okay? And getting my friend to beat him up isn’t going to help the situation at all.”

“Fine,” Autumn sighed. After a moment she looked at the clock and perked up. “Hey! Jimmy should be calling soon so we can go to his house.”

“Oh right,” I spoke slowly. I had almost forgotten about our plans for the night. In reality it sounded like the last thing I wanted to do, but I knew neither Jimmy nor Autumn would let me back out. I was either going on my own free will or I was getting dragged there. And to be honest, I rather not have my ass dragged across concrete.

I laid across the bed as Autumn excitedly pulled out her small backpack and began shoving in stuff we’d need for the night. Autumn was telling me something, but to be honest I zoned out on her. This Charlie kid, I don’t think he’s ever going to trust me. Hell, I think stepping into their home with him inside is a death wish. There’s got to be a way to get to him. Maybe I should talk to Jimmy about it. He’d probably know what I could do. Perhaps, if I was lucky, Matt would have explained the situation by the time I saw him next.

“Danny!” I snapped up, my heartbeat going five times faster than it just was. When I saw Autumn frowning at me I let out a slow sigh, focusing on making my heart slow down to its normal tempo. I gave her a weak smile and she sighed, sitting down on the bed next to me. “Stop thinking about him, it’s not going to help you at all. All it’s going to do is drive you crazy.”

“I know, but I can’t help it. I really want to connect with him, but he already doesn’t trust me. What if him not liking me affects how Dad and Val see me too?”

“They’re not those kind of people, Danny. How about this? We’ll speak with Jimmy and get his opinion while we’re over there. I’m sure he knows what we could do.”

“You know, sometimes it’s like you can actually read my mind Autumn,” I chuckled.

She smiled, patting my thigh. “That’s because I can. Now come on, Jimmy should be here soon.”

“Then what am I thinking right now?” I mocked, standing with her as she scooped up my keys and her phone from the nightstand. I grabbed the backpack from the floor and followed her out the hotel room.

“That I am the sexiest motherfucker you have ever laid your eyes on,” Autumn boasted as she hit the down button to call the elevator.

“Gross, you fuck moms? I’m rethinking my thoughts now,” I joked, wrinkling my nose in distaste. Autumn laughed, playfully shoving me. When we entered the elevator some middle aged man was the only one inside. As we climbed on and turned our backs to him, Autumn winked at me. I mentally cursed and swiftly shook my head no. She grinned wider and the urge to sigh, but I held it back.

“Dude, my boobs are so fucking sore. I told you not to bite,” Autumn scowled at me. I could hear the man’s breath skip a beat and I had to feel sorry for the poor guy. Autumn was cruel in her own ways. But yet, so was I.

“Sor – reee if I got excited. It’s your fault for being a damn tease,” I argued, crossing my arms. A moment later the door slid open and I stormed off the elevator and towards the exit.

Autumn ran after me shouting, “Please don’t leave me baby! I’ll make it up to you! Nice and rough tonight.”

As soon as we were outside and a few feet from the entrance, we both exploded with laughter. We each tried to explain the reactions we saw, but were both laughing too much to get a full sentence out. We sobered up when we saw the man from the elevator anxiously walking by and begun to argue about who was the one who couldn’t satisfy who. Once we saw him get into his car, we erupted into giggles again and sank onto a bench.

“Did you see the bellhop’s face? He seriously looked terrified,” Autumn laughed out, dramatically wiping away fake tears from the corners of her eyes.

“No, but the woman at the counter just nodded her head like it all made sense,” I giggled. “I think she likes the idea of us going together.”

“Honey, can we invite her to our fun times?” Autumn whined, winking at me.

“Fine, I’ll just have to bite her then since you’re too much a wuss to handle it.”

“Okay, what did I miss?” We looked up to see Jimmy slipping his sunglasses onto his head as he leaned against a black car.

“Danny and I are lovers and everyone heard about how she bit my boob and made it sore,” Autumn informed with a straight face. Jimmy’s eyes seem to grow twice their normal size. This sent the two of us into another round of giggles. “We’re just kidding, but don’t tell anyone in the hotel differently.”

“You two are definitely one of a kind,” Jimmy laughed, shaking his head. “Come on, let’s head out. Teri is dying to meet you.”

“Teri?” Autumn and I echoed as we both stood from the bench.

“My girlfriend,” Jimmy replied, walking around to his side of the car. Autumn instantly climbed in the back seat, leaving the front to me. I placed the backpack at my feet and clicked my seat belt into place. Definitely a nice car, but what else could I expect from a Corvette?

“So, is she as crazy as you or is she the mental stability of the couple?” Autumn mused from the back.

Jimmy put the car in drive and let his eyes flick to the rear view mirror to smile at Autumn for a moment before looking at the road again and pulling away from the curb. “She’s kind of a combination of both.”

“New best friend, here I come,” Autumn joked, rubbing her hands together excitedly.

“I’m so hurt Autumn! How can you just throw me away like that?!” I cried dramatically.

“That’s what you get for biting my boob!”

“Alright, no more of your little prank! I’m like an uncle for god sake. I don’t want to hear this!” Jimmy whined. We laughed and promised there would be no more talk of the boob biting in his presence. He flinched but exclaimed “thank you!” all the same.

“So what are the plans for the night, Jimmy?” I asked curiously.

“I’m glad you asked Danny. Pizza, movies, video games, forts, and at the end of the night, gossip.”

“Jimmy, were you a teenaged girl in another life or something?” Autumn snorted from the back.

“So what if I was?” Jimmy defended.

“Did you have a gay experience too that involved your friend biting your boob?” I rushed out.

“What did I just say about that?!” We just laughed together at him. Within the next ten minutes he pulled into the driveway of another huge house.

“Okay, so are you guys, like, a group of really good lawyers or something? How can you afford all this?” I demanded, sweeping my arm over his home and car.

“Do we look like we could pass for lawyers?” Jimmy mused as he locked up the car and headed up the walkway to the front door.

“No, but I don’t think you guys are drug dealers either,” Autumn piped up from behind me.

“To be honest Danny, I’m surprised Matt hasn’t told you already.”

“Told me what?”

“About our band. He practically thinks it’s his baby.”

I remembered the mentioning of a band from when they were younger and finally made the connection. That band must have stuck together all these years, piling in money for everyone with a part in it. “So, are you guys any good?”

“I like to think so. Heard of Avenged Sevenfold?”

“Oh yeah! My brother is in love with you guys. Danny, that band that Sam always played when he used to give us rides,” Autumn reminded me as Jimmy unlocked the door for us, shouting ‘I’m home’.

“Oooh.” I remember her brother obnoxiously playing one of their older CDs at full blast when we used to bum rides from him before we got our own licenses. I hadn’t really thought of the band since he moved to Nevada. Good thing from what I’ve heard I actually enjoy their music. How awkward would it be to not like your father’s music?

“Hey babe.” I looked up to see Jimmy give a woman a kiss on the lips. She was about five foot seven, but still short compared to Jimmy. She had long, perfectly curled hair. When she turned to see Autumn and I, she flashed a bright smile at us.

“This is the infamous Autumn and Danny, huh? Hello, it’s nice to meet you. I’m Jimmy's girlfriend Teri-Ann, but please call me Teri.”

“Nice to meet you,” Autumn returned, shaking her outstretched hand. “I’m Autumn.”

“So that must make you Danny. Pleasure to meet Matt’s daughter,” Teri spoke as I took her hand next.

“Nice to meet the woman who can deal with Jimmy’s antics,” I returned with a grin.

“Hey! To my defense she’s the ringleader sometimes,” Jimmy whined. Teri chuckled, playfully smacking his arm lightly.

“Don’t lie to them. I’m an angel.”

“Psh, yeah right,” Jimmy scoffed, causing Teri to smack him harder.

“That’s it! No pizza for you!”