Kill Me With Words

A hug from a parent is a one of a kind type of embrace. Beth had been away from her companion, her anchor, the only man who was ever truly there for her, for close to three months and she was finally seeing him again. She savored her first hug with her dad and let a rush of memories come back to her as she breathed in his scent and felt his strong, tattooed arms hold her close to his protective stance.

"I missed you so much." She mumbled into his chest and felt his small beer belly jiggle as he chuckled.

"I missed you, too, sunshine." He smiled and gave her a squeeze before letting go.

Beth looked around at her friends all standing there grinning at her reunion with her father. "So, Dad, you know Spencer, Marcus, Emily, and Heidi."

"Of course! My four other children." He joked.

"And," Beth moved over next to Andy and put her arm around his waist. "This is Andy."

Her dad took a few steps towards them and stopped, crossing his arms across his broad chest and looked them up and down, sizing Andy up. "Are you dating my daughter?" He questioned in his deep, demanding, and quite frightening voice.

Andy sputtered and tripped over his words. Was he supposed to say yes? They hadn't really established any kind of relationship yet and he didn't want to say the wrong thing. If he said yes prematurely, he would surely get Beth's hopes up. If he said no, well, that would just cause more problems than needed.

Beth's father watched Andy turn into a puddle of nerves before his eyes and he started to laugh. "I'm only kidding, son." He slapped a giant hand against Andy's upper arm. "You don't have to answer that."

"Dad..." Beth shook her head, slightly embarrassed by her father's antics.

"Well," He clapped his bear sized hands together, completely ignoring Beth's comment. "We don't have all day." And motioned for the group to follow him to the car.

Marcus and Emily walked side by side, hand in hand. Spencer floated along behind Beth, Andy and Beth's dad, desperately hoping to be involved in their conversation. Heidi trailed behind, observing everyone as they walked along. She knew she didn't belong here with all of them. She almost wished she hadn't agreed to join. After a few seconds, she noticed the sound of shoes pounding the sidewalk beside her clicking heels. She looked over next to her to see Ashley beaming at her.

She furrowed her brow. "What are you doing...?" She wondered.

"Oh," Ashley stuffed his hands in his jean pockets as he walked alongside her. "Andy said I could come. Said something about you being left out or something and thought I could keep you company."

"How nice of him..." Her voice flat-lined as she bore holes into the back of Andy's head with her poisonous glare. She knew why he invited Ashley. Ashley was a distraction to keep her out of the way of him and Beth.

"So, is this the Andy who's concert we went to last year?" Beth's dad asked as they approached his car.

"Your dad goes to my shows?" Andy asked, with a surprised tint to his voice.

Beth smirked. "He goes to every show with me."

"Except your own shows." Marcus coughed out under his breath. Emily swatted his arm and have him a glare.

"He can't be the perfect dad, you know." Emily argued.

Marcus rolled his eyes. "I don't expect him to be the perfect dad, but wouldn't you expect him to at least support his kid's dreams?"



Emily and Spencer sat on the floor watching some video on youtube together while Marcus was in the kitchen with Beth's dad. Andy and Beth sat on the couch, cuddled up in each other's arms with Beth slowly falling asleep on Andy's shoulder. Heidi sat across the room with Ashley; her heart burning inside her chest with rage and envy.

Ashley stared at Heidi for a few moments before he spoke. "You know, envy is one of the seven deadly sins." He pointed out.

Heidi blinked slowly and turned her head to look at him. "I am the seven deadly sins." She let her lips perform a seductive dance around each word she spoke to him. If Andy wasn't going to play her game anymore, she was going to get someone else to play with her.

Ashley chuckled. "Guess I'll see you in Hell, then."

"Oh, I'll be there." Heidi looked back at Andy and Beth. "And I'll be running the whole show."

Marcus and Beth's dad cracked a couple beers together and caught up on each other's lives. Marcus was like the son Beth's father never got the chance to have. Marcus embodied everything he used to be and it both excited and frightened him.

"You been keeping my Beth safe out there on the road?" Beth's dad asked, taking a quick swig of his beer.

"Of course I have." Marcus assured. "Got arrested in the process, but you know."

"Again?" Beth's father looked slightly disappointed.

"Oh, don't give me that sad, disappointed-in-you father look you always give me." Marcus complained and rolled his eyes. "You've done much worse than I have over the years." Marcus set his beer down on the counter.

"What are you getting at?" Beth's dad asked.

"Beth told me you've never been to a single one of our shows? What the fuck kind of a father does that make you?" Marcus began to raise his voice. "She went to all of your shows as a kid. You would think the least you could do is return the favor."

"I didn't want her to end up like me." Her father admitted but in a voice just as loud as Marcus's.

"This is Beth's dream. She looked up to you her whole life and playing music was all she wanted. To have her father not even support her?" Marcus shook his head.

"You are way out of line." Beth's father spat at him.

Marcus could feel his anger rising from his feet all the way up through his body and to his temples that started flaring with anger. Marcus's dad had always been a deadbeat and to watch Beth's father not even give a single fuck about his daughter's dreams and career goals was an extra stab to his heart next to the scar his own father had left him. Beth's dad was the first man in Marcus's life to take him in and treat him like his own son. But to see him act this way was unlike Beth's dad and Marcus couldn't take it anymore.

Everyone responded to the sound of glass shattering from the kitchen. Beth shot up and darted into the kitchen to see a broken bottle on the ground between Marcus and her dad. They both just stared at each other as the beer on the floor trickled into the tile and snaked its way across the floor.

"What the fuck are you two doing in here?!" Beth shouted at them.

"I'm sorry." Marcus apologize and held his hands up to reveal them covered in blood.