Arcadia [h.s.]

Chapter 35

A few days later.

The first thing Noel heard when she woke up from yet another nightmare was her phone. She looked over at her nightstand as it rang.

She sighed before picking it up.

"Hello?" Leo answered with hostility and Noel knew she was in trouble.

She could remember when she first moved here, people around the office made fun of her because her dad still kept tabs on everything she did— especially in the beginning. HR would get phone calls all the time because Leo was making sure his daughter was doing okay in the work environment.

While she got made fun of consistently for her adolescent circumstances, she accepted that many of them knew nothing about what it meant to come from a culture where women didn't leave their homes after high school. No one in Noel's family had ever left the country— better yet been to Europe.

Being 18 at the time didn't mean she stopped listening to her parents, parent, in her case. It just meant permission turned into approval. And that's what she still was seeking from her father, who had this idea his daughter was doing just fine. She wouldn't ruin that.

"Hi, Pa," Noel said.

"Why haven't you been answering my calls? I called you five times yesterday and texted you all night."

"Pa, I'm fine. I'm sorry, I'm just... I've been at my boyfriend's house." This wasn't necessarily wrong. She'd hardly gone a day without seeing Harry. It just seemed there was always something to do between them– even if that was simply hate-watching bad films.

"Damian?" He asked delightedly. Leo really liked him, Noel could tell. But, she wasn't going to do that again, especially now that she and Harry were official.

"Um, no. Someone else actually..." She mumbled, playing with strands of her hair.

"Oh? What happened with Damian? He was a great guy," Noel cringed at this but remembered it was all her fault her dad had this perspective anyway.

"I think me and Damian just want different things," she lied, "so we agreed it wouldn't work out. I'm sorry."

"No, no, don't apologize Mija. Who's this new guy you're seeing?"

"His name's Harry," she smiled, "he's really great.

"Really? Where'd you meet him?"

Maybe it wasn't a good idea to tell her father that Harry was supposed to be a one-night stand.

"At an art event. He's a photographer and a tattoo artist."

Noel had no shame in what Harry did—and neither would her father— because there was nothing to lie about when it came to that portion of their relationship.

"That's great. How long has this been going on?"

"Um, maybe a couple of months."

"A couple of months? Noel a couple of months ago, I was having dinner with you and Damian."

Oh fuck. That was true.

"No, well, we were just talking then. It wasn't serious."

"But it "started" a few months ago, that means you considered it at least a little serious. Noel, be honest. Why did you introduce me to Damian?"

She hated how smart her dad was. Most Mexican dads were not attentive to their children this way emotionally. But she kept forgetting that her father had been trying so hard to compensate for her mom.

"Dad, stop," she groaned, rubbing her temple from the headache she was already getting.

"No, Noel. I'm sick of you lying to me. I mean, do I have to go out there again? Are you seriously going to make me do that?"