Skin Deep ✔️

Chapter Thirteen

I wake up with a pounding in my head and everything that happened last night comes flooding back and I almost scream. I can not believe I did that. For a second I don't know where I am and almost shit myself thinking about how worried Mum must be before I realise she's still in Jamaica and it's Saturday morning.

I hear shouting and I rush downstairs to see what's going on. When I get in the living room I see it's a mess and also see Isaac, Ezra and two grown men and a woman. I recognise the Cho's and assume that the other man is Ezra's father.

Isaac looks seemingly unbothered and sits on the sofa eating a bowl of cereal whilst Ezra looks down at his feet, all panicky and nervous.

"What is this Ezra?" Mr. Buchanan shouts at him, holding up his phone with an image on it.

"It's nothing Dad." Ezra mumbles, not looking at him. "I was just having some fun."

No one seems to realise I'm at the doorway, they just continue to look between each other and argue.

"Fun?" Ezra's dad asks incredulously. "I don't work as much as I do for you to have fun Ezra. This music bullshit has to stop. No one is going to take you seriously when you take over if you're some Justin Preacher wannabe."

"Oh come on." Isaac rolls his eyes. "You know its Justin Beiber and if you payed any attention to your own son you would know that he hates Justin Beiber."

Ezra's dad snaps his neck towards Isaac a vein bulging in his neck. " What?"

"You're a shit dad." Isaac says. "You can't even remember your only child's birthday. Here's a hint it's the same day your wife died asshole."

"That's enough, Isaac!" Mr. Cho says to his son.

Isaac huffs and focuses back on his cereal. Ezra hasn't looked up this whole conversation and it makes me so angry. Who does his dad think he is?

"Ezra, If I have to throw every single one of those guitars out I will. You can not afford any fuck ups. Do you know what people see when they see this photo? A child. Someone who doesn't appreciate everything their parent has done for them."

"Ezra doesn't want to take over your stupid business." I say stepping into the room. "He doesn't want to be in charge of hospitals, he wants to make music."

Everyone stares at me for a moment and Isaac rushes over towards me.

"Toni? What are you doing?" He asks, trying to shove me out of the room. "Go back upstairs."

I ignore him and focus on Ezra's dad. "Mr. Buchanan despite everything you say you cant force Ezra to take over a business he doesn't want to. He doesn't owe you anything."

"Who the fuck are you?" He snarls at me.

"This is Tonoya." Isaac says quickly, trying to drag me out of the room. "She was just leaving."

"I don't know who you think you are, Tonoya. But you better stay the fuck out of my business. You hear me?"

"Leave her alone." Ezra says stepping between me and his father. "She's right."

"What?" Mr. Buchanan says.

"Dad I want to do music." Ezra tells him. "I don't care what you think. I'm a musician and you can't keep me from following my dreams."

Everyone in the room stays still not dating to move and the silence is deafening. Mr. Buchanan straightens his back and gives the Cho's a curt nod before grabbing his coat and stalking towards the door.

Before he leaves he looks pointedly at Ezra. "I will be in Strasbourg for the remainder of the month. Do not contact me."

He slams the door as he leaves and Isaac sighs. "Well that shut him up."

"Thank God." Ezra sighs, walking over and collapsing on the sofa.

There's an odd silence until Mrs. Cho looks at me and smiles. "So Tonoya, is it?" She says and I nod. "Are you dating my son?"

I choke on my own spit in laughter and quickly shake my head no. She seems disappointed and turns to Isaac for some sort of explanation.

He shrugs. "I'm banned from shooting my shot. Ezra called dibs first. Which is unfair because he's never had any interest in girls before."

"What?" I look between both him and Ezra.

"I'm joking." He laughs before shooting me a wink. "Mostly."

"Isaac you're so crude." Mrs. Cho shakes her head at him.

Mr. Cho walks over to his arm chair at one corner of the room and sighs as switches on the TV. "Lane the poor boy did nothing."

"Don't you think he's crude, Tonoya?" She asks me and I smile at her.

"No don't worry, Mrs. Cho. It doesn't bother me." I tell her truthfully and take a seat with the boys.

"Please call me Lane." She waves me off. "Henry, let's leave the kids alone."

Lane pulls her husband up out of his chair and they head upstairs, hand in hand. I look back at the TV and watch it in silence. After a while I notice that Isaac and Ezra are starting at me and I frown.

"What?" I ask.

"What happened last night?" They ask at the same time.

They look at each other. "HEY I SAID THAT!"

"STOP COPYING ME!"

"IM NOT COPYING YOU!"

"SHUT UP!"

"NO YOU SHUT UP!"

I roll my eyes at them. "Both of you shut up."

"No but seriously, what happened?" Isaac grabs me by the shoulders so I'm staring at him. "Did you actually punch her?"

I nod and he breaks out into a huge grin and moves his hand from my shoulders to my face and he pulls me in so we're centimeters apart.

"I am so proud of you." He kisses my forehead. "This is a mega step."

Ezra pushes him away and gives me a quick kiss on my cheek. "I'm proud of you too and I want to hear the whole story."

I begin to recap the story and I can't concentrate as Ezra stares at me with the so much interest that it makes me uneasy. I stumble over my words a lot and sigh as I come to a stop.

A moment passes and Ezra frowns. "Why'd you stop?"

"Because you were looking at me with those cute, green eyes."

There's a minute of awkward silence, before Isaac says "You think he has cute eyes?" at the same time Ezra says "I have cute eyes?"

Today they're like deeply disturbed twins who suffered from some kind of nervous breakdown.

I avert my gaze and wish the earth would open up and swallow me. "No! Wait, yes. I mean what's the definition of cute anyway? It's like hot. But not... I don't even know what I'm saying. You know what? I'm hungry. Are you guys hungry? You look hungry. Wow that sounded so rude. I'm sorry. You don't look hungry. You look well nourished. I just meant-"

What is wrong with me today? Why can I not talk to Ezra without wanting to run away every five seconds. It was easy before. Before he said what he did that night. He thought I didn't hear him but I did.

"Tonoya?" Ezra rests his hand on my knee and I look to him.

"Yeah?"

"Shh."

"Okay."