Manhunt

Chapter 11

"Absolutely not." Julia muttered to herself as she watched her father pace his way over to her with a wide grin. She was determined to remain seated, feeling a sense of anxiousness as he walked with confidence. People were clapping and beckoning her to stand up, but she continued to be seated, now frozen in place with a look of horror shaping her features. He rolled his eyes in amusement from her stubbornness, ignoring the deathly glares she was now sending him. When he finally reached her, he grabbed her hand and pulled her up easily, causing her to groan in frustration. She stood her ground and leered at him.

"Julia—"

"I'm not singing." She stated firmly, narrowing her eyes into thin slits. "You know I can't sing in front of a crowd. Don't do this." He continued to yank her along while she groaned again.

"Oh, come on!" He laughed, rolling his eyes at his daughter's behavior. "It's not often that I get to sing with my beautiful daughter. And it's for Larissa! You don't want to disappoint her." He grabbed a microphone and handed it to her, taking another one for himself soon after. She sighed loudly as she tried ignoring the tightening of her stomach, praying that her stage fright wasn't going to make this spectacle ugly.

"Fine," she sighed in defeat, beginning to feel guilty after hearing his words. "I hate when you do that." He grinned wildly and did a strange wiggle with his shoulders, effectively mortifying Julia. Her face flashed red with embarrassment before she threw her hand onto one of his shoulders. "Please stop." She exclaimed, both slightly humiliated and humored. Amused by the show, strings of laughter swirled from the groups of people watching them. He stopped dancing when someone handed him a guitar.

"Good evening, ladies and gentlemen." He began, beaming the crowd a charming smile. "Tonight, we'll be doing a mashup, starting with Broken by Seether and Amy Lee. Be gentle, my daughter is nervous up here." Julia smiled at the song choice, unsurprised that he chose to start with their favorite song for a night like this one. She watched as he pulled a chair towards him before sitting down, positioning the guitar on his lap. At first, he looked thoughtful, staring at the guitar and then the microphone in his hand. "How am I going to do this?"

"I'll hold the microphone for you." She offered without thinking, flinching as soon as the words flew out of her mouth. That could have been her way out, and from the way his eyes sparkled, he noticed her mistake as well.

"Why, thank you, Jules."

"Let's just get this over with." She muttered, rubbing at her forehead as she took a deep breath. He smiled and started strumming the guitar along with the backing track, singing Shaun Morgan's verse. When it came to Amy Lee's part, Julia closed her eyes and sang, focusing entirely on the music instead of the people in front of her. If she couldn't see them, she could convince herself that no one was there, and it helped with the nerves that twisted her stomach. She swayed to the soft guitar notes as she sang the following part together with her father, finding that the harmony meshed well and was within pitch.

She took a peek at the crowd, which was now mimicking them, the popular rock song moving them. The music wasn't anything dramatic, and the crowd swayed from side to side, eyes tilted up at the stage as they took in what the music and lyrics were telling them. Just as the instrumental break was over, the backing track switched up, prompting Aiden to get up from his seat and abandon his guitar. Eyes glowing with amusement, he gave Julia a grin when the first signs of a Bruno Mars song began to play.

"You're gonna have to do better than that, honey." He challenged playfully into the mic, a mischievous glint in his eyes. "This is a karaoke battle." The crowd reacted to his taunt, demanding that she show him who's boss. No longer caring about her nerves, she accepted his challenge with glee.