Ice cream, Teasing and Awkward Situations

Chapter 10

Ethan could not get a word out, still frozen in shock at my Dad's bluntness. 

"Dad this is Ethan, my friend from school," I lied looking up at him with innocent eyes. My Dad completely ignored me and his eyes remained firmly fixed on Ethan, staring at him with an icily cold expression. 

My dad was a Police Investigator, so he had perfected the art of a hard glare over the years from numerous interrogations. I'm pretty sure I hadn't even seen him blink since we opened the door.

 "Ethan, would you like to explain to me why you are carrying my daughter?" he asked with a surprisingly calm tone. 

"We....were....I..." Ethan stumbled out nervously. I don't think I have ever seen Ethan at a loss of words before, he never loses his cool. 

I let out a sigh, deciding to save him. "I just sprained my ankle falling off the sofa. It was so stupid," I said with a chuckle, deciding to tell the truth.

 "Did somebody push you?" he said looking at Ethan accusingly.

"Who's at the door Jeff?" my Mum called approaching the door. Once she saw the situation and my Dad's expression she leaped into action. 

"Jeff stop tormenting the kids and let them in. Mia is clearly hurt," she said pushing him out the way. She was observant enough to have immediately noticed my swollen ankle. 

Ethan scurried past my Dad and followed my mum to the living room. My dad slammed the door behind us and let out an aggravated tut before following us into the room. Ethan gently lowered me down onto one of the sofas before immediately lifting my ankle on the armrest, so it was elevated.

"Jeff, go get some ice," my mum snapped bossily. My dad rolled his eyes, before trudging off to the kitchen in submission. 

"Are you okay sweetie?" my mum asked sweetly as she caressed my cheek. 

"Yeah, it's really not that bad," I said with a half-smile, not wanting her to worry. As my Dad returned with ice, my mum turned to look at Ethan in curiosity. 

"Mia never told me she had a boyfriend, what's your name?" she said as her eyes lit up in excitement. My Dad let out a weird snarl sound as she said this before throwing the ice pack down onto my ankle hard, causing me to wince in pain. 

"Ouch Dad be careful," I cried.

"My name is Ethan," he said reaching out to shake my mothers' hand with a warm smile. 

"And he's not my boyfriend," I added in quickly. I'm not sure why he had decided to leave that out, it was like he had a death wish or something. Could he not hear Jeff the snarling beast from behind him? 

"Oh, Ethan. Mia talks so much about you..." my mum said with widened eyes. She knew I hated Ethan. I complained about him a lot. Like a lot a lot.

Ethan turned to look at me, his eyes lighting up in amusement. "Does she now?" he said giving me a subtle wink. 

 "Don't get excited. I'm mostly just complaining about you," I retorted quickly, wanting to kill any idea of me having a crush on him from his mind.

"Do you want to stay for dinner, Ethan?" my Mum asked kindly. 

He looked like he was about to say yes as he glanced over at me but he seemed to hesitate as he spotted my Dad from the corner of his eye, who somehow managed to look even more pissed off than before. 

"No, it's alright. I should be heading home anyway," he said with a nervous laugh. "But it was nice meeting you, Mr. and Mrs. Collins," he said politely. "See you later Mia," he said with a smile, before finally heading for the door.