The Doctor Who Has No Chance (Soulless 11)

“So, I can be a trillionaire.” He crossed his fingers. “Someday.”

I looked down at my fish and sliced through the tender meat and the wine sauce before I placed a bite in my mouth, the food not tasting as good as it did before. These expensive dinners made me full for days afterward.

“Did I say something?”

I looked up again. “Oh, no. I just…I guess I just don’t get it.”

“That people care about money?” he asked with a chuckle. “That people are obsessed with it? With the power it gives you?” He set down his glass and sliced into his meat again. “Money is everything. Just how it is.”

I looked down at my food again. “Not to everyone.”

Seven

Dex

We went to my dad’s favorite restaurant.

I guess he and my mom used to come here before they were dating.

I sat across from my dad, choosing the spot on purpose so my dad wouldn’t sit directly across from Mason…because he kinda had a staring problem. It was unintentional, and he didn’t mean to be rude or intimidating, but it just kinda came out that way. I wanted this to be a success, and even if I didn’t really like Mason, I would do the best I could to make sure this went off without a hiccup.

We’d already ordered a few glasses of wine and an appetizer, and my mom looked at the menu like it was just a normal dinner.

My dad didn’t look at the menu once. Didn’t touch his wine. Just kept glancing out the window, as if my sister and Mason would walk by any moment and he would get the opportunity to size him up.

My mom eyed him before reaching for his arm and rubbing it gently. “Deacon, what are you going to get? The salmon looks pretty good. Comes with the rice pilaf you like.”

Dad ignored her—which was a first.

Mom exchanged a defeated look with me.

I gave a slight shrug.

Dad pulled back the sleeve of his shirt and looked at his watch, the watch that had belonged to my mother’s father, a grandfather I’d never met.

Daisy was fifteen minutes late, and while she was always a little late, it wasn’t a good idea to be late to this.

Mom spoke to me. “How’s Sicily?” It was a random thing to ask, but I could tell she was desperate to get my dad to stop dreading the inevitable.

I let it slide—given the context. “She’s good. We don’t talk as much as we used to.”

“I hope that changes, Dex.”

“Yeah, me too.” I missed her every day, even when she was right beside me. Catherine wasn’t on my mind, and I started to wonder if my brother had been right. I was too close to the situation to understand my own emotions, so I’d misinterpreted my own feelings. My obsession with Catherine might have been about closure and never about love. “I think I’m gonna try to talk to her again. I just wanted to give her some space, because the last time we talked, it was really intense.”

Dad snapped out of it and turned to me. “Sometimes, people just need some space to process their emotions. It gives them an opportunity to reflect on how they really feel.”

“Yeah,” I said. “And Derek made some good points.”

“What did Derek say?” he asked.

My eyes shifted past his shoulder, looking through the window at Daisy on the sidewalk. She stepped closer into my view, the phone to her ear, and judging by the way she swung her arms around and the look in her eyes…she was pissed.

Fuuuuuck.

Not a good sign.

My instinct was to point her out to my parents, but I realized that was not a good idea at all.

“What did your brother say?” Mom asked.

“Um, just that relationships aren’t easy in the beginning. They take work.” I fished my hand in my pocket and pulled out my phone. “And I’m obviously not in love with Catherine if I didn’t take her back… I’ve got to get this…important call.” I put the phone to my ear and stepped away from the table, talking like I was actually on the phone with someone. “Yeah, uh-huh… What time?” I kept up the act until I left the restaurant and walked past the windows. My parents probably noticed me in their view, so I continued to hold the phone to my ear and talk to no one until I was officially past their line of sight.

I put my phone in my pocket when I reached Daisy.

Her back was turned to me, so she didn’t see me. “So, you decide to wait until I’m twenty-five minutes late to dinner with my family to tell me this?”

Shit.

She continued to scream, oblivious to the New Yorkers on the street, who were just as oblivious to her.

“Wow…okay. So that’s it, then?” She stopped moving, her arm crossing over her chest, her body shaking slightly like she was so pissed, she might convulse uncontrollably. “You tell me you want to try to have something serious with me, and then you dump me as I stand outside the restaurant where my family is waiting? You’re such a fucking coward. Pathetic. No, I don’t accept your apology because I don’t need it. Go fuck yourself, Mason.” She slammed her thumb onto the screen and dropped the call before she rested her phone against her forehead, her eyes closed.