Narrator's pov
-
"Hell naw. Naw naw naw naw naw. Oh hell naw" someone's cellphone started ringing to the iconic meme song as they walked past the family
Ember still stood frozen with her brows stitched together, trying to process the information she was being given
"What?"
"We think it's time that you sign over to the board and represent us in the media. Your mother and I barley have enough time as it is to attend conferences and meetings as it is and our assistants are incredibly but-"
"But what?" She scoffed
"But. They're. Not. Family. Ember" the woman's voice came out cold, knowing the girl out of her little trance
"Seriously!?"
"Come on Ember, don't you want to be the head of the board?"
"No. I'm pretty good where I am"
"College? Ember, your skills are far more advanced than any teacher they have to offer in there and you know it" the man mumbled
That may have been the one thing that struck her into silence for a bit. It was true, Ember had been trained from school young age, she's more advanced than most since she was homeschooled and offered the best around the world. They've worked her tiny brain out since she was a child until she became an adult with studying business and science. Every aspect she had covered in her 20 years of living while many spend decades on decades, rotting to complete their studies
"So what? I find it- enjoyable listening to the lectures.. Again" She muttered
"You hate it there and you know it" Her father stated
Okay maybe, just a tiny bit they were right about that. She really did hate it there, the only reason the girl started college was to escape the business her parents wanted to force her into
"We won't force you to do something you're not comfortable with-"
"Like hell we are" The woman hissed, cutting her husband's words
The man furrowed his brow and turned slightly to face his wife, shooting her a strong glare that made her roll her eyes and look away
Damn daddy-
"As I was saying" he continued
"You don't have to make a decision on spot right now. Think about it, people spend their lives looking for their career. We're offering one to you and you know you've worked hard to earn it. It's right there, just take it. You won't have to complain about anything again financially. You'll have drivers, you'll meet executives. Your name will be in the media, who doesn't want that?" he asked
"My name being in the media isn't an advantage. You may think that's flattering to have private drivers and planes but I'm not someone who wants to walk on gold and flaunt money, father" The girl hissed
Frankly, their pitch was starting to fall through and Ember was losing interest
The brunette rolled her eyes and turned on her heels to walk away, regretting wasting her time in the first place
The girl was born to lead the board but pressure got to her at a young age. Work seemed like a task, being forced since she was robbed of her childhood. It was enough to turn anyone against the things they loved
"Wait!" the man's voice called out once again, stopping the girl in her tracks
"What?" she asked
"Use it to help people" He said
"Oh for God sakes dad" she groaned
"I'm serious. Think about it Ember, use that advantage to help people" he mumbled
A silence fell over them as her eyes shot into her father's. Green eyes of saturated leaves pierced into hers, she studied them carefully. If there was a catch to it all, it would be told through his eyes, not his words or his body language. Yet they remained calm and collective, something he was trained for, but Ember could tell when there was something hidden in it. She found nothing, not an underlined smirk anywhere. It only leaves her to question, should she even consider it?
"Why were you here today?" she asked
"Ah, we wanted to also talk to you about that" He said
"But we'll do it tomorrow" The mother chimed in
"Why? We're talking right now aren't we?" she asked
"Yes, but unfortunately I have a transplant to do in an hour. This was the only free time we had this week and we wanted to slip out to meet with some people" the man said
"Oh. Only free time. Yet you still couldn't pick up the phone after three years and say hi" She spat
The guilt consumed his face once again, turning his cheeks slightly red as he bit down on his bottom lip
"I'm sor-"
"I don't have time for this. Where's Mike!?" The woman hissed, pulling her phone from her pocket and speeding off to get as far away as she could from them
It took balls and gorilla adhesive glue for Ember to control herself in that moment. She was far too accustomed to being treated as if she wasn't a person, especially from her mother. But after a while of doing better on her own and suddenly having that terrible feeling come back, it stung a bit
Not enough to make the waterworks come through but enough to make her inhale deeply and clench her fingers to contain it
"Don't worry about your mother, she's just anxiou-"
"You know. Someone wise once told me to never make excuses for people. They know their intentions and their intentions are you hurt you" Ember mumbled
But then again that same person told her that she looked like if Shrek and donkey had a love child. We stan Fallon
"Was it me? Ember?" He asked
"wAs iT mE jEsUs" she snickered
"Huh?"
"Don't worry about it" she chuckled
"Look, tomorrow night we're meeting with a few employees at dinner. We'd love for you to meet them" He said
"Why would I want to meet them?" She asked
"If... You do... Decide to take up the job, then you'll have to be meeting them very often"
"Why's that?"
"Because they're our new lawyers that we hired. We had a meeting with them today but they saw someone in the park and had to slip away for a bit. I'd really like if you came tomorrow Ember"
"I don't know" She mumbled
"That's okay. You have all of the time to think about it, but just think about what it could do for you. For your life, it's your career-"
"That you're assigning to me" she stated
The man sighed and glance up, seeing his wife stand by the car and shoot him a glare
"I know we took away alot from you at a young age. I can apologize as many times but it won't take away from the fact that this is who you are and this is what you were made for. I get that you want to explore other things but this is a path, you're an Atkins and you were destined to be apart of this either way. Why not walk down that road where you know you'll be secured rather than run away from it, knowing it's going to call you again when you're older" He mumbled
Ember hated that he was starting to make sense. It's not that she didn't want to live up to her name, it was that hatred in her heart for them working her like a test subject to lead the board since she was able to walk that held her back from accepting
"I'll see you tomorrow Ember, I really hope to see you there. There's so much we need to catch up on, father to daughter" she smiled, hooking his arms around the girl
There was an energy to the hug, as if the matter of one powered up the other. There was the hug of gentle arms that still gave the space to breathe, obvious that both of them were hesitating to hold each other tighter
Their past and broken bond was the only space between them in their hug
The man sighed and held her tightly, her arms hooked around his torso as she pulled him in tighter
Then there was the hug of strong arms that told everything that she needed to hear
It was amazing how much words could be spoken through actions and physical touch
A father's hug. Something she was missing for so long that she forgot it even existed
A girl who's love language is touch yet being deprived of it her whole life
I just know that sentence attacked some of y'all ððð
-
A/N
Amino French fry link on my profile wall
Don't forget to read the new book symphony of the sea𥺠ð ð
Thank you, thus is all. Have a great day