Shut Up and Surprise Me

19. Agitation

I should talk to Ashton right now. I should tell him about how everything started and is now spiraling into a weird situation, but instead of asking him to have a word in private, I stay rooted in my spot.

Fear. It's the only thing that stops me from doing what I should do.

What if Danielle does what she said she would do if I ratted her out and made Ashton believe her? But what if Danielle is right about Ashton going to call off his plan on selling his shares if he found out about Frederick Sauer? But again, maybe — just maybe — I can make him understand that taking Frederick's offer is not a bad idea for Trisure at the moment.

Once I have my courage collected and open my mouth to say something to Ashton, the sound of the open door from Diana's room smashes it into pieces again. I look up just to find Sophie walking down the stairs without her daughter, looking sad and angry at the same time. Instead of saying something to the rest of us, she goes straight to the kitchen to grab a glass of water.

Dad gets up from his seat and walks to her, silently like a kid knowing he just screwed up. He stands still by the kitchen door. "I was a little out of control," he says. "I apologize for that."

"A little out of control, huh?" Sophie replies, her voice as cold as ice.

"Alright. That was too much."

"Why, Dad? I've been trying to keep Diana out of my problem with her dad, because she doesn't have to carry my baggage. And you just ruined it in one blink of an eye. Now she hates her dad. Thank you for that."

"I was just...furious to see him. It reminds me of how badly he hurt you." Dad drops his head. "I will talk to her. I'll fix this."

Sophie chugs down the rest of her water and turns on the faucet for more water. "I don't think she wants to listen to anyone now, but you can try."

Dad nods and makes his way upstairs, signaling Mom to stay put at her spot when she wants to come along. She probably wants to make sure Dad will not make mistakes again, but this time, I agree he needs to do this without her. Even though he screwed up in front of the kids, he didn't mean to make Diana hate Chris. He's far from cruel; he just makes mistakes a lot, and I can relate to him entirely.

I help Sophie prepare drinks and snacks for everyone. The Christmas Eve spirit is ruined but we try to keep going as we normally did every year. If anything, it's supposed to be special because we're celebrating it at Sophie's new home.

"Are you okay?" I ask my sister while we're working in the kitchen.

She shrugs. "Been better. But let's not make the rest suffer because of Dad's stupid move." She glances at Chloe. "How's everything on your side?" she asks in a low tone.

Following her gesture, I look at my daughter, who is now watching the TV show next to her frowning father. I sigh. "Not as furious, but still won't talk." I contemplate telling her about my situation with Ashton, but I drop the idea. She has enough on her plate at the moment. I sigh again and pick up the tray with two bowls of chips and one plate of diced cheese on it before walking back to the living room.

Mom gets up and tiptoes upstairs. Clearly, she's lost the battle and is back to her nosey self.

"Mom..." I warn her.

"I will not interrupt. I just want to hear behind the door."

I shake my head and take the spot between Chloe and Ashton. As a result, my daughter scoots away slightly to keep a distance between us. Swallowing my disappointment, I reach out to Ashton's hand and intertwined our fingers, hoping that his firm hold could inject extra strength into me despite his mind wandering elsewhere right now. I groan inwardly when Danielle's face pops up in my mind.