Be My Bad Boy

At first, Frank wouldn't tell me anything. He said it was better I didn't know, because then I couldn't let anything slip. That just made me realise that there might be more going on than I'd thought.
Andy had said he’d wait in the car outside Frank’s house but when Frank started talking, I realised maybe it would take longer than a few minutes.
Frank paced around his study, unable to settle. The whole room said successful lawyer, as though it were taken completely from an old school lawyer movie set – the heavy wooden desk in the middle of the room that looked as if it'd been in the family for generations, the leather sofa that smelt of – well, leather, but also cigars and serious business decisions, the bookcase with leather-bound tomes of legal stuff. I sat on the sofa, playing with my bag, twisting the strap in my hands, as though that would make things any better.

I waited for Frank to speak but, after he’d offered me a drink and taken me into the lawyer room, he'd not said a word. The silence grew as solid and leathery as everything in the room.
"Where's my father?" I asked. "Is he in town or has he gone away?"
Frank looked at me as though assessing what he should say. He stood, leaning on the back of a chair. After a minute, it seemed as if he made a decision.
"He's in Asia. You can't tell anyone, though. And I can't tell you where."
"I think I know."
"Maybe you do," he replied, with a half-smile that seemed to confirm my suspicions. I had no idea who that man had been though, or even what area he lived in. All I could remember was that market.
"Is there a warrant out for his arrest?" I asked. Surely, he'd not have put me in a position of harbouring a wanted criminal. I didn't want to get into this any deep than I was, even though he was my father.
"No," said Frank. "He's under investigation but they haven't found anything yet."
I twisted the strap of my bag tighter around my fingers. I wasn't sure how much of this I really did want to know and I had to steel myself to hear the worst. This nightmare just got deeper and deeper.
"Is there anything to find?"
"Look, Hannah, there is stuff. It's not bad stuff. It's normal business practice but it might not be entirely within the law. If they dig around enough, they will be able to find a few things to pin on him. It depends on how thorough they want to be. But, if they do that, a lot of dirt on a lot of people will come out. It's not just your dad involved in all this."

I sighed. I was all a mess. I didn't want to be in the middle of it. I'd never asked to be involved. They could take it all back – all the designer clothes and the fancy schools and the cars and the ponies. I'd much rather have a simple life, without the scandal and fuss. I'd been a princess but maybe it hadn't been worth it if this was the price I had to pay. Maybe it would've been better to live in an ordinary house with an ordinary life.
"So, what should I do? I got swarmed by press today. Can I sue them for defamation? Why do they keep after me when I don’t know anything?"
Frank paced the floor again. I'd feel much better if he'd just settle down.
"I think you should lay low for a while. Keep out of the public eye."
"The public eye! I just went out for coffee. I should stop drinking coffee? Never leave my house?"
They knew the area I lived in. They knew where to find me. Soon enough, one of them would follow me and find out where I lived. Then they'd talk to the people in the building – none of them would have the sense to keep away from the press – and there'd be photos of my squalid living conditions all over the paper. And I'd never have a minute's peace for them all being there.
"It'd just be for a week or so, until it blows over."

"I can't go out for coffee for a week? What about the band? I'm their manager. I can't keep a low profile with that. I have to go out and do things. This is such a mess."
"It's only a week. Do you have any friends you could stay with?"
I thought about that. I could hardly stay with Andy and Jinxx, after what happened the other night. I didn't want to be around Andy when he brought chicks home with him. Plus, I couldn't ask him to sleep on the couch for the next week. Angie would let me stay but her flat was so tiny. I'd be in the way and we'd get on each other's nerves, which I really didn't want since she just started talking to me again.
I shook my head.

"You could stay here. I'd put you up in the spare room. It'd be fine for a week or so."
This may seem really awful, since Frank had never actually done anything and always acted so nice to me, but he creeped me out. Even when I was a kid and I didn't know about creepy "uncles", I didn't like being alone with him. He'd never touched me. He'd never even suggested anything wrong but there was something about him, a look in his eyes that I didn't trust. I'd much rather not stay with him. He'd already offered a few times before but I'd refused. It made me angry that he offered now but hadn't said anything about a beach house when I moved into my crummy room. I'd known he got off on seeing me poor and hopeless.

"I don't want you get into any more trouble with us, Frank. I'll manage. Maybe I could move out of my flat. I only rent by the week and it's not like it's a very nice place, anyway. Since all the press know I'm around that area, I'll get right out of there."
He nodded in agreement.
"That's probably a good idea. Maybe take a week off. Go on holidays."
"I don't have enough money to go on holidays and besides, I have manager work to do. We have some record company people interested in the band. I want get onto that before the idea goes cold."
Frank sat down on the sofa beside me.
"Hannah, they were interested before. When it was just a band that looked like it could make the big time. They are no longer that. They are connected to the scandal. I don't know if they'll be such hot property now. Have you heard from the record company?"
I shook my head. "But they might just be busy?"
Frank shook his head slowly.
"People like that are never busy if they think they'll make money out of you. They will say they’re too busy though, until they work out if this is a good thing or not. None of them will have the guts to make a decision until this all plays out. Maybe you'll add a touch of infamy, maybe you'll be the kiss of death…"
I gulped. That was the last thing I wanted to hear. The band was all I had. My livelihood, my friends, my reason for getting out of bed in the morning, were all tied up in that band. I didn't want to be the one to ruin it for everyone but, if I gave it all up, what would I do with my life?

"If you want to get away, I have a place down the coast. Maybe that's best, after all. It's very private, a nice beach right outside the door, and all the mod cons. Including a coffee machine."
He handed me an envelope with the keys and I put them in my bag without even thinking.
"There's a map in the envelope. I know the weather is bad at the moment, but you'd be out of all this and have time to think. Take a friend or two, it's a huge place. You might as well use it.”

Notes

Ayee papi's cx I'm sorry I haven't been updating. I've been in a bad mental state, but it's all good now and I'm back to living the fabulous life of writing storiessss c: Enjoyyyyyyyyyyyy