I CANNOT LET THEM WIN , (nell!)

Nell was strangely enthusiastic to go to the country club with her father. Not that she didn’t wanted to spend so much time with her father, but it was a place she’d never been before, and so it would be an interseting experience. Of course, she had to first make sure that Jane wasn’t coming along. The woman was causing a great deal of frustration for her, but she’d never tell her father that, because it would be like admitting weakness to him, and she didn’t want that. However, he was aware of the dislike of Jane that was shared between them, and assured her that the woman was off doing her own thing. ”Have you checked her trunk lately?” she asked with a snort as they were walking into the building before heading out to the green. ”She might be doing some business.” She knew that her father didn’t approve of her talking like that, but she ignored his hard stare. Because he didn’t glower or anything like that—he was an intimidating man without having to do that.

As they were getting into the golf cart, León decided to finally make comment of his daughter’s outfit. ”You look ridiculous, by the way.” Sitting in the driver’s side after convincing her father to let her, she turned on the vehicle and looked down at her sweater vest, khakis, and knee-high argile socks. ”What, isn’t this proper country club attire?” she said with a smile, tipping her flat cap with a wink. He gave her an incredulous look and she stepped down on the pedal, starting off at an uneccesary speed. With his hand clinging to the roof of the cart, León, ”Nell, really?” She didn’t answer as she drove over the grass. Instead, she said, ”Who keeps up this place, the jolly green giant?” She eased up on the gas a bit, but still was going at an unneccesary speed.

They played around twelve holes, Nell taking her time in deciding the club she was going to use at each one, then shouting ‘fore’ even if there wasn’t someone there. She grinned whenever whacking the ball over to the flags, then turned back to give her father a thumbs up. He just shook his head, and she thought that maybe he believed his daughter turned out to be a weirdo. And she couldn’t really care. Their relationship was getting somewhat better, because she knew that she couldn’t stay wholly angry at him forever. She may still be bitter and still taking out passivve aggressive revenge on him, but there was less fighting now. After he apparently grew tired of her antics—showboating after getting a hole in one—they returned to where the main building was located, and as they returned the golf cart, a man in a finely tailored suit approached León.

Grabbing a bottle of water from her father’s bag, she said, ”I’ll be wherever food can be found.” She walked off then, sipping from her bottle and about to head to the restaurant. However, she passed by a familiar person and her face immediately lit up. Half-skipping up to Josh she said in a faux-posh voice, ”Why hello, dear, and what finds you at our exclusive club today?” She pulled out a chair and sat across from him, taking the hat from her head and smoothing her hair down. ”Seriously, whatcha doing here?” Then, to explain herself, she said, ”Papa brought me here to golf. Clearly.” She tugged at the sleeve of her sweater vest with a grin. She waved her hand, and sighed a bit. ”But he went off with some business associate or something.”

Nell really didn’t know whether to take him seriously or not. She noted the hard edge to his voice, so she had to assume there was truth in what he was saying. And with that thought brough with it her feelings of guilt about the fact that she was responsible for the fact that he was a disgrace to the family. So yes, she could consider the off-hand comment to be quite truthful. ”Well , what a fine day to do so,” she said , keeping up her entitled tone. ”I say, I find it a pastime myself.” She could relate to Josh, in a way, except that she didn’t grow up with her family and therefore could care less about how they viewed her. Well, that’s not true—her life was quite the mess thanks to the fact that she was a disgrace to the family name. And so is Josh’s, she thought bitterly. Well, she couldn’t let herself get too deep into that now could she? Her thoughts wandered too far and she’d end up curling into a ball on the ground.

After returning the kiss, Nell said, ”The fading weather? That sounds so sad.” She scrunched her nose up as she tried to think of a better phrase to describe the weather. ”I would like to think of it as…colorful weather. Or something.” The leaves were turning colors after all, so it was certainly more vibrant than usual. She wouldn’t call it fading, but either way it was nice. Of course Nell would think it nice even if it was terribly cold. This would be her first autumn of freedom, and therefore it was the greatest. She liked experiencing the cold outside for all it was worth, instead of just stealing pieces of it when she snuck out. ”I am very comfy, actually,” Nell said with a smile. ”Sweater vests are nice for cold weather, I should wear them more often.” Well, that was a lie. Her father was right—the outfit was ridiculous. She knew that, which is why she wore it in the first place, just to mess with her father. She felt like a bit of a sadist in that matter. It was simply leftover resentment from so many years ago.

Speaking of the man, she noticed that Josh wasn’t quite pleased with the mention of him. He never seemed to be. Did he ever follow through with commitments? Well, sure, she guessed. He got the lawyer, which was in a way a commitment. Her voice chimed in laughter as she said, ”He endured me being an idiot for about twelve holes, I give him credit for that.” Not like she was easy to deal with when it came to her father, but Josh wouldn’t know that. He hadn’t even met the man, and she didn’t think she wanted the two to cross paths. Neither of them took care to hide their distaste for the other. Her father especially didn’t approve of her relationship with Josh, which was actually something she enjoyed—it was nice to do something that she knew he wouldn’t be able to interfere in even if he wanted to. ”S’pose not,” she murmured. She actually didn’t know how to feel about Donovan. Of course, she didn’t like the fact that he disowned his son, but she couldn’t harbor the same loathing for him as Josh did for León. Even if he most likely believed her to be a cold-blooded murderer. She could only imagine what Jane told him.

Nell waved her hand to decline his offer of whiskey. She wasn’t too concerned about him getting drunk. It didn’t seem like a normal occurrence at a country club. ”That is illegal, dear sir, you know I cannot drink yet,” she said, placing her hand over her chest as if truly affronted. ”I am aghast by your conduct.” She shook her head, trying her best not to smile and ruining the effect. Even though she was a bartender, she really didn’t drink all that much, and she found it amusing that Josh knew this. He asked her if she’d been to the country club before and she shook her head. ”Nope. But I find there is a certain air of…sophistication.” Then, seriously, she said, ”The food’s good. But I do have to watch my conduct.” Not like she’d go wilding out or anything, but she knew they had standards here. She didn’t grow up like Joshua, she never really had money and so the opportunity to come to the country club had never presented herself before her father came along. And of course, she had some predisposed impressions of them. Old white folk with sweaters around their shoulders and women with pearls stringing their neck, all talking about real estate they just bought in some foreign country. Even so, she was interested to take a peak inside such a world. Nell was from the ghetto, after all—she was pretty sure that country clubs didn’t even exist in South Bronx. ”How long have you been coming here?” she asked, because Josh certainly grew up with the money.

Nell didn’t mind any of the eyes on her, and pretended to be blissfully oblivious, simply smiling as Josh spoke. ”I see I’m making quite the splash,” she said in her posh-voice, spinning her hat around on the table. She had actually gone out and bought the clothes specificall for this occasion. She looked back up when Josh spoke again, and her oh-so innocent smile. ”Both,” she answered at first, and then she explained herself, still not unveiling her devious intentions. ”My father told me we were golfing. And so I wore a golfing outfit.” …From the 1920’s. Even the mental image she had of country clubs was one of old times that she’d seen in books and movies like The Great Gatsby. People wore short-sleeved shirts and shorts or slacks to golf now, but she knew her father would be proud if she did that. ”I guess I never pass up the chance to exasperate papa.” She understood that the man probably never got mad at her, which irked her—she was setting out to piss him off, couldn’t he at least humor her with a little more than simple exasperation?

She understood that Josh was just ribbing her, because sometimes she joked to herself about the fact that pretty much everything she did was essentially illegal. Josh knew enough about her to understand that, and so it seemed a little strange to have someone else joke about that with her. Not like many others knew she was a bartender or an illegal, for that matter. ”I simply wanted to make a good impression,” she said ironically. Her outfit must have been a decent enough impression. ”Underaged and drinking whiskey? Not very lady-like or a good impression, I must say.” Nell didn’t really set out to annoy people, of course. She wanted for everyone to be happy—mostly everyone. Her relatives were special cases in the way they managed to draw out her ire. If someone approached her and damanded that she change, of course she would. Nell drew her eyebrows together and said, ”How gauche!” She crossed her arms and gave him a very convincing dismayed look. ”My sweater vest and I don’t have to take this sort of abuse.” Of course, she didn’t leave. She remembered a time when she couldn’t joke around with Josh like this—when she could barely hold a conversation with him—and it seemed strange now. ”I’ll just wait for an apology.”

She had to wonder how it was like to grow up like Josh did, going to country clubs and having nannies. It was an amazing concept for her even now that people could just hire others to raise their children. Josh’s parents apparently weren’t like that, and she wanted to ask a little more, but with his familial situation, she didn’t think she should. She didn’t want to remind him anymore about his parents and the people who were no longer his family. Instead, she said, ”Was it fun for you as a kid? I mean, is there a lot do for the little ones? Miniature golf, maybe?” She believed she’d be able to find some fun if everyone wasn’t so uptight and concerned about image. Apparently, she had committed a rather incredible faux paus with her clothes, so she could only imagine that this wasn’t neccesarily a place for the kiddies. Then again, she really didn’t know, did she? This was a new experience for her, and she was still learning the ropes, after all.

Nell rolled her eyes. ”You were charming before you started insulting my fashion sense.” She didn’t wear the clothes to impress, clearly not, and so she was just joking. The girl was glad to find Josh, since she really didn’t know anyone else here. She was an outgoing person and willing to strike up conversation with anyone she saw, but she had a feeling she’d be turned down, thanks to the fact no one wanted to talk to an asshole wearing a flat cap with a pom-pom on it. ”Heading to the restaurant,” she said while jabbing her thumb in its general direction. It shouldn’t be too surprising. If she couldn’t have conversation with the upperclass ladies and gents, she could entertain herself with food. Food wouldn’t snub her because of her clothes, after all. She actually was of lower status all things considered, but it wasn’t like anyone knew that. ”Are you hungry at all?” Nell wondered if he would be interested in food, or if he was well off with his bottle of whiskey.

Nell leaned back and smiled, ”I hope I made someone’s day.” In a way, she really did. She wasn’t aiming to upset the other people, after all, just have a little fun with her father. If someone among these people enjoyed it, well, that would be pretty nice. She was a people pleaser in some ways—she wanted everyone around her to be happy. Hopefully papa won’t get over it, she thought, somewhat caustically. The fact that he was cooling off in trying to push his way into her life made her more willing to tolerate the little things that annoyed her, but the fact that he probably still believes he could use his money to sew the eleven-year gap between them made her more inclined to prove to him how wrong he was. She was a believe of second chances, and she liked to believe everyone, but it would be a tough road for her father, even now that her anger toward him has quelled.

She snorted when he spoke of tennis. ”That bad, huh?” she teased, implying the lack of excitement for the sons and daughters of the wealthy upperclass folk. Perhaps they just enjoyed stiff conversation about stocks and champagne. She couldn’t really judge them for that, even though it wasn’t something she enjoyed. Even though she already had some ideas in her head about the wealthy, she wasn’t going to sneer at them and think that they were all entitled d-bags. Her boyfriend was one of them, after all, and she didn’t like to do that to people anyway. She grew up at the opposite end of the spectrum, so she figured there must be some stereotypes about the poor, even though she didn’t really know them. Nell grinned, joking, ”Well at least the booze makes food and sports better.” Okay, for her food was a big plus, she had to give it to the club for their wonderful selection. ”Though I wouldn’t suggest playing golf while tipsy.” It was hard enough to hit the ball off the tee when sober, she could only imagine doing it while buzzed.

Josh immediately obliged, for which she was glad. It was reassuring to know that he wasn’t drinking to get drunk, though she tried to keep her suspicions calm. In any case, though, food always made her happy. She kept her hat off, because she was still polite in that aspect. She may not have been raised too well, but she did have a certain idea of manners. That’s why she wasn’t acting out too much, especially out of the presence of her father. After eating, she was still hungry, because it seemed that her stomach was a vast, bottomless pit. But she would ignore that for the sake of finding something else to do with Josh and quite possibly avoiding her fahter. Nell definitely considered her boyfriend easier to deal with than her father, because with Leon, it required an extension of effort not to snark at any insensitive comment he made. It was another thing that irked her that, wouldn’t bother her if it were anyone else—he had not filter in the space between his brain and his mind, and he was wholly obtuse, even when it came to his daughter. Only when it came to the trial did he appear to exercise some amount of restraint.

Speaking of fathers, her eyes quickly detected—after taking a moment to figure out where ten o’clock was in her head—Josh’s father, and she bristled a bit. It was still uncomfortable to know that he had heard about her past from Jane, and add to that the fact that—to put it lightly—he and Josh weren’t on the best of terms… Nell blinked at her boyfriend, wondering what he was going to do. Would he approach him? Certainly he had no reason to, after being disowned and all. So would he flee? Instead, he told her to play along, and she was going to ask ‘to what’, before his lips were on hers. The first question that poppped into her head was why would he do that in front of the father that apparently hated her? And then she realized that was exactly why he did it, and it made her feel a bit sick. She didn’t want this rift between the two after all, because it was her fault, no matter how indirectily. Josh chose you, it was his decision, she tried to argue with herself. And she couldn’t be blamed for how Josh felt toward his father. Could she? Shoving the thoughts aside, Nell’s lips twitched in amusement when he waved to his father. You shouldn’t be amused by this, asshole, you should be ashamed of yourself. Nell tried not to let the guilt show when she responded, ”Nope, he doesn’t look to happy.” Because his son is dating a murderer and everything would be fine if it wasn’t for you. Nell lowered her voice all the while trying to divert her eyes from Donovan—he knows what you did and Josh is suffering for it—and asked, ”Do you think he’ll…say something?”

Nell blinked up at Josh, busy convincing herself that this is what he wanted. No, it can’t be. Wouldn’t he want his family? He should want that over her, he should not want Donovan to hate him. It hurt to know that she was the reason his relationship with his family was so bad, even when he told her it’s what he wanted. It’s just not something that she could easily brush off without another thought. ”I guess he got the hint,” she said, smiling just a little bit. Donovan may not be able to do that, but the law had that power. She quickly steered her thoughts away from that train, and instead focused on the positive. Josh wanted to be with her. She should be thankful for that. Right? But all she could think of was the family that he was no longer a part of, a life that was no longer his. And she couldn’t imagine how anyone could want that, let along Josh. Then again, she didn’t understand him sometimes. A lot of times, actually. Every day she was just learning something new about him, and she was going to have to accept that he was just a strange person.

She bit her lip when Josh directed his gaze toward his father. She really needed to stop beating herself up about this. After all, if Josh thought that she wasn’t happy with his decision, then he would leave. She didn’t want that, as selfish as it was to keep him from his family. ”I guess not,” Nell said, successfully covering up any other emotion she might have felt at that point. She didn’t know why she felt so bad about this situation. Well, actually she did, but she didn’t want to think about it. She didn’t want to think about what Donovan must have believed about her, what Jane must have said, and how he must have viewed his son now. Nell just wished it didn’t have to be like this. ”So everyone just thinks everything is okay between you two?” she asked. She could see why Donovan wanted that, she supposed. Well, she was thinking that maybe it was to uphold the image of a perfect family and to keep the public from finding out what was going on. Or maybe it was for something else. Again, she didn’t want to think too hard on it.

Josh wasn’t making this too much better for her, but she smiled acqueiscently to his comment. ”Well that’s unfortunate,” she said in a similar tone, joking along with him. Nell was glad for the suggestion to play tennis, a sprot that she was now more decent at, but at least it was something to do. ”Tennis sounds great, actually.” She headed with him, trying to shed the guilt that seemed to always be with her whenever she thought of Josh and his family. He spoke of his father again, and she nodded silently. Josh may have been enjoying bashing his father, but she vainly wished that they could have Donovan’s approval of the relationship. She just didn’t want this, and she knew that Josh didn’t want all the burdens that came with this relationship, either. When they reached the tennis court, she was about to take off her hat so she could have a better view when she realized she wasn’t wearing it. ”Oh jeez, I left my hat at the restaurant. I’ll be right back.”

Soon after she headed back to the restaurant, Leon found his way to the tennis courts. He found Josh and had to resist sighing. Approaching him, the man said, ”Joshua Dale, correct?” He held his hand out, his demeanor overall nonchalant, not betraying how he truly felt about Joshua Dale. ”I’m Leon Corteas Fuentes,” Nell’s father introduced, using his formal last name. He wondered if his daughter ever spoke about him, but wasn’t going to ask. ”Nell’s father. She told me that you two are…dating. How are you doing?" It could have been considered a normal airy conversation about his silly teenage daughter if Leon could be described as ‘airy’. His voice dropped a bit lower when he spoke the last words, but his face was kept carefully neutral as it usually was. Leon didn’t make it too apparent that he disapproved of the relationship, but he still played the overprotective father bit well. He wasn’t about to threaten Josh with a shotgun, though he wasn’t about ready to shower him with flowers for being the best guy for his daughter. ”Have you seen Nell around, by any chance? I figured that since you two are…dating…” There went that drop in tone, as if he was resisting saying something else, ”That she may have found you for some company. I fear she may not be used to the environment.”

Even though Joshua behaved like a perfect gentleman, Leon—of course—still disliked him. How could he not? For one thing, he was going out with his daughter, which meant points taken off immediately. Second of all, the first time he even heard of the boy was when Nell had been arrested because of him. And last but not least, the pretty scar on his face screamed trouble. Of course, he kept his judgments to himself. He may have been a blunt person, but he knew better than to start shit at the club. He had been raised among the affluent folk of society, grew up in the mansion his father owned in the Bronx—he knew how these things worked. Still, he felt the desire to state just how much he disapproved of Joshua. Maybe he could opt for subtlty, for once. He did want the boy to know that he did not have his approval and that he should be watching his step. Of course, he did not sense the wariness coming from Josh, so the tension was entirely one side for him.

In response to the comment about their relationship, León lifted his eyebrow, not being able to resist saying, ”Is it?” in the most polite manner possible. They were both being quite polite here, it was almost amusing if the two could realize each other’s distaste. Even though León said it with a touch of amusement, it showed that he was not so thrilled about it. Of course, he wasn’t about to try and split them up. He would warn Nell away from him, but Josh was not his child, and therefore he could have no control. However, he was aware of the boy’s father, the owner of Maple Hollow’s hospital. ”That’s good to hear,” he replied. He wasn’t smiling since he never really smiled, but his aura was not at all threatening. ”And how is your father? I’ve never spoken to the man, but I hear good things. The laboratory I work in has some connections to the hospital.” Joshua would be able to assume that León was some sort of scientist through this even though he didn’t directly say. And while speaking, he kept his voice perfectly even pleasant and level. He was used to being in the company of people he didn’t particularly like, especially now keeping up airs with Jane. ”I am faring well enough. In perfect health, as a matter of fact.” One as well acquainted with the droll prattling in pedantic conversations would have said more on that, but even León couldn’t abandon his personality or the sake of pleasantries. He didn’t like talking to people much, but when he was forced to he managed

Of course Nell had found Joshua. He wished he could keep more careful watch on the girl, but it was impossible. He was still in an atonement period, and his daughter didn’t live with him. It wasn’t as if he could try to make her move in with him, either, considering she was now an adult and unfavored by the law, anyway. ”Good to know she’s doing all right. I thought it might have been a bad idea to take my eye off her,” León said with a dip of his head. A frown pulling at his lips for a moment, he said, ”I suppose she still hasn’t changed?” His tone was dry. He knew what Nell had been aiming for, which was why he so worried about her in this environment. ”That girl worries me sometimes…” He sounded just as a father should, and he supposed he was getting better with it. He knew himself that he didn’t have the best track record or the most knowledge on how to be a good parent—it wasn’t like his own provided much of an example. Noticing that Joshua had neglected to inform him, León asked, ”Any idea to where she might have gone off to?”

To show that he wasn’t going to leave now that pedantic introductions were complete, he said, ”I’ll just wait for her return.” León looked at the courts and said nonchalantly, ”I suppose you two are going to start a game of tennis?” Well that might just have been Nell’s way of showing how much she wanted to be around him. and the thought almost made him sigh aloud. So Leon busied himself coming up with some way to give him the third-degree, the classic father-to-daughter’s-boyfriend grilling. He especially wanted to bring up the topic of the prior arrest and his scar, the reasons that made him so sure that he didn’t want his daughter to be around Joshua. He could be pleasant, but that didn’t mean he had the capacity to be at all sensitive to other people. Why should he try to be sensitive? The boy had chosen to get involved with his daughter, and so he should have known that he would have to meet her father (and face his wrath) eventually. Then again, their relationship might not even matter in the end. He was trying his best for his daughter—he’d even given into her wish to postpone the date till the end of the year—and so he didn’t want this to end badly. ”Are you any good?” Leon asked conversationally, his tone still as stoic and almost monotone as ever.

Joshua answered his question without missing a beat, and so León did not assume there may be anything off. He merely nodded calmly, a perfect picture of stoicism and nonchalance. His build was rather imposing, just like his father’s, and he was rather like a dark shadow. He had power, but it seemed that the boy wanted to impress upon him the power that his own parents possessed. Of course, to him it was a spoiled child flapping his mouth about his parents’ wealth. ”Oh? I haven’t been formerly introduced to your mother. What does she do?” León hadn’t been in Canada for long, and so he didn’t know each and every important person there is to know. Of course, spending his time at the club has made him a bit more knowledgable, but it had been in his younger years spent with his parents that he could actually move around with the wealthy upper class and have their names memorized. It was a life he didn’t care for, because it had been a life with his father.

Not paying enough attention to notice if Joshua was was in fact as tense in this situation as he, the older man nodded at his comment about Nell. ”In some ways, yes,” he agreed. Sure, the girl could live on her own and provide for herself, she’d made that perfectly apparent. However, she had shown to him her more childish side more than once—it kept the perfectly perserved image of her as a young child in his mind fresh. ”As her father, though, I still need to keep her in line.” He said it with a barely-there smile that vanished just as quickly as it had appeared on his bearded face. In his voice, however, was a challenge, daring Josh to question his parenting. León’s eyes narrowed slightly at Joshua’s words. ”Eleven years?” he asked, his tone plain and still affable. ”Why, that’s quite the specific number. But yes, I suppose she would have changed over that course of time.” Was he reading too deep into this, or did he know something that he really shouldn’t? León remembered the number of years, after all. As a matter of fact, he could count it down to the day he left, the minute he decided that he wasn’t going to come back. It was before Nell had even come to him, and her plea should have made him think twice before going to work that day—but it only spurred him into leaving. How could Joshua know that, though, unless Nell told him? He couldn’t control what the girl said and did not say, but he hoped she would be so quick to divulge information about their past. Especially to someone like Joshua, who he very much disliked.

His gaze hard on Joshua’s on eyes, he asked, ”So I take it you haven’t known Nell for too long?” That’s what he made it sound like, at least. And it would make sense. His daughter told him that she ran away right after her relatives made their intentions clear, and she’d been in Canada for ten months. León still couldn’t shake the ‘eleven years’ comment. Maybe if he’d said a decade, or five years, or anything like that—no, it was too specific. ”However, it seems as though she’s told you a little about herself.” The man was more than certain now that the boy’s remark was not just an off-handed comment. ”Have you told her anything about yourself though? Such as…how you came to get that scar.” It wasn’t that he didn’t care that he may have been crossing a line there, it was simply that he didn’t recognize where the line was. Everything was fair game to him. ”Where did you get it? An accident?” It may have been too personal, but consider it a background check. What father wouldn’t be concerned about his daughter going out with someone with a nasty scar on his face and a criminal record? Of course, he was simply ignoring the fact that Nell had a criminal record of her own. She was more concerned about her wellbeing than the boy standing in front of him.

To demonstrate how little he actually sympathized with Joshua, León was perfectly willing to go on with pleasant conversation as if he hadn’t asked a possibly sensitive question. ”Ah,” he said in response. At least he didn’t believe Nell could get herself into too much trouble wandering alone. He didn’t believe her to be a completely incorrigible child, but he also knew that she had set her sights on getting under his skin. And he let her have that, because he knew what he’d done was wrong. He deserved worse, but he was trying his best to make up for it in any way he knew how. ”We’ll have to see how long it takes her,” he said, checking his watch for emphasis. He would pull his daughter away from Joshua if he felt the need to, come up with some excuse to pull her away. No, he did not like Josh at all, and he did not like his daughter being around him. Even if it was just for playing tennis. ”It’s a sport that every blueblood seems to know.” He learned it at a young age, after all, when the relationship between him and his parents’ was still decent. Yes, he was very good at pretending that what he hadn’t asked wasn’t something insensitive.