Picture Perfect

Chapter 27

Alessia POV

"I'm gonna go get dressed, Jonathan and I were about to go get lunch." I bounced my way out of the kitchen and up the stairs. Heading into my room, I grabbed some clothes and began to blow dry my hair. Deciding against straightening it as well, I got dressed and made my way towards my door. A certain photo caught my eye as I did so.

On my tack board was the photo my mom had taken almost two months ago of Jonathan and I. It was from the day at the pizza place where we all celebrated. I was leaning against Jonathan with a soft smile on my face. He had his arm around my shoulder, his head resting on the top of mine. The smile on his face was as bright as a child's on Christmas Day. His eyes were barely visible behind his beaming cheeks. It was my favorite picture of him. My mom had put it up the night after we fought about Damien. I had come up after dinner and the photos of Damien were gone, replaced by Jonathan's sweet smile. I didn't realize how much I loved this picture until now as I stared at it.

After a few more moments, I headed down the stairs as I heard Jonathan babbling anxiously.

"...I'll treat her like a queen, I mean, a princess-um-"  the poor kid rambled.  He's just too cute.

"Jonathan," I heard my dad cut him off. I stood where I was, waiting to see how this would play out. "I trust you. And I think it's time you start calling me Lucas."

"Right of course. Thank you so much, Jane, Lucas." I could almost hear the wide grin Jonathan had on his face.

"So what do we owe you?" My dad asked.

"I'm sorry, I'm not following."

"Your rate. We start at tutor, then we pay extra for friend, how much does the boyfriend package cost?" He laughed. My stomach dropped at what my dad had just said. What does he mean extra for a friend?

"Lucas," my mom said as I made my way into the kitchen. Both of their eyes were on Jonathan who was behind the counter, shifting his feet.

"What the fuck does that mean?" I spat. All three heads turned to look at me.

"Sia," my mom walked over to me. "Your dad was just making a bad joke."

"I'm not stupid, Mom," I said as I took a step away from her. I turned towards Jonathan, crossing my arms. "Jonathan, what did my dad mean?"

"Alessia, it sounds way different than what's going on-"

"What's going on?" I tried my best to stay calm.

"When your mom first hired me it was for more than just tutoring, but trust me-" he began to make his way around the counter towards me.

"Trust you? From what I've heard this is all fake. What the hell do you mean by trust you?" I couldn't hold my temper in any longer as they continued to talk me down like a toddler.

"It wasn't fake."

"Oh shut up," I then turned to my parents. "I can't believe it. You guys pimped this kid out to me."

"Alessia, don't talk about him like that," my mom looked at me.

"Like what? The truth. You guys paid him to be my friend. How fucked up is that?" I yelled at them. "And then lie to me about it. All the asking about my interests and trying to be super friendly from the start. It wasn't because you actually cared." Did he even mean anything he told me? When did the act end? Did it ever end?

"That's not true, Alessia," Jonathan pleaded. "I did- I do care."

"Oh save it," I pushed him away as he tried to come closer to me. I reached into my purse and pulled out my wallet. "You know what? Here's a tip for last night." I through some cash in his face. "Don't you ever come near me again."