Dad had no objection to Jenny coming to stay. He loved her like she was his own daughter. Our house was small by Netherfield Academy student standards. It had three bedrooms and a large garage beneath it. I didn't mean like a little private place for us to store our cars. I meant a professional garage complete with petrol pumps outside and sweaty mechanics working with precision machinery.

The sweaty mechanics were exactly why I didn't let Lisa join us.

Our home was in a small seaside town. Most of our trade came in the summer, when the tourists brought cars that weren't designed to cope with tight, winding cobbled roads. There were a lot of collisions, breakdowns, and nasty arguments with insurance companies to be had during those months. Dad was always on hand to come to the rescue. The summer always helped us to keep our heads above water.

It wasn't what he'd wanted to do for a living, nor the career he'd started out in. Still, he enjoyed it well enough, and it paid for us to live without having to rely on my mother for money. Sure, she paid for my education, but that was all.

'Hey, welcome back!' Eric greeted as I stepped out of my cab at the end of my journey.

I was tired, but he didn't care. He wrapped me up in a hug so tight that my feet left the floor and all the wind was crushed out of me. Eric was about Wyatt's age, but he hadn't bothered with university. He said that all he wanted in life was to earn enough to survive and to be free to surf in his spare time. Well, there was no shortage of surf on the beach. The owners of the local café had a store where visitors could rent boards so they didn't need to invest in their own equipment for the sake of a few good days of surf.

I wriggled free of Eric and was immediately scooped up by Max. His mohawk had been dyed with flecks of green amongst the black. The last time I'd seen him, it had been pink. Thankfully, the hug didn't last long. His girlfriend Poppy was coming by to meet him. She called, 'Put her down! You're scaring her, idiot!'

'Nah, I'm not.' Max let me go and ruffled my hair with one of his oily hands. 'Welcome home, missus. How's school?'

'Boring. Hi, Poppy! I missed you!' I hugged her around the middle.

'Oh, I see,' her brother Lewis said. He shoved his hands down into his pockets miserably. 'You missed her, but not the rest of us?'

'Yeah, got a problem with that?'

'Of course, you missed me. I'm the only sane person around here. Well, besides Cassidy. She said she's sorry she couldn't come by, but you know how newlyweds are.'

'Yeah, and I can't believe I missed the wedding! So unfair!'

Poppy patted my shoulder. 'Don't worry. Bill took a million photographs. I'm sure you'll be subjected to them before you go home.'

'I can't decide if that's a good or a bad thing.'

'Well, while you're thinking about it, why don't you go in and greet your Dad? He hasn't shut up about you coming home.'

It was only natural that he'd missed me. I wouldn't ever let on that I felt the same, but given he was the best parent I'd ever known; it was strange to be away from him for most of the year. I promised to catch up with the others later and dragged my case inside. Dad was in his office. He hated paperwork because it kept him away from the vehicles. All his life, he'd been around cars. I don't think it had been his intention that I ought to have been brought up in the same way, but things had a funny way of turning out. The garage was mine if I wanted it when I was older, but I had more of a creative mind. No, I wasn't that brilliant with music, but like Gideon had said, I didn't put in much effort.

Perhaps it was because I was a realist. I thought that dreaming about becoming some kind of superstar was for children. Or maybe I just used my guitar to mask how utterly directionless I felt in my life. Either way, I was questioning whether it ought to remain my chosen path after school, or if I should drop the whole idea of university and get a job so I could help to support us both.

I rapped my knuckles on the door to get his attention. Dad was soon out of his seat and lifted me off the floor. He spun me around a couple of times before he set me back down. At least he wasn't covered in grease and oil like Eric and Max.

'Elly-bear! Look at you! You've grown since I dropped you off. I can tell.'

'It's been two months.' I flicked his cheek playfully.

'Two months too long. Did Jenny come with you?'

'No, she'll be by tomorrow, I think. Ben's going to drive her.'

'Really? Which car is he bringing?'

I smirked. 'Typical. I'm going to dump my stuff and take a walk. I need to stretch my legs.'

'I'd have thought you'd want to call your Mum or something.'

I paused on my way back to the door. He never suggested that I got in contact with her. Ever. There had to be a reason, and I tapped my foot a couple of times while I tried to think of it myself. If I just asked, he would try to lie. He was a terrible liar, too. Just like me.

'Did she call you?'

'She might have...'

'Was it about Wyatt, by any chance?'

'Uh – his name might have come up.'

'I'm not calling her,' I defied. 'She's been enough of a pain already.'

'Did something happen?'

I closed the door gently so as not to arouse the attention of the others. When I was sure that no one else could hear, I admitted, 'Wyatt asked me out. He said that Mum had already approved it. So, I kicked him in the nuts.'

'Saves me doing it.'

'You wouldn't have.'

'No, but I might have punched him. What was he thinking?'

'I don't want to know. I just know that no amount of eyeball bleaching could get the sight of his disgusting mouth coming at me out of my brain.' I shuddered at the mere memory.

Dad bristled at that. 'He – he – he kissed you?!'

'Tried, Dad. It's not even like it would be the first time someone's done that. I kissed Lewis when I was ten, you know?'

Lewis and I weren't that far apart in age. He was Poppy's younger brother. He'd gone to the same school as me before I'd transferred. A lot of girls liked him, but I thought of him as just a friend. Well, most of the time. We'd experimented a little. I mean, I had to practice kissing on someone.

'I didn't know! Where is he?!'

'Seriously?' I asked. 'You want to tell him off for something I consented to doing eight years ago?'

'Just because it's late, it doesn't mean it's not deserved.'

I rolled my eyes and left him to his own devices. No father wanted to know that his child was growing up. It didn't matter if they were male or female, all children would forever remain giggling, innocent babies in the eyes of their parents. I doubted that my father would act on any of his threats to go after Lewis. He just didn't like to be reminded that I wasn't a child anymore. In ten more years, he might walk me down the aisle at my wedding to some handsome stranger.

Did he think that he could knock out the groom on my wedding day for having the audacity to kiss the bride?

As I heaved my luggage up the stairs, listening to the sound of my father exiting his office and shouting after Lewis who made a hasty retreat, I couldn't help but relax.

I was always on edge at Netherfield Academy. Chantelle made it her duty to remind me that I was the outsider.

That I was lucky to be there.

That I didn't belong.

As much as I appreciated my education and my friends, I felt more at ease when I was surrounded by smelly grease monkeys and busted up cars. I belonged in a world of realistic expectations and over-protective fathers.

Not a world full of chauffeurs and designer dresses.

Not in the world that Charlie Bingley and William Darcy inhabited.