Authors: Holly Hood
He opened the door to his bedroom, his hand on th
e doorknob as he stared me down,
h
is eyes
dark and unreadable. “You said it would mean a lot. I’ll be there.”
I passed through the door satisfied
by
his answer. We both headed down the hall of the
Rv.
“So what are you going to do today? Maybe we could get lunch or see a movie or something.” I offered. I figured I was late for
work;
I also needed to talk to Dad. So why waste the day away from Slade.
He hit the lights in the kitchen and tugged his door open. “I got a few things I need to take care of. Maybe you can call me later.”
I nodded, going out first so Slade could lock
the door.
I skidded to a stop at the sight of Audrey. My vision blurred and anger took over.
“Hope. I didn’t know
you,
and Slade had sleepovers.” She smirked, staring down at her purple nail polish rather than at me who she was
busy
insulting.
Slade moved past me. “Audrey I said eleven.”
I looked at Slade baffled. “Is this what
you’re
taking care of?”
“I guess you could put it that way. Will you call me later?” He asked, pushing past the issue at hand—the issue of him hanging out with the
bitch
that was Audrey.
Audrey stood feet away feasting on my insecurities and anger. What I wished I could do to her and her cute litt
le pink halter and short shorts, t
hat
sun-bleached hair
that I wanted to rip from her scalp.
Slade took me by the arm, pulling me aside. “How many times do we have to get into this? I do not want anything to do with her. But that doesn’t mean I don’t have to deal with her.”
I pulled away. “I thought you would have found
a way
to stay away from her.”
Slade
sighed, letting
go of my arm. “Are you going to call me tonight? Or is this going to be another
two day silent treatment?”
“I guess you will have to wait and see. Have fun with Audrey.” I shoulder checked her as I head toward the gates of Henry park.
“I promise we will be good. Slade never does anything he doesn’t want to do. Isn’t that right Slade?” She called after me. I spun around on my heels, fuming. I looked around to make sure there
weren’t any witnesses
and pointed a finger at her.
Slade stared at me
confused
. I envisioned shooting a fireball at her, setting her ablaze and sitting back and laughing as she burned. My fingers
twitched. My
hand
shook,
but
nothing was happening. I started for Audrey, until I was just feet away from her.
“What are you going to do? You don’t know the first thing about magic.” She smiled
viciously
at me, daring me to try something.
“Hope, go
home,”
Slade warned.
I swallowed
hard. She
was right I didn’t
know magic. I
f I did she would have been a fiery inferno
by now
.
However,
I did know how to slap someone. My hand connected with her face letting out a glorious sound, my palm ached from the force of it, but it was worth it.
Slade pulled me away in a hurry. “What the hell are you doing?”
“She was pushing me. And she is lucky,” I pushed him away from
me,
so I could get a good look at Audrey
.
“You
are
fortunate
I don’t know how to use magic because you wouldn’t be standing there smiling right now.”
I didn’t bother hearing Slade lecture me about how wrong it was to slap Audrey. I knew it was wrong.
However,
I had
enough. She
was in every part of my life
anymore,
and I was tired of it.
And he had no right telling me anything was
wrong. He
put his hands on Tucker right before I got back.
***
I stomped up the porch steps and flung open the screen door to a kitchen full of teenage boys.
“I thought you were at work,” Elliot said, handing out cans of soda to the masses. The masses included a tan kid with shaggy black hair. And another tall boy with blonde dreadlocks, such the California kids, I thought to myself.
“I cal
led off.” Which was partly true,
I just
didn't get
around to it yet. “Where’s Dad?”
Elliot thumbed toward the hallway, which meant one of two things. He was in the shower or in his bed.
“You and your friends need to take a hike. Go surf or something,” I told them, opening the cupboard looking for cereal or anything to fill my hunger.
“You don’t live here anymore, don’t boss us around,” Elliot said. His friends laughed.
I closed my eyes, wishing them away.
“Come on guys, let’s get out of here,” Easton said suddenly, I turned around watching them walk away. That was easier
than
I had expected.
I shook a box of cereal, satisfied it had
a sufficient amount
to fill my empty
stomach. I
poured it in a bowl. I grumbled at the empty milk carton in the refrigerator.
I set it on the counter and sanded my palms together.
Think Milk
. I lifted the milk
container
from the table thrilled it was filled. Just as I was settling in my chair for a bite to eat somebody interrupted me with a loud wrapping on the door, seconds later Tucker was walking into our house as if it was something he did all the time.
I dropped my spoon in
shock;
it clinked against the side of my bowl and
disappeared
beneath my conjured milk. “You don’
t just walk into my house,
” I snapped.
He stayed
near
the
door, still
fantastically good-looking and well dressed like every time before. I just didn’t know why he was
t
here.
“I came to drop off the car keys for my mom. I took her car to the shop for her.” He dropped the keys on the counter and shoved his hands deep into his khakis.
“I guess that would mean she is here,” I muttered, sifting the bowl of cereal for my spoon, ignoring
Tucker,
who was looming in the background like an incessant gnat.
“How
have
you been, Hope?”
Was I hearing right? Had he asked me how I was after everything he had done to me? I wasn’t even sure if I was safe standing this close to the likes of Tucker.
“Oh, not dead, and haven’t been forced to swallow date rape pills
,
so pretty
good
.” I rolled my eyes
,
standing up and taking the bowl to the sink. I dropped it with a bang.
“If you
think that
why haven’t you told anyone?” Tucker said, leaning against the counter.
I laughed. “What good would that do?”
“Exactly, especially
since you have your friends backing you up, and your boyfriend running around attacking me every chance he gets.” Tucker kept his voice
low
.
“My friends backing me
up,”
I asked
I crossed my arms. “What does that even mean?”
“I know what happened that night.”
“Of course you do. So do
I
.
Why
don’t you leave before something bad happens to you
again?"
I told myself if he touched me, if he laid another finger on
me,
I would find a way to make it the last thing
he
did. I wasn’t the same Hope from last summer. He wasn’t going to get away with what he did.
And he damn sure wasn’t going to do it again.
“I’m not talking about before. I’m talking about after.” He stepped forward, my fear spiking to an unhealthy high. “Admit what you are, Hope. Just admit it.”
I looked away. Dad rounded the corner
just in time
, toweling his wet hair. “Tuck, hey
,
your mom is getting dressed.” He grabbed the keys from the counter. “I see the car made it to the shop and back just fine?”
Tucker cleared his throat, shifting his anger out the door as he addressed my dad. “Yeah, tell her the car is good as new. I got to go, Mr.
Zigler
.” The door creaked and thudded shut. I lifted my gaze finally.
“I thought you had work,” Dad said nonchalantly opening the refrigerator.
“I called off,” I told him. “I came to have
that talk.
But,
I see you’re busy.
”
“I’m never too busy for you, Hope. You know that.” Dad pulled up a seat at the table. I kept my arms crossed and refused to sit down. It was only a matter of time before Lynette emerged from his room or the shower.
“
Rain check
,” I said.
“
Damnit
, Hope. I don’t want a rain check. I want to talk to my daughter. What is going on with you?” Dad’s eyebrows knitted together tightly, he scrubbed
at
his chin staring me down.
What was the matter? He was sleeping with the enemy. The guy who attacked me and planned on doing god knows what was freely walking into my house. And the worst
part was I couldn’t say anything. I knew that more than ever
now
. Tucker was on to me. And I feared what that meant if he went around accusing me of being a witch.
I took a seat across from him at the table. I could feel his eyes boring a hole into me, trying to figure out why his only daughter was acting so unlike his only daughter.
“I want to understand,” he said softly, he laced his fingers together on the tabletop.
“It’s hard to see you with someone.” I looked away. “After Mom hurt you so bad I never wanted to see you hurt again. And now
you’re
with
her,
and I don’t want it to happen
again.”
Dad was silent.
“I know I can’t fix you.
Even so,
I felt like I was doing a decent job of it when I was here.”
“I was a wreck
, Hope. I was drinking my life away.
I know you know it as well as probably this entire town.” Dad laughed it off, hiding his
embarrassment
. “Do you know I called her one night on one of my drunken stupors and begged her to take me back?”
I blinked away the sting of tears. I hadn’t known that
he tried calling my mother
.
“I was so lonely that I actually wanted her to take me back. Nothing was working
anymore,
and I was letting everybody that meant something to me down.” He extended his
hand. I
placed mine in his. “And I never wanted to do that. But I was lonely. And now that I found
Lynette,
I’m not
alone
anymore.”
I
instinctively
pulled my
hand
away but Dad held on tight.
“Just because
you’re
lonely doesn’t mean you involve yourself with just anybody.”
“
Isn’t
that what you did with Slade?” Dad asked, this
time,
I broke free offended. I wasn’t him.
“That’s just rude. And no I didn’t,” I insisted.
Dad raised one eyebrow waiting for my explanation.
“I didn’t.” I shrugg
ed. I knew what was coming next. H
e was going to tell me what I was afraid to admit. And usually he was right. I wondered if he would be this time.
“I think Slade was your way of filling that empty space inside you.”
I scoffed.
“You missed your life, your mother, your brother. You missed your old house and
Karsen
. Slade was that filler for everything you were
too
afraid to face.” Dad leaned back in his chair.
“I’m not afraid to face anything,” I snapped. “
You’re
not a psychologist so why don’t you stop acting like one. I’m miserable be
cause I had to take care of
you
.
I had to carry around your emotions along with my own. I’m angry because she doesn’t care enough
t
o call me or Elliot and Easton.”