Page 52 of Hurt Me Not
I pushed him away, my fist clenched and ready to swing, when the security guard came up to us. He looked at the man with a glare, probably choosing to ignore that I’d been about to hit him.
“Is he bothering you, Ms. Blackwell?”
“Yes,” I growled. “Took you long enough. He’s trespassing and he just threatened me. Kick him out, and make sure he’s not allowed to come back.”
The man said nothing. He merely put his hands in the air and let himself be escorted out.
I watched him go.
My phone started ringing in my pocket, and I knew it washim.
I answered it for the first time in a while, but I was not met with a robotic voice telling me who was calling.
“Long time, no talk, Emerson. Did you miss me?”
“You know the fucking answer to that.”
“Ouch,” he said with a laugh. “Why do you always have to be such a raging bitch?” I could hear cars rushing in the background, which let me know he definitely wasn't in his jail cell anymore.
This is worse than I thought.At least when he was in jail, he was predictable. Now he could be anywhere.
“I know they didn't let you out early for good behavior. Don't tell me you broke out.”
“Aw, does my daughter have such little faith in me?”
I turned to head back up to my office, but that had me pausing.
They would've let me know, wouldn't they?
I'd heard nothing about his release. No call, no email. How the fuck did this happen?
“What shady shit did you pull?”
“Good behavior.” Someone honked on his side. “I told you. They love me there after everything I’ve done to help. Plus, I do have people on the outside.”
If he had enough power to send newly released criminals to my workplace while he was in jail, there was no telling what he could do now that he was out.
“I don't want you here. Do not come to find me.”
“You didn't get my message? I'm coming whether you want me to or not. And I want to meet your girlfriend. Finally, after so many years, the girl you’ve always been obsessed with is finally within your reach.”
I wanted to give in to rage, but in a rare moment of self-control, I was able to keep quiet. Because I knew the consequences of lashing out at my father. It would let him know just how much she actually meant to me.
Apparently, he was already aware that she was important to me, both now and then. And that was bad enough.
The only question was what he was going to do with that knowledge.
“Why are you doing this? Just go fuck off somewhere random and leave me alone.”
“Because you ruined my fucking life by being born. And I want to make sure not a day goes past where you forget it.”
He was the one who ruined everything. The reason I’d grown up not knowing an ounce of care or compassion. He had ruined my life from the start, turning me into this angry, volatile person that I could no longer change. He was also the reason Mom left us—left me—and never came back.
And even though I had all the money and resources in the world to find her, I never did. Never wanted to. She didn’t want me, so I didn’t want her.
My father was trying to finish the job now. He wanted to bring me down with him.
“You’ve always blamed your issues on me, even when I was a child. You're a weak, pathetic excuse for a man. You come here and I'll show you what it means to be ruined.”
