Page 2 of Firefly
Nothing.
Me:
Hayden Kingston Marks!!!! Answer me!
Still nothing. Panic claws up my throat as tears blur my vision.
Me:
This is not funny. Tell me what’s going on. Please let me know that you’re okay.
The message says delivered but it feels like I’m screaming into a grave. I launch out of bed so fast my blankets tangle around my legs. My hands shake while I dig through my dresser for clothes, then yank on my shoes.I need to find him.
I don’t care if it’s after midnight. I don’t care if my father loses his mind.I just need to see Hayden breathing.
My bedroom door suddenly slams open so hard it cracks against the wall. My father fills the doorway like a storm cloud.
“Young lady,” he snaps. “Where do you think you’re going in the middle of the night?”
“I need to find Hayden. Something is wrong,” I say as my voice breaks. I shove my arms into a hoodie, not caring that he is still glaring at me. “I need to know if he is okay,” I say, and his expression darkens.
“I told you to stay away from that boy.”
“I don’t care!” I scream. “Move!”
Before I can pass him, his hand clamps around my arm and jerks me backward hard enough to make me gasp.
“You’re just like your mother,” he snarls in my face. “Defiant. Ungrateful. Never listens to what’s best for you.”
“I'm going to find him!” I yell, ripping against his grip. “Ground me for the rest of my life afterward, I don’t care!”
Suddenly, both his hands are on me, digging into my arms so hard pain shoots through me.
“You’re hurting me,” I whisper. “Please let me go.”
But he shakes me instead. “That boy is not coming back, Ophelia,” he states, and everything inside me stops breathing.
“What?” I ask. “What do you mean he’s not coming back?”
“The sooner you accept it, the easier this will be.”
Cold terror floods my veins and I swallow thickly.
“What did you do?” I scream “What did you do to him?” I yell, slamming my fists against his chest. He grabs a hold of my wrists and I thrash in his hold. “How could you do this to me? I love him, Daddy. I love him. Why do you hate me so much? What did I ever do to you?” I cry out.
His jaw tightens as he tries to get me under control. “This isn’t about me. It’s about ending this pathetic little fantasy once and for all,” he says as my heart pounds like it’s about to explode in my chest.
“No…”
“I’ve already arranged your future,” he continues calmly, like he’s not ripping my soul out with every word. “Once you graduate, you’ll marry Brayden Augustine.”
I stare at him in horror, shaking my head.
“You’ll be polite. Obedient. You’ll give him whatever he wants,” he states as his eyes drag over me, making my skin crawl. “Including your body if he asks for it.” He smiles, but he’s still not finished. “Now clean yourself up. We’re going to church at eight in the morning and I won’t have you embarrassing this family anymore,” he scolds… But where is Hayden? Where the hell is he?Fuck this.
“I hate you,” I say, with words that come out broken and wet with tears. “You ruin everything.”
“No,” he says coldly. “One day, you’ll thank me.” But I shake my head as I look at him with disgust and suddenly understand why my mother left.
