Chapter 14
Chapter
Fourteen
Serena lay on the small bed in her dorm, staring at the ceiling. The dim light of the bedside lamp cast soft shadows across the walls. She thought about the jokes and warm smiles at Theo’s family dinner, yet her mind kept straying to the memories of her own parents. She tugged the blanket higher, hoping comfort would come. Instead, the clock on her phone confirmed it was nearly midnight, and she was still wide awake.
She switched off the lamp and tried to settle. Thoughts of her father intruded, the old dread creeping back. That was when her phone buzzed on the nightstand. The screen glowed. It read “Mom.” She stiffened, unsure if she should answer.
A surge of instinct told her to pick up. She pressed accept and placed the phone to her ear. “Hello?” she said in a hushed voice.
Her mother’s shaky breath filtered through the line. “Serena,” came the strained reply. “I… I hope I am not disturbing you. I have to tell you something… I need to get it out.”
Serena braced for the echo of her father in the background, but there was only silence. “Mom?” she asked, her voice tight with worry. “What is it?”
Her mother swallowed audibly. “I left your father a week ago. He’s not taking it well. But I have my own place now.”
“Mom… I… I’m so proud of you. What made you finally decide to go?” Serena tightened her grip on the phone as her eyes burned.
Her mother’s breath hitched. “I just… Couldn’t take it anymore. I saved up enough money for a deposit on an apartment. And I got a job in a grocery store nearby. If I could do everything over, I would have left a long time ago. You deserved so much better than what I gave you.” Serena’s chest ached at the unexpected surge of emotion. “Take care of yourself. I’m going to let you go. I’ll text you my new address.”
Before Serena could respond, the call ended. She wanted to tell her mom to be careful. Serena pictured her mother in a new apartment, working at a grocery store. She set her phone aside and sank back against the pillows. Her mind whirled with images of her father controlling every aspect of her childhood.
Serena stared at the ceiling for a long time. When she finally drifted into a fitful sleep, she dreamed she was in the house where she grew up. The hallways were dark. Her father’s voice boomed from the shadows. Every instinct told her to flee.
His towering figure appeared, half-shifted into a dragon, scales reflecting the faint light. He barked orders, belittling her and demanding her obedience. At first, she trembled like she always had, but then some strength within her flared. She stepped forward and told him he no longer held power over her. She shouted that he could never force her to submit again.
She saw her mother crouched behind him, frightened and small. Dream-Serena placed herself between them. Her own cougar spirit roared to life, rippling through her limbs. Her body shifted, fur bristling, until she stood on four paws, glaring at the enormous dragon. His roar tapered off as if stunned. She advanced until he staggered back. In one final rush, the looming shape that had terrified her for so long seemed to shrink before her eyes.
She woke with a gasp, heart pounding and sweat dampening her neck. For a moment, fear flickered. Then relief swept in. She understood that the father she had known was only powerful because she believed he was unbeatable. But he wasn’t. In that realization, she felt a sense of release. She was free to choose for herself.