Chapter 6
CHIARA
Today was supposed to be the day my mother and I ran away. But I haven’t seen her for two days now. I’ve been unable to eat or sleep, constantly crying, sick to my stomach, wondering where she is.
The only person with answers won’t give me any. Whenever he’s home, my father only brushes away my questions about Mom, ignoring me as though I’m a fly. Annoying. Irrelevant.
He didn’t return my cell either. If only he’d give it to me, I could check if Mom called. I don’t even have anyone to ask about her, which sucks even more.
Where could she be? She’d never go away without me, would she? No way. She’d never leave me with my stupid father.
And to make things worse, Dom didn’t show up at school today. Is he sick? Did something happen to him? I don’t even have my stupid phone to ask! I need someone to talk so badly, but instead I’m all alone in my room.
My lower lip trembles, then my chin, and the tears come rushing out. I cry, sobbing into my pillow, knowing no one will hear me anyway.
I need my mom. If something happened to her, I’ll die.
My foot bounces across the floor while I sit in my bed, face in my hands, tears leaking into them.
“Ahhh!” A muffled shout escapes from my damp lips.
I wish I’d never been born. I wish I wasn’t his daughter.
Grabbing a chunk of my hair, I yank it in frustration, unable to take another minute without finding out where Mom is. I know my father knows. He just won’t tell me.
But he will. I won’t give him another choice. He won’t ignore me this time.
Wiping the tears away and taking a minute to calm down, I get up and head downstairs to get answers.
Once I’m in front of his office, my pulse beats in my ears.
Thump.
Thump.
Faster and faster, my heart pounds. And the air falls out so quickly from my mouth, it becomes harder to catch my breath.
I swallow against a lump that’s suddenly jammed in my throat. My hand jitters as I form a fist and knock against the closed door.
It’s quiet inside, but I know he’s in there.
I knock louder this time. Then again.
You won’t ignore me. Not anymore.
When I knock again, the door swings open.
“Why are you botherin’ me?” he asks, his tone so agitated it hurts somewhere deep inside where I crave a father who loves me.
“I…I,” I stammer, my voice as broken as my heart.
“Spit it out already.” He glares at me. “I have things to do.”
I bite down, my teeth aching, stifling the need to cry.
“Where’s Mom?” I’m surprised at how steady my voice is with the amount of fear I have inside me. “It’s been days, and you won’t tell me. I’m worried, and I know you always know where she is. Did she go on a trip?”
He drags a sharp breath through his nose like a dragon, his eyes narrowing.
“Something like that,” he snickers darkly. “Get inside. I’ll tell you exactly where she is.”
He opens the door fully, allowing me to come in.
I move into his large office with a big dark brown desk in the middle. It’s the first time I’ve been in here. He’s never allowed me inside.
I take a seat on the end of the brown couch, furthest from his desk, while he plops down on top of the black office chair.
He pulls himself closer to the desk, his elbows on it. “I didn’t wanna tell you shit, but you insisted, so I’ll tell you the truth.”
I scoot to the edge of the sofa, anticipating his words.
He clears his throat. “Your mother…she’s gone.”
It sounds like he just gave me the weather report, but in reality, he’s destroyed my entire world.
My chest jumps hard with every breath. And inside, it hurts like I’ve been cut open with a knife. The loud noise that sounds like my heart invades my ears and the room spins from sheer panic.
“Wha…?” I can barely form a word. Vomit sits at the pit of my stomach, slowly slithering up.
“She’s not dead,” he continues with a laugh, his shoulders rocking at my torment, the sinister tone sliding up my body like roaches.
My eyes pop out. “What?”
My ears are ringing, so maybe I misheard.
“I meant she’s gone. She left us.”
My face twists with confusion. “What do you mean?”
Nothing is making sense. This is like torture. First, I think she’s dead, and now he says she left me?
“No.” I shake my head. “She’d never do that.”
To me, I want to add. She’d leave you, but never me.
“Well, she did.” His brows twist up. “She don’t want you anymore. She ran off with another man and didn’t take you. What’s that shit say to you, huh? Your mom’s nothing but a whore.”
“Stop it!” I jump to my feet. “Don’t call her that!”
“She is what she is.”
“You’re a liar! I don’t believe you,” I whimper, my lower lip quivering, tears slipping from my eyes with every lie he tells.
“I know you loved her, but she don’t love you as much as you thought she did,” he adds.
“You’re lying!” I accuse, not caring what he’ll do in return. “She’d never go without me.”
“Think what you want.” An evil chuckle falls out of his wicked mouth. “But I’m not lyin’.”
My chin trembles as I back away slowly, shaking my head as tears continue to fall.
“You’ve only got me now, Chiara,” he snickers while digging into the top drawer of his desk. “Here.”
He reaches out a hand, my phone clutched in his grasp. I go back to retrieve it, even though I don’t want to be anywhere near him.
He’s a liar. I know he is.
He hurt Mom. He had to have.
He’s evil.
A monster.
Yanking the phone from him, I turn, beginning to leave.
“Close the door on your way out,” he demands. “And don’t bother me anymore. You got your answers.”
I rush out, leaving the door the way it is. He can close it himself. He can get mad, do whatever he wants to me. It doesn’t matter anymore.
Reaching my room, I lock the door, panting with a whimper, my pulse hitting me hard with a thick web of agony. I can’t handle this. It’s too much.
A sob tears its way out, and then another, until I’m crumbling against the wall, wailing for her.
Needing her.
Mom.
Come back.