17. Alison
Dad’s car is in the driveway when I get home from school. So is Victor’s. My stomach drops before the driver has even pulled to a complete stop.
Two days.
That’s what I tell myself as I climb out. Two days until Friday. Two days for Arthur and the others to figure this out. Two days until whatever happens next happens. I only have to keep pretending until then.
I find Tobias first. He’s in the family room with a pile of plastic dinosaurs arranged across the rug, making two of them fight over what appears to be a Lego cheeseburger.
He looks up when I walk past. “Ally!”
“Hi, bug.”
“The T-Rex stole his lunch.”
“That seems rude.”
“He’s a T-Rex.”
Right. Obviously. I manage a smile and keep walking.
“Alison.” Dad’s voice carries from his office.
My smile disappears. I smooth my skirt, adjust the strap of my bag, and walk toward him.
Victor is sitting across from Dad’s desk. For one second, I stop. Only one. Then Thursday flashes through my head — Tobias crying, Dad’s hand around my arm, my mother hitting the floor. You will do what you’re told. I know exactly what happens if I don’t.
So I smile. “Victor!”
His attention moves to me. I don’t wait for him to stand before crossing the room.
By the time he does, I’m already there, sliding my arms around his neck.
His surprise lasts half a second. Then his hands settle at my waist. I kiss his cheek.
Sweet. Warm. Happy to see him. Exactly what I’m supposed to be.
“You didn’t tell me you were coming.”
“I wanted to surprise you.”
“You did.” I lean back enough to look at him. His eyes move over my face. I keep smiling. “Should I be worried?”
“About?”
“Surprise visits.” I glance at Dad. “They usually mean one of you has decided something about my life without consulting me.”
Dad’s expression changes immediately. Victor laughs. Good.
“See?” I say to Victor. “I knew I should be worried.”
“You’re becoming suspicious.”
“I’m becoming experienced.”
“Alison.” Dad’s warning comes from behind me.
I ignore it carefully. Victor doesn’t.
His thumb moves once against my waist. “I have changed something.”
“Of course you have.”
“Friday.”
My smile almost slips. Almost. “What about Friday?”
“We’re leaving.”
My heartbeat trips. “Friday?”
“I thought we’d make a trip of it before Switzerland.”
“A trip?”
“A few days together. Shopping. Dinner. Perhaps Geneva first. Wherever we decide to go.”
Wherever. Bella’s voice comes back so clearly I could swear she’s standing beside me. Switzerland isn’t the cage. It’s the first stop.
Victor smiles. “I’ve been told I haven’t done nearly enough spoiling.”
“Who told you that?”
“No one.”
“Then I’m impressed you came to that conclusion on your own.”
His smile widens. Dad doesn’t move.
Victor’s hand slides a little farther around my waist. “Anything you want.”
“That seems irresponsible.”
“I can afford irresponsible.”
I tilt my head. “Anything?”
“Within reason.”
“Oh.” I sigh dramatically. “And there it is.” Victor laughs again. Dad’s chair creaks. I don’t look at him. I keep my eyes on Victor. “Here I was thinking you were finally going to let me have some fun.”
“Is that what you want?” The question changes slightly. So does his voice. I hear it.
I let myself smile a little slower. “Maybe.”
His eyes sharpen. Good. I’ve learned something. Dad hears every tease as disobedience. Victor hears it as interest. And right now, I need Victor to hear exactly what he wants.
He draws me a little closer. “Maybe?”
I smooth an imaginary wrinkle from the front of his jacket. “I haven’t decided how difficult I intend to be yet.”
“Alison.” Dad’s voice slices through the room.
I turn my head. His expression has gone hard. Victor glances at him.
“What?”
“Enough.”
“Enough of what?”
“The insolence.”
My stomach tightens. I start to step away from Victor.
His hand stays at my waist. “She was teasing me.”
“She was being disrespectful.”
“To me?”
“It doesn’t matter.”
“It matters to me.” Dad’s eyes flick to Victor’s hand. Something ugly passes across his face. “She’s become increasingly insolent. It needs to be dealt with before she leaves.”
Victor’s expression changes. Not much. Just enough. “No.”
Dad sits back slowly. “Excuse me?”
“You misunderstand me.” Victor looks down at me. “I like when she teases me.”
Dad doesn’t seem to appreciate the clarification. “You won’t when she forgets her place.”
Victor touches my chin, tipping my face slightly toward him. “She won’t.”
The certainty in his voice is somehow worse than Dad’s anger. Dad wants me afraid enough to obey him. Victor wants me comfortable enough to believe obedience is my own idea. I’m not sure which one frightens me more.
Victor’s thumb moves beneath the fading bruise on my cheek. His eyes settle there. “This was Thursday?”
Every muscle in my body tightens.
Dad doesn’t answer immediately. “She required correction.”
Victor’s gaze stays on my face. “Poorly.”
Dad goes still. “She’s my daughter.”
“And she’s leaving with me Friday.”
“Which gives me two more days.”
My blood turns to ice. Victor finally looks at him. “For what?”
Dad doesn’t answer. He doesn’t need to.
Victor’s hand drops from my face. “I don’t want her frightened of every word out of my mouth, Roman.”
“Fear teaches respect.”
Victor glances toward the office door. Toward the rest of the house. Toward my mother, somewhere beyond it.
“Did it?”
Dad’s face changes. “Careful.”
Victor smiles faintly. “I’m not criticizing your wife.” Somehow, that sounds worse. “I’m criticizing your methods.”
“You don’t tell me how to handle my daughter.”
“Your daughter,” Victor repeats. Dad’s jaw tightens. Victor’s arm settles around my waist again. “My wife.”
“Not yet.”
“Close enough.”
“Until then, she lives under my roof.”
“Until Friday.”
The room goes completely still. Neither man is looking at me anymore. They’re looking at each other. And suddenly I understand.
Dad isn’t reluctant to send me away because he wants me here.
He wants more time. Thursday wasn’t finished for him.
I stood between him and Tobias. Mom stood between him and me.
He lost control of all three of us in the same night — and now Victor is taking me before Dad has had the chance to put everything back where he thinks it belongs.
Victor doesn’t care that Dad hurt me. He cares how.
Dad wants obedience. Victor wants devotion.
Neither of them gives a damn whether it’s real.
I make myself laugh softly. “Well. This is flattering.” Both of them look at me. I smile at Victor. “I didn’t realize there was quite so much debate over me.”
“There isn’t,” Victor says.
“Alison,” Dad warns.
“I’m teasing.”
“I know,” Victor says. Dad’s eyes snap toward him. Victor smiles at me. “And I like that about her.”
Oh. That did not help.
I give him my sweetest smile anyway. “Then I suppose Friday sounds lovely.”
“See?” Victor says to Dad. “She’s excited.”
Dad looks at me. He knows me better than Victor ever will, and for one awful second I wonder if he can see straight through me — all the way down to Arthur, to Ryan, to the plan sitting behind my teeth.
Then Victor kisses my temple. “Walk me out, darling.”
“Of course.” I take his hand.
Dad doesn’t say anything as we leave. I can feel his stare between my shoulder blades the whole way down the hall.
Outside, Victor’s car is waiting. The afternoon sun is bright enough to hurt my eyes. I don’t let go of his hand.
Two days. I only need two days.
Victor turns to me beside the car. “Think about what you want.”
“For the trip?”
“Anything.”
I smile. “That’s a dangerous thing to tell me.”
“I’m not worried.”
He leans down and kisses me. I kiss him back. Then he starts to pull away, and I catch the front of his jacket. Victor stops. I rise onto my toes and kiss him again. Longer this time.
When I let him go, his expression has changed. “What was that for?”
“You said shopping.” His mouth curves.
“That’s all it takes?”
“Shopping in Europe.”
“Ah. Important distinction.”
I smooth the place on his jacket where my fingers wrinkled it. His eyes follow my hand. “Although now I’m wondering what else you have planned.”
“You’ll find out Friday.”
I wrinkle my nose. “That’s terribly unfair.”
“I thought you liked surprises.”
“I like presents.”
His laugh is low. “Those I can promise.”
I let my fingertips linger against his lapel. “Then perhaps I’ll forgive you for making me wait.”
His hand tightens around my waist. “Careful, sweetheart.”
I look up at him through my lashes. “About what?”
His eyes darken. Good. “You know exactly what you’re doing.”
I do. Just not in the way he thinks.
“Alison.” Dad.
I release Victor immediately. Not too quickly. Not enough to make it obvious. But the version of me Victor was enjoying disappears neatly behind the one Dad expects.
Victor notices Dad standing on the front steps. Amusement flickers across his face.
He leans down and kisses me once more. “Friday.”
He gets into the car. Dad walks past me without a word. Not inside — toward Victor. Victor lowers the window as Dad approaches, and I don’t wait to hear what they say. I go inside.
The front door barely closes before someone grabs my wrist. I nearly scream. Mom.
“Mom—“
“Quiet.” Her face is pale. She pulls me down the hall.
“What are you doing?”
“Come with me.” She doesn’t wait for an answer. She drags me into the laundry room and locks the door behind us.
“Mom.” She crosses to the built-in cabinets above the counter and opens one. Detergent. Dryer sheets. Cleaning supplies. Nothing else. Then she starts pulling everything out.
“What are you—“
“Your father doesn’t do laundry.”
I stare at her. “I’m aware.”
“He doesn’t come in here, either.”
She reaches behind the last container and presses against the back of the cabinet.
The panel moves. I stop breathing. Mom pulls it forward.
Behind it is a narrow space, and inside that space is a box.
Just a box. Old cardboard, worn edges, nothing remarkable about it.
She lifts it out with both hands and sets it on top of the washing machine. Then she opens it.