Chapter Twenty-Five
The wind howled through the trees as Edith approached the cabin she once called home, her feet dragging against the rough dirt path.
It was dusk, and the sky hung low with dark, swirling clouds, the faint light quickly fading as night crept in.
Her heart hammered in her chest, her breath shallow and uneven as she paused at the edge of the clearing.
Everything about this place brought back memories—terrible, suffocating memories.
The cabin stood as it always had, its crooked roofline sagging, the windows dark and dirty.
She had lived here for years under the oppressive shadow of her father’s cruelty, and yet here she was again.
The dread she felt almost made her turn back, but she forced herself to take a step forward.
She had to do this. She had to talk to him, to beg him—plead with him—to leave her alone once and for all. She couldn’t live with the constant fear that he’d show up again, demanding more from her and Daniel. This had to end.
Part of her held onto a slim hope, however faint, that this time her father would listen.
Maybe if she told him how much pain he’d caused, if she stood up to him, he’d understand that she was serious.
She wasn’t the helpless girl he had controlled all those years.
Maybe this time, she could get through to him.
She had to believe that, or the fear would swallow her whole.
Her hand trembled as she reached for the door.
The wood was cold, and the creak it made as it opened echoed in the stillness of the woods.
She stepped inside, the smell of stale liquor slamming into her.
It was worse than she remembered, almost sickening, the scent so strong it made her stomach churn.
The cabin was dim, a single flickering candle on the table casting shadows that seemed to grow darker with each flicker. Her eyes swept across the room—nothing had changed. The same cracked floorboards, the same broken furniture. Then she saw him.
Her father sat slumped at the table, hunched over a bottle. His hand shook as he lifted it to his lips, the liquid sloshing around inside. He didn’t see her at first, didn’t notice her standing there, frozen in place, her heart pounding in her ears.
But then he turned.
His bloodshot eyes met hers, and the cruel, mocking sneer she knew so well spread across his face. He looked even worse than before—his hair greasy, his clothes stained, and his skin pale and sallow from days, maybe weeks, of drinking.
“Well, well,” he slurred, his voice thick with alcohol. “Look who finally came crawling back.”
Edith swallowed hard, the familiar fear clawing at her throat, but she didn’t let it consume her. Not this time. She had to be strong. She had to face him.
“I didn’t come back,” she said, her voice trembling but firm. “I came to ask you to leave me alone. I want you to stay away, Pa.”
He let out a low, bitter laugh, the sound dark and menacing. “Stay away? And why would I do that, huh? You think you’re better than me now, living with that trapper?”
Edith’s hands clenched into fists at her sides, her knuckles white as she forced herself to hold her ground. “Please, Pa. Just leave me and Daniel alone. We’re happy, and I don’t want you showing up again, trying to tear that apart.”
William snorted, a harsh, bitter sound. “Happy? You think some trapper in a run-down shack is gonna make you happy? You don’t know what happiness is, girl. That man’s gonna use you up and toss you aside the moment you stop being useful.”
“You’re wrong,” Edith said firmly, her voice shaking but resolute. “Daniel cares for me. He’s not like you.”
“Like me?” he spat, his sneer widening. “You think because you’ve been livin’ with some fool in the woods, you’re better off? You’ll see. One day, you’ll come crawlin’ back to me when that man leaves you broken, just like you always do.”
Edith’s stomach twisted as his words sank in, but she pushed past the fear, clinging to the resolve she had built on the walk over. She had to stand her ground.
Her hands clenched into fists at her sides, her knuckles white as she forced herself to hold her ground. “Please, Pa. Just leave me alone. Let me live my life without you interfering.”
He slammed the bottle down on the table, the sound reverberating through the small cabin, making her flinch. His sneer deepened, eyes gleaming with malice as he rose to his feet. His shadow loomed over her, dark and oppressive, as he took a slow step forward.
“You think you can just walk out of here and never look back? After everything I’ve done for you? You’re mine, Edith,” he growled, his breath hot and foul as he loomed closer. “You belong to me, and you’ll come back when I say so.”
Her heart slammed against her chest, her breath catching painfully in her throat. The cold weight of fear wrapped itself around her, but she stood her ground, forcing her feet to stay planted where they were.
“I’m not yours anymore,” she said, her voice shaking, but she didn’t look away. “I’m done being afraid of you.”
For a moment, her father’s face twisted with rage. His hand shot out, gripping her arm, his fingers digging painfully into her skin. Edith gasped, pain shooting through her, but she didn’t cry out. She wouldn’t give him that satisfaction.
“You can’t talk to me like that!” he spat, his eyes wild with anger. “You don’t get to walk away from me, girl. Not now, not ever.”
Edith’s breath hitched in her throat, her mind racing as she struggled against his grip. She had to get away, she had to—
Edith’s breath caught in her throat as her father’s fingers tightened around her arm, but she forced herself to speak.
She had practiced this speech the entire way over, but now that she was standing before him, the words felt heavy, hard to push past the lump in her throat.
With a shaky breath, she forced herself to speak.
“I’m not here to fight with you, Pa,” she said, her voice trembling at first but gaining strength with each word.
“I’m here to tell you that I’m done with this.
I’m done with you. You’ve done nothing but tear me down my whole life.
You’ve kept me trapped in this place, never letting me be free.
You never cared about me, only about what I could do for you.
And when that wasn’t enough, you tried to sell me like I was nothing. ”
His face contorted with anger, his grip tightening painfully. “You ungrateful little—” he began, but Edith cut him off, her voice gaining strength with every word.
“You drank away everything we had,” she continued, her voice rising, “and then you blamed me for it. You blamed me for everything that went wrong, even when it had nothing to do with me! You made me feel worthless, like I was a burden, like I didn’t deserve anything better.
But I do, Pa. I deserve a life, a real life.
And I’ve found that now. I’m free, and you don’t own me anymore. ”
Her father’s grip loosened slightly, his expression becoming darker, even colder. His eyes narrowed as he stared at her, but she didn’t back down.
“You don’t get to control me anymore,” she said, her voice steady now. “You don’t get to drag me down with you. I’m not coming back, and I don’t owe you anything. You need to leave me alone. I don’t want to see you ever again.”
For a moment, there was only silence. Edith’s heart raced in her chest, her breath coming fast as she stood there, her arm still held in his rough grip.
She had said everything she had wanted to say, but the fear still clung to her, gnawing at the edges of her newfound strength.
The seconds seem to stretch on, leaving Edith to wonder how her father would react.
She had never stood up to him before, never protested his treatment of her, never talked back.
When she tried, when she ever showed a hint of defiance or independence, he had beaten or starved the will out of her.
Her father’s lips curled into a sneer, his eyes burning with resentment. Edith’s blood ran cold.
“You think you’re so smart, so uppity?” he growled. “You think that trapper’s going to protect you? He’ll get tired of you, just like everyone else. You’re nothing, Edith. You’ve always been nothing.”
Edith’s heart clenched, but she refused to let his words tear her down again. Not this time. “You’re wrong,” she said quietly. “I’m more than you ever gave me credit for. And I’m done letting you hurt me.”
She wrenched her arm free from his grip, stepping back as she held her ground.
Her chest rose and fell with each breath, her body shaking with fear, waiting for her father to show his full reaction.
She didn’t know what would happen next, but for the first time in her life, she felt like she had taken control.
Her father let out a low, mocking laugh, the sound grating in the small, dark kitchen.
“You think you’re better than me now, huh?
Just because you found some fool to take you in?
” His words were slurred, his breath thick with alcohol, but the sneer on his face was unmistakable.
“You always were a weak little thing, Edith. Never good for nothin’.
And now you come in here with your pretty words, thinkin’ you’ve got a right to talk back to me? ”
Edith’s stomach twisted as he loomed closer, his eyes narrowing in that dangerous way she had seen too many times before. His face was red with anger, veins bulging in his neck.
“I spent my life bustin’ my back, and what did I get? A wife who died and a daughter who wasn’t worth a cent! You think I wanted this? You think I asked for this life? I didn’t ask for you, and I sure as heck didn’t ask to be stuck with you after your ma died!”
Each word landed like a blow, but Edith stood firm, her chin raised defiantly even as her heart hammered in her chest.
“Pa—” she began, but her father cut her off, his voice rising to a shout.
“You just waltz in here and try n’ tell me what to do? You come back to my house and try n’ tell me to leave you alone?” His rage seemed to consume him, his eyes wild as he took a menacing step forward. “I’ll decide when I’m done with you!”
Her father’s face contorted in rage, and before she could react, his hand shot out.
The strike came hard and fast, a brutal slap across her face that made her head snap to the side.
Pain exploded in her cheek, and for a moment, her vision blurred.
She stumbled, her body reeling from the impact, her heart racing in her chest.
The taste of blood filled her mouth, her cheek throbbing as the pain radiated through her skull.
But even as the shock of the blow rattled through her, something else surged up within her—something stronger than the pain.
She had expected this. She had known he might hit her, that he might lash out in the only way he knew how.
But she wasn’t that frightened girl anymore. She wasn’t his victim.
She raised a trembling hand to her cheek, feeling the heat of the strike burning against her skin, but she didn’t flinch. She wouldn’t give him the satisfaction.
Through the haze of pain, Edith heard the door slam open.