Everything feels slow and fast all at once, like I’m underwater, drowning in disbelief.
My father storms past me, rage rolling off him in waves. I throw myself to my feet, desperate to stop him, to intercept him before he?—
Crack
A sickening, hollow sound tears through the room like a gunshot.
I freeze. My breath catches in my throat and my mouth drops open in horror as Theo reels back slightly, blood blooming at the corner of his mouth.
My father just hit him.
He hit him.
Theo sways, just for a second, but stays upright.
He doesn’t fall.
He doesn’t run.
Theo stays on his feet, jaw tight, fists clenched at his sides. He doesn’t flinch again. Doesn’t lash out. But his entire body vibrates with tension.
“You’re lucky I’m not returning the favor,” he says quietly.
His voice is steady, but just barely.
He takes a breath, then steps forward. His eyes don’t leave my father’s.
“Not because I couldn’t, but because she deserves better than that. She deserves better than more violence.”
Then he looks at me. Just for a second.
And it guts me.
“I’ve never forced her. Never touched her without her consent. I didn’t plan this. I didn’t seek her out. But I love her. And shesavedme.”
His voice catches just a beat, before he swallows it down.
“She’s not a child. She’s not some victim. She is the strongest person I’ve ever met. And I would never do anything to hurt her.”
My throat burns.
“She’s eighteen,” my mother spits. “You’re a predator.”
“I’m not a child!” I shout, shoving past her with more strength than I thought I had. “I love him. I chose him.Ichasedhim.”
But Theo looks at me again, and this time, I see it.
The fear and the heartbreak. His decision is already made.
He’s going to let them end this.
“Theo,” I breathe, and my voice breaks in half. “Please.”
My mother turns on me like a snake, her face twisted in rage. Her perfume fills my lungs, choking me.
“You’re throwing your life away for what? You want to be used up like some cheap little toy? I am ashamed to call you my daughter.”
The words hit harder than a slap and shame burns through me like acid.
