He grabs me, pulling me back toward him. My fingers curl into fists on instinct. I punch him in the face.
He drops to the floor, staring up at me. He doesn’t even try to get up. He stays there, holding his jaw, while Simona gasps behind me and rushes to him, kneeling to help.
You are a coward.I sign.
I will tell your mom.He signs back.Just give me a few days.
I clench my jaw, staring at him.
Fine.I sign.Do what you want. But if you don’t want the whole world to know, you will leave Carmen alone. Let her be herself.
“I am her father, Judas,” he signs back. “I make that decision.”
You are obviously not good at them.I sign, pointing toward Simona.
His jaw tightens. His teeth grind as he looks at me.
“Okay,” he says. “You win. But you will stay here for the night. Tomorrow you can drive back.”
I nod. I turn away and walk into the cabin. I go upstairs, down the short hallway, and into one of the bedrooms, and I close the door behind me.
I move to the bed and collapse onto it.
When did life become so damn complicated?
When you are a kid, all you want is to grow up. You want freedom. You want choices. Now all I have are decisions stacked on top of each other. This year I have to decide which university to choose. What comes next? What kind of life am I supposed to live? All I can think about is Carmen and driving, taking my bike, and disappearing. Riding until no one knows my name. Doingthings I have never done. Being somewhere no one can judge me. And even if they did, they wouldn’t know me well enough for it to matter.
It’s just a distant dream.
When I was younger, I used to look forward to these trips. Camping with Dad, fishing, staying here, away from noise, where everything was quiet. Now, even this place feels ruined. Knowing how long he might have been bringing Simona here makes my stomach twist.
When you live inside a lie, you convince yourself that everything is fine. That it all works out for you. But once you see the truth, the dreams disappear. You go numb.
And I am numb.
Caring means feeling, and I feel nothing. My chest is tight, but everything else is empty.
My phone buzzes. I pull it from my pocket and see Carmen flash on the screen.
Be careful so wolves don’t eat you.
I laugh out loud and type back.
Don’t worry, little sister. They are afraid of me.
You don’t scare anyone, big bro.
I scare you.
Nah. You are too cute to be scary.
I raise a brow.
Too cute, huh?
That is not what I meant.
My little sister thinks I am cute.
