Me:Alright I’ll let you go back to your work, bright eyes.
Skye:See you tomorrow.
I feel a smile play across my lips as I hook my phone up to the charger. Fuck, I like her so much it feels unreal to finally be able to act on those feelings.
For this moment, I allow myself to feel like a normal college student, instead of one dealing with a demon trying to take over his body whenever he feels like it. I drift off, imagining what my life could look like with Skye by my side, no demons to speak of.
ChapterFifty-Six
WALKER
SONG: THE PRETENDER BY FOO FIGHTERS
My phone wakes me from a dead sleep.
Dad:Come to my office. Immediately.
Fuck. My eyes are still fuzzy from sleep as I stare at the blurry message from the person I don’t want to deal with this early in the morning.
I roll out of bed, careful not to wake Salem. I hike over to the administrative building. It’s pitch-black outside, the sun barely cresting over the water. My breath hits the chilled air, puffing up in front of my face as I jog to meet my dad, wondering what the fuck he could want to talk about.
Rain pelts my face as I pick up my pace, the tiny pieces of gravel fly out from beneath my feet as I careen down the path.
I make it in record time, feeling winded and pissed off that I’m being summoned here like a dog.
The building is empty, making the squeak of my soles against the checkered marble reverberate against the rounded ceiling. I head up the stairs, wishing I was back in bed with Salem.
I knock against the door to my father’s office and am met with a clipped, “come in.”
I shove the door open and see my father looking disheveled.
“What the fuck is this?” He asks, rushing towards me with a crumpled newspaper in his hands. The headline reads “Family Perishes in Thanksgiving Fire”.
“You said you were spending Thanksgiving with the Knox family, and now your little girlfriend’s grandmother and mother are dead? What the fuck did you do?”
“I didn’t do anything. We ate dinner and then decided to leave. We left for the airport right after.”
“Bullshit.” He backhands me across the face, one of his rings digging into my cheek leaving a stinging imprint in my flesh. I cup my face, feeling a rush of Wrath fill my body.
“Don’t you fucking touch me. I’m not some little boy anymore. I could put you in the ground without a second thought.” I say, raising myself to my full height, a few inches above him.
He gulps, fiddling with the cuffs of his wrinkled suit.
“I better not have to involve our lawyers in this mess.”
“There’s nothing to involve them with. If that’s all, I’m going to go back to bed before class starts.”
“No, that’s not all. I want you to stop seeing this girl. She’s clearly trouble.” He says smacking the paper against his hand for emphasis.
“I’ve let you dictate so much of my life, but not this. You don’t get to decide who I’m with.” I say, barely hanging onto my humanity as the anger boils over. “You want me to run your stupid company one day? You’ll back the fuck off. And I’m playing the guitar whether you want me to or not. I’ve more than proven myself as capable.” I’m shaking trying to reign myself back from unleashing my Wrath at him like I ache to. He deserves it. He deserves to know what it’s like on the receiving end of a short fuse.
He looks at me wide eyed for a second before he takes a step back putting both his hands on my arms.
“It’s nice to see you finally grew a backbone.”
I expect a lot of things from my father, but those words floor me. This man has found pleasure in torturing me my entire life. He’s lorded his authority over me with threats and abuse for as long as I can remember.
I don’t even know how to respond.
