He tilts his head at me. The look in his eyes tells me everything I need to know. There is no cold front, the hose is not broken, and something else is going on.
I still, adrenaline rushes through me.
He storms at me and stops right in front of my face. So close I can smell the Taco Bell sauce on his breath.
“What the fuck did I tell you?” he snaps.
Tears burn my eyes immediately. “I don’t know what you mean.”
Rage explodes across his face. He grabs my arm and throws me across the room.
I crash into the couch. My shoulder hits the armrest hard.
“You know exactly what I’m talking about!”
I shake my head and scramble backward. “I don’t.”
He grabs me and flips me over. My face smashes into the couch cushions as I try to grasp for anything to get away.
Then he spanks me.
Once. Twice. Over and over.
The sting radiates through my entire body. Burns like fire. I cry, trying to twist away.
“Dad! Stop! Stop! Stop!”
He doesn’t stop.
He keeps hitting me until I’m crying so hard into the couch cushions I can barely breathe. My legs are numb. My ass is on fire. It hurts so bad.
When he finally stops, I can’t move. I can barely think.
I wince as I try to stand. The tears keep falling, but it’s no longer sadness I feel. Anger surges through me now, hot and sharp and uncontrollable.
I grab something off the coffee table. A ceramic vase. It’s heavy.
“Fuck you!” I scream, throwing it across the room. It crashes at his feet and shatters into pieces.
He storms back toward me and grabs me by the neck.
“We had a fucking deal, Lily! Do you know what I’ve done for you! For us! All that I’ve fucking sacrificed!”
“It should’ve been you!” I croak out.
That pisses him off. His eyes turn black, and his grip tightens around my neck, crushing my throat.
“Your mom got what she deserved, that fucking whore!”
I gasp for air and claw at his hands. I try to punch him, but his reach is longer, and my fists don’t connect with anything but air.
Over his shoulder, I see Zinnia standing in the hallway. Frozen. Crying.
“You’re just like your fucking mom!” my dad seethes.
He’s going to kill me just like how he tried to kill her. Zinnia was me six years ago. I pound on his arms, not wanting my life to end in his hands.
I haven’t done enough in my life. I’m too young to die. Tears slip out of my eyes as I imagine Callum kissing me, Jax protecting me, Zephyr’s brown eyes. I have so many years ahead of me, and I’m not ready. But I can’t fucking breathe.
