AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Prologue
I can practically hear dramatic trumpets playing a funeral march as my boyfriend, Emmett Jameson, drives me straight into my worst nightmare. My mom has just called to inform me that my biological father, Theo, will be joining us for dinner.
It’s a scenario I’ve never prepared myself for. I grew up hearing her refer to him as the scum of the earth. And I had never met the man until my life came to depend on him in the midst of being taken hostage in the sick and twisted game of the Elites, which he was more of a central figure in than I ever could have imagined.
I don’t know how he’s charmed his way to our dinner table right alongside my stepfather, Brendan, who has been more of a father to me than he ever has. All I know is that when he shows up, everything goes wrong. And this is definitely not the way I wanted to spend my first afternoon of winter break.
“I’m sure it will be fine,” Emmett offers, reaching over from the driver’s seat to squeeze my hand.
My eyes dart over to him in desperation, wanting to believe he’s right. But his own view of Theo has been skewed ever since they made their demented little deal to kill off Emmett’s monster of a father together all in the name of bringing down the Elites once and for all.
My cozy, comforting suburban home suddenly looks like a haunted castle with dark, ominous clouds looming overhead and crows cawing as they fly by. As Emmett’s car rolls to a stop in the driveway, I’m frozen for a moment. My hand slides along the seat belt, but I’m unable to bring myself to actually unbuckle it and get out of the car. All I can do is stare at the front door with dread, knowing that behind it, the man I hate so much is putting on his best face for my mom and stepdad as we speak.
“Let’s just get this over with,” Emmett says as he opens my door and tries to lure me out. “It’ll be over before you know it and everything will be back to normal. We can watch a movie later.”
I can’t help but snort at the word “normal.” He doesn’t even know what that means. I don’t think I do anymore either, not since the day I arrived in this fucked-up little town. But I take a deep breath and force myself from the car.
The house smells delicious as we step inside to see Theo sitting with Brendan at the kitchen table. My mom is busy behind them preparing dinner. I do my best to hear what they could possibly be talking about, but the moment we round the corner they both stop and perk up.
“Ophelia!” Theo chimes, looking especially pleased with himself and this position he’s managed to talk himself into.
“Hi, sweetie!” my mom sings with a big smile.
She looks calm and happy, maybe even a little excited, but it seems naïve and dangerous to me. Emmett is quick to take a seat with both of them and soon they are chattering on about sports. Once again, I’m frozen. Staring at the scene in bewilderment. It’s like they’re a bunch of helpless gazelles grazing away in ignorant bliss, completely unaware of the lion stalking from just a few feet away. Only it’s worse than that. The gazelles invited the lion to dinner.
I join my mom in the kitchen and do my best to corner her. On the phone, she sounded panicked and had wanted to talk to me before Theo arrived, but we didn’t make it on time.
“You sounded upset on the phone,” I whisper with my eyes still glued to Theo’s back at the table. “What’s going on? How did this happen?”
She scrunches her nose and waves her hand dismissively. “I was just nervous is all. But as soon as he arrived, I knew everything would be fine. Not nearly as awkward as I expected.”
My heart races in frustration. None of this makes any sense. My mom hates Theo as much as I do and she doesn’t even know the whole story. But she’s humming to herself as she continues cooking away, cheerful as can be like she’s preparing a meal for a king.
“Mom,” I hiss more sternly, pulling her to rapt attention. “What the hell is going on!? Why is he here!?”
“We’ll talk later,” she replies through clenched teeth, breezing right by me to place a dish onto the table. “Sweetie, grab some plates and silverware, please.”
I want to refuse. The last thing I want to be doing is serving Theo, but I know that making a scene won’t help anything. Everyone is bizarrely calm and cheerful, so I take another deep breath and hope that Emmett was right. Maybe if I just play along for a little bit, he’ll go back to where he came from before I know it and everything will be okay.
My mom and I set the table and put out all of the dishes, filled to the brim with the makings for building your own tacos. She made way too much food, which means she’s nervous. Even though she already admitted that much, it’s a relief to see proof of it. I need to know that anyone feels even a fraction of the tension that I do.
“This looks delicious, Lala,” Theo announces gratefully as he piles fillings into a tortilla. Brendan and Emmett let out grunts of agreement, but I still find myself looking around the table wildly, feeling like I’ve stepped into the twilight zone.
“Ophelia,” my mom blurts, jerking me to. “Aren’t you hungry?”
I nod blankly and slowly begin putting some things on my plate. I can feel Theo’s eyes looking at me every so often, but mostly he smiles politely and looks around at everyone with a friendly gaze. His grin reminds me of an outside dog who conned his way into the house and is sitting on the sofa like a throne.
The dinner carries on with small talk and polite conversation. I’m on edge the entire time, expecting his real motive to surface at any moment. But no. We eat, we talk, and then at an appropriate time once the table is cleared, Theo thanks us for the invite and goes home.
Brendan and my mom show him out, but he stops and turns in the doorway with an appreciative, humble smile. “I can’t thank you two enough for letting me into your home...after everything. I’d…I’d like it if we could do this again sometime.”
Brendan looks to my mom who smiles and nods hesitantly. Just before starting down the front steps, Theo looks over their shoulders to me with a wave. “It was nice to see you, Ophelia. I hope to see you again soon.”
All of my questions and fears have been bubbling up for hours. The moment the door closes behind him, it all starts to spill out.
“Can someone tell me what the fuck is going on here!?” I shriek, causing everyone but my mom to freeze and look at me like I’m a madwoman.
“Theo called and apologized. He asked if it would be possible for him to be more involved in your life. In our lives. That’s all, Ophelia,” she explains casually as she starts on the dishes.
“He apologized!?” I fume in laughter. “Can he even do that!? Just call up out of the blue and say ‘I’m sorry’ after what he did? Mom! He beat you! I had never even seen him until we came to Jameson!” She stops and looks up to me with a wrinkled brow and I immediately realize my mistake. As far as my mom knows, tonight was my first time ever meeting him. “Until tonight,” I quickly correct myself. “And anyway, don’t I have any say in this!? Shouldn’t he ask me if he can be a part of my life!? Not just use you to force me into it…”
Truthfully, he has asked. Or rather implied. I have shut him down each and every time.
“Enough, Ophelia,” Brendan grumbles from the other side of the room. “This isn’t just about you. Theo and your mom have their own baggage to sort through too, you know.”
“And you’re okay with that!?” I gape, flailing my arms dramatically.
Emmett appears at my side, placing a hand on the small of my back in comfort. He doesn’t say it out loud, but I know he’s begging me to calm down. But the calmer everyone else is, the more enraged I feel. I press the issue throughout the night as my mind races through the possible disastrous outcomes of Theo hanging around.
“People change,” my mom insists, sounding tired. Not by our dinner guest, but by me. “I don’t want to keep hanging on to old grudges. If he wants to try and make amends, I’m ready to let the past be the past. And you should too, Ophelia. You may think you hate him now, but one day when you’re older you’ll regret not taking this opportunity to get to know your biological father.”
“The sperm donor as you called him!?” I huff back, but she ignores me. She may think I’m being too dramatic or bratty, but she doesn’t realize that Theo’s worst offenses aren’t so far into the past. It’s easy for her to let go of things he did eighteen to twenty years ago and the absence that followed. But once she knows the truth about what Theo has done in just the past few months, I know she’ll feel differently.
1
Chapter One
There is still a light snow lingering on the ground outside as I look out my bedroom window, waiting for Emmett to pick me up. Just as he promised, the dinner with Theo came and went. We haven’t heard from him since, thankfully. But it didn’t stop me from feeling on edge for the rest of winter break, worrying when he might pop up again.
But now there are bigger things to worry about. The first day back to school. Even in a normal town at a regular high school, I’d be teeming with anxiousness over today. It’s my last semester in high school, which means in just five short months, I can finally put WJ Prep behind me forever. There’s college, prom, and graduation to think about. But that’s overshadowed by the fear of not knowing what we’re walking into now that everything in our school’s everchanging hierarchy has shifted once again.
Emmett’s beat-up green Toyota pulls into our driveway. A downgrade from his expensive, luxury sports car that he sold to have more money to live off of now that he’s on his own. It’s a reminder that he’s probably going through just as much anxiety as I am over this first day back. I feel guilty over how comforting that is for me. I’m used to a new semester at WJ Prep feeling ominous, but for once, I’m not facing it alone.
I bound out the front door and into his car, eager to escape the crisp, cold morning air. He smiles as I jump in, but I can see the worry in his eyes.
“Good morning,” I lean over for a kiss, avoiding stating the obvious.
His lips linger against mine for a moment, as if he needs to soak up a few extra seconds of comfort before we take off. His fingers gently trail against my cheek before he finally pulls back with a deep sigh and puts the car into drive.
There’s an awkward silence at first. I don’t know if we should get it over with and just put all of ours fears out there right off the bat, or if we should try to ignore them together. Maybe naming them makes it worse.
