When the session ended, it didn’t end with relief. It ended with rules, because everything did.
“Shower,” he said. “Ice your knees. Eat something with protein. Lights out by ten.”
I nodded as if I were a soldier receiving orders—that’s what I was. Not a daughter, but a soldier gearing up for combat.
Ben went back inside without saying another word.
I stood alone in the garage, the buzzing light above me, the knife now safely back in its drawer, my hands trembling from exhaustion and something worse.
Defeat.
I wanted to cry, but of course I didn’t.
There was no point in it. He wasn’t going to change anytime soon, and I had accepted that… mostly.
I wish Adrian were here.
I wish I could punch him in his beautiful face.
I was brimming with contradictions.
Checking my phone, which was face down on the bench, I saw I had three missed messages in the group chat about Friday’s football game. A dozen snaps I hadn’t opened. A notification from the school portal—grades, attendance, and a ridiculous request from one of my teachers to set up a conference with Ben.
The single women in town had been after him ever since my stepmom died, with no luck. This stupid bitch wouldn’t be any different. I’d have to make sure she understood that.
And there it was, buried beneath the noise.
An email subject line:Academic Integrity Review Notice
My lungs forgot what they were doing.
For a second, the garage felt too small. The air was way too thin.
“Shit,” I mumbled, trying to think through the panic.
This was the kind of thing that got adults involved.
The sort of thing that got papers signed.
The type of thing that got Ben’s attention in a way I most definitely didn’t want.
The thing was, I was fairly sure that he already knew.
His questioning proved that.
But like everything else in my life, this was a test—a test to see if I could do what was necessary to cover my ass and survive by my wits alone.
Prove I wasn’t prey.
My fingers hovered over the screen.
I didn’t open it.
Not yet.
Because if I opened it, it became real.
And if it became real, I’d have to decide what I was willing to burn to keep Ben from doling out punishment.
