AllFreeNovel
Share Us
It’s not fair that, after everything I’ve seen, I can’t get his face out of my head. Or the image of him standing over a man beaten into a bloody pulp. Dead.
He didn’t look fierce then. Just terrified.
* * *
I can’t put off this meeting forever. He finds me first, venturing into the break room, which seems so plain compared to his tailored navy suit and perfectly coifed graying hair. In the doorway lurks a figure who remains in the hallway, but his presence affects me, nonetheless. Robby. Did he see me last night? Was he really there? Or was it a figment of my imagination?
I don’t even want to consider the possibility, and, as if to taunt me, something Ben said haunts me now—You think Daze and I are bad news? What about that little bootlicker who follows your father around? Robert something? That guy is the real danger you should be worried about.
“Frances?” Father is watching me, his head cocked in confusion.
I scramble to force a smile. “F-Father.”
I should be prepared to face him—but I’m not. Shock makes me drop the mop handle, which skitters across the floor.
“I’ve been worried sick about you.” He draws me into a hug, and the familiarity stings. “Where have you been?”
“I… I was at a friend’s house.”
He raises an eyebrow. “Oh?”
“Someone I met through our outreach. I was safe.”
“Frances...” He frowns and folds his hands together in the pious way he does before every sermon. As if he needs his full strength to deliver his next words of wisdom. “You should be careful. It is a tenant of our faith to be trusting, but one must also be wary of those who are not members of our flock.”
Like Daze Keaton, former member of a gang of criminals. Still, I technically didn’t lie. For all intents and purposes, I met him through Hale.
“I was safe with them, Father. But I’m sorry for worrying you.”
He accepts the apology with a nod, but his eyes linger over my face as if hunting for any sign of deception. Fear unfurls in my belly. Does he know the truth about where I’ve been? From his watchful stare alone, I can’t tell. “I know this has been hard on you. Given how tight this race is, we can only afford to show our family's resilience, no matter the tragedy that befalls us. That can’t be easy.” He reaches out, placing the flat of his palm over my forehead. It’s the gentle way he used to placate me when I was a child, and one touch from him could quiet even my worst fears. “I couldn’t bear it if anything happened to you.”
“I’m sorry,” I say. More doubt creeps in, along with fresh guilt. I spent so long wanting to believe there was some truth in Hale’s obvious mistrust. What if I’d been wrong? What if he had just gone off the deep end like everyone said?
While he changed, Father has remained the same unwavering paragon of authority he’s always been. That should count for something.
“There is another thing I wanted to discuss with you, Frances,” Father continues, lowering his hand. “You haven’t answered your phone. Even Colton couldn’t get a hold of you, it seems.”
Because I don’t have it. Does he know that? My lungs constrict, and I can’t suck in enough air. His face doesn’t transform into the stern, cold frown he wears when displeased, however.
“I… I left it home,” I lie. Every trembling word seems to betray me, but he merely raises an eyebrow.
“That isn’t like you.”
I say nothing.Does he even know you?some rebellious part of me whispers. It wasn’t always there—I think Daze is responsible for this newfound part of me, tempting me to question everything. Even my own father.
“I’ve just been…stressed,” I say finally. “I’m sorry.”
“I know,” he says. It’s the right phrasing, but his tone has no emotion. Certainly not the level of grief I still feel when it comes to Hale. He sounds mildly understanding as if we were speaking about the weather. “We’ve all been drained by current events, I think. You should come home tonight, and we’ll have dinner and talk. Just the two of us. And Colton if you’d like. He cares a lot about you.”
I wait for him to caveat the offer with a request that I go to Covenant right now and confess my sins. He has to know… Right? If he had me followed, he’ll have his doubt.
Or, a more terrifying thought comes to mind—he doesn’t know. Robbie wasn’t there for me.
“Frances?”
I startle to awareness and nod. “Okay.”
“We are all concerned for you, darling. Tomorrow, I think you should come to the service. It might do you some good.”
