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MIA
“Iknew you would be happy about this.”
Happy? Maybe I would be happy if I had a chance to catch up with what my father is telling me. Right now, I’m too busy trying to understand what he just said. I’m going to Blackthorn Elite. “But I didn’t apply there.”
“You didn’t have to. I took care of everything. Don’t I always?” Yes, he does, and right now, that doesn’t make me feel happy. As usual, I don’t get any say in my life. What a trade-off. I have all the money I could ever want. I never have to worry about anything, but I also don’t get to make a choice. Not even where I go to school.
He’s looking at me like he expects me to be grateful, so I put on a smile. “This is great.” Under the table, though, my nails dig into my palm hard enough to hurt. It’s sort of a habit I’ve developed for when I have to pretend to be happy about something.
I’m not ungrateful. I know how lucky I am. My life could’ve gone in a very different direction if he hadn’t found me. I could be out on the streets or just scraping by while working two jobs. Instead, I practically live in a castle.
Even the most pampered princess wishes for freedom sometimes. I’m not allowed to drive. I can’t go out alone. I don’t get the chance to see friends. I miss my best friend, Blair, so much. Sometimes, it’s enough to make me cry myself to sleep. Anybody else would feel lucky to be in my shoes. Am I ungrateful for wishing I could go back to when things were simpler?
“Only the best education for my girl,” my father says with a satisfied little grin. I know he likes to take care of me, and when I see how glad he is, it makes me feel bad for that first flash of irritation. “Everything is taken care of. I already have your housing sorted, and the furniture will be there in another day or two. You’ll be all set once classes start.”
He even picked out where I’m going to live and how it should be furnished. “Thank you,” I murmur, looking down at my breakfast and wondering where my appetite went all of a sudden.
“I have to say, it will be different, not having you here.” There’s an almost wistful tone in his voice when his eyes meet mine from across the table. “Isn’t that crazy? I haven’t had you with me all these years, but I’ve gotten used to you. Now I wonder how much quieter and emptier this house will feel.”
“I’ll come back for holidays and breaks. And it’s not all that far away—I could even manage some weekends. You’ll be tired of me really soon.”
“I don’t think that would be possible, though you are at an age where a father has to get used to the idea of not having his daughter around anymore.” When he looks at me, he must see how confused I am. “Well, usually a girl either goes to college, or she’s married off. One or the other.”
This isn’t the first time he’s made a comment like that. I never know whether I should take him seriously or not. Do people really still think that way about girls? Like we’re not worth anything other than property to sell off to the highest bidder or forge some kind of business alliance?
At least I don’t have to worry about getting married off anymore. If I’m at school, he won’t expect me to suddenly pack everything up and get hitched. When I look at it that way, this is the lesser of two evils. “I guess I have a lot of work to do. Getting everything together and all that.”
“You know someone around here will do that for you.” He waves a hand, sort of vague, the way he usually is when it comes to planning things. He’s used to staff tending to his every need. I haven’t lived this way long enough to think the way he does. “And once you get there, Zeke can always help arrange things.”
There I was, thinking I didn’t have much of an appetite. Now, it will be a miracle if I don’t throw up all over the table. I have to swallow back the bile that rises in my throat before answering. “Zeke? What’s he got to do with anything?”
My father’s attention drifted down to his phone, but now it snaps back to me. “Obviously, Zeke will go with you.”
“To school?”
“Naturally.” He stares at me, unblinking. “What did you think? That I would let you go by yourself? Do you know what happens at these colleges? Even one like Blackthorn? Granted, you’ll be around the right sort of people there, but I’m not under any illusions. Boys will be boys, that kind of thing.”
I have to bite my tongue over that one. Boys will be boys. When did they come up with that one? When dinosaurs were roaming the earth?
The last thing I want to do is piss him off, which means I have to be careful. “It’s just that Zeke… I mean, what’s he going to do? Come to classes with me? Follow me around? Sit with me when I eat?”
“If I say he does, yes. That’s precisely what he’ll do.” His eyes narrow, and I know I’m dangerously close to the edge of his patience. He has a short fuse—not that he’s ever blown up on me, but I’ve been in the house when he’s blown up at other people. And every time, I found myself glad I wasn’t in that person’s shoes.
“Is the school going to be okay with that?”
“They will if I tell them to be. Besides, I’m sure you won’t be the only girl who’s ever required a bodyguard. Some of the wealthiest families in the tristate area send their kids to that school. I’d frankly be surprised if you were the only one with a detail.”
Sure, but I’ll probably be the only one who threw herself at her bodyguard and ended up crying herself to sleep that night and for a week after. I can barely look at Zeke—now, I’m supposed to let him shadow me everywhere I go at this new school? “He’s not going to live with me in the dorm, is he?”
Dad scowls. “You’re an intelligent girl, Mia. Where is all this coming from?”
“Is he going to be living with me?”
“Well, I’m not going to have you living alone, am I?” He blurts out a laugh like this is hilarious rather than a nightmare.
“Couldn’t I share a place with another girl? Isn’t that usually how it’s done?”
He scowls, and right away, I know that was a stupid question. “Why would you want to share a home with a stranger? Wouldn’t you rather live with someone you know you can trust?” He picks up his knife and fork, shaking his head. “Like I would let my daughter live with just anyone.”
