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“My impression of rich people.” One shoulder lifted in a shrug. “I would never fit in with those kinds of people. They’re not like me.”
Finally managing to contain my laughter, I smiled at him. “You fit in with me, though, and I like that you’re not like them.”
He made a huffing sound. “Yeah, but you’re you. You’re different to the others. I think…” There was a long pause, and I found myself leaning forwards. Just when I thought he wasn’t going to finish his sentence, he did. “I think you might be my best friend?”
His voice lifted at the end, like he wasn’t sure, so I nodded. “I think you’re mine, too.” My fingers touched the soft petals of a daisy, and I had an idea. Leaning over, I picked up my daisy chain and carefully looped the ends to form a circle. Then I shuffled forwards and placed it on his head. “I crown you as my best friend.”
A tiny smile appeared on his face as he lowered his lashes. Curling the tips of his fingers around the circle of daisies, he lifted it up. “This should be for you. A halo for an angel.” As he said the words, he carefully placed it on my head, his fingers sliding over my hair.
It had been true then, and it was true now. He was my best friend.
Making my way downstairs to the kitchen to get a drink while I decided where to go this evening, I lost myself in memories. He’d always been so soft with me, so careful, so different from the way he acted around everyone else.
Pushing the kitchen door open, I was greeted with a high screech and the sound of shattering glass. I clapped a hand over my mouth, my eyes widening as I was met with my mother’s shocked, angry gaze.
“Fallon! What on earth are you doing here? Look what you made me do!” She pointed at the broken wine glass at her feet, dark red liquid pooling around the jagged pieces. Of course, her only concern was her glass of wine and the fact that I was somehow at fault.
I bit down on my lip hard, my fists clenching and my heart racing. Panic at the knowledge that my parents were already home warred with a familiar disappointment, the knowledge that my mother really didn’t seem interested in me. Once I’d left for boarding school, she’d never contacted me, not like other parents did. Even when I came back home during the school holidays, she was never around.
“What’s going on in here?” The loud, booming voice caused both me and my mother to freeze.
No. Not him.Please.
It was too late. My father strode into the kitchen, taking in the scene with one sweeping glance. His brows pulled together, his mouth setting in a flat line.
“It was her fault. I didn’t even know she was here.” My mother jabbed a finger in my direction, and for the first time, I noticed the slur in her words. That hadn’t been her first glass of wine, then.
“What are you doing here, Fallon?” My father’s voice was deceptively soft.
“I-I thought I’d come back home for the weekend. I wanted…I wanted it to be a surprise.”
“Don’t ever do that again.” His words whipped across the room. “Your mother and I have plans for tonight, as do Joseph and Timothy, and we will not have you disrupting them. We don’t pay for you to attend your school just so you can duck out on a whim. You aren’t even eighteen yet. I do not expect this kind of behaviour from you.”
“I’m sorry,” I whispered. Ihatedhow he affected me.
“I expect you back at Hatherley Hall tomorrow. I’ll escort you to the train station myself.” Taking a step closer, he held out his hand. “Come with me. You need to understand the consequence of your actions, Princess.”
Something inside me cracked open, my body trembling against my will. Was this what Tim had meant by our father being on a short fuse? Had he been dealing with the man completely overreacting to every little thing? I’d come back as a surprise, and yes, it was the first time I’d done so, but I’d never dreamed that either of my parents would react so harshly. At best, I thought they’d be indifferent.
Swallowing hard, I followed my father out of the room. My mother didn’t even watch us go, too busy pouring a fresh glass of wine with hands that held a slight tremor.
We entered the garage, the dimly lit space cold and a little damp, and I shivered.
“Your brothers are both of age now, and I can’t punish them for your mistakes any longer.” His hand came down to grip my shoulder, and he turned me around. My body trembled again as my palms flattened against the cool bricks of the wall.
He lifted the back of my top with fast, rough movements, tucking the material under my bra strap. “Please, Dad. Please. Don’t do this,” I begged, my voice thick with the tears that were already beginning to fall. “It was a mistake. It’s— All I did was come home as a surprise. Please. I didn’t mean to do anything wrong.”
“Be quiet. You need to learn that actions have consequences.” His voice softened, but it was like a knife blade against my skin. “This hurts me more than it hurts you, Princess. Stay still.”
The familiar, hated sound of his belt slipping out of its fastenings cut through the still air.
Then my world exploded in a burst of pain, lashing across my back.
I cried out, slumping forwards as the hot lashes flayed me again and again. Tears of shock and pain ran down my face unchecked. Was this what Tim and Joseph had suffered all these years?
My body lost itself to the stinging burn, my breath catching in my throat, coming in short gasps as he struck me over and over. He was using the buckle of his belt, his favoured implement with Joe and Tim when he really wanted to hammer his point home.
He held nothing back.
