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Brinley
Life hasn’t always been the easiest for me.
Not growing up with a father who taught me to fear my own shadow.
Sure. There are monsters out in the world who will steal from you, hurt you, take your soul, your pride, your body or your life. They hurt you because you hurt them first, or they hurt you just because they can.
I have to agree with Dad on that.
And I understood that he was a protective father, always guiding and guarding the only child the world gave him before my mother died.
What never made sense to me was why he was so careful with me. Maybe it was because of the security business he ran, or because of my mother’s death, but I was given more rules I had to follow to navigate this life than what was expected of my friends.
To them and their families, the world is terrible, yes, but also a place where you could live a happy life.
To my father, though, those parents were intentionally ignorant, and their children would suffer the consequences as a result.
The world, according to my father, is just one big disaster waiting to happen, and as a young woman, I’m its favorite victim.
To say I was shocked he allowed me to leave Georgia to attend college hundreds of miles away is an understatement.
On the day I climbed in my car to leave, I did so with a smile on my face. Dad smiled too. Until I pulled out of the driveway and looked in the rearview mirror to see his smile had transitioned into a frown, worry creasing the skin of his forehead.
But children need to grow up. So that’s what I set out to do.
It all went well for the first few years. Nothing traumatic happened. Life was good. Even though I often stayed on campus and didn’t venture too far from my new home, I was content with the life I’d carved out, and happiest in the large college classrooms and massive library.
At least, I thought I was happy.
Maybe its in the moments that you finally believe that nothing can go wrong, that the worst is about to strike.
My monster appeared to me in a place I never expected to meet him. In a way that made me hate him. And he returned to me over and over again to remind me just why my father had always warned me.
My monster wasn’t just out to hurt me, but wanted to steal me from my life.
He wanted to change me.
To rip me from the comfort of my small bubble and show me the world my father was afraid would eat me alive.
Shane Carter isn’t just a monster; he’s a jackass that doesn’t care for opinions or what is acceptable in modern society.
He’s a shadow that is always following you.
A man that doesn’t care when someone tells him no.
In Shane’s world, there are no rules that he should follow.
It’s too bad I had the misfortune of stumbling into his life.
Because just at the moment I believed that my rules could protect me, Shane was the first person to teach me that rules don’t apply when you’re dancing with the devil.
. . .
Brinley
“I think we showed up on the wrong night. Maybe we should come back at another-”
“We’re here now,” Ames groans, her eyes catching mine in the shadowed interior of my car. “I don’t want to make the drive again. Let’s just go in, avoid the snooty folk, and give that to your dad’s friend so we can leave and have some actual fun tonight.”
