Page 19 of For the Love of Skating
12
Kat
Ilike Granger, I mean,reallylike him, and it’s freaking me out on the inside. I don’t know what I’m doing. I’m supposed to pretend to like him, but with how fast he makes my heart race, I think it’s more. He flashes me a smile with a dimple that sets me off again, heat coating my body, just before I unlock my father’s front door. I know he’s trying to put me at ease, and I’m grateful for him because I don’t think I could do this by myself. This isn’t my house and hasn’t been for a long time. Granger is about to witness that as soon as I open the door. No more hiding, even if I wanted to.
Here goes nothing.
I don’t bother being quiet, because Father is at work. It’s the afternoon, so he should be at the office doing stupid brokerage work. I lead Granger past the foyer of muted and dark tones that makes the place look like a funeral home. I quicken my pace, heading up the stairs with him on my heels.
"Help me pack, then let's get the hell out of here," I tell him as I push my bedroom door open and rush to my closet for my suitcase.
"Where do you need me?" he asks, his voice quiet and deep with understanding.
So many answers float through my head…where do I need him? I need him to tell me it's going to be okay and hug me in his strong arms until it rings true. But I don't say any of that, I just point to my dresser as I toss him a traveling bag.
"Just start throwing my clothes in this from the pink dresser." He catches it one-handed and opens my top drawer with a chuckle.
Oh hell. I forgot that's my underwear drawer, and I'm glaring at him as he holds up a pair of my lacy booty shorts and wiggles his dark eyebrows.
"Stop being a perv, Captain. You can look at my underwear later," I tell him with a wave of my hand, but I start stuttering when I realize what I said.
"Is that a promise?" He stares at me with his green eyes darkening, heat burning within.
"I-I uh, Granger," I growl, then back up into my closet when he drops the bag and starts prowling towards me like I'm all he can see.
I'm in a room with a man that melts my insides and gives me the urge to straddle his waist and clutch him between my thighs so he can't ever let me go. Oh God. I'm in trouble. These feelings might devour me whole until there’s nothing left. My shoulders hit the shelves of my closet behind me, and he boxes me in with his hands on either side of my head.
"What did I tell you, Princess? Say it," he demands, his stare roaming over my face as my breathing picks up from him being so close.
He smells delicious, and it draws me closer to him without realizing my body is seeking him out to soak into. I know what he's asking, and I love the thrill it brings because he needs to hear it.
"Granger." My voice comes out shaky, husky, and I slowly raise my arm to place my hand on his chest, right over his racing heartbeat.
I affect him too, and nothing about this says this is wrong, because it's oh so right. He looks at me like he really wants to kiss me, and oh God, I might just let him. I have to ask myself…is this real? He must see something in my facial expression, maybe how afraid I am of the way my body and heart are drawn to him. He steps back to give me the space I desperately need. If he would have kissed me… I’m not ready for those feelings. It scares me too much. It’s as if I’m constantly running out of air around him and he’s sucking in every last breath until he has me fully tied to him.
“I’ll start putting all your clothes in the suitcases. Go grab anything else you might need, and I’ll carry these downstairs. It’s going to be fine, Princess.” His voice goes raspy and deep, then he winks at me before grabbing clothes from hangers and shoving them in my two suitcases.
I grab my picture frames with photos of Mom out of the nightstand, because Father would’ve destroyed them if he saw the frames lying out. I grab my duffle bag thatGranger packed and swing it over my shoulder while heading out into the hallway without a backwards glance. It’s a new start.
“I’m heading downstairs to get something. Meet you down there,” I yell over my shoulder and practically skip down the stairs, because I’m taking back something that is rightfully mine. Dropping the duffle by the front door, I head into my father’s study and open the first drawer on the right of his desk. With shaking fingers, I hold up the necklace Mom gave to me days before she passed so I always had a piece of her next to my heart. Tears gather in my eyes as I clasp the necklace around my neck, and it feels like it never left its spot in the first place.
“Take that off and put it back where it belongs,” Father’s voice booms from the doorway, his face an ugly purple as he glares at my neck with disdain and disgust.
My hand trembles as I grip the chain in my fist. He’ll have to pry it out of my cold dead fingers to get this back.
“It’s where it belongs. Why do you hate me so much? What did I ever do to you?!” Something releases inside me as I shout at him in rebellion. Maybe it’s the thought that I have nothing to lose because I won’t ever have to see him again.
“I never wanted you, even after you were born. Your mother begged and begged, until I finally gave in to her every demand and filled her up with my sperm. That’s all you are, Kathleen—a pity child. You will spread your legs for Donald because I own you, and he will be your husband so the deal goes through. You’ve been nothing but a burden who continues to fail me. Start accepting your destiny, because you have nowhere else to go.” He sneers at me as I try to walk past him, and I blink my eyes rapidly so he doesn’t have the satisfaction of seeing me cry.
“You really are a monster! I’ll never see what my mom saw in you, maybe you hid it better then, but I see you, old man. You may hide in the dark, but the thing about being in shadows is we can still see you with just a flash of light,” I manage to say in a choked voice, and try to slip past him.
He grabs my wrist before I can make it to the front door, his grip tight and cutting off the blood flow, and I just know it’s going to be a big bruise. I’m tired, so tired of being in constant suffering. I try to yank my arm back, but he squeezes even more until I cry out from the stinging pain.
“She has me. I would release her, because this could get very messy for you. Kat, let’s go. You have no reason to come back.” Granger’s voice is so deep, and the anger in the undertone of his voice and in his eyes is frightening, but it’s not directed at me.
He pushes my suitcases in my direction without looking away from my father. If looks could kill, I’m sure he would have dropped dead by now. Granger has once again protected me and hasn’t asked for anything in return. He’s one of the good guys, and I realize at that moment not even once have I cowered in his presence, as if my body knows he won’t hurt me.
“Who the fuck are you? This is private property, and I’m calling the police this instant.” My father smirks, pleased that he can still hurt me in front of others, but more on an emotional level that seems to always dig deeper, burning under my skin.
Before I can do anything, Granger lightly clasps my wrist where Father hurt me, absently rubbing back and forth with his thumb on the tender spot. He’s not even looking at me but he’s trying to soothe me, and that means everything to me. He bends down to grab my duffle bag and strides to the front door with me right beside him.
“I’m going to be your worst nightmare from this day forward. You see, I’m a Wilder, and you’ve been warned. Make sure you stay away and have a nice fucking day,” Granger growls in a deadly voice, looking my father right in the eye while he delivers that threat, then he swings the front door wide open.
I swear Father pales a little, but it’s hard to tell in the dark foyer if it’s a trick of the light or real fear. I wonder just who Granger's family is and why my father would be afraid of them. Father looks at me after tearing his gaze away from the man next to my side. He’s seething inside, I can tell by how his cruel eyes darken and the hatred sketched on his face.
“You walk out that door, Kathleen, and you won’t be welcomed back.” His vein pops on his forehead when I start to slowly smile and step onto the porch with Granger glued to my hip. He doesn’t think I’ll actually leave, and I’m about to prove him wrong. I don’t need him to survive.
“Good.” My voice comes out strong when I slam the door with a bang, leaving everything behind, and in this moment, I feel…free.
