exist with Isaac¡¯s life? Would I be forever terrifying my dad?
¡°Dad,¡± I said and slowly stepped to pull him into a big hug. ¡°I¡¯m so sorry for scaring
you.¡±
¡°It¡¯s okay, just explain what¡¯s going on.¡±
¡°I¡¯m fine,¡± I said. ¡°Today was scary but I¡¯m fine. Everything will be fine.¡±
¡°You¡¯ve said ¡®fine¡¯ too many times for me to believe it.¡±
¡°I know,¡± I bit my lip. ¡°But¡ I¡¯ll explain one day, okay? I¡¯m exhausted. Today was
scary. I want to sleep.¡±
Thankfully, he agreed and let me hide in my room without further interrogation. I
didn¡¯t want to lie to my dad. but I knew telling him the truth wouldn¡¯t do any good.
Falling into my bed, visions of the men in the clinic and Archer swirled in front of me,
making me feel nauseous. I¡¯d lived in Mascid since I was a little girl, not once did I hear of
this kind of violence. Now, I was part of it.
Ever since my first date with Isaac, a lingering fear followed me. Peering over my
shoulder to ensure I wasn¡¯t followed, triple-checking my locks, and now my dad was
growing worried. Isaac was incredible. I¡¯d never felt so passionate and comfortable with a
man before.
But was it worth the fear?
¡°Everything sucks,¡± I said into the pillow. Quickly, my eyes grew heavy with
exhaustion from the day¡¯s events and soon I drifted off to sleep, wishing everything would
be okay.
I peeled my eyes open to the sound of my phone vibrating in the silent house.
Squinting in the dark, I glanced at my digital clock, the blood-red numbers reading three
AM. An invisible hand squeezed my insides, my intuition knowing something was wrong.
Reaching for my phone, I groggily answered, ¡°Hello?¡±
¡°Samantha.¡± Isaac¡¯s voice was loud and filled with adrenaline for the early morning. ¡°I
need you. We need you.¡±
¡°Wh-what¡¯s happening?¡± I asked while trying to stifle my yawn.
¡°It¡¯s an emergency,¡± he said. ¡°Please.¡±
¡°Uh¡ sure,¡± I said, though not sure what I was agreeing to. ¡°What do you need?¡±