Page 84 of Wrench
going to stand by it.
Chapter Ten
Samantha
I hadn¡¯t slept all week. Ever since that threatening man with the icy eyes stood in my
father¡¯s driveway, he loomed over me in my nightmares. Finally, it was seven PM on a
Friday night¡ and I was lying under my covers, trying to turn my brain off.
My dad knocked on the door. ¡°Sammy? Can I come in?¡±
¡°Yeah,¡± I replied, quickly sitting up and forcing a smile on my face. He walked in,
rubbing the back of his neck and mustache twitching. Since I was a little girl I always kept
my room immaculate, and I saw him frown as he scanned all of my clothes scattered
along the floor, a disheveled desk covered in papers, and tissues thrown near the garbage
bin.
¡°Umm¡ I just wanted to check in on you,¡± he said. ¡°You doing all right?¡±
¡°Yeah, Dad. I¡¯m just exhausted. I uh¡ think I¡¯m getting a cold.¡±
He nodded and turned to leave, but his hand didn¡¯t leave the doorknob. ¡°Are you
sure?¡± He re-entered the room, this time walking closer to my bed, looking clueless but
concerned. ¡°Ever since I went to watch the game last Saturday, you¡¯ve been acting¡
different.¡±
I lowered my head, trying to think of an excuse. At work, I was an on-edge zombie.
Never present in the moment, my mind far gone in space, but jumping at the slightest
noise. For some reason, I thought I was doing an all right job at home, but I guessed my
dad caught on to something.
¡°Did something happen?¡± he asked with a hint of fear of my answer. I wanted to tell
him, tell anyone, what had happened¡ªwith Isaac and the man warning me away. Instead,
I mustered all my strength and brightened my eyes with a sweet smile.
¡°Dad, honestly, I¡¯m just tired.¡±
Relief washed over him, but he wasn¡¯t satisfied. ¡°Anything with Travis happen?¡±
¡°Oh god, no, Dad,¡± I laughed when he said that, probably a strange response
considering how heartbroken I¡¯d been earlier in the week. Somehow, when I thought my
life couldn¡¯t get any worse by getting dumped by Travis, those issues now seemed
