“Who is that?” It was the first thing Dad had said to me since he’d picked me up. In silence, he helped me load my stuff and only when we were safely in the car, away from nosy ears, did he speak.

“Just a friend.” I stared out the window, wishing there was a bus closer to home, so that we didn’t have to sit in traffic. Thirty minutes until the sun set.

“Just a friend.” I could hear him tapping the wheel. “How long have you been… friends?”

He put just enough emphasis on the word that I couldn’t tell if he hated that I had a friend or if he was insinuating that he was more than a friend. Probably both.

“Since freshman year.”

Silence filled the car again. I could almost hear his gears turning in thought. The cars flashed by on the opposite side of the highway, their taillights trailing red. The sun was just barely touching the horizon, and I wished it would set faster. Dad had terrible night vision and tended to speak less so he could focus.

Twenty minutes.

“How have I never met this young man before?”

I wanted to lie, but he could always clock me. “He’s eager to get to his family when we get here.”

“He can’t spare a moment to meet the family of a dear friend?”

Dear friend? I wouldn’t imagine he would consider me a dear friend. Maybe a decent friend at this point. Maybe a good one. I don’t think just anyone would let someone drool on them for four hours. “We’re not that close.”

“Close enough to hug, though. You don’t like physical touch.”

Fifteen minutes.

I bit my lip. I loved physical touch. Just not from him or Mom. “It’s just that we’ve known each other for so long. I don’t mind.”

More silence and I could feel the question he wanted to ask, like a sword hanging over my neck. I hoped he wouldn’t ask. He did anyway.

“Are you sleeping with this boy?”

I tried not to sigh. “No, Dad. I’m not sleeping with him. Is it impossible to believe I simply have a friend?”

“Yes. Given your track record, I’d be surprised if you hadn’t made a move on him.”

My “track record” was one very unhealthy relationship in tenth grade that blew up in my face. My ex told my dad, in sordid details, everything he wanted to do to me after I realized how horrible the relationship was and broke up with him. Everything. Even though I could count the number of times we kissed on one hand. I haven’t been able to live it down since. “Well, I haven’t.”

“I’ll take your word for it. As much as it’s worth.”

I continued to stare out the window, knowing if I replied, I’d just say something to get yelled at. I was only a semester and a half away from graduating and if everything lined up properly, I’d be able to move in with Claire and Viktor after we graduated. There was already a student teacher job I did during my junior year for experience, and the school I was going to would pay for my certification as long as I stayed there for a few years.

I made the plan as solid as possible, even having a contingency in case I couldn’t move with Claire and Viktor. The only problem I could foresee was my little sister, Sayla. She was the only person in the family I still cared about. It had torn me apart to leave her when I went to college, but I needed a reprieve of some sort, and Sayla had always been stronger than me.

She never took their shit laying down and always spoke back when they were being manipulative and abusive. In fact, it was because she was so headstrong that they waited until I was back in town to be seen as the perfect family. The moment I left for college, Sayla refused to go with them on their neighborhood walks or church or even the store. I remember she called me crying, saying she’d gotten into a really big fight with Dad and didn’t know if he’d let her stay. She wasn’t crying because she was scared. She was crying because she was so pissed off.

I tried to look out for her when I could, but she rarely needed me to once she hit middle school. It was as admirable as it was sad.

“Kaiya Renee Wilson.” I flinched as he used my full name. It never meant anything good. “Did you hear me? I said I need you to stop lying to me and yourself. Just tell me that you’ve slept with that boy, and I’ll drop the subject. I know you have.”

I tensed up again, my legs feeling jittery, like I needed to run. I wanted to run.

Ten minutes.

“I didn’t sleep with him.”

“You did.” He said this in such a matter-of-fact manner that, only a year ago, I might have just believed him. It was like nothing was ever allowed to go against the narrative he had in his head and if it did, he simply needed to remind you of the obvious truth. “I know you can be stubborn, but this is ridiculous.”

“I can’t control how you choose to interpret what I know to be a simple friendship. If you believe that I slept with him, then that’s something you can believe. I don’t know why you would concern yourself with your daughter’s potential sex life, though. It’s weird.”

His grip on the wheel tightened, and I didn’t have to look over to see his jaw was clenched. If there was one way to always shut him down, it was to make him look bad. Didn’t matter that it was only the two of us in a metal box hurtling down a highway at seventy miles an hour. All that mattered was that it could potentially get back to someone that he was acting like a creep. And that was enough.

Through gritted teeth and a sneer, he said, “You have your mother’s personality.”

I hid my smirk behind my palm.

The rest of the ride was blissful silence as I stared out the window, thinking of my sister.

We arrived around sunset, and Sayla was the first out the door, grinning from ear to ear. She was in her basketball uniform, the purple and black jersey hanging off her tall, lean frame. She looked like she’d gotten back from practice not too long ago, her face lit up with her usual post-game glow. No, that was just the remaining sunlight making her perfect skin glow. It was such a low blow that she got Dad’s clear skin while I was stuck with Mom’s oily, cyst prone pores and she looked good with short hair.

She tackled me as soon as I got out of the car. We nearly fell but caught ourselves.

“How is my favorite lady?” I asked. I felt myself relax as she squeezed me. I could always count on her to make me feel like home was actually home.

“I’m doing great! Where’s your bag? Let’s get you inside.”

This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author's work.

Dad handed me my duffel bag, still clearly pissed off, but hiding it well enough that the neighbors didn’t notice. I waved to them as Sayla rushed me inside.

We went upstairs immediately and to my old room. Sayla plopped down on my bed, and I was surprised a cloud of dust didn’t puff up.

“Wow,” she said, as I reached for the floating shelf for my TV remote. “Did you get taller?”

“You know damn well I didn’t get any taller,” I grumbled. Sayla had shot up past me in the last few years and liked to rub it in my face that she didn’t need to stand on her toes to reach anything. I wasn’t short by any means, but she was still taller.

My room was the same as it always was when I left: as little trace of me as possible. Sayla sat on my bed; one leg pulled up as she watched me bustle around my room putting clothes in drawers. I didn’t want to put my clothes away, but it was either that or listen to Mom passive-aggressively make comments on it.

She grinned, rocking a bit as she said, “Are you sure? I thought I saw you struggle a little less right there.”

“Sayla, I will walk out of here right now.”

“And do what?” she snorted. “Have a thrilling conversation with Mom? Or piss Dad off some more?”

“It’s not my fault he can’t take what he gives. He’s lucky I didn’t yank the wheel while we were on the road. It was real tempting.”

“Tell me about it. He tried to take me on one of his walkabouts with Mom the other day. I told him where to shove it and you should have seen his face.” She laughed with her whole body, bending over while she cackled and face scrunching. She had more freckles than the last time I’d seen her. “The way he’ll just stand there and say, ‘vulgarity is the mark of a person who can’t use their heads’.” She had sat up and squared her shoulders while doing a spot-on impression of Dad. She chuckled again. “What a tool.”

“I know. Can you believe he asked me if I slept with Enrique just because I hugged him? I mean, I’m sure you can, but still?”

“Yeah, that’s wack. Enrique is a straight cutie, but from the way you talk about him, I can’t imagine you wanting to do more than hold his hand. And even that’s pushing it. All over a damn hug. He’s reaching these days.”

“He knows—” I paused for a moment, a small glint of light catching my eye. I glanced around the room for a moment before noticing that there was a small box of tissues that wasn’t there before. That wouldn’t be much of a reason to be suspicious, but no one came in here except Sayla, and she always left with what she came in with. “Do you want to get some ice cream?”

Sayla raised her brow but replied, “Of course. There’s a new place down the street if you want to walk there. Should be about fifteen minutes.”

There was a brief knock on the door and Mom opened it before waiting for an answer. “Dinner will be ready soon. Go wash up.”

“We’re going to get some ice cream,” I said. “You and Dad can eat without us.”

She paused for a moment before shrugging. “Whatever you’d like. Don’t come to me if your father has something to say about it. I don’t care.”

Sayla rolled her eyes as Mom disappeared down the hall. “Mom’s been in her feelings the past few days. All Dad’s been talking about is how to get you to change your future plans and Mom feels all neglected about it.”

“Oh, darn,” I said, pulling my shoes back on. “If only I could do something about that. Anyway. Let’s hustle.”

“I’ll race you.”

“Say—Hey! You can’t just say that and then take off!” I booked it after her, taking the stairs two at a time. Dad yelled something from the kitchen, but we were already at the front door by the time he rounded the corner. Making it outside the house was always a way to make sure Dad couldn’t stop us. We could never look less than perfect.

Outside was cool, with a soft breeze cruising past us. Despite everything, I liked my hometown. It was small enough that it was walkable and big enough that I didn’t immediately recognize everyone I came across. Going to Walmart was still our main source of entertainment, but there was more than one high school.

The ice cream shop was a few blocks away and was the busiest place on the road. It was set up in the center of Main Street, all the shops around it bustling with business. It was a sit-down style restaurant where ice cream and sundaes were the main course, but it offered food like chicken tenders and sandwiches for picky eaters.

We snagged an outdoor table near the road after placing our orders. Sayla picked up a menu and looked it over for a moment before she said, “So, why’d you signal in there? Did you see something?”

“Yeah, there was a box of tissues I hadn’t left there. I’m pretty sure Dad put a camera in there to spy on us again.”

Sayla slumped in her chair, tugging at her hair. She did her big chop recently and was still getting used to it. She looked a lot more herself than she had in a while. “What a Dad thing to do. I should have checked the room before you came back, sorry. I was busy trying to get Mom to have an opinion for once. I wanted her on my side.”

“It’s no big deal,” I said, leaning back as the waitress set down our sandwiches. “He’s just like that.”

“Do you want your ice cream after you eat?” she asked.

“Yeah, that’d be great,” Sayla said. “Your makeup is pretty.”

The waitress smiled. “Thank you. I’ll keep an eye out for when you’re done. Cookie dough and mint chocolate chip?”

“Just right,” Sayla smiled. “Must be so talented with that memory of yours.”

“Comes with practice at this job.” She looked a little embarrassed, and I couldn’t tell if she was blushing or if it was her makeup. Probably both. “I’ll give you two some time to eat.”

“You’re such a flirt,” I said, shaking my head as she walked away.

“I can’t help it. I see a pretty girl and I just have to let her know I’d be down for her like four flat tires.”

“You can’t say that and then flirt with every girl you see.”

“They’re all beautiful, what can I say?”

“I’m not gonna say you’re wrong, but get it together, man. You can’t lay down your life for all of them.”

“I can try.” She brandished her knife at me, a bit of mustard on the corner of her mouth. “I can sure try.”

“Yeah, alright. What were you talking about earlier? Getting Mom to be on your side?”

“Oh, yeah. I wanted Mom to be on my side when I asked to move out with you after I graduate.”

I blinked. “What?”

“I mean, it would make a whole lot of sense, you know. I don’t really care for school that much and never have. I could get a job as soon as I graduate and help you out with bills. We could get our own phone plan and even—” She sputtered to a halt and slowly reached over. “Kai?”

Tears were running full speed down my face, heavier and harder than I thought possible. “You jerk.” I sniffled, trying—and failing—to get my tears under control. “You beat me to it.”

Sayla laughed, plucking napkins from the dispenser. “If I knew you were going to ask, I would have waited to say anything. Come on, Kai, stop crying. I’m gonna start if you don’t stop.”

“I’m trying,” I whined. It was so hard to keep it together when she just voiced my deepest wish. I wanted more than anything to take her away from our parents. I wanted us to live together again, to support each other and love and fight and cry together. I wanted, for the first time for either of us, to feel safe.

Standing up, I blew my nose one more time. “I’m gonna go to the bathroom. I’ll be right back.”

“Hurry, before flies start claiming your food.”

“I’m gonna, I’m gonna.” I pushed in my chair and made my way to the door, keeping my eyes down. I didn’t need anyone I knew wondering why my eyes were red and puffy. There was a slim chance of it getting back to Dad, but I didn’t want to deal with it if it did.

The bathroom door was larger than I thought it would be, taking up almost the entirety of the wall. The ladies’ sign was worn and looked like it had been there a while, but I couldn’t be sure if that was the aesthetic or if the sign was used.

I pushed the door open with my elbow, rubbing my eyes and trying to take deep breaths. I wanted to get back to our table as soon as possible so we could plan out our future. There were already so many questions about logistics floating around in my head that I just needed to talk out with her. It had been a while since I’d been so excited about anything. At this rate, I actually would need Jake’s help with the project, my mind being occupied by this.

When I opened my eyes, I froze. I wasn’t in the bathroom. I wasn’t even in the ice cream shop anymore. I was standing in what looked like a great hall straight out of a video game.

People were all around me, watching as I stood there in shock. The door was gone when I turned around, the only thing behind me was a woman. She was on the ground, her hand splayed in front of her and breathing hard. Her face was red with tears, and she looked ready to faint. My heart ached for some reason, but I didn’t get a chance to think about it.

“Welcome!” My head whipped around at the booming voice. A man was walking toward me, his arms out and a smile on his face. He looked like a gym teacher I once had—tall, easily over six feet, a weathered face above broad shoulders, and close-cropped white hair. He was well built for his age and held himself like a person of great importance, as if we should listen to everything he had to say.

When he reached me, he stopped, putting his hands on my shoulders. “Hero from another world. We have long awaited your arrival.”

I looked behind me again, suddenly longing more than anything to see that old wooden door. It still wasn’t there. I turned back, stiffening under his touch.

“Hi.”