Why, Andy? Why would you tell my dad about Conner? He’s someone who has no part in all of this at all. Someone I want to hide and keep to myself is on the kitchen bench with a bullet to his head, and the forensics are claiming it’s a suicide and not the looming puppet master standing over them with a sinister grin on his face.
“Why didn’t you call me?” I ask.
“Because all you do is lie to me, Noya,” he snaps as he rises from his chair. I flinch away from the grocery bags and lean against the counter with my hands gripping the edge. “Give me his number.”
“Why don’t you steal it from your work?”
“Give me his last name, and I will,” Dad threatens as he reaches out, his brown eyes glowering at me.
“No,” I recoil.
“What?” He leans in to hear me better.
“No,” I say, my voice clearer.
He reaches for my pocket as I clutch my phone and grip it in my hands. With an irritable grunt, he grabs my wrist as I drop to the ground and kick at him. Curses splatter out of his mouth as he lifts me off the ground and slams me down onto the tiles.
I grit my teeth and hold onto the phone, desperately needing to keep Conner out of this.To protect him, I think, as I keep hold of my life support.
I’m not losing him. Dad won’t keep?—
He grabs my hair, and I cry out. A wailing and piercing scream tears through me as my back arches into the pain. He then lifts me by the arms, convulsing me as my back hits the tiles with force. “Give me the fucking phone!”
“No!” I cry out.
He lifts me, his face inches from mine. Spittle slits through his teeth, and his eyes remind me of a rage-filled bull ready to charge. “Give me thefuckingphone, and if you make me find it myself, I will hide outside his home. The next time he leaves it, I will fuck him up. I will make himbleed. Your friend willneverwalk again after I’m done with him.” My hold relaxes, and I fall to my knees and sob when a spark of pain hits the side of my ribs. “Don’t you defy me again.”
Another minute passes before he throws the phone beside me. “There. Not that hard, was it? Now go finish unpacking the groceries.”
“Okay…”
16
RIVAL
The Art Of Breaking [Thousand Foot Krutch]
For the entire weekend,I watched to see if Dad used his phone or called Conner. There was no door to my room, so it was convenient to listen to every conversation he had, whether he was watching TV or talking with Mum—someone I haven’t spoken to since Saturday morning.
I clutch my phone as I wait at the bus stop. This intense drowsiness overwhelms me, and I struggle to keep my eyes from closing. I barely slept, and when I tried, I thought about what had happened or that I didn’t have any money on my card, and the tears would start pouring out with no sign of stopping.
I hadn’t realised how much I was crying until I felt the swelling puffiness, and when I looked in the mirror, I wiped the foundation across to cover it. However, it didn’t mask the bloodshot eyes, so I hope he says nothing even if Conner notices.
There’s also Andy.
I bite my lip and bow my head.Keep it together, Noya.
Conner’s car pulls up at the bus stop. I grab my bag, and it’s lighter than usual. Luckily, most of my spare books are at schooland in the cubbies. Before class starts, I need to duck in there and grab them.
“Hey, uh…Can I ask you something?”
As the door closes, I wonder if I should take the bus to school instead.
“Did you give my number to your dad?”
I avert my gaze. Flashbacks of me clutching the phone like a life force return. Dad lifted me from the ground and repeatedly slammed me against the tiles because he wanted my phone. And for a moment, I thought he’d break my fingers to get it, but then I remembered he’d never leave that much of a mark on the surface—at least not in the coherent state.
“It’s okay if you did. I get it. You told me your parents were strict, but…” Conner furrows his brows. “I wasn’t expectingthatmuch hostility towards someone he has never met before.” He smirks as he pulls away from the bus stop. “I mean, I’d like to meet your parents one day after you have finally accepted your feelings for me and?—”