Deception - H.S

Chapter 80

Trigger warning - Death, grief.

Hope Whitlock

"No! You don't understand what I feel!" I yell, tears prickling in the corners of my eyes from raising my voice. I didn't like being yelled at or yelling for that matter, it makes me feel like a bad person, especially when the person I was talking to was one I care about.

"It is not a big deal. You can go to the party later. We do this every year sunshine." He tells me.

I cross my arms over my chest with a scowl on my face, gazing out the window but not particularly taking in anything while my dad and I walked past the game's stalls.

"I want ice cream." I state, spotting an ice cream stall and heading towards it. My aim was to spend a few hours here ignoring my dad to the best of my abilities and until he is satisfied enough with his annual father-daughter shit and go to Niall's place.

I never hated the fall carnivals but this time it fell on the same day as Niall's party, I had mentioned this about a week ago, yet he dragged me to this. I wanted to do my own things as well and it wasn't fair for me to work according to him without him considering any of my preoccupations and feelings.

As soon as I got my ice cream, that dad generously paid for, I head towards the merry-go-round. Maybe if my head spins a little, I might enjoy this a little more.

It was a relatively large ride with a lot of space. The people that were on there slowed down enough for me to get on, after which the speed started to slowly increase.

I saw my dad standing a few meters away from where I was, trying to talk to me, "I just want to spend some happy time with you, Hope..." He sounded sad, hurt but I was angry as well so I snapped, "Maybe if you just understood me better, I would actually be happy!"

He left me alone after that, patiently waiting further away from where he previously was for me to stop throwing a tantrum. I wasn't backing out this time, he needed to respect my wishes as well.

After a couple of minutes, I see a red laser flashing, jumping around my dad's forehead, his face and then lower till around his chest.

I thought it was odd, that maybe I wasn't seeing things clearly since I was spinning so when the ride slows down to let someone else on, I jump off. My feet were very unstable, perception faltered while I tried to walk in a straight line. I felt dizzy, trying to locate where the laser beams were coming from, I knew there were some areas with red and green laser beams just creating some patterns.

My ice cream falls as I closed my eyes for a few seconds to regain my sense of motion, not caring about the wasted ice cream.

I didn't have a good feeling, suddenly I was anxious.

"Dad?" I stumbled closer to him, my vision starting to stabilize.

I noticed that there was a singular laser beam that was now focused on the black t-shirt around his chest. What is that? I looked for the source but the daylight made it difficult to locate.

A loud gunshot was heard like we did every fifteen minutes because of a road runner themed ride close by.

The next thing I knew, my father was looking right at me, a small smile on his face before he starts falling to the ground.

I rush towards him, thinking maybe he passed out because of not eating anything. My knees were in the ground beside him, tapping his cheek but when he doesn't respond, I start shaking his body to try and get him conscious, hands pressed against his chest. But the fabric of his t-shirt was wet, a little sticky, making me pull my hand back and turn it around.