To the Ends of the Earth

Chapter Seventeen: Scared

Is it possible to flush a phone down the toilet? Because I was tempted to do just that. For the last two days, my phone was flooded with messages and missed calls —mostly from my parents. I was ignoring them for the time being. I was unsure how long I'd continue to avoid them, but I didn't want their opinions and judgements while I was in such a tense situation.

The few friends I had were also reaching out to me. Athena was flying in from LA this morning, and I think it was starting to concern our friends. With Alex in New York and Athena flying in, I'm sure they were beginning to notice something wasn't right. I'd been dodging their questions, but I knew it wasn't going to last long. Soon, everyone would know what was going on. I couldn't avoid the media coverage that was heading my way.

I contemplated how much to share with Thalia, who had been sending me worried texts, when Alex and Athena walked into my apartment.

"Alex, I promise I'm doing fine. You don't need to be coddling me," Athena huffed, as she made her way toward the living room and removed her coat.

"Angel, I haven't seen you in over a week. Let me reassure myself that you're good," Alex insisted, following behind Athena with her suitcase.

Athena turned to face him, spread her arms out, and slowly spun in a circle. "Now are you reassured? May I say hello to my sister?"

Alex blew out a breath and gave a reluctant nod. And so, Athena rushed toward the sofa and threw herself onto it, wrapping me in her arms. "I'm so glad to see you, Lottie," she whispered in my hair.

I squeezed her tightly, relieved to have her back. "Me too."

"I'm so proud of you. You're one of the strongest women I know," she said, pulling away and smiling at me.

Not knowing how to receive her compliment, I just gave a small nod.

"Lottie, Athena is going to stay with us until we all head back to LA," Alex announced, smiling brightly.

I looked between the two of them and chuckled. "Yeah, I had a feeling. Was the separation like torture for you two?"

Alex approached us and leaned over the arm of the sofa. He immediately started to caress Athena's hair, unable to keep his hands off her. "Of course, I don't know how couples do long distance. I was coming out of my skin without Athena."

Athena waved her hand at him. "Oh Alex, you're just being a drama queen again."

He looked down at her, affronted. "Oh, are you telling me you didn't miss me?"

"Hmm, maybe just a little," she teased.

I bit my lip, trying to contain my laughter. But, unfortunately, their entertaining bickering was interrupted by my doorbell. Wondering if it was Liam, I walked to the door. Of course, Alex followed behind me. I opened the door with a huge smile on my face, but my smile dropped when I came face to face with my father.

Dad looked between me and Alex. "Lottie," he grunted. "Why are you ignoring my calls and messages?"

Maybe because I don't want to speak to you. Before I could say anything, Alex responded.

"Dad, I told you not to come here uninvited." He moved to shut the door in our dad's face, but he was stopped short.

"Alex, I'm worried about my daughter. I'd like to speak with her," Dad insisted firmly.

I looked between the two of them and knew that neither one was going to budge. "Alex, it's fine. I'll talk to him."

"Are you sure, Lottie?" He sounded concerned, but it wasn't necessary. If I was strong enough to face Virginia and Jeffrey, I was strong enough to confront our dad. I nodded and Alex stepped aside.

"Let's go to the kitchen," I told my dad. Then, I walked into the kitchen, and didn't look to check if he was following me. Once we had some privacy, I faced him. "What is it?"

Without missing a beat, he engulfed me in his arms. "Lottie, I've been worried sick about you. Sweetheart, I didn't know," he whispered, his voice cracking with his admission.

Slowly, I allowed myself to be comforted by my father's hug. "I know, but I was worried you would react badly," I confessed.

"Badly?" he questioned, pulling slightly back to look at me while his arms still held me tightly. "If you mean by killing that motherfucker who did that to you, then yes.... yes, I'm going to react badly."

Motherfucker? Killing? I was surprised he would even consider it. Cursing and threatening to kill people was not his usual modus operandi. "Dad, you can't kill him."

He shook his head. "I knew you were going to say that. Very well, what can I do?"

Studying him, I thought it over. What could my dad do? And better yet, did I trust him to do anything at all? Dad was always a serious and stoic man. But, most of the time, he was too emotionless. He was always obsessed with work and hardly around to support me when I was younger. Did my outburst give him a wake-up call? Or, was this show of affection just temporary?

I was saved from answering him when my doorbell rang once again. "Hold on, dad," I said, stepping away and approaching the door.

When I opened the door, I stood stunned at the strange man grinning at me. Wearing a fedora and a long black coat, he looked like an extra from the film, Goodfellas. "Umm, can I help you?" I asked him.

"I have something for you," he replied, still smiling.

Who was this guy? And, how did he get into my building?

"Who the hell are you?" Dad snapped from behind me.

The goodfella looked at my dad and shrugged. "I'm a friend of a friend...well, technically, I'm a friend of a father-in-law of a relation."

What the heck?

When we didn't respond to him, he handed me a USB drive. "You need to move quickly with Virginia Richardson. She's starting to get scared, and a woman like that is dangerous when she's scared," he cautioned. Then, he tipped his hat and walked away.

"What was that about, Lottie?" Dad asked me as I shut the door.

"I'm about to find out," I said, rushing to my bedroom to grab my laptop. Dad hurried after me, and we were quickly joined by Alex and Athena.

"What's going on?" Alex asked, looking worried. "What did you do, Dad?"

"I didn't do anything," Dad defended. "Some strange character handed Lottie a USB."

I ignored their banter as I powered on my laptop and pulled open the file. When I played the security camera footage, I couldn't believe my eyes. "Oh my God," I breathed. "I need to call Camilla."