Darkness (Alisa Rose #2)

-Eighteen-

Alisa POV

I was almost out the door when I heard his voice behind me.

"Alisa."

I froze, hand gripping the strap of my bag a little too tight. I didn't need to turn around to know who it was—my father. The one person I hadn't wanted to deal with tonight. Not after everything.

"Now's really not a good time," I muttered, my voice flat as I forced myself to turn and face him. He was standing there, looking at me with that same unreadable expression he always had when he wanted to talk but had no idea how to start.

"Can we talk? Alone?"

I rolled my eyes. "Is this about my 'behavior' back there? Because if it is, I already know what you're going to say."

He sighed, stepping closer, and for a second, I thought I saw something other than the usual cool detachment in his eyes. Regret? Sadness? It didn't matter. Nothing he could say was going to change the fact that I was furious.

"I understand you're upset—"

"Upset?" I interrupted, a bitter laugh escaping me before I could stop it. "You think I'm just upset?"

His jaw tightened. "You challenged the council, Alisa. You know how dangerous that is."

"Yeah, well, maybe I'm tired of being told what to do by people who don't give a damn about me."

"The truth, Alisa! I don't want you throwing yourself away into the lion's den. You don't know what these council members are capable of!"

There was a beat of silence. The kind that stretched on too long, making the space between us feel like a canyon. My father just stood there, watching me with that same old disapproving look, and something inside me snapped.

"You want to know the truth?" I started, voice trembling. "I didn't choose this. Any of it. I didn't ask to be a Dhampir. I didn't ask to fight Tikbalanugo and undead vampires or whatever the hell is lurking in the shadows. I didn't ask to be born to a human mother who abandoned me the second she found out what you are!"

My father flinched, but I was too far gone to care.

"You think I enjoy living like this? Being stuck between two worlds that don't want me?" My voice cracked, and I hated how raw it sounded, but I couldn't stop. "Do you have any idea how painful it is? I didn't ask for any of this. I didn't ask to have people in my life despise me for being a halfbreed. I didn't ask to have a mother who hates me because of what I am."

I wiped furiously at my eyes, the tears burning as they fell. Damn it. I wasn't supposed to cry in front of him. Not like this.

"I tried, you know? I tried to contact her. To make things right. But she despises me. She hates me so much she couldn't even look at me." My voice broke, and for a moment, I was just a scared little girl again, wishing my mom would have stayed.

I saw the pain flicker across his face—real pain this time—and part of me wanted to hate him for it. He was the reason she left. The reason I was stuck like this, half vampire, half human, not fully belonging anywhere. But the words wouldn't come. I was too exhausted.

"She never even wanted me," I whispered. "And sometimes... sometimes, I don't know if you do either."

That last bit hung in the air between us, like a blade poised to strike. I didn't want to wait for his answer. I didn't need to hear him try to apologize or explain how things were "complicated." I was so tired of the excuses.

Before he could say anything, I turned on my heel and walked out of the lobby, the cool night air hitting me like a slap to the face as I pushed through the doors.