The Educator (dark h.s)

Chapter 44 - why?

My anxiousness was made obvious as I repetitively bounced my knees and picked on my nails. I was literally starting to lose it, my mood swinging between excitement, anxiety and self-consciousness. On one hand, I kept looking at the mesmerising sky and admiring what I had been lacking, taking in the passing cars and the bystanders. On the other hand my mind kept drifting back to my real mission, which was to confront my father. Everything could go wrong, I might bark up the wrong tree and not get my point across, I needed it to be strong and meaningful. I needed him to understand rather than make fun of me or brush it off.

You know this feeling when you have something extremely important to say and people just make a joke out of it? Or worse, you forget what it was?

I couldn't let this happen.

I sighed to myself, shifting my head to lean against the now closed window. I stared out at the outside world and watched it fly by, wondering what I had been missing all this time. I felt Harry's big hand on my knee, giving it a squeeze as I moved my hand to play with his long fingers. He drove fast and was focused intensely on the road, biting his lip in concentration.

I lost track of time, I didn't know how much of the ride was left nor was I counting down the minutes till we reached the house. I'd rather stay in the cozy car with the heat on and the classical music Harry had turned on in the background. He said it'd help ease my nerves.

Firstly, I was going to bring up Harry's and mine relationship. Sure, you have the right to dislike who your child chooses to befriend, but it's their choice and you don't have the right to sabotage their relationship to please your needs or kill their parents because they came to confront you about raising a hand against their child; it just doesn't work like that.

Apparently that was what my father thought, that he could run my life and in general just be in charge of everything. He was a control freak, everyone had to respect and be under his control otherwise your days were numbered. Well, news flash, not anymore. I wasn't like him and nor was Harry, and unlike ten years ago, he wasn't in control. I was going to show him what I'm made of, that I had made it so far despite my abusive parents. I was going to show him who's boss.

I wasn't even paying attention when the car came to a stop and the engine shut off; I'd been to immersed in my thoughts. I quickly unbuckled my seatbelt and opened the door, not waiting for Harry to do it for me.

"Gwen wait! There are rules to follow." Harry's stopped me.

Fuck his rules.

And in the heat of the moment, I gave him the cold shoulder, ignoring his calls and hopping out of the vehicle. The wind blew through my hair and I found my eyes fluttering shut to fully enjoy this moment. Everything full of tranquility and serenity making me feel at peace. However, I was roughly cut out of my daze to the sound of a door being harshly slammed shut.

I quickly cut across the patch of withered grass surrounding the house, making my way up the steps to the front door, fetching a key from under the mat and nodding in disapproval at how my dad shouldn't have been so careless. I fiddled with the key before inserting it into the lock, pulling it open and tossing the key into the house.

"Dad?" I called as the door cracked open, sucking me into the dark atmosphere of the house. The lights were off, weird. I could guarantee I had seen his car parked outside. The sun shone through the windows, bringing the dark colours and structures of the house to light.

"Dad, are you home?"

No response.

Maybe he thought I was an illusion, for I had been kidnapped a while ago and showed no signs of being alive ever since? It did sound slightly creepy, though I don't think I was blameworthy, that place, or as Harry named it the 'headquarters' was fairly far-flung, even if I had escaped, I would've never made it or found my way home.