To Bottle Revenge

ｔｈｅ ｅｉｇｈｔｈ ｃｈａｐｔｅｒ

My eyes groggily opened at the sound of the phone ringing. Sighing in annoyance, I closed them again, and tried to fall asleep.

Ten minutes later, I grudgingly sat up and slipped out of bed.

"Good afternoon, Cleo!" Xia sang, her eyes dashing across the front page of the local newspaper.

"Morning, Xia," I huffed, rolling my eyes.

"That it is," she murmured, still reading the newspaper.

"Poor girl died in her sleep last night," Xia sighed, closing the paper and looking at me.

"Shame," I said, not meeting her gaze.

"Your partner's been calling," Xia informed me, nodding towards the landline, which was sitting in a bowl of dry cereal.

"What partner?" I asked, walking over to the phone and returning it to its cradle.

"Asher," Xia responded as she walked over to the coffee pot, empty mug in hand.

"Don't know who that is," I said, snatching the newspaper up from the floor, glancing at one of the pictures of Tyra's smiling face before dropping it back down.

Xia sighed and ran a hand through her hair.

"What?" I retorted.

"You really should stop throwing away every friend you find."

"It's better than refusing to move on," I hissed before turning on my toe and stalking out of the room, fury coursing through my veins.

Just before I entered my room, Xia's voice caught me, "I scheduled your driver's test for you!"

I hesitated for a moment before yelling, "at last!" and slamming the bedroom door behind me.

"What does she know about friends?" I muttered to myself as I threw a pillow angrily at the door. "Nothing, she's just a stupid, naive, lunatic who thinks she knows how to handle the real world." I kicked my chair furiously before falling back onto my bed and closing my eyes.

•••

I flinched and hurried to cover my eyes as headlights turned down the driveway, blinding me. Glancing up cautiously, I saw Dad's car pull into the garage. Hopping down from the window seat in the front of the house, I raced up to my bedroom and quietly closed the door. Heart pounding, I jumped onto my bed and threw the covers over my head. A moment later, I heard footsteps outside my bedroom, and I forced my breathing to slow down.

"Cleo?"

"Daddy?"

"Did I wake you?"

"No, it's okay."

He came and sat on the edge of my bed.

"You know that Mom and I would never, ever hurt you, right?" He asked, stroking my hair.

I nodded quickly.

"We both love you, no matter what."

I frowned for a moment before slowly nodding my head.

"Good." He leaned down and kissed the top of my head, then stood up and swept out of the room, the crack of light in the doorway slowly growing slimmer and slimmer until it disappeared entirely.

I sat up in my bed and stared at the place where my father had departed. Frowning, even more so, I stared at the door harder, as though just by looking at the place I'd seen him last, he'd reappear. Finally, I relented and laid back in my bed, slowing the rise and fall of my chest until my thoughts ebbed away into sleep. 

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Thanks for reading Chapter Eight! 

- Violet