to be determined [A FORMER WATTPAD FEATURED STORY]

THIRTY

"I want him to leave."

When I awoke, I hoped to be at the place I once called home, and face to face with the man I think I love.

I mean, I'm not too sure about love anymore, but I'd like to think that's it: me looking at Ki in the confines of a white room, the ticking of a clock still prominent in the background.

Instead, I was smothered in the cotton floral sheets, the quilt soft against my skin and sweat trailing along my forehead.

I see the man in the doorway again and think back to my thoughts before I awoke.

I'm in a clean white room with Ki telling me stories of Korean dishes.

But I'm not.

I'm laying on a bed, and the man that I'm scared of most hovers outside of my room.

"Kyle, I want him to leave," I say.

"I'm sorry, darling, but I can't make him leave."

"Tell him he's not welcome here."

"Lola, I-"

"Just tell him to leave!"

My voice is hoarse. The light crawls in through the drapes. Kyle sits there silently with worry in her eyes.

I think. I think about how this man may be utterly terrifying. I like to think I'm stronger than the fear that consumes every ounce of courage I've managed to conjure up, so I rise, sitting on the edge of my bed.

And I contemplate.

But then I kind of realize: I realize that the girl on the red bike is gone. The girl with the blood trickling from her knee is gone. The girl who pedals steadily away from the broken glass shards is gone.

I'm stronger than her.

So I crawl out of bed and linger at the door knob. When I turn it, I come face to face with the man who terrifies me most.

"Hello, father."