Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
–
She was finally home. Finally happy. Her father sat beside her, her brother in front her and Judith in her lap. It was all she had wanted for the past month and a half. Now that it was happening, it was better than she'd ever imagined.
Nobody had spoken for the past five minutes. The silence was comfortable. Judith played contently with Vada's short fingers, twisting and turning them as Carl gazed out the foggy window. Rick had his hands clasped in his lap, his finger tapping against his knee, his jaw tightened. He was the first to break the silence.
"Did he hurt you?" He asked, twisting his jaw to the side. She looked to the ground, counting the specks of dust spread across the wooden surface.
"No. He was nice to me. Gave me a room," she fiddled with the hand that wasn't occupied by Judith, "I got- have, a concussion, but I did that to myself." The small girl hiccuped and snuggled closer into her chest. Vada held back the tears of relief that she finally had the toddler in her arms. However, the tight knot in her stomach still hadn't untwisted. She knew what was to come.
"What did he do?" He urged, turning to face her. There were bags under his eyes. The whites were no longer white, but a pale pink that sent shivers down her spine. Seeing her own father so exhausted saddened her.
"Nothing. I went on a few runs, that's all. Mostly I read books," she hummed, "it wasn't too eventful." She decided to leave out the man's fascination with her, for the sake of her father's sanity.
He clenched his jaw, glaring at the table in front of him. He wiped his strained eyes. "You're here for good now. We're not letting you go back."
She let silence overcome them for a few moments, not wanting to ruin his hope. But she had to. "When I left, he told me to stay in the car," her hands began to shake, "he was already really angry with me. I was scared, and a herd came, and I took my chance and ran. I broke two of his rules, dad. Two. Not to mention countless others I did before that. I crossed way over the line. I need to go back. I was an idiot for running." Her eyes brimmed with tears and her hands shook fiercely.
"No." He clenched his jaw, shifting in his spot. His bloodshot eyes darted around the room, but he couldn't meet her gaze. So they landed on Judith, and the toddler playing so innocently with his other daughter's fingers. "You're not going back to him. You saw what he did. What he can do."
"And if I don't go back? He'll hurt somebody else. You think he's not gonna come looking for me here? He's probably on his way right now."
Rick shook his head vigorously, resting his palms on his forehead and his elbows on his knees. He ran his hands through his curly hair and took in a sharp breath, his eyes becoming even redder as tears brimmed in them.
