Past Time

4- A Familiar Face

I inhaled sharply as I stepped into the large round room with an oversized oval shaped table and a few agents discussing the plans for Protocol 52. The room seemed tense.

My father was here!

I hadn't been in the same room as him since I was recruited. Even then, he could never look me in the eyes or talk to me. I reminded him too much of my mother.

I am not my mother. If I had a family I wouldn't leave them when things got tough.

I didn't know he worked with the E.C Agency? I didn't even know he had a job? But then again, it's not like he ever told me anything. I didn't like the idea of him being here at my job.

I just stood for a moment, should I run out of the room? Should I ignore my father like he did for so long to me?

He turned and his face almost lit up.

Who is this? It couldn't have been my father because he wouldn't be delighted to see me.

You can't ignore family for so long and when you see them again, you pretend that nothing happened? I felt angry. I was not about to ignore what he did to me.

Everyone else in the room didn't matter anymore. Protocol 52 could wait, I was furious and nothing was going to stop me from calling out my father.

I stormed up to him. He stood and opened his arms. Opened-his-arms. "Clar-" I cut him off.

"Who do you think you are?" Looking him right in the eyes, "You ignored me for four and a half years, wouldnt even speak to me because you thought I was just like mom! You didn't care I never had family or anyone to go to, you didn't when people asked me at school 'oh what does your father do?' I had to say he stayed home and sat in the living room all day because he thinks that I'm going to run away! You only thought about yourself. And now you open your arms?"

The room was completely silent as all of the agents stared at us in shock.

"Clarissa it was so hard for me, and you-," my father was cut off as my rat, Marshie jumped off my arm and bit him on the hand. He yelped.

He talks about himself even now, he is talking to me now, but he hasn't changed. Tears were streaming down my face,"You don't think it was hard for me! You think I was just going to continue as if nothing happened?"

Marshie scrambled back onto me and nuzzled his head against my neck as if he was comforting me, before he scampered back into my pockets.

At that point an agent stepped in to say that this was not the time and I could speak about it later.

I almost punched the agent out of my fury, but decided I could be the better person. I would not speak to my father. If he had something to say to me he could say it somewhere else.

I didn't want to continue this meeting, not with him. I ran out.

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Ericka here one of the co-authors! We are advancing on the story constantly right now so give us a follow to stay up to date on Clarissa's story!! Thank you so much!