Words On My Skin

Chapter 23

Author's note:  Just so everyone knows, this is just a flashback! This is NOT her father recounting what happened. That's in chapter 24! So, we know what happens to Y/n, but Y/n still doesn't remember!

Warning: Violence towards a child.

Fishing at the river was something that Y/n enjoyed doing alone at the cabin.

Her dad taught her how to fish when she was five. He taught her the process from buying the rods, to cooking the fish, and everything in-between. By six, he let her go down to the river by herself if she promised to be back before dark and was pleasantly surprised when she'd come back with a haul of bass or crappie to fillet and cook up. By seven, she was able to spend the entire day alone by the river without checking-in, returning to the cabin to fillet up the catch of the day.

By the time she was eight, she was practically a fishing wizard.

Fishing was the one escape she had from the real world. It was her time alone. It was her time away from the pressure her mother put on her. She didn't want to be a lawyer. She didn't want to be a debutante. She didn't want to be a 'proper housewife'.

She... she wasn't sure what she wanted to do, but it wasn't that.

Making her own choices was her top priority.

She'd made slight headway, telling her mom that she didn't want to be a lawyer. It wasn't something she'd planned on doing, but she just... snapped. Her mother was harping her for her grades, for her extracurriculars, her appearance, her clothing, dieting, acting like a lady... it was all too much.

She snapped, and she felt bad.

Thankfully, her and her father had this weekend planned for weeks, and she could escape her mother's flip-flopping of aggression or passive aggression.

Her father, as usual, said nothing.

The day prior, which had been the first day at the cabin with her father and his friends, she was sent to bed early – with the intent of fishing the entire day. Her meals were packed in the cooler, her sodas and waters were packed in a separate cooler, fishing gear loaded up, ATV four wheeler gassed up, and trailer hooked on.

She even got a few new CDs to put into the little boombox that her dad purchased for her, and she couldn't wait to just... chill.

Everything was perfect for her day alone.

The weather was a little dreary in the morning, but by the early afternoon the sun was shining. The breeze off the small river never failed to calm Y/n's mind and let her make her peace with the world. There was nothing finer than standing on the river's edge, bait in the water, sun and breeze, the smell of the water, the sound of the trees, and having time to recharge from socialization.

The day was so nice, that she didn't realize how dark it was getting until the sun was setting and the skies were dark hues.

"Ohno..." She muttered to herself, reeling in her line and hooking the sharp hook onto the little loop next to the handle of the rod.

If she didn't hurry up and get back by the time the sun was under the horizon line, her dad would surely kick her butt.

She tossed her half-empty water bottle into the cooler, loading all her items up onto the little trailer.

Y/n was too into her own head, that she didn't notice her dad's friend – Rowan Gideon, or 'Mr. G' – standing in the tree line, instructed by her father to go fetch her and bring her back to the cabin. He was partially hidden by the overgrown trees, watching as she hurriedly packed up her belongings. He hadn't planned on staying back in the trees, but he needed to be 100% sure that what he saw was correct.