Troubled With Tattoos

035: Finale

Troubled With Tattoos

Chapter Thirty-Five

Finale

"One...Two...Three..." I began counting to ten while Ashton ran to find the best hiding spot. It was mid-summer and I brought Ash to the park to play hide and go seek. I held my hands over my eyes as I counted. Ash giggled while he tried to find the best hiding spot. I smiled as I reached the number ten, I uncovered my eyes and immediately spotted his foot sticking out behind the tree.

"Ready or not here I come!" I called out. I smiled to myself while I fake looked under the swing set for him. Obviously, he wasn't under there but I wanted him to believe he was the best hider. I made a 'hmm' sound from my lips as I continued looking in the most obvious spots. Inside the slide, under the monkey bars, behind the benches. I faked it until I snuck up behind the tree and peeked out at him.

"Found you!" I yelled. His teeth shown brightly and his blonde curls bounced with excitement.

"Again, again." He said. His blue sweatshirt made his eyes sparkle and I lit up like a Christmas tree at the sight of his enjoyment.

"Okay, go hide." I smiled. He ran off while I spun around to count to ten. I whipped out my phone to check the time, it was five in the afternoon. Mom wanted us home by five-thirty to eat dinner.

I spun back around to find him gone, completely out of sight. My heart rate accelerated and my palms began to sweat. I frantically searched behind the trees and under the rock climbers but he was nowhere. Had I really lost my little brother?

Then suddenly I saw his light-up sneakers peek out from behind a bush on the far right of the park. Relief had washed over me like a wave. I ran over to him to find him petting an elderly's dog. He saw me coming and his smile soon turned into a guilty frown.

"Dont do that to me! I thought you got kidnapped!" I squeezed his tiny body into a tight hug.

My flashback ended and I returned face to face with the one and only Frank Morris, my father. His hair was a shaggy blonde and his beard had been overgrown. His eyes turned dull and his hands old. I couldn't read his expression. I did not know this man anymore.

"Violet." His voice was deep and completely different than the voice from my memories. His words penetrating my ears as they bounced off this taunting room. He smiled as he got up from his chair. He sauntered closer to me and I moved back with each step he took.

"Frank." I shot back refusing to call him my father. I would not give him that satisfaction. It was quiet for a few minutes. He looked me over as if he were studying me. I wanted to lash out and punch him but my hands were still tied behind my back. Instead, I dug at the palm of my hand with my fingernails in dreams it was his face instead.

"I think you took the quote hiding in plain sight a little too literally. I see you've grown quite feisty over these last months. I'm so proud." He laughed tauntingly.

"Well, I guess you dont quite know me anymore." I snapped. How could he compare me now to the girl I was years ago? She was long gone, my father was barely ever home. He sid want to deal with his crazy wife. My father turned into a man I couldn't recognize. Everyone warned me about the boys but no one warned me of my own flesh and blood. Betrayal swept through my veins at the thought of him being behind all this.

"So what's your plan? Are you going to kill me and blame it on the boys? Or are you going to kidnap me and hide me in a basement for years?" My sudden confidence surely surprised me. Afterall I barely knew this man anymore. He was a stranger in my eyes. A sick grin plastered his face at the thought.