the man with no name [anonymous fanfiction]

five

There was a bang on the door and both Julie and I jumped. Julie looked at me, an alarmed expression on her face, and I knew exactly what she wanted to ask.

Is it them? Am I going to die?

"Who is it?" I asked, prepared to face the problem face-on. I remembered the door was locked, and so I walked up to it and I unlocked it, revealing my dad holding an ice pack to his ear.

Don't be such a drama queen, I thought to myself. I didn't slap you nearly high enough for you to have to act like that.

"There will be repercussions," started Dad, but stopped there. He took a deep breath and looked me deep in the eyes, completely disregarding Julie who was still sitting on my bed and looking at us.

"I know that, Dad. But you fucking cheated on Mom, and you can't expect me not to tell her."

"Trust me, your mom won't do anything if you tell her that I kissed someone on the street. The worst thing she might say is that the neighbor ladies saw you slap me, and that won't mean that I'm the one in trouble," laughed Dad, and I couldn't believe my own eyes and ears.

Is he really suggesting that Mom won't be outraged because he's cheating on her?

"I know that you aren't sleeping correctly and that you're worried about the Hintons coming for you-"

"Don't you dare pronounce that name, Dad. You know what happens when you say it."

"What, say Hintons?" continued to laugh Dad. "They won't teleport here because you say their name. This isn't Harry Potter, Tara. You just have to understand that your mom and I already did to save you from them."

"That's where you're wrong," I objected, very much aware of the fact that a punishment was already coming and there was no point in stopping now. "You didn't do anything, but Mom did. She found this house, got us here safely and is with me while I'm stressed."

"You don't know what you're talking about, Tara."

"You always say that, but then don't tell me what the truth is. Just forget it. I'm not gonna listen to any of your bullshit anymore."

I turned around to see a Julie with a wide-open mouth and a loud 'woah' escaped her mouth. "Come on, we're leaving this place."

Julie nodded, and I was aware that I was basically just dragging her from place to place. I grabbed my phone and put my laptop in my bag and we left. Dad just stood in the doorway and didn't do anything.

He's probably just happy that I'm gone so he can screw that girl, I thought to myself, and I cringed at the thought of my own father doing it with some woman that wasn't my mom. 

Not that I would be happy with imagining him doing it with my mom either.

"Where are we going?" finally asked Julie after we walked in an unknown direction for a few minutes. "Do you want to come to my house?"

"Yeah, sure," I agreed, and Julie turned us around and we started walking.

"We do have to walk for about half an hour, since there's no way that I'm facing your dad again just to get my bike," explained Julie, then started laughing. "Also, I didn't get to tell you that before, but what you said and did to your dad to set hič straight was totally badass. I wish I had that kind of courage."

"Oh trust me, you don't want to be in the type of situation that forces you to do that."

"What are you doing about the Hi- about them? And what about Anonymous?"

"I have no idea what I'm doing," I admitted, and that was when the terrifying truth dawned upon me. I didn't even get to drink my coffee and I was dying to sleep, but I knew that even if I went to bed I wouldn't be able to fall asleep. "Do you have coffee at your house?"

"What kind of question is that? Of course I do."

We continued walking for a little while, Julie singing a short song at some point, but I was way too tired for that, so she just stopped after a while.

We finally made it to her house, which wasn't exactly small but a lot smaller than my house. "This is it," said my friend, or someone who I basically trusted with my life.

Julie unlocked the door to the empty house and we walked inside. Julie offered to brew me a cup of coffee and I gladly accepted. 

"Where's the toilet?"

"Just down the hall on the left."

I quickly excused myself and went to the toilet. Once in the safety, I opened my phone and there was a message delivered to my new phone number.

You will never get away from us, T.