Page 43 of Resilience

Dad shook his head. “No, you’re not. But you don’t want to talk to me about it, I see. Is it boy stuff?”

She and her father could talk about a lot of things. When they took the telescope out on a good, clear night and spent hours mapping the night sky, they talked about politics and other things going on in the news, or Dad talked about his parents and how his father had loved the stars, too, and how much it meant that he could share that love with her, a family legacy to pass down. They talked about school and Athena’s hopes for her life. They gossiped a little about family, too. And Dad was great at diffusing drama between Athena and her mom.

But no, she couldn’t talk to her father about boys. He’d met Hunter several times, and he was civil, but he didn’t try to pretend he liked him or hide his suspicion, even before there was a reason to be suspicious. Dad would have preferred Athena to become a nun or something, probably.

Absolutely she could not talk to him about what Hunter had done, or what Sam had told her.

Without thinking, she brushed her fingers over her neck. She wore a high-necked spandex top, but Dad noticed the movement of her hand, and he reached out to tug lightly on the neck, pulling it down. He stared at the remnants of the bruise.

“Mom told me you and Hunter broke up. Did he get too rough? Is that why?”

Athena was irritated that Mom had told him anything, but clearly she hadn’t told him the worst part, so it was about as well-kept a secret as she could expect between her parents.

“I’m okay,” was the answer she gave her father.

“Did he hurt you, Athena? That’s the question I want an answer for.”

Why was it so fucking hard to just keep something that happened to her to herself?

Honesty was one of the pillars of her family ethos. It had been drilled into her from the moment she was capable of understanding the concept. Honesty, loyalty, honor. Family, friend, club. It was impossible to lie to her parents.

If she stood here in the basement beside her mom’s stupidly expensive exercise bike and told her father that her (extremely ex) boyfriend had forced himself on her—raped her—then her father would spin around and storm straight for Hunter, pausing only long enough to pinpoint his precise location. He would kill him painfully and then he would erase any sign of his existence.

Tempting.

But no. There was too much risk to her father. Far more risk than she could bear being responsible for.

But maybe there was a way to be truthful without telling the whole truth.

“Things got rough,” she signed. “I didn’t like it, so I dumped his ass.” None of that was a lie, exactly. Just a slight spin.

Her father’s jaw twitched, and tendons rose in his neck—and red began to rise under his skin, climbing up over his jaw.

Athena stood in place and watched him wrestle with his rage. All that for what he thought was consensual sex that had gone too far. She was right to keep the full truth from him. If he knew what had really happened, there would be parts of Hunter floating like ash over the city, and the Cruz family would be on every local media outlet begging for news about their missing son.

When Dad next signed, his gestures were slow and deliberate. “Is he leaving you alone now?”

She nodded. “I haven’t seen or heard from him since I made him leave the cabin.” Another true thing.

“If he tries to contact you, you let me know.” He grabbed her chin and held it firmly for a moment. “Do you understand me, Athena?”

“Yes, sir. I’ll let you know.” That was true as well. She would never want to be responsible for putting her father or any of her family at risk, but if Hunter didn’t leave her alone, she knew she’d need help to deal with him.

“Is this why you were down here so upset?” Dad asked.

The truth was more difficult now. But Athena decided on, “I’m mad, not sad.” About Hunter, that was absolutely true. Anger was overwhelmingly her chief emotion regarding that situation.

Her answer made her father laugh. “That’s my warrior goddess.” He pulled her into his arms, and Athena settled into one of the greatest feelings in the known universe: being surrounded by the mighty arms of Neil ‘Apollo’ Armstrong. Her daddy.

Eventually the hug ended, and Dad set her back. “If you need me, you only have to ask. Anything you need. I love you, starlight. To the moon and back.”

Athena’s throat became thick and tight, but she smiled. “I know. I love you, too. To the moon and back.”

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~oOo~

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