Page 166 of Save Me

“Now, you can walk out of here on your own and never fucking look back. Or, you’ll have to be carried out. I prefer the second option,” he adds.

“Daddy, no!” Kennedy’s voice pierces the air as she pushes through the door.

In the blink of an eye, she’s in front of me. Her back is to me, arms wide, as if shielding me.

All I see is a gun pointed at her, and I react. I grab her by the waist and spin her so that my back is now to her father, but my body is in between her and the gun.

“What the hell are you doing?” I demand with my hands wrapped around her arms.

“What the hell?” her father says at the same time.

“You don’t ever get in between me and a gun.” I pull her into me, wrapping my arms around her. My heart is beating a mile a minute.

“Get the hell off of my daughter,” her father grits out behind me.

“Aaron, that’s enough.” Kennedy’s mother moves beside her husband, her hand on his arm with the gun in it.

“Sweetness, you shouldn’t be here,” he replies.

“Are you insane? I should’ve known you would pull something like this as soon as you two were alone,” her mother argues.

“He made her cry,” her father insists.

“If it weren’t for him, we might not have even known Kennedy was missing until it was too late.” Her mother looks over at Kennedy with watery eyes.

“I’m okay, Mom,” Kennedy assures her mother. “Dad, please, put the gun down.”

“I wasn’t going to shoot him … here,” her father insists.

“Aaron.” Her mother’s tone sounds like a warning.

“He still made her cry. That’s unacceptable.” His voice is unbendable.

“He’s right,” I tell Kennedy. I look her over, my chest filling with pain from the bruises on her face.

I think about the way Park had her locked in that abandoned hotel, bound to that chair. Isn’t that what I did to her? Held her prisoner.

Yes, in my mind, it was for her safety, but I held her prisoner, restricted her freedom just the same.

“I was wrong,” I finally say, believing it.

“Glad you admitted it before you leave,” her father says.

“Aaron, stop it,” Kennedy’s mother hisses. “We should give them their privacy.”

“Absolutely not,” he declares. “I’m not letting that fucker alone with my daughter.”

“You will,” her mother argues back. “Baby, your food is waiting for you in the oven. Yours too, Dae. We’re leaving.”

“Absolutely not,” her father replies.

“Yes, we are. Stasi will be home soon. And these two need to talk things out. Let’s go. Now,” her mother’s voice is firm, surprising me.

I start to realize that my little warrior gets her fight not only from her father but also from her mother.

“I’m still keeping my fucking eye on you,” her father growls before the door closes behind him.

It’s just Kennedy and me now.

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