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“It’s time for school.”

“School, right,” she mumbles.

I meet Dad’s gaze and resist the shudder. Icy, sharp shivers glide down my spine like balls of spikes.

The longer he stares the more my body goes haywire. The knots in my gut tighten by ten folds making it almost painful, but I speak my mind. “What ishedoing here?” I'm able to hide the quiver in my voice.

Mom shoots me a glare. “That’s not how you talk to your father. Be respectful, Hope.”

I don’t back down. “I don’t know any other way when he used to abuse you—”

“Good morning, Hope.” Plastering a sick smile, he stands up and sucks every bit of air molecule out of the room.

My heart drops to the floor and my soul is on the pedestal of leaving my body.

I’m scared. So scared.

I take a deep breath—it doesn’t help because my lungs hardly hold anything.

Striding in my direction he watches me with a strange glint in his eyes that further rolls the massive ball of anxiety inside me.

I back away from him to protect myself. He notices my move but chooses to ignore it.

Like a mask, he puts on a sorry face and says, “You’re right. I don’t deserve respect. After all, I'm a bad person.”

Badisn’t even the word to describe him. He’s way past it. So far away from the word that now it’s a dot, especially after all the encounters that left me with bruises.

I open my mouth, but my throat is dry like a desert.

Taking my silence as a cue he proceeds, “I’ve made up my mind. I’m going to change. I’m going to prove to your mom I’m not a bad person. She’s willing to give me a chance, right Maedrian?” He looks back at her and she cheers up.

“Of course. What happened was a mistake, now that you’re back we can move on,” she says enthusiastically.

What happened was a mistake.

You’re back.

We can move on.

What is going on?

My brain is on the verge of exploding as I try to comprehend the situation.

“Exactly, sweet.” Dad grins at Mom.

I put my hand on my stomach to calm down the wild creatures bombarding inside with their nervous energy.

“Hope, your dad is going to move back in and he’s going to change. Aren’t you happy?” Mom looks at me with an expected smile.

I just stare at her dumbfounded.

Never in my wildest dreams, I imagine her believing the lies he’s spewing with such confidence.

I realize it now. Telling her about the encounters would mean nothing. He has her under his spell. She’s trapped in whatever fantasies he’s been feeding her. She won’t believe me or do anything. After all, she loves him, and she wanted him back ever since that night despite what he did.

That realization digs a hole in my chest so deep I feel it in my soul.

“I am,” I lie to her.

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