Page 21 of Her Outlaw Prisoner
The shadows part slightly as the figure shifts, and that’s when I see him more clearly. Not Daryl. Pete.
My stepfather.
I blink, stunned, my voice tight with disbelief. “Pete?”
His hands are shoved deep in his jacket pockets, his expression a mix of nervous relief and something more. Something I can’t decipher in the dim lighting of the corridor. “Hi, Ellie.”
The sound of my name on his lips makes my stomach turn with a strange mix of comfort and resentment.
“What are you doing here?” I ask, voice sharper than I intended.
“I…I came for you.” His smile is small. “Took a lot of digging, but I did.”
I step closer, but not too close. “Why?”
“You just left,” he says quietly. “No calls. No note. Not even a goodbye. You came all the way out here…” He gestures around helplessly. “To live in this kind of neighborhood. I didn’t understand.”
“Didn’t understand?” I repeat with a scoff. “Pete, your son made my life hell. You didn’t see that?”
He winces, looking away.
“Did you even try to stop him?” My voice cracks. “Did you ever ask yourself why I was always on edge? Why I never brought friends home? Why I couldn’t sleep in my own bed without locking the door?”
“Ellie, I—” he starts, but I cut him off.
“No. You don’t get to show up here and act like the concerned parent. Not when you stood there and let him watch me. Let him torment me. Gaslight me. You let it happen.”
“I thought…he was just struggling,” Pete mutters. “After his mom died, he changed. I thought maybe he just needed time.”
“Struggling?” I laugh bitterly. “You mean he needed control. He needed someone to dominate and I was an easy target.”
He lifts his hands, voice shaking. “I didn’t know it was that bad. If I had known—”
“Would it have mattered?” I challenge. “Would you have believed me?”
Pete looks older than I remember. Lines around his eyes, shoulders stooped. His voice is soft now, almost pleading. “I haven’t seen Daryl in over six months, Ellie. I don’t know where he is. He just…vanished. But I needed to see you. I needed to say I’m sorry. And if you’ll let me…I want to become a better dad to you. Please, come back home.”
My chest aches, but I shake my head. “No, Pete. That place was never home. And I’m not that girl anymore.”
Silence stretches between us, thick and heavy. He nods slowly, understanding in his eyes.
“I wish I’d done better by you,” he says quietly.
“Me too.”
He lingers a second longer, like he wants to say more, but he doesn’t. He turns and walks down the steps, disappearing into the night.
I stay rooted to the spot, my hands trembling.
If Pete found me…it’s only a matter of time before Daryl does.
I unlock my door with shaky fingers and step inside. Lock it. Bolt it. Chain it.
It still doesn’t feel like enough.
I press my back to the door, sliding down until I’m sitting on the floor. My head falls back with a dull thud.
Maybe it’s time to leave again. Start over.
