Lily pushed open the door to her apartment building, heart thudding with a mix of dread and exhaustion. The faint hum of city noise followed her in, but inside the lobby everything was dim, stale, too quiet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And then she saw him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Her father. She hadn’t seen him in three months. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Leaning against the wall near the stairs, arms folded. A tailored gray suit, polished shoes catching the weak light. He didn\u2019t belong here, not in this place with its peeling paint and faint smell of damp carpet. He looked like a judgment made flesh, waiting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For a second, he didn\u2019t notice her. When his eyes finally flicked up, they swept over her, sharp and assessing. Lily\u2019s stomach sank. She had prayed he wouldn\u2019t come.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWhat are you doing here?\u201d The words came out sharper than she meant.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He unfolded his arms with deliberate slowness, voice smooth but edged. \u201cI told you I was coming to get you. You\u2019ve been avoiding me. We need to talk.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cTalk?\u201d Her pulse quickened, heat rising under her skin. \u201cI\u2019m fine. There\u2019s nothing to talk about.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cNothing?\u201d His lips twisted into a smile that didn\u2019t reach his eyes. His voice climbed just enough to sting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cYou think I don\u2019t see what you\u2019re doing? Running off. Playing at being independent. Living here like some na\u00efve child. You think you can just ignore your responsibilities and make it on your own?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI\u2019m not ignoring anything,\u201d she said, but the words sounded thin. Even to her.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He stepped closer, lowering his voice, making it cut all the deeper. \u201cYou\u2019re throwing your life away. You\u2019ll end up just like your mother\u2014wandering, lost, thinking the world owes you something. You can\u2019t survive out here alone, Lily. Not without me.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He held her gaze, the silence stretching just long enough to sting, before his voice dropped\u2014cold, unflinching.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cYou\u2019re too weak.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The word landed like a slap. Weak.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Her chest burned, her throat tightening. Maybe he was right. Maybe she had been foolish.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Then, just as quick, his tone softened\u2014warm, deceptive. The one he always used to draw her back in. \u201cI\u2019m looking out for you. You need to come home, Lily. This\u2014\u201d He gestured at the cracked plaster, the flickering light overhead. \u201cThis isn\u2019t where you belong.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Her mouth opened, but nothing came. The walls seemed to close in, pressing doubt into her ribs. Finally, she forced the words out, barely steady. \u201cI\u2019m fine. I\u2019m not going with you. I don\u2019t need you.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
His face hardened in an instant. \u201cWe both know you do.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
She swallowed, holding his stare though her hands trembled at her sides.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI don\u2019t need you,\u201d she said again, though her voice faltered.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
His mouth pressed into a thin line. \u201cReally? Then tell me\u2014how much money do you have in your account right now? Enough for next semester\u2019s tuition? Next week\u2019s rent?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Her throat tightened. She opened her mouth but no words came.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThat\u2019s what I thought.\u201d His voice was calm now, almost soft, which only made it worse. \u201cYou\u2019re living on fumes, Lily. And when it collapses, don\u2019t say I didn\u2019t warn you.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Her chest burned. She refused to let him win. She shifted her bag higher on her shoulder and pushed past him, climbing the stairs. Her legs trembled but she didn\u2019t stop.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Behind her, her father\u2019s voice rose, echoing sharply up the stairwell.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThis isn\u2019t over! I\u2019ll be watching you.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
She kept climbing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cDon\u2019t forget that,\u201d his final words chasing her up the steps. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
As she got to her apartment, her key slipped twice in her fingers before she managed to open the door. Inside, the apartment was dark, stale with the scent of yesterday\u2019s coffee grounds. She leaned against the frame, breath shallow, every muscle taut. The silence pressed in, heavier than his words, heavier than the footsteps that had just stormed out of her life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For a moment she didn\u2019t move. Couldn\u2019t. The place that was supposed to be hers felt invaded, unsafe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Her phone buzzed in her pocket. Her chest seized, dreading his name lighting up the screen again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But it wasn\u2019t him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It was a friend. You need to come out. We can be there in 15. Say yes?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Her fingers hovered, trembling. She didn\u2019t want to see anyone. Didn\u2019t want to plaster on a smile and pretend she wasn\u2019t breaking.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But the thought of staying here \u2014 alone, trapped with his voice clawing at the inside of her skull \u2014 made her stomach twist.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
She needed somewhere to escape to. To drown out his words.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
She typed back two words.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I\u2019ll come.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Lily pushed open the door to her apartment building, heart thudding with a mix of dread and exhaustion. The faint hum of city noise followed her in, but inside the lobby everything was dim, stale, too quiet. And then she saw him. Her father. She hadn’t seen him in three months. Leaning against the wall…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"pmpro_default_level":"","_kad_post_transparent":"","_kad_post_title":"","_kad_post_layout":"","_kad_post_sidebar_id":"","_kad_post_content_style":"","_kad_post_vertical_padding":"","_kad_post_feature":"","_kad_post_feature_position":"","_kad_post_header":false,"_kad_post_footer":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[36],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-824","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-the-beast","pmpro-has-access"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sensualtrio.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/824","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sensualtrio.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sensualtrio.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sensualtrio.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sensualtrio.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=824"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/sensualtrio.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/824\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":977,"href":"https:\/\/sensualtrio.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/824\/revisions\/977"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sensualtrio.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=824"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sensualtrio.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=824"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sensualtrio.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=824"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}