“Please get in the car.”
Willow stopped, but didn’t get in the car. Instead, she looked Ashlynn in the face, thinking to appeal to her more calmly, more rationally, and said, “I love him.”
By the grim look on Ashlynn’s face, it had not been the right thing to say.
“We care about each other,” she continued, since she already started digging the hole. “It isn’t sordid like you guys are thinking—I know how it sounds, but it isn’t like that. Ethan didn’t take advantage of me. He didn’t want to hurt me. He was forced as much as I was—we were both forced, they just used him as a tool. You don’t get it. He is not a bad person.”
“Just get in the car, and we can talk about it,” Ashlynn said gingerly.
It was her only hope, so Willow opened the car door and slid inside.
“He’s helped me,” Willow said immediately. “He helped me with my anger—he’s the one who told me go to counseling. Trust me, if Ethan was one of the bad guys, I wouldn’t protect him.”
“I know you think that,” Ashlynn replied, her voice calm. “But I think you need to compromise with us. Surely you can understand… You need to take a step back from him, Willow. He is not your hero, he is not your boyfriend—regardless of how you feel right now, you need to…you need space. No phone and no car for a little while isn’t the end of the world.”
“I have to call him tomorrow to let him know how the conversation with my dad goes. Ethan’s family won’t sleep in their house tonight because of what my father did.”
“That isn’t your problem. We need to focus on taking care of you right now, you can call your father or I will call your father and make sure that he…steers clear. I don’t know what happened today, I don’t…care, right now what I care about is you.”
“Right now what I care about is Ethan, and not feeling like a prisoner in my own home. I’m fine. I am not some wilting flower, I am not brainwashed, I am not protecting someone who hurts me. Somebody that I care about is going through a rough time right now, and I want to be able to talk to him.”
“No,” Ashlynn said, somewhere between firm and apologetic. “He’s a part of your past, not your future, and honestly…while I don’t agree with the way that your mother went about it, I do agree about what needs to happen next. No more Ethan, Willow.”
Willow’s jaw clenched as Ashlynn turned the car off. “That is my decision to make, Ashlynn.”
“Not this time.”
“What if I don’t listen to you?” she challenged.
“Then we tighten the restrictions even more. Maybe you need to take some time off school, start college a year late.”
Her stomach plummeted.
“If we find out you’ve been trying to talk to him, make no mistake, Willow…we will do whatever we have to do to keep you safe.”
Refusing to move, Willow sat in the car while Ashlynn got out, loathing her parents in that moment. Like a bird with clipped wings, all she could think about was escape.
There wa
s no escaping without their cooperation. As difficult as it was, she needed to try to keep her head, try to find a way around their ridiculous restrictions.
But what if she got caught? What if they actually followed through with that threat? It would derail her whole life and she’d be helpless for another year.
Shoving the car door open, she jogged to catch up to Ashlynn, her mind racing. “Wait.”
Ashlynn turned to her expectantly.
Taking a breath and then letting it out, Willow said, “Okay, I’ll abide by your rules, but I have one request. You have to let me call him one more time to say goodbye.”
Her eyes drifted off to the side as she seemed to consider it. Nodding once, she said, “I’ll talk to your mom about it.”
While Ashlynn went to talk to Lauren, Willow tried to think of a plan. She had kept their relationship a secret before, surely she could manage to see him once in a while, she just needed to figure out how.
If she pretended to roll over and exhibited good behavior for a while, surely she would get her privileges back. She wouldn’t call him—they might see that on the phone bill—but if she played them long enough, she would get back her car, and then…assuming he hadn’t already moved on or gotten back together with his wife, she could see him again.
Was that really the best case scenario?
Her shoulder drooped at that depressing realization.