The Love of My Bully

Climbing off her bed, she threw her cell phone on top of the covers and headed down into the lion’s den. She’d never been afraid to see her parents, but right now, she couldn’t help but feel a little sick and at a loss for words.

“What do you think we should do?” her father said.

“I don’t think there’s anything we can do. I hope they’re both not stupid enough to just see this is about them. It’s not. It’s about all of us.”

“Why couldn’t she have been with Sean? It would have been a whole lot easier.”

She closed her eyes. She hated hearing the disappointment in their voices but nothing was going to change what they saw and were part of. She didn’t mean to fall in love with Drake, it just happened. For the most part, she couldn’t even believe it. They had started out hating each other and now, well, she’d do anything for him.

Entering the dining room, she clenched her hands into fists and looked at her parents.

“Hey, Mom, Dad,” she said.

They turned to look at her. Neither of them said a word.

“Is this how it’s going to be? You’re going to ignore me?”

“We expected better from you,” her father said. “For the longest time, you’ve hated that boy and now we find out you were sneaking around with him.”

“We both knew our relationship wouldn’t be taken well. Look at the way you acted around his parents. Neither of us had done anything wrong and yet you couldn’t even look at me or defend me.”

“Do you have any idea the kind of power they hold? Do you know what they do to people who stand in their way? Before we came along, a young family lived here. The man was a worker and he wanted an increase in pay. He tried to rally the workers, and what did he get, his mortgage came due? He was run out of town for drug smuggling, and his wife, she ended up in prison for fraud. This is the kind of people we’re dealing with. You make waves, a debt is called, or your job is on the fucking line, or maybe some old warrant appears for your arrest. Something is always there on their side! This isn’t just some family who’ll look the other way. They will destroy any kind of happiness we hope to have. Is that what you want? To destroy all of our chances here?”

They were treating her like the enemy.

Pain sliced through her.

“All you can think about is yourselves. You don’t care about me or what I want. Just what you guys want.” Pru couldn’t believe what she was hearing and yet, it didn’t seem to matter. “I’ve got to go,” she said.

“You’re not leaving this house. You’re not going anywhere near that boy again. Do you understand me?” Now it was her mother standing up, glaring at her.

“You’re telling me I’m grounded?”

“Yes.”

“You’ve never grounded me.”

“You’ve never acted so recklessly before. This isn’t about you. You won’t see that boy again. I mean it, Pru. We’re finally in a good place in this town, and you’re not going to ruin it for us. For any of us.” Her mother slapped her hand down on the table. “Go to your room. I’ll bring you dinner. I can’t even look at you right now.”

She hated this. As she glanced at the door, the temptation to run was so strong, but she knew it would only prove how childishly she was reacting. She had to bide her time. To know when to pick the right battles, and today wasn’t the right time. Turning on her heel, she made her way back up to her room. Rather than slam the door, she closed it quietly.

Her cell phone buzzed on her bed, letting her know someone was calling. She saw it was Drake and quickly answered.

“Hey,” she said. “Did you make it back okay?”

“Yeah. What about you? Anything with your parents?”

“They’re treating me like I’m the enemy,” she said. “Do you have any idea who could have known about us? I don’t know how they were able to find us.”

“I don’t know, but I will find out. I promise you. I wish I was with you now. You know, holding you,” he said.

She smiled. “I do as well. We’ll be able to have that again. I know we will.” She was lying, but Drake didn’t call her out on it. “What do you think we should do tomorrow? It’s a school day. Do you think anyone will know?”

“No one will. My parents will make sure of it. Whoever told on us, they’d be paid to keep quiet.”

“You did warn me about how bad they can be. I had no idea it would be like this, Drake.”

“I know. They’re used to getting their own way.”