4
Nicole
I abandon the truck on the side of the road, not far from the house. Bringing the truck home would just infuriate Papa and have him questioning where I’ve been and what I’ve done.
The damned tank was near empty, and so I filled it up at the nearest station.
I planned to run, but I couldn’t get far without a place to sleep.
No credit card, and if I had brought mine with me, Papa could easily have it traced.
No cash.
I wasn’t going to sleep in the back of the truck.
Home sweet home, my prison.
But I’m allowed to come and go as I please. Although Papa insisted I bring a guard with me, he didn’t seem to care that I ran off last night.
I sneak inside well after midnight.
Papa is asleep, and the guards don’t appear all that surprised to see me.
I slip inside the house. The door squeaks behind me.
He isn’t waiting for me. Did he even realize I ran off?
I hadn’t been exactly quiet about it. More and more, his focus has been on being don. It’s all that matters to him and I get in the way.
I climb up the staircase and tiptoe into my bedroom. I feel like a teenager all over again, sneaking out and back in past curfew.
* * *
I avoid Papa as best I can.
He’s in a hellacious mood, screaming at his men, his colleagues.
I can hear him from my bedroom with the door shut.
My stomach gurgles, but I don’t want to face his wrath when he’s already terrifying to be around. I had forgotten what it was like not to feel that heavy weight of anxiety pressing down on my chest.
Going away to college had been the best thing for me.
Returning home had been my private hell.
Why had I done that?
Oh, right. I didn’t have any money but Papas. Every cent that I had earned while in college had been spent on my housing, food, and transportation. I’d gone to Northwestern, not a cheap school, and Papa had paid for the tuition without batting an eye.
I sit at the edge of my bed. I shouldn’t still be thinking about the man from last night, the one at the bar.
I’d stolen his truck.
That had been out of necessity, not want. And if I ever saw him again, he’d probably hate me.
It didn’t matter. I wasn’t planning on sticking around Breckenridge for long. I had two options, find a way to siphon money from Papa or get a job.
The first would be more difficult, but there had to be cash lying around his office.