*
Buzzzz... Buzzzz… Buzzzz… Buzzzzzzzz.
Lake grabbed her phone off the old wooden chair she used as a nightstand. She must have forgotten to turn off her school alarm with it being her first day of summer break. Damn you, alarm.
Looking at the home screen, she didn’t see the alarm notification like she was used to; instead, it read: Seven missed calls from Dad Quickly, she dialed him back.
Her father answered so fast she didn’t even hear one full ring. “Lake, listen to me carefully—”
“Dad, what’s wrong?” Lake shot up into a sitting position, immediately worried sick from her father’s distressed voice.
“I don’t have a lot of time, Lake. Now, listen. Pack a bag then go to the bank and clean out your college savings account, all twenty grand of it. Remember that apartment we went up and saw a week ago, just a mile down from the college?”
She squeezed the phone to keep from shaking. “Yes. What’s going on?”
“It’s still up for rent. Go on up there and sign for it. My car is out front. Take it and don’t come back till I say. If I don’t, then it should be okay in a couple of months. Do not tell anyone you are leaving.”
Lake tried her best not to start crying so she could speak clearly. “Dad, what did you do?”
“It doesn’t matter. Just do what I asked, okay?” She could hear the tears working from the back of his throat.
Giving up defeat to her father and her own tears, she began to sob. “Okay.”
“Now, go on and be quick.” He paused for a moment to collect himself. “Love ya, kiddo.”
“I love you, too, Dad.”
Silence.
After her father’s sudden disconnection from the call, she rolled into a ball and let her emotions rack through her body. Lake had a pretty good idea what he had done. Her father was a major gambler who had been in the red with the boss for what felt like years. Their tiny kitchen table was filled with past due bills and recently, Lake had noticed it was getting worse and worse.
Instead of her father using his money to pay off some bills, he would gamble it away in hopes of winning big to pay them all off. Her father couldn’t get out of his debt, and his illness preyed on that fact.
It was one sick cycle coming to an end.
Now go on and be quick, his words beat at her mind. She had to get up and do what she did best, because if there was anything Lake knew, it was when to run the hell away. Especially from the family.
Lake had always known what her future looked like until then. She wiped her tears from her face, finally opening her eyes.
At that point, her future had turned black.
Chapter Nineteen Day of Reckoning
Lake parked the Frankenlac at the curb. Getting out, she grabbed her bag and swung it over her shoulder. She had to keep taking deep breaths with every step she took, not knowing if the decision she had made was the right one.
Staring at the tall glass door in front of her, she knew once she went through, there was no turning back.
She placed her palms upon the door. Be strong. With one push, the door swung open and she walked through.
It was her day of reckoning.
Lake’s senses heightened as the door came to a close behind her. She could hear the sound of metal clicking along with the beeping of the various machines. Looking around, she saw how huge it was, with tons of people, but she couldn’t find who she was looking for. Heading toward the escalators, she took a ride to the top, finally coming to a man dressed in a black suit at a security checkpoint. Looking down at his expensive shoes, she went up to him.
“Room key?” he said.
Lake took a deep breath. “I want to see him.”
The scary guard blinked his eyes a couple of times before he looked her up and down. “Who is him?”
She looked around to make sure no one was within hearing distance. “The b—”
The guard grabbed her by her arm and dragged her to an elevator away from view. “Are you fucking stupid, girl? Who pranked you into this?”
“No one. My father is Paul Turner. I need to see him,” she quickly spat out the words.
She watched all the fury leave his face. “Goddammit,” he whispered.
With the wave of his hand, another guy in a suit came out and took his place at the post. Then he pressed the ‘up’ button on the elevator, and the doors slid open. Pulling her inside, he pushed a series of buttons as the doors came to a close.
“You shouldn’t have come here. Do you know what you just did?”
Lake looked at her arm which he was still holding. His hands were so big it seemed like he was squeezing her, but in fact he had only been lightly holding it as soon as he found out who she was. Her eyes moved up to his face, which had returned to fury. His voice no longer held hatred; instead, she felt he had talked to her in sympathy.
She squeezed the strap of her bag tightly. “Yes, I do.”