“Get out,” Dad commands.
I don’t move, hoping this is a twisted joke. If he wants to scare me, he can consider it done. He marches out and storms to my side of the car, opening the door and grabbing my arm to force me outside.
“Dad, please,” I beg.
My voice echoes around the courtyard, but I’m not the only one shouting. Wails from within carry through the whistling winds.
“Come with me,” he hisses through gritted teeth, dragging me to a door labeled ‘Authorized Access Only’.
“Can we go home?” I plead. “I don’t like it here.”
Although we’re the only people around, I shiver, unable to shed the feeling of being watched. Tiny windows with steel bars are evenly spaced on the asylum’s walls. I don’t look up, too afraid to see who is looking back.
“You should have thought of that before you went to that party,” he says.
He continues past the door and skirts around the back of the building. I stumble, struggling to keep up with his pace. There are no lights back here, and we come to a stone staircase that looks to lead into an underground basement.
“Move.” He shoves me in front of him, forcing me to take the stairs first. I try turning around, but he blocks my path. He can easily overpower me, so fighting is pointless. “I said, move.”
I gulp, taking cautious steps until I reach the bottom.
“Here.” He passes me a rusty key from his shirt pocket.
I look at it in confusion. “What?—”
“Unlock the chains,” he commands.
Heavy chains and a lock block the door. I turn the key, hoping it won’t open, but it does with a small click.
“Now remove the chains,” he instructs.
I loosen them, and they drop to the ground with a clang. He then pulls a lanyard from under his shirt, which holds many fobs, keys, and cards. He doesn’t go anywhere without it, and I’m pretty sure he sleeps in it too. With it, he opens the door.
He nudges me forward. “Inside. Now.”
I can’t see anything, only darkness stretching into the unknown. He has to be kidding, right?
I attempt to bargain one final time. “Please, can we just go home?”
He sighs, losing his patience, and pushes me with a force I don’t expect. He propels my body forward, knocking me off my feet. I break my fall with my hands, narrowly avoiding smashing my face into the cold concrete. Before I’m back on my knees, he shuts me away from the outside world with a slam.
“Dad!” I crawl to the closed door and bash it with balled fists. “Let me out! Please! I’m sorry! I shouldn’t have lied. I’ve learned my lesson.”
He chuckles on the other side of the metal. Ironically, it’s the first time I’ve heard him laugh for a year—aside from the fake one he uses when trying to impress visitors.
“You’ve not learned anything yet. This is what happens when you defy me,” he says. “You will thank me for this later.”
Tears fall down my cheeks in fat blobs and make my eyes burn from the running mascara.
“Please!” I whimper. “I want to go home.”
“Obedient children get nice things,” he says. “Bad behavior must be corrected. I’m doing this for your own good. I’ll be back when you’ve had time to think about your actions.”
Chains rattle, and I swallow the rising vomit as realization hits. He’s really leaving me here.
“Don’t leave!” I scream. “Come back!”
He doesn’t answer.