I don’t move. Then she tries to close the door I’m standing in the way of, but I stop it.
“Why does Ted look like he got a beatdown?”
She shrugs and turns away from me.
“Did you do that to him?” I press.
“Not directly. My dad had someone do it.”
What the hell? “What did Ted do to you?”
She turns to face me and raises her eyes, so they connect with mine. “Why do you think he did something to me?”
Her voice is distant; I don’t like it. If Ted did something, I’ll go finish him off myself.
“Someone gave him two black eyes as part of a message to leave you alone. I’ll repeat, what did he do to you?”
“It turns out Ted isn’t gay.”
I frown. “No shit. I told you that. Wait… Did he touch you?”
I can hear the blood pumping through my ears. I take several deep breaths to calm myself before I do something rash.
“No, but I should have listened to you and Connie.”
“Connie told you, too?”
“Yes, she said he looked at me like he was interested.” She waves her hand. “That doesn’t matter. I didn’t listen. Then Ted offered to take me out to dinner, I thought as friends. But then he got all bossy and said it was because I like ‘alpha men’. He knew my dating history. It was all very creepy.”
She rubs her fingers together. There’s something more she’s not telling me.
“What else did he do?” I ask through clenched teeth.
“Nothing. We were at a restaurant, and I snuck out the back and called Connie to come get me.”
She falls into her chair.
“So how did your dad get involved?” I shove my hands into my pockets, hoping to appear calmer than I feel.
“I was afraid Ted would harass me at work. I didn’t know what to do, so I called my dad. He knows a lot of people at the university, I thought he could ensure I wouldn’t have to work with Ted anymore.”
She called her dad for help. Not me. “Let me get this straight. Ted got a little bossy, and you called your dad? For help?”
The more it sinks in, the angrier I am. “Yourdad,” I press. “The man you do everything to stay away from? The one who set my mother up for an accident that could have killed her? The one who ruined my chance at college? The one who set me up for murder?” I realize I’m getting loud, so I slam the door shut.
She jumps, but I know she doesn’t want her students listening.
“Cody, I was scared.”
“You were scared? Did you even consider calling me?”
Her eyes become glassy. “I couldn’t.”
And there it is. When she needed someone, she turned to her dad. Not me. I’m not the one she wants protecting her and that knowledge guts me.
I know she thinks she’s protecting me by staying away, but I thought after a few days, she’d realize that she’s just letting her dad win. But instead of standing up to him, she gives in to his need to control everything. And as long as he has her in his grip, she’ll never be mine.
The walls begin to close in. I need to get out of here. “Now I see why your father thinks he can control you.”
