I cross my arms and run my eyes over him again.
“You need to take better care of yourself, Dad,” I say. “When was the last time you had a proper meal?”
He blinks, taken aback. Apparently, this wasn’t where the conversation was supposed to be headed.
I roll my eyes.
“Forget about it. So, what’s with the visit, Dad?” When his eyes shift away from mine and he remains silent, I bite the bullet. I mean, it’s obvious why he’s here. He is saying goodbye. Just in case I get Chosen. Just in case I get taken, like Mom did. “It’s because of the lottery, isn’t it?”
His face washes over with multiple conflicting emotions: surprise, worry, desperation, and, oddly, guilt.
His shoulders slump.
“Yes,” he says simply.
I grab his shoulder again, and this time he lets me.
“It’s ok, Dad,” I tell him with a firm smile. “The girls and I have a plan. I’m not worried. I won’t get Chosen. I promise.”
“Delta… I’m in a lot of debt…” he starts. My heart sinks as my smile disappears. He was a broken man. He had been for many years. Since my mother… I thought the gambling had stopped.
I take a step away from him. “You need money,” I say as emotionlessly as possible. He didn’t care about the lottery. He didn’t care if I was Chosen. He just wanted my money before I disappeared.
He shakes his head. “No. No! I wouldn’t ask that of you.”
I roll my eyes.
“I’ll get my purse. It’s fine. I think I have a couple of hundred-dollar bills in there.”
I had more. We were about to disappear for a few weeks after all. But he didn’t need to know that. I needed money too. I could allow myself a moment of selfishness in the name of survival.
Dad puts a hand on my arm.
“No, wait! Let me explain!”
He stops me from turning around so I fold my arms, cock a hip and wait.
He takes a deep breath.
“Like I was saying, I’m in a lot of debt,” he holds his hands up as if begging to let himself explain. “And the people I owe money to… they are dangerous. They’d have killed me if I hadn’t come up with the money!”
I frown, “So… you have the money to pay them off, then? What’s going on, Dad?” I was growing more and more confused.
“You see, I found a way to get the money, and more! So much more. I’ll be able to move to another city and start over afresh! I’m going to turn my life around, Delta. Please understand why I had to do it.”
Ice forms and cracks within my veins. What has he done?
“Dad…” I fight to keep my voice steady. “What?”
Hands grab me from behind. One sweaty, and smelling of even sweatier balls, covers my mouth. I gag and swing my head from side to side. My arms are grabbed, and I’m dragged away from my dad. Guilt and ugly tears now entirely plague his face.
“I had to, baby girl!” he screams as I am dragged further and further away. “This is my chance! Find your mother when you get there. Tell her I love her!”
With sinking clarity and horror, my scrabbling brain lands on the answer I didn’t know I’d been looking for. Somehow, he had sold me… to who? The government? The fae? Whoever it was, my lottery chances were null because I was already number 1 of 5000.
I fight with everything I have. I manage to bite the hand over my mouth, and the owner curses as he hastily pulls it free.
“Help!” I scream at the top of my lungs. “Somebody hel-!”
