Tyrant King

Chapter Four

It had been just over five years since I left my old home. I knew back then I could never go back, but that didn’t make all this time any easier. I missed my friends dearly. I tried to keep in touch with Michelle over the years. I used to call her once a week, always on different days at different times. I knew she couldn’t keep Gabriel from finding out we spoke, so I wanted to make it as easy as possible on her. Eventually he stopped asking her to find out where I was.

The more time that passed, the less time we had to catch up. I enrolled in teaching school in Austin, under a fake name of course. This was my first year of teaching full time. I made new friends, and even started seeing someone.

He was wonderful. Mark was everything in a man that all women wanted. He was tall, handsome, popular, but down to Earth. He spoiled me so much and never asked for anything in return. But our relationship could never get s****l. Sure, we kissed and felt each other, but I could never bring myself to go all the way. 25 years old and still a virgin.

My father started drinking shortly after we left. I’ve spent so much time taking care of him, making sure he got home every night. He drank from the time he opened his eyes until he could no longer keep them open. It left very little time to get any answers out of him.

I resigned myself to never knowing the real reason we left. Any time I asked before he got too drunk, he’d just get mad and start throwing sh*t. Never at me, but there were several holes in the walls I had to teach myself how to patch up.

He only left the house these days to buy more alcohol or hit up a bar. I didn’t know where he got all his money from when he couldn’t even hold a job, but somehow, he managed without taking anything from me.

Tonight, I locked him in the house, knowing he was already too far gone to go anywhere. I wanted to go out with some friends for once and not have to worry about him. I had just gotten to the bar where I was meeting Mark and everyone else. My phone started to ring. It was my father. “Dad… what do you need? There’s food in the fridge for you. Just warm it up.”

“Hello, Nora.”

I pulled the phone from my ear, checking the caller ID. “Who is this? Where’s my father?”

“No need to worry about him, my dear. It’s you that I want.”

“Who are you?”

“I’m someone you were promised to a long time ago, and I’ve come to collect. Meet me at 1348 Industrial Rd in the next 30 minutes if you want to see your father alive again.” The call ended and I stood there frozen.

“Nora, who was that? Is everything okay?” Mark was asking me.

“I have to go.”

“You just got here.”

“I’m sorry, Mark. I have to go.” I turned my back on him and ran to my car. I had to get home. I drove as fast as I could without drawing too much attention to myself.

I jumped out of my car, not even sure if I had put it in park. My front door was wide open and all the lights were off. I turned my phone’s flashlight on, not wanting to flick the lights in case anyone was still here. I creeped into the house, nothing was out of place.

When I finished walking through, I closed the front door and turned the security alarm back on. Flicking on the lights, I took another look around. I walked into the kitchen when my phone rang again. It was my dad’s caller ID.

“That’s not the address I gave you, Nora.”

My face paled. How did this guy know where I was? “What do you want from me?”

“I figured you’d go home first. I left a present for you in your freezer. Maybe it’ll encourage you to pick up the pace.”

Click. The phone went dead. Hesitantly, I walked over to the freezer. When I opened the door, I screamed. My father’s finger, with his wedding ring still on, was sitting in the middle of the empty space. Tears sprang to my eyes, this couldn’t be real.

I ran out of the house to my car. I dialed Michelle’s number. No answer. I called again, and again, and again. The last call went straight to voicemail, a text coming through a second later.

Not a good time.

Please answer. It’s important.

I called again.

“What, Nora? It’s not a good time.”

“Someone kidn*pped my father, Mich. I need your help.”

“What do you mean, they kidn*pped him? No one knows where you are Nora, you made it painfully clear you didn’t want any of us in your life anymore.”

“I don’t have time for this Mich. I just need your help. I’ll come home, I’ll do anything. I need my dad back. He’s the only parent I have left.”

I started crying. I didn’t care if I was manipulating her right now, I’d make it up to her later. She sighed on the other end. “Fine. I’ll call my dad and you can call me back.”

“Okay… I’m on my way to where they told me to go.”

“NO!” She yelled. “Pull over and stay where you are. Call me in 2 minutes.”

I did as she said. I needed to calm down anyways. I pulled over, wrapping my arms around the steering wheel and rested my forehead on my arms. I had just gathered myself, before placing the call back to her.

“Nora… my dad said do not go to them. They will kill your father anyways, and they’ll kidnap you.”

“What am I supposed to do then, Mich? I can’t lose him.”

“You’re not going to like what else he said…” There was a pause. I could hear her sighing.

“What?” I whispered.

“I think it’s time you come home.”