MY FORBIDDEN OBSESSION: FALLING FOR MY DAD’S BESTFRIEND

~~~LILITH~~~ My fingers grab the railing; knuckles bone-white as if this banister is the last thread holding me to life. “Force me to her and I’ll throw myself down.” The words slice out of me reckless, jagged,not caring the wounds they leave behind Jones Jasper stands at the foot of the stairs, suitcase open and his patience wearing thin. His face is carved from the same stone my anger pounds against. He watches me as if I failed a test. “Lilith,” he says the name flat as a verdict. “Get down now.” “Father, please…don't make me do this,” I glare at him, forcing my trembling voice steady He fusses with something in his suitcase,treating my protests like background noise. “Toners Construction in Michigan needs me for six months. You will go to your mother" He pauses "That is final.” Final. The words stings like a slab of concrete. my mother left when I was ten and now, he wants to throw me at her like the last eleven years never happened? “No,” I spit fast. Heat climbs my throat. “I will never live with that woman!” For one breathless second I search for a crack in him. regret, maybe doubt, softness but his shoulders don’t betray him. He is practical at this. He learned how to be indifferent so I wouldn’t see the parts that hurt him, too. “You think this stunt bothers me?” “You–you just want to get rid of me, too?” my voice sounds vicious and small at once. It’s a dare. a plea and something I don’t yet know how to admit to myself. “Lilith…” “She did not want me then, what makes you think she wants me now?” “She is your mother.” “She abandoned us. You know it” “You don’t get to choose,” he says My lungs fight for air after that. Deep in my chest a pain surge from his inflicting words. I want him to see me; I want him to take the bait. I flex my toes against the edge of the railing, as if preparing to let go. If only to shock him into noticing, I'm more than an irritation. “You would see me dead, and…I will never forgive you.” I snap With a flick of his wrist, he signals; two bodyguards rush forward and seize my arms. “Let me go!” my voice ricochets off the wall. Their rough hands pull me across the room, Tears sting the back of my eyes, sharp and raw. “Tell them to stop father” I beg but Jones doesn’t take a glance at me; his stare is fixed on somewhere beyond. “No! Get your hands off me!” I kick hard, thrashing their forcible grip but it is useless. His command is law. They pull me down the stairs, the rail bites my palm, splinters tear wet cracks across my skin, The basement door spring open, and they throw me inside. Darkness swallows me. The smell of mold and rot fills the air. My back kisses the hard floor and the breath leaves me in a single violent exhale. “You will stay here until you learn not to disobey me.” Jones says from somewhere above, an echo I can’t reach The heavy door slams. The reverberation tastes like punishment I lie there gasping in the dark, the memories of being small and hidden folding over me. The memories I thought I buried. The walls are the same, stone etched with the faint ghosts of childish tears. A lesson tattooed in the depths of my skin, One I've long to forget Hunger becomes a steady ache. My throat is dry. The corners of the room breathe with a squitter of something crawling too close. My body weakens until I ave no energy to move, Time Blurs. When I finally lift my head, a sliver of light carves through the dark. I blink up; the figure standing in the doorway blurry until his voice confirms him. “I see you’ve learned your lesson,” Jones says watching me as if I'm a soldier who’d been finally broken under training I want to spit at him, to throw words like knives. But nothing. Only sound that comes is my yet an unheard whisper. “I will never go to her.” He nods, satisfied as if my words have given me away. “Good, since you cannot obey me, you will learn to bend to another.” Another? the idea is a blow I don’t see coming. “Ares will take you in while I’m away.” The mention of the name cracks the fog of my weakness. Ares. My father’s best friend. He’s the man with the storm-gray eyes, I have ached for in the shadows since I was sixteen, every glance harboring my deep desire for him. I know it had twisted into something deeper. I mean, I was in love. Ares was the presence that filled the gaps my mother left. Jones thinks now he's broken me down. He doesn’t see what I've been hiding. “Raise her,” Jones says. “Take her away, and clean her up.” The maid lifts me gently. My body sags against her grip; my legs wobble barely holding on. I turn away pressing my cracked lips to my hand to hide the dangerous smile that forms my lips. Behind my wrecked body, the hint of triumph I feel. I cried, yes. Hot tears washing down my cheeks. Jones sees them as tears that mean I surrender. But this is it. Not punishment.Not exile. This is my chance Ares. my redemption,my ruin, my everything.