The metal bars of the heavy wrought-iron gate surrounding our driveway snapped shut with a hollow, mechanical thud that echoed like a cell door locking.
My father didn't say a single word as he dragged me up the front steps by my wrist, his grip so tight my skin throbbed. He marched me upstairs, unlocked my bedroom door, shoved me inside, and turned the key in the lock from the outside. The heavy deadbolt engaged with a sharp, final click.
"Dad! Please!" I sobbed, pounding my fists against the solid oak wood until my knuckles bruised. "Don't do this to Julian! He didn't force me to go! I snuck out on my own!"
Silence was my only answer. Down the hallway, I heard the faint, muffled murmur of his voice on the phone—calling the school board members, calling the police department, calling a
