Crossing Lines

4. First Step

Scarlet awoke slowly, feeling surprisingly refreshed from spending a night in a sleeping bag on the ground. Was this considered camping, because she’d never been? Maybe it was something worth trying since she did not find it as horrible as she would have thought, coming from the city. Perhaps she had just been exhausted from her emotions and the trip and had slept like the dead for that reason?

Stretching out where she lay, she glanced out the window and gave a faint smile. Aside from the fact that she had to stay there with the man that had abandoned them when she was nine, she was actually rather enjoying the new house; it felt homey despite being bare of furnishings. Was it weird that she felt at home in a dusty and empty cabin in the middle of the woods on the front lines between the human and supernatural world?

Yeah, that just made her sound insane.

Finally, she stood and headed to her bathroom where she took a shower and brushed her teeth. She tied half her hair up into a ponytail, since she would spend her day spring cleaning and unpacking her things. She dressed in jeans and a T-shirt for the same reason, not even bothering to put shoes on, before she headed to the kitchen to see what she could find to eat, since she was starving after skipping dinner.

She stopped when she found her father sitting at the kitchen table with a bowl of cereal and a large mug of coffee; he looked rough. His eyes were bloodshot and red rimmed, his face looked tired and he obviously hadn’t shaved either. Did that mean he had been crying over her mother’s death? Surely he didn’t care about them if he had left eight years ago without a backward glance.

“Morning.” She greeted him coldly before she walked past him to get a cup of coffee; she really needed to get herself some tea; she doubted her father had that in his house.

From what she remembered, he had always drunk coffee and only she and her mother indulged in cups of herbal tea before they reached for the coffee. She had nothing against coffee really, but she loved her cup of mint tea in the morning and rose or chamomile tea before she went to bed. She’d go to the store later to get some.

“Morning, Honey.” He answered and watched her pour herself a cup of coffee.

She stiffened at the endearment, but since he insisted on using them, there was no point in demanding he stop. When she had poured her coffee and added sugar, she grabbed a bowl from the drying rack and glanced around her, looking for a spoon.

“It’s the first drawer on your right, Scar.” Her father answered her unasked question and when she reached for the drawer, he spoke again. “Could you sit down so we can talk, please?”

Scarlet sighed, she should have known that he would suggest that at some point and she wasn’t looking forward to this talk, but it probably needed to be done. Taking up the bowl with the spoon in one hand and her mug of coffee in the other, she traipsed unwillingly to the kitchen table and sat down across from him. She poured the cereal in her bowl and topped it with the milk and added milk to her coffee as well, then she started eating while she waited for him to do his talk.

Her father sighed after a moment of watching her. “Scarlet, I really didn’t know about your mother’s death or that you were coming here, otherwise I would have come personally to get you. You are important to me, just like your mother was. And yes, this house is a mess, but I expected to furnish it with the furniture you and your mother would bring when you moved here. But since that isn’t the case, how about you and I go shopping today and get you everything you want for your room and groceries as well?” He asked, obviously attempting to make some kind of connection with her, but what he didn’t know was that she hated going shopping.

They had never had tons of money to spend on useless items, so her idea of fun had always been the small community garden they had always had going with a few other neighbours and friends before her mother had gotten too sick to do it anymore. And she and mom would play card games and board games, or read books together. He had just proved that he knew nothing about her.

“I know you don’t like shopping, Scar, but I thought you’d want a say in what goes into your room.” He tried again, as if he had read her thoughts.

Wait, how did he know she didn’t like shopping? He hadn’t gone shopping with them even before he had left.

“I don’t care; get whatever you want.” She answered with a shrug before she spooned more cereal into her mouth.

“Scar, I’m trying here, if you would –“

“Don’t. I’ll only be here for six months until I graduate and then you won’t have to see me again. Whatever you get, whatever you do, don’t try to involve me in things that have nothing to do with me. Don’t pretend that you’re interested or care. If you don’t want to sign the papers to get rid of me, then at least don’t patronize me.” She answered before she stood, walked to the sink and put her empty bowl there before she went back to her room with her coffee in hand to start her day.

“Scar-“ She heard him call before she slammed her door closed.

Luckily, she had already brought all the cleaning supplies to her room last night, so she put her earphones in and selected her playlist on her device before she started to spring clean her room. By the time she was done cleaning, it looked almost liveable, except that it was still bare.

She unpacked the things she had managed to bring with her and then collected all the cleaning supplies. She hoped that her father had left so she could be in peace. She didn’t want him to attempt a patronizing relationship with her, not after all these years. If he had wanted her, he would have found a way to keep in touch with her before she was forced to live there.

She heard him talking outside with someone and she sneaked back into her room after she had returned the cleaning supplies to avoid another attempt from him to play real dad. Grabbing her book, she opened her bedroom window and climbed out before she trotted off into the woods so he would not see her leaving.

Scarlet hadn’t gone far when she found an old bare tree that called to her with its gnarled roots sticking out of the ground in a way that made her think it would soon become her favourite reading nook. Sitting down between the two large protruding roots, it felt like a comfortable chair, despite the tree looking near dead where it stood. It had no leaves or indication of life anywhere on or near it, but she didn’t care, for now this tree was a mascot for her life.

Leaning back against the rough trunk, she found this spot surprisingly comfortable and, with a faint smile, she opened her book and started reading where she had left off the previous day, holding on to the gold tree necklace of her mother’s that she had not taken off except when she took a shower. She was soon completely lost in the world the book weaved around her for several blissful chapters.

But something drew her attention from the book, an uneasy feeling in the pit of her stomach. Scarlet remained in her position, listening for any sounds that could indicate why she suddenly felt like she was being watched. Maybe she was just in a wild animal’s territory and it wanted to know who was roaming around.

But the longer she sat and listened, the more she felt uncomfortable. Slowly she raised her head and glanced around her, but she could see no movements, no shadows that didn’t belong to the trees. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary, but she could not shake the feeling that she was being watched and she felt the tension rise in her muscles. Her fight or flight response was officially active and she felt the adrenaline start to seep into her limbs with an odd feeling of her hair rising at the same time.

Slowly she closed the book, keeping her eyes on her surroundings. Should she jump to her feet and run or should she stand and face whatever was nearby, because she could sense it slowly approaching her, even if she couldn’t hear it.

Suddenly, a raspy and loud caw erupted from above her, causing her to jump in fright. Glancing up, she smiled as the bird eyed her in return, breaking the tension that had been swirling around her. “Aren’t you a little sneak?” She smiled at the bird, feeling the tension seep out of her at that moment. The bird had nearly given her a heart attack.

But glancing up at the bird made her realize how late it was and that she should probably head back. With a heavy sigh at the prospect of having to face her father, she finally stood from her seat and dusted down the back of her old jeans while she glanced around again. This would be her own little hiding place, but for now she had to go home and get something to eat, since she hadn’t eaten since breakfast and she was feeling starved at that moment.

She headed back where she had come from, but hesitated when she spotted the house. Should she go through her window again or should she walk around to the front? After a moment of hesitation, she decided to use the door. Maybe her father wasn’t even there anymore and she probably couldn’t avoid him forever. Hopefully, he would stop trying to connect with her because it was already too late.

Scarlet opened the front door and stopped short at what she found. The house had been furnished; it looked like a completely different house from what she had walked into yesterday. If this hadn’t been the only cabin in the area, she would have thought that she had walked into someone else’s home.

She had to give it to the man; he knew how to set a plan in motion once he decided on it. She had expected to see one or two things added to the empty house, but it was clean and looked like someone had lived there for a while. There were even pictures on the walls; confusingly, also quite a few framed photos of her throughout the years after he had left. Where had he got those?

Shaking her head to herself, she headed to her room to put her book down. She could smell dinner in the making and her stomach growled in response. She would at least offer assistance or at least clean up afterwards. They could live together in peace for the six months she was forced to stay there, even if it was too late for him to become a real father to her.

She stopped short when she opened her bedroom. It was fully furnished with a double bed, side tables, and a chest of drawers with a large mirror hanging above it and a desk for her homework. He had even hung gauzy curtains in shades of green at the window along with the emerald green duvet and different green and detailed pillows and a coverlet across the foot of the bed. It was gorgeous! How did he even know she loved all shades of green?

When she walked into the kitchen, she saw her father grilling steaks in a frying pan, with mash cooking in a pot nearby. She opened the fridge and looked inside, noticing the makings of a salad. She took those out and started cutting up the vegetables to make the salad, while she felt him glancing at her a few times.

“Thank you for my bedroom.” She stated finally, knowing that he had gone through a lot of trouble to get it ready in the few hours that she had been reading.

“You’re welcome.” He answered with a faint smile and then a long awkward silence stretched between them.

“You know we need to talk.” He said finally on a heavy breath, serious once more.

“So talk.” She answered, there was no way she was calling him dad or father, because he wasn’t one to her; hadn’t been since she was nine.

He sighed. “I know I haven’t done right by you and I understand your anger towards me, but I do expect you to follow certain rules while you’re living here.”

“I expected that.” She confirmed with a nod, but not raising her eyes from what she was doing.

“I expect you to be home before dark, or at least let me know if you won’t be. No sneaking out at night to go to parties and get drunk, I still have the right to say no to those if you ask. No boyfriends in your room with the door closed.”

“Wild parties are not really my scene and neither are boyfriends, so you can relax. The chances of me turning up pregnant before graduation is fairly slim.”

He nodded in understanding. “Do not go into the woods too far, since we are at the crossing lines for supernatural beings, so it is still fairly dangerous despite Hunters and peace-keeping Supernaturals being in the area. And I expect us to have breakfast and dinner together every day. I know you excel in your school work and I don’t want that to change now that you’re here.” Though his tone was firm, it never became unkind, which she found confusing. Shouldn’t he be annoyed that his unwanted daughter had followed him here? And what did he know about her grades?

“Fair enough.” She nodded in agreement, when she finished the salad and placed it on the table before she started looking for the plates to set the table. “Coffee or milk with dinner?”

He turned to her in surprise that she remembered that he would sometimes drink a glass of milk with his dinner and she shrugged dismissively. Before he had left them, he had been the man who hung the moon to her; she had known so much about his ways because he had been so important to her before he had shown how unimportant they were to him.

She would have warm milk since she had completely forgotten about getting tea for herself.

“Coffee, please. If you want tea, I have several different kinds in the cupboard above the kettle for you.” He stated while he mashed the potatoes and allowed the steaks to rest on the side.

“Thank you.” She answered with her own surprise and then grinned with pleasure when she found rose tea among the selection, also mint and chamomile, along with another few of her favourites.

“I’ll go with you on Monday to sign you into the school.”

“There’s no need, Mister Allan has already done that. My car should also come any day now with the rest of my things.”

She felt his eyes on her while she set a cup ready for her and for him, waiting for the kettle to boil.

“You really are all grown up.” He mused sadly under his breath.

Scarlet stopped herself from making a snide remark about such things happening after eight years, but she did not want to ruin the precarious truce they currently had. They did not have to be at constant odds while she was there; they could attempt to keep it as painless as possible.

Being at constant war would be tiring and make these living arrangements even more unbearable for both of them. It was only for six months anyway; surely they could get along relatively painlessly for that short amount of time. Besides, she had no intention of suddenly becoming the crazy teenage daughter that got drunk and went to all the parties.

It still wasn’t her thing and she was not going to torture herself with the hope of making him even more miserable by having her here when he had left them behind to have a new life here.