Gone Phishing

Chapter 1 Bombshell “No! Dad, you can’t do this.” Sophia backed away from her father, a strange heat filling her chest cavity and making it difficult to breathe. “I don’t have a choice.” He sounded resigned as though nothing she said would make a difference. “It’s work.” Edgar tilted his head and pursed his lips. “And a fresh start for us both.” “I don’t want a fresh start!” Sophia’s chest heaved and anger replaced fear. “I’m happy here! This is my exam year and I’ve got Dane.” “Yeah, sorry about that. But you’ll be okay in a new school, Soph. And there’re more fish in the sea.” He winked and Sophia’s stomach clenched at her father’s insensitivity. She reversed further, shaking her head and feeling the coolness of the plasterboard contact her fingers behind her back. A sense of being torn sent stabbing pains through her heart and the colour drained from her face. He didn’t care. Edgar didn’t care. Her father took a faltering step towards her and reached out, his eyes reflecting the realisation of the pain he’d inflicted. “Aw, sorry Soph. I know you and Dane are tight but we need to go. I have to get away from Hamilton and your mother.” He chewed his lip, glancing around him at the house they furnished together before Sal abandoned her family for a quick bunk up and more cash. “I’m not coming!” Sophia spat the words and watched Edgar’s expression cloud. His face reflected the thought processes he ran through in that single moment of decision. He shrugged. “I hoped you’d want to, Soph. We’re a team, you and me. I’ll be the sales manager of this high end garage down south, earn heaps more money and Palmerston North’s a great city with lots of opportunity for kids your age. You’ll love it.” “I’m not coming!” She repeated herself, dragging out the words in the hope Edgar got the message. His eyes glittered with pleasure as his new future spread before him and Sophia saw his hopes and dreams in them. She knew the loneliness he suffered and saw the scars her mother’s disappearance inflicted on his confidence. “This isn’t the way,” she pleaded. “This isn’t how you heal, Dad. You’re running away and I can’t go with you, not like this. Just wait a year and I’ll come. There’s a great university in Palmy and I’ll be interested then. But not now. Not right now, please Dad. Don’t make me.” Edgar’s jaw set in a hard line, the stubble pressing through his skin. A good looking man, he rose to his full height and spread his hands in front of him. “Ask your mother if you can live with her then,” he said. Sophia swallowed and gaped, no words coming to aid her. She wanted to shout and scream but nothing came. Rejection engulfed her, adding to the fresh wounds of her mother’s desertion and left her speechless. The sickness arrived in waves and she grappled for the door handle, one outstretched palm sliding along the walls towards the bathroom and the other covering her mouth. Edgar stood in the doorway and watched, sweating from a conversation he’d dreaded. “Why are you sick? I hope you’re not pregnant,” he shouted after her. “That really would take the biscuit!” When she didn’t answer, Sophia heard him call her name and start to follow, his footsteps quick and heavy. “Soph!” he cried. “Soph? Are you?” Self-pity enveloped her and she slammed the bathroom door in his face, sinking to her knees in front of the toilet. “You don’t even know me,” she sobbed. “You know nothing.”