Captured (A Modern Medusa Story)

CHAPTER 17: PHOEBE💙

"I don't want to go anywhere with you!" I shot.

I had made it perfectly clear to Noreen that I wasn't up for tagging along with her anymore, but she sure wasn't getting the message.

I had sent maids to tell her to leave but no; the bitch stomped right into the living room like she owned a share of the place and yelled at how I was suddenly ditching her for no reason and that she was going to tell my father about it.

She must've thought I would shudder at the mention of my father, but when I proved that the name evoked nothing in me, I was the bad guy again.

"Why can't you just leave me alone?" I pointed. "This is clearly an abduction. Why am I being ordered against my will?!"

"You know what?" She yelled back. "Fucking fine!"

With that, I heard her heels clank out of the living room.

It didn't take long for my father to appear afterward. Who knew if he was even home? Well, I guess the news got to him, anyway.

"What the hell did you say to her?!" Papa shouted at me.

He needed to keep it down. Hanging out with Noreen wouldn't make me a normal person. In the end, I was still a blind girl trying to make my way around, even though I couldn't see a thing. I was just me.

"I told her to fuck off." I stated calmly.

"How dare you? She's your best friend–"

"Being a best friend isn't a job, Papa. If she was really a friend, she wouldn't even have left, anyway. It's clear she doesn't want to be next to me either. Just let her go."

"No!" He kicked the coffee table, and it fell, the glass top breaking. "I paid her for this. She can't just walk out like that. And you aren't supposed to say that to her. I don't care if I hired her. She's supposed to be hanging out with you and help you do things the way every other girl does, not wasting time writing those stupid poems!"

Sick, I got up to leave. But Papa immediately caught me by the arm.

"You do not walk out like that when I'm talking to you, you little freak." He gritted his teeth.

It took all of me not to spit on his face.

"Or what?"

"Or–"

He couldn't finish his sentence. He didn't.

Because Miss Halima had appeared and pulled me out of his grip.

Saved by the bell.

"That's not the way to treat a daughter, Mr. McQuinn." She stated sternly, right at his face, before taking my hand and guiding me upstairs.

I held back a secret smile, even though I never understood why he always lost his guard whenever Miss Halima barged in.

"Don't take his words at heart, dear." Miss Halima let me sit on my bed.

I let out a heavy breath.

"I swear if you hadn't appeared, he would've hit me. And maybe for the first time, I would've hit him back. It would've been chaos."

"Shh, don't say that. If anyone's a freak, then it's him."

"I don't understand why he hates my poetry so much or why he always wants me to hang out with that bitch. I don't need fake friends to cheer me up."

"It's okay, dear. Don't let it get to you."

Miss Halima sat down next to me and put an arm around me. I leaned onto her shoulder, an automatic response.

We stayed like that for a while. I felt like crying, but I was out of tears. I needed water.

As if psychic, Miss Halima got up and fetched me a glass of water from my table.

"Anything you want me to help you with, young miss?" she asked, handing me the glass.

"Not really," I tried to think. "Just help me pick an outfit to wear for tomorrow."

"I thought you don't want to go outside?"

"Of course," I agreed. "It's just with someone I think I like."

Miss Halima simpered.

"Wow, I didn't know Phoebe McQuinn could actually like someone."

"What?" I chuckled, blushing. "Why?"

"I thought you either have a heart of stone or you're just too caught up with thoughts of your mother."

Miss Halima moved away, and judging by her movements, I knew she was putting my stuff in order for me.

The mention of my mother pulled something inside of me. It broke me.

"I hope it's not one of those boys you used to go out with, those blind-phobic assholes," she added, her voice coming from somewhere close to my dressing table as I sipped on my water.

"Don't worry, I'm all grown up now. I know who is and who isn't good for my health." I admitted.

"So, is it a date?" she sounded like she was smiling as she asked that.

"I–I don't even know." I put the glass back on the table and paced around slowly, my fingers playing with the pendant of my necklace. "We've technically just met but, I've never been this positive about a person all my life."

I didn't want to rush things but, if only Averista could open up to me more.

I wanted more. But I also couldn't take it.