My Little Shadow

Chapter Nineteen: Perfect Father

I can't remember the last time when the whole Thatcher family went out together. We used to get together on Sundays for family dinner but those have stopped ever since I got out of Mary Hill. It was nice but stressful at the same time, being around everyone at the same time.

I never felt like I could speak around my father without saying the wrong thing and getting scolded for it. I didn't too much care for the man, but I cared for Killian, Sawyer, and Archer and I knew when I and my sperm donor argued they were caught in the crossfire. So I sat back in my chair and ignored his smart little remarks the best I could.

"I get to move in now, right?" Archer chimes in directing his question at me and I can't help but chuckle, he looked, almost, too excited about the idea.

"You know I don't c-" I was instantly cut off by my grumbling father.

"Absolutely not." Everyone's attention was drawn to my fathers, all of us were confused by his words. It had been known knowledge that Archer would move in with me as soon as he got all of his ducks in a row with college and his job. His move was delayed when Angelina died and I was sent to Mary Hill, so I didn't figure it would come as a surprise that Archer was coming with me.

"Honey, you knew that he was going to follow August..." He cut my mother off too and I had to bite my tongue. He could disrespect me but I'll be damned if he gets to treat her however he wants to treat her.

"Follow him right into trouble is what he's not going to do." There were so many things that I wanted to say to that hateful old man at this very moment but I couldn't. I couldn't or else I would ruin everyone's night.

"Let's talk about this at a different time." Killian offered giving both of us a stern look, Killian was always the well-composed Thatcher boy. He always had this look on his face that made him seem indifferent to everything including our father's bullshit. He kept up this facade so good I forgot that he was a person sometimes. I forget that he's not just that indifferent face standing on the sidelines as our father beats me black and blue with his words and fist occasionally.

"This team has made it further into the season than any that I have had previously," Sawyer says around a mouthful of food, helping Killian change the subject to prevent an all-out war. They could feel the tension between me and our father like a live wire just waiting to electrocute someone.

"What do you coach?" Mays's soft voice startles everyone including me. She hadn't talked in front of them yet, I had told all of them that she was mute, so none of them questioned her further about it. 

"She speaks!" My mother claps happily.

Sawyer coughs softly before answering her, "Softball."

"I used to play when I was in middle school." She offers that information with a soft smile.

I realize that she's taken my attention off of my father. "Why did you stop?" Sawyer carried on all of them seeming to like her voice. She was mesmerizing, a siren on land.

"Broke my wrist, I couldn't ever pitch right after." She says with a soft shrug, rolling said wrist around absently.

This small fact about my shadow makes me realize I still have so much more to learn about her and I wanted to know it all. I knew her, I knew her for her but I wanted to know what led her to become who she is today.

"Ahh, I hate to hear that," Sawyer says through a whence I knew he was thinking about his own injuries that led him to coaching instead of playing for the big leagues.

"It wasn't a big deal, at least it happened before I got more invested in the sport." She says flashing her show-stopping smile, causing my gaze to be stuck on her for a moment longer than appropriate.