Her Eyes

Chapter 15: Daddy

My dad. He was calling me. He never called. If he needed me, it was always my mother who called. 

Liam looked over my shoulder at the phone, then frowned. 

“You have to answer.” He stated simply. 

“But I-” I tried to protest, but he cut me off. 

“No, Izzy, he needs you. Come on.” Liam said forcefully. I sighed, then clicked it. 

Bringing the phone up to my ear slowly, I said timidly, “Hi Dad.”

There was silence for a moment, then a great sight of relief from the other end. 

“Iz? Oh God, Izzy. Are you alright? I came home that night and all your Mom would tell me was that you ran away. I searched everywhere, but I couldn't find you. Then I thought you might have gotten hurt, so I checked every hospital, until I saw your name, but by then you were gone. I was so worried…” My father sounded more stressed than I had ever heard. He even seemed to be crying. My dad never cried. 

“I’m fine Dad. I’ve been crashing at a friends house for a while.” He sighed again, and I could picture him sitting at the table with his head in his hands like he always did when he was stressed. 

“It’s just… Ever since Lizzy… I can’t afford to lose another daughter. I can’t lose you, Iz.” My vision became blurry with tears as I replayed his words in my mind. I never really thought about how much this could affect him. 

“I’m sorry, Dad, I just couldn’t handle being with Mom anymore. What she said…” my voice trailed off. Suddenly, I didn't want Dad to know what she had said to me. All it would do is add stress to his life. That was the last thing he needed. 

“What did she say to you?” he sounded concerned. 

“Nothing, Dad. It’s nothing.” I tried to hide the apprehension in my voice, but my dad was very intuitive. 

“Isabelle, what did she say.” He must have been serious if he called me Isabelle. He never called me that. Only my mom did. 

“She… She hit me. She hit me and then said that I should have died instead of Liz.” I chocked back a sob as I remembered that night. Thinking about it hurt my heart. 

He sucked in a breath. There was a moment of silence, before he burst out in anger. 

“What? She hit you? When? Why? What happened before? There must have been a reason.” 

I sighed, wiping the tears from my eyes. Liam put his hand on my shoulder, giving me a comforting glance. I nodded in his direction, telling him I was okay. 

“Well, we were having fight over the boys, because I came home late, and she said I could never see them again. Well, I got angry and told her she couldn't tell me what to do. She told me that Liz would never talk back to her, which is actually the opposite, and I agreed with her. I told her that it should have been me, and that what happened was my fault. Then she just hit me. So, I left.” 

My father was silent for a few minutes, making me wonder if he was still on the other end. 

“Dad?’ I asked tentatively. He responded right away, 

“I’m here, Iz. I’m here.” His voice was shaky. It seemed as if he was crying. Maybe my absence has been harder on him than I thought. 

“So, why were you in the hospital?” He asked, obviously trying to change the subject. I couldn't blame him. 

“Well, after I ran away, this guy tried to attack me in an alley. He managed to cut me pretty bad, but Liam and the boys got there before it got too bad. Liam tried to attack him, but nearly died until the rest of them got there. I stayed extra long in the hospital for him.” I couldn’t help showing a proud glance to Liam. I really was grateful for what he did. I would most likely be dead if it weren’t for him. 

“Iz,” My Dad started, his voice returning to its usual calm demeanour, “If this boy nearly died to protect you, I’m alright with him. You both should swing by so you can introduce him. It’s nice to see you making friends.” I chuckled, a blush forming on my cheeks. 

“Um, Dad? Liam is more than just a friend…” My voice trailed off in embarrassment. Liam was no help. He put his arm around me dramatically and made kiss faces. 

“What do you… Oh. Oh! I see. Well, I guess that you are growing up and-”

“Dad,” I cut him off, not eager to hear the speech again. “Please don’t. I got the talk from Mom a while ago.”

“Really?” He said, shocked. “Oh, I see. Well then, I trust you. If this boy really is trustworthy according to you, then I guess you can stay with him. Just promise me you will come home soon, though? Please.” 

“I promise, Daddy.” I said with a genuine smile. The use of my childhood name for him seemed to soften his tension. We made small talk for about five minutes before agreeing to meet him the next week. After hanging up, the small smile could not leave my face. It felt nice to smile again. Since Lizzy died, there hasn’t been much reason tone happy for me. Now, I had Liam. 

“What?” I heard him ask. Without realizing it, I’d been staring at him. For a while, apparently. 

“Nothing. I’m just happy to be with you.” The confused expression left his face, replaced by a warm, adoring one.

“Me too.” 

A/N Sorry it's late. My internet crashed and I had to go to the library to publish this, plus exams are coming up. Thanks again to all my faithful readers :)