This Love

Chapter 30

SCARLETT PARKER

Eighteen Years Ago

"Ready or not, here I come!" Seth yelled through the house.

My little heart was pounding through my chest as I panicked, trying to find a place to hide that I hadn't before. I could hear his feet thumping on the hardwood floor around the corner, so I made the split decision to hide in Frank's office. He wasn't home anyway. Otherwise, I wouldn't have dared.

As quietly as I could, I pushed his rolling leather chair out of the way and crawled underneath the desk, hugging my knees to my chest. I pressed my lips together as I heard Seth running past the office to keep from laughing, but then I heard his bare feet squeak as they came to a halt. And then I heard Frank.

"What are you doing running around?" He said.

Seth's voice came out more muffled and quiet on the other side of the wall. "Nothing."

"You're just running around for no reason?"

Silence.

"Where's your sister?"

"I dunno."

I heard heavier steps on the floor before the office door swung open and slammed shut, making my shoulders jolt as I hugged my knees closer to myself and tried not to breathe. His shiny Oxford shoes squeaked as he walked around the desk and I didn't know what to do as he pulled out his chair to sit down. But then he stopped.

My breathing was shaky as he leaned over and locked eyes with me under the shadow the desk provided for me. I knew he wouldn't hit me the way he often did to Seth, but that didn't mean I wanted to be anywhere near him.

"What are you doing in here, Scarlett?"

I swallowed audibly to myself, wishing that I could just disappear into thin air like magic. "I don't know."

He laughed and reached in to grab my wrist and help me out from under the desk, keeping his hold on me as he sat down in his chair. "Come here."

As stiff as a board, I stood there as he stuffed his hands under my armpits to lift me up and sit me down on his thigh with my legs thrown over his lap. His clothes and skin had that metallic scent that comes with being outside in the heat for too long, and his palm was clammy as he set it down on my little shin

"What did I tell you about playing in my office?"

I couldn't tell if I wanted to throw up or cry, but I knew that I wanted Seth to be in the room. "You said not to."

"Right," he smiled and tapped the tip of my nose, laughing when I flinched as if he might as well have struck me across the face. "You need to listen to me when I tell you to do things, Scarlett."

The way he said my name made me hate the word, but I still nodded and hoped it would just be over sooner rather than later. He just looked at me like he could see right into my brain, which only made my heart beat faster as I swallowed the way I would if I was going to be sick. I never knew anxiety could be so physical until then.

"Are you afraid of me?"

I could hear my breathing through my nose. "I have to go to the bathroom."

He laughed in what I would later understand was a condescending manner. "Give me a hug first."

Reluctantly, I twisted my torso and reached my arms up to place my hands on his shoulders, but he wrapped his all the way around my torso. I blinked at the bookshelf behind his back as he inhaled a deep breath with his nose in my hair, rubbing my back under my T-shirt.