Midnight Angel [Jenlisa FF]

~'~'~ Chapter 14 ~'~'~

The happy mood Jennie had carried with her from her visit with Lisa and her new kitten plummeted the moment she stepped into the kitchen of her house and saw her father seated at the table staring at her. One look at his face, the angry, accusing eyes, the tight, grim frown, and every ounce of happiness fled. All the pain, all the heartache, was back in an instant.

She wanted to run. She wanted to turn around and run, far away from the house, from the memories. From her father. She wanted to go back to Lisa and her kitten and the pretty house on the beach.

Emotions boiled inside Jennie. This man was her father. She loved him unequivocally. He'd read her stories when she was a little girl, brought her ice cream when she was sick. He'd been a man she'd always adored.

As she stood there staring at him, though, a burning anger was building within her. For four years she'd lived in a daze and allowed him to keep her locked up on the third floor of the house like she was his greatest shame. It hadn't mattered before. There had been no reason to let it matter. She had been too lost in the memories and the pain. But now...now things were different. Now there was Lisa. And there were her friends. The ones who had believed her dead. Because of her father.

"Where have you been?" Joo Won demanded.

Instinct had her shrinking back against his harsh words. She started to cast her eyes downwards, to open her mouth to apologize, but she stopped herself. She was tired of all of this. Of caving to his demands, of living in a prison. No more, she told herself.

Standing tall, she met her father's eyes. "I was out," she answered.

The strong tone of her voice gave Joo Won pause. He wasn't used to such firm words from Jennie. He wasn't used to words from her period. She only very rarely spoke to him or answered his questions. "Out?" he repeated in disbelief.

"Yes," Jennie replied, crossing her arms over her chest.

Joo Won stood, met her challenging eyes. "Haven't I asked you not to leave the house?"

The gentle statement almost made Jennie falter. Almost. "Yes, you have," she affirmed. "But I'm tired of staying here all the time."

"You're...," Joo Won trailed off in obvious shock. For a moment he only stood there, gaping at Jennie. This wasn't the girl he was used to, the one who had lived as a shell of herself for the past six years, since the rape. This woman reminded him of who Jennie had once been. Vibrant, independent, and strong. But he couldn't let himself be sidetracked.

"Jennie," he began as he walked over to stand in front of her. "It's imperative that you stay in the house as much as possible. I have tried to overlook your jaunts to the beach in the middle of the night, but I cannot stand by and let you leave the house during the daytime."

Her lips quivered and tears formed in her eyes as she stared up into her father's eyes while he imposed his life sentence on her. She sucked in a breath, willed the tears not to fall. "Do you hate me that much?" she whispered.

"Hate you?" Joo Won repeated. "I don't know-."

Jennie cut him off as if she hadn't heard him. "Are you that ashamed of me, of all that's happened?"

Shocked was a mild word for what Joo Won was feeling. He'd had no idea that his daughter believed him to hate her or was ashamed of her. "No, Jennie. I don't hate you," he said softly, lovingly. "You are my daughter. I could never think lil of you."

"Then why?" Jennie pleaded, her voice quivering. "Why do you keep me trapped here?"

The heartbreaking appeal was like knife to his soul. Pulling his glasses off, Joo Won paced across the kitchen, rubbing a hand over his eyes. He'd long suspected that Jennie had no memory of the night Michelle, Donna, and Owen had been murdered. Oh, she knew they had been killed, but he'd been given to believe that anything beyond that had been wiped from her mind. She didn't remember what she'd done.