Becoming Defiant •• OneRepublic {3}

White Lace

Ramona's P.O.V.

It was perhaps just a few hours after sunrise the next day, when Ramona was preparing for combat training, that none other than Vince Wood managed to get into the room. Well, not really managed - it wasn't hard to open the unlocked door.

Ramona let out a gasp when he burst through the door, and although he didn't move much further past the threshold, she backed up against the opposite wall. Her knees almost buckled and she suddenly felt weak. It was easy to put on a strong face for Ryan, and it was easy to say she could fight against him. But with him standing before her, and so unexpectedly, all of that washed away with the high tide.

"Why won't you forgive me?" Was the first thing the man let out of his mouth. Ramona gaped, her voice stuck in her throat. There were still a thousand things she wanted to say to him, but they would never come out.

Ramona stood there gaping like an idiot, back flat against the wall as she wanted nothing more than to sink into it. Especially the longer her father stared at her.

"Ramona." He told her, stepping forward. She immediately cried out, "Don't!"

It was more of a stutter from her lips. And the man had only gone forward a step, but no more. Yet it was instinct. It was engraved in her very soul, that when he stepped forward it was not one step, it was several. When his hand moved, it was not to give her a gentle touch.

She was afraid and it was the worst feeling. It was a fear she hadn't felt in so long, so much so that she almost forgot what exactly it felt like. Almost.

"Ramona, I'm a changed man. And I can change."

Finally, she had words. It was liberating to be able to speak. Her voice, however, was still small.

"Didn't seem like it when you were fighting Ryan. If you really cared about me you'd listen to him. You'd show him respect."

"I have." Vince sounded desperate. It was a fake desperation. No matter that she no longer knew him in and out, she still knew him to a great extent. He'd given her half of her DNA - she would expect herself to be able to detect his lies.

"If you've changed, Ryan would've said so. But he's hardly mentioned you because he knows how I feel, especially if you haven't changed."

Ramona cleared her throat, as if that would help her be louder. She wanted to be more assertive but could not. No matter how hard she tried, her body wouldn't allow any strength. She was frozen against the wall, angry with herself at being afraid. Yet her fear would also allow her to run well - if he came closer she could easily leap over the bed and go out the open door.

It soon became clear to her that her father was lying, because she then saw a flash of the man she knew he still was, beneath all that strained falsehood. It was a mask he tensely wore, and if he got angry enough, she knew he would reveal his true self. His old self. Which he did; Vince clenched his jaw and his expression, for but a moment, was monstrous.

"Ramona." He said in a deeper voice. It was the deep, angry voice that she knew threatened a beating. She was afraid that he'd be able to do it this time. She was so frozen that her feet could be cemented to the floor. While if her body let her run, she could do so faster than a terrified gazelle, but she soon felt there was a good chance she would not be able to.

"Leave. Please." She said, her voice barely a mumble. He heard this and did not heed her words. She wished he would so dearly, but knew he wouldn't. It was not his style - life had always gone by his rules. Even her mother always listened to him - Vince was the king and everyone around him servants. So when told to leave a room, he would not.