Bound by Blood and Fate

Ally's POV

“Dad?” I shout towards the cottage. 

I balance across the crooked path with my arms full of firewood. The forest is dense around me before I get out on the small lawn in front of the cottage that has been my home the last couple of years. My fathers red pick-up truck is parked just outside the small porch.

“Dad?” I call out again as I step onto the porch. The cottage door swings open, and Dad hurries over to take the logs from my arms.

“Ally! My God, why do you insist on carrying this much instead of walking back and forth?” His tone is stern, but his smile betrays the joking that hides beneath the words.

The floor creaks in the hallway when we enter the house. There is a crackle from the green tiled stove in the living room. The light from the last rays of sunshine seeps in through the stained glass on the window in the front door, creating small patterns on the floor. I shake off my boots before going after my dad who is laying down the logs one by one next to the tiled stove.

“Did it go well in town?” I ask as I continue into the kitchen. His movements hesitate for a brief second when he hears my question, which makes me raise my eyebrows.

Didn’t it go well in town?

When he sets down the last of the wood, he straightens up and gives me a broad smile. “Everything went well! I managed to get everything on your list, except the cayenne peppar.”

My gaze lands on the paper bags lined up on the kitchen counter. We unpack the groceries in silence; there is something off about dad’s energy. He’s been like this ever since I asked him if I could come with him into town on Saturday.

“Have you thought anything more about what we talked about before?” I ask carefully. He stiffens, then his shoulders drop. I watch in silence as he puts a carton of milk into the fridge. He’s a broad man, his long curls falling loosely over his shoulders. I run a hand through my own hair, chestnut brown, just like his. We share the same curls and the same brown eyes.

“I know you want to go into town...” he begins, his voice tentative.

“Dad” I cut in quickly. ”I turn eighteen on Saturday. Please! I haven’t been outside the borders you put up for years! I promise I’ll be careful, please Dad?”

His jaw tightens as our eyes meet. We’ve lived in this cottage for almost three years, just the two of us, as it has always been. My father and I have moved from place to place for as long as I can remember, hopping between towns and schools all over America. It was only when we came here that my father decided that I could finish school online. It hasn’t been easy making friends with a dad as overprotective as mine, but I’ve managed to connect with two people who are also studying remotely. We hang out every night in our group chat and lately we’ve been talking about meeting in person. When I first brought it up to my dad, he got angry, really angry. But I’m hoping this time I can convince him… if I can just find the right way to compromise.

“Ally...” he begins pleadingly.

“You can come with us, Dad!” I say as the idea pops up in my mind. “Please, it’s a movie with two friends. I can’t even remember the last time I had friends… please. Sometimes this house feels like a prison.”

His gaze darkens. “I’m not holding you captive here. You know we must be careful... Especially after what happened last time. Remember? Our location got compromised, which led us to move here.”

I lower my gaze to the floor. It was my fault we had to move again. I had sneaked out in the night before I turned fifteen to hang out with friends from school. When dad had found me at a youth café, he was furious. He dragged me to his car, drove home well over the speed limit and then packed our things in a panic. Within an hour, we were gone. Again.

We argued the whole drive. I’d never been as upset and angry as I was when we left Manson Creek behind. It was during this car ride that my father finally told me the truth, that we were on the run. The confession froze me. I sat there in silence, hand clasped tightly in my lap, while he said that people were after us. Why? I’d asked. But he couldn’t tell me anything more, only that it was the same people who had murdered my mother.

My mother... I can’t really remember her as clearly as I wished. Dad always says he sees her in my smile. We drove for days before we finally reached the cottage we live in now. He had made a couple of calls and just like that, we were staring over. Again. I know that everything he does is to protect me, but I’m so tired of running from ghosts.

“I’m almost eighteen, Dad. That means I’ll soon be an adult and I should be able to decide for myself what to do with my life.” I fight to keep my voice steady as I brace for his response.

His dark gaze pierces straight through me and I’m just about to give up when he sighs. “Okay Allisa... We’ll go into town this weekend. But first, we need to agree on some rules. Understood?”

I light up instantly. A wide grin spreads across my face as I throw myself into his arms. He grunts at the sudden hug, but a soft laugh escapes him.

“Anything, dad!” I say squeezing him tightly.

He rests his hands on my shoulders and gently pushes me back to arm’s length so he can look at me.

“Rule number one” he begins. “You don’t leave my sight.”

“Okay” I say quickly, nodding.

“Rule number two,” he continues. “If I say we have to go home, you don’t question it.”

“Alright... fine.”

He raises an eyebrow, unimpressed, then goes on. “Rule number three” he says, his voice dropping lower. “You are not allowed to talk to strangers. No matter how nice they seem.”

I sigh softly but nod. “Okay, Dad. I promise.”

He releases my shoulders, but his gaze lingers. There is something in his eyes that sends chills down my spine, not anger... but a worry so deep that it almost feels ancient.

“You don’t understand what’s at stake, Ally,” he says quietly. “But I want you to feel normal... if only for a day.”

I try to smile, but the words catch in my throat. “Thanks, Dad.”

He nods once, saying nothing more. Then he turns to the sink and begins rinsing out a cup. I know better than to push him now, especially after he’s said yes. So I slip out of the kitchen, up the narrow stairs to the second floor. In my room, I close the door behind me and sit down at the desk. My laptop hums to life, and the screens glow fills the darkness. A smile tugs at my lips as our group chat pops up on the screen.

Ally: He said YES!!

Marco: FINALLY!

Ni: Never thought I’d see the day!

Marco: Sooo.. see you on Saturday? 😍

Ally: Yeah. But he is coming along... There was no getting away from that.

Nia: No worries. We are just so happy to finally be able to hang out, even if your pops is tagging along. 😊

My heart races. For the first time in a long time, I feel a spark of freedom. I love my dad, and I know everything he does is to protect me after what happened to mom, but I can’t live trapped in this house anymore... I want friends. I want to be normal.

Marco, Nia and I found each other during our math class. Swearing over group work and our mutual hatred of the subject brought us together. For two years, we’ve been chatting, sending pictures and playing online games together. They’ve been nagging me to meet up, and I’ve made excuses; living too far from town, dad’s car is broken, the dog ran away. We don’t even have a dog. But now the lies are over and I’ve finally been able to convince my dad to let me go into town.

I shut down my laptop before getting changed and brushing my teeth in the bathroom next to my room. I hear dad moving around downstairs as I crawl into bed. There is a rattle from the security chain as he locks the front door.

A few days left, then I’m finally going to meet my friends.