Oh my God! This isn't happening. This can't be happening!
"Phoebe?" my father asks as he bursts into the room. The look he's giving me kills me. He looks so disappointed, so horrified, so angry… Oh God.
"Put your shirt on Phoebe" he says coldly.
"Dad…"
"Put your fucking shirt on Phoebe!" he barks at me in a voice I've never heard him use… not with me anyway.
I slip my shirt and my shoes back on quickly.
"Come with me Ms. Grey" Taylor says as he takes my hand.
"But…no" I argue.
"It's okay Phoebe" Howard says softly. "I'll be fine."
"I can't leave you here with him like this."
"Phoebe, get in the damn car now!" my father yells.
I stand frozen and look around.
"Come on Ms. Grey" Taylor says as he pulls on my arm.
"Hey!" Howard yells. "You don't need to manhandle her."
"Shut the hell up!" my father yells. He's so angry. He's seething. What is he going to do?
"Don't hurt him" I cry as Taylor takes me by the shoulders and walks me out the door.
"Make sure she stays in the car" he grits through his teeth staring at Taylor.
I finally give in and leave with Taylor.
Through the closed door I hear a loud crash and then the sound of my father yelling. "Just how long have you been fucking my teenage daughter you sick bastard!?"
I can't believe this actually happening. I've feared this for so long.
"Come on" Taylor says softly.
"What is he going to do?" I ask breathlessly.
"Don't worry about that" he says. "Come with me."
How can I not worry about it? My father is about to kill my boyfriend? Is Howard my boyfriend? I'm not sure. But, I know I care about him, and I know that whatever my father has in store for him isn't going to be pleasant.
"How did you find us?" I ask Taylor sheepishly.
"There's a tracking device in your car" he answers coldly.
"What?" I gasp. "Is that why my father gave me a car, so he could keep tabs on me?"
"There's a tracking device in all the cars your family owns" Taylor responds calmly.
I cross my arms over my chest and slink into my seat. After what feels like an eternity I see my father walk out.
"Take us home Taylor" he says as he sits in the back seat next to me.
"Yes sir" Taylor replies as he starts the car.
I look through the back window of the car at the motel. "What did you do to him?" I ask shakily.
"A hell of a lot less than he deserves" my father sneers.
"What… what happened?"
"Never mind that" he says coldly as he runs his hands through his hair and stares into the distance.
"Dad" I beg. "Talk to me please, say something. What happened in there?"
"I told him if he ever so much as looked at you again I'd blow his life apart, but I just might do that anyway" he snaps.
"Dad-"
"He told me this has been going on for a year and a half" he says with disgust in his voice.
I nod my head.
"Sweetheart" he says softly, and it seems like he's choking back tears. "What the hell did he do to you?"
"He didn't do anything to me. He didn't do anything wrong" I argue.
His face pales and he looks down. "God, that's what I used to say."
"What?" I ask confused. What the hell is he talking about?
"How did this start?" he asks, his anger returning.
"What?"
"How did the son-of-a-bitch get you to sleep with him?" he shouts.
I shrug my shoulders.
"You need to tell me everything Phoebe" he says softly. "Did he seduce you?"
"I'm not really sure how to answer that" I say shakily. "He… he didn't force me to do anything I didn't want to."
"You… you said yesterday that he was your English teacher last year."
I nod.
"How did it get to be more than that? How did he get you alone the first time?"
"Dad" I say as I choke back tears. "Please don't make me do this now."
"Answer the question Phoebe" he barks back.
"I don't know… The first time, he wanted to talk to me about a poem I wrote. We met during lunch time. He said it was really good, he recommended that I try to get it published. And then from there we just started to talk about things…"
"Son of a bitch!" he screams angrily.
"Dad-"
"He targeted you. He took advantage of his position as a teacher. He's going to jail for this!"
"16 is the age of consent in Washington" I say as I stare at my feet.
My father's face drains and he gapes at me. "How do you know that Phoebe?" he asks harshly. "Did he tell you that?"
"Yes" I admit.
"So, he had to talk you into this?"
"No… I- I don't know."
"You don't know?"
"Are you going to tell mom?" I ask changing the subject.
"Of course" he snaps.
"Do you have to?" I cry.
"Yes!" he yells. "Phoebe there are certain things we have to do now."
"What does that mean?" I ask, my voice shaking.
My dad looks at me for a moment and his gaze softens. "We're going to get you help Phoebe."
"I don't need help!" I protest.
He gazes at me for a moment as if he's searching deep into his mind. "You don't realize it yet. It's too soon."
"Realize what?" I ask.
"Realize how wrong this was! Realize that you were a victim in this situation."
"No" I whisper. "I wasn't."
There's a long moment of silence and the tension between us builds.
"What's going to happen to Howard?" I ask nervously.
"Well for one thing I'm going to make sure he loses his job and that he never gets another job as a teacher again."
"But Howard loves his job!" I plead.
"Howard used his job to talk my teenage daughter into bed!" he sneers.
"Mr. Grey" Taylor interrupts. "We're here."
Damn it! My father is going to tell my mother about this. Who else is he going to tell? My brothers? My grandparents? Is everyone going to find out about this? Seeing my father's face when he found me sitting in Howard's motel room topless was just about the worst moment of my life, but I just have this nagging feeling like something worse is yet to come.
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