Chapter Six-Windy Days

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Ten years had passed since the car crash that had ended Julia's life. Rinoa had grown up, and today was her sixteenth birthday.

Rinoa was dressed in a brand new cream-colored dress and dancing with a young man she didn't even know the name of. The guy was the son of one of her father's friends. He was going on and on about his conquests at military school, and she wasn't paying attention.

No, you see, the birthday girl was scanning the crowd for her father.

Oh, Rinoa thought, He promised he would be here by seven. But it was already five 'til eight and General Caraway wasn't there.

"Miss Rinoa, what do you think?" the young man asked.

"E-excuse me?" Rinoa asked, jerking back to her dance partner's talking.

"I wanted to know if you wanted to go with me to the movies next weekend," he repeated.

"No, thank you, Josh."

"My name is John."

"Whatever," Rinoa sighed, and left the dance floor.

"How could you do this? You promised!" Rinoa yelled at her father. It was an hour after her birthday party had ended, and Jake was just arriving home.

"Rinoa, I'm sorry, but something just came up. I couldn't make it in time. I apologize."

"That's all you ever do but it never changes anything!"

"Rinoa! Don't yell at me. I am your father. Go to your room!" Jake commanded.

"Fine!" Rinoa stormed up the hallway and slammed the door to her room. Outside her window, she heard the wind howling out her anger. She heard the familiar click as her father locked her in. The brunette made a rude gesture at the closed door.

It was about four in the morning when Rinoa awoke to the phone ringing. She had forgotten to put the telephone back in it's holder in the kitchen from when her friends had called earlier that morning.

After a few rings, it stopped. Her father had picked up the phone in another room.

Fine, Rinoa thought, If he can't pay enough attention to me, I might as well know what's going on around here.

She picked up the extension and covered the mouthpiece with her hand.

"Caraway, you better pay up!" she heard a voice threaten. Was this blackmail?

"Or what?" Rinoa's father sneered.

"Or I'll go to the police and tell them the truth about what happened to your wife." Rinoa gasped. the voice went on. "Oh yes. I'll tell them how you wanted her dead, how you hired me to crash her car, how you didn't care that your daughter was there with her. Are the scars on her back worth having your wife taken out? Just pay the money and nothing will happen."

"Go ahead, tell the police. It doesn't take much money to keep their mouths quiet." Jake hung up the phone.

Numbly, Rinoa clicked off her phone and crawled into bed. She didn't sleep a wink that night.