19

DAWN

He said no. I begged him. I pleaded with Victor to let me fly to Texas so that I could at least be there for my mom during her surgery on Sunday. But after only a moment of pause, he signed over FaceTime, “You cannot leave Rhode Island without permission from me.”

Then the picture blinked out before I could answer that I had only tricked the day guard into believing that there was a raccoon loose in the kitchen so that he’d abandoned his phone and I could call Victor to ask for his stupid-ass permission.

But he hadn’t given it. He’d hung up on me. Just hung up.

And the day guard returned from not finding that fake raccoon before I could hit the redial option.

“Try something like that again, and I’ll put a real raccoon in the bed with you the next time you sleep,” he threatened before snatching back his phone.

Hate is a strong word. But have I mentioned how much I hate the day guard?

Seriously, the only person I despise more is Victor.

Victor, who would do God knows what when he found out I had snuck out.

But I had to take the chance. I had to get to my mom.

I remember all the words that came up during my conversation with Byron… biopsy…partial hepatectomy…and liver cancer.

She had never called to talk to either of us about a personal problem or a health issue before, not even when things between her and me had been good. She must have been so scared if she did so with Byron. Not for the first time, I wondered how my father could’ve done that to her. Left her all alone in a house far away from her children while he went off to do God knew what.

But who was I to talk? The only thing worse than my mother’s set up with my father was mine with Victor. Both our marriages left a lot to be desired.

I had to go to her, but I knew I didn’t stand a chance of getting out past the day guard. Especially now that he was pissed off about my phone con.

When I gave him a shopping list in hopes of getting him to leave me alone at the house so I could sneak out, he just snatched it from me and said, “You’ve got plenty of food in the fridge. This can wait till tomorrow.”

Ugh!

But I reset. I figured my best opportunity would come with the switching of the guard. I could pretend I was asleep when the night guard arrived, then sneak out when they thought I was tucked into bed.

So I laid low after the failure of Operation Shopping List. I did my part of the homework for my Advanced Character Design group assignment. I also squeezed in some pre-work on a few assignments that would be due on Monday. And when dinnertime rolled around, I ordered takeout just like I always did. Not that I was hungry. Homework, TV, eating, putting my braids up in an oversized sleep cap—it was excruciating to go through the usual routines. How could I do everyday stuff when my mom was in Texas, probably freaking out.

But eventually, night came along with the opportunity to sneak out.

I grabbed my official phone and texted someone from my project group. “Know I said I’d get those character sketches to you tonight, but I’m tired and worried this won’t be my best work. I’ll come back at them fresh tomorrow morning and get them to you then.”

The truth was, I’d finished the project earlier that afternoon. But I knew Victor monitored my phone, and this was the perfect cover story for me going to bed way earlier than usual. I probably would send the renderings bright and early tomorrow.

I’d just be at the airport.

After sending that text, I went upstairs and grabbed my old undergrad backpack, so that I could fill it with the few things I’d need to go to Texas.

An old memory from fifteen years ago hit me like a Mack truck.

I remembered packing just like this, my heart bouncing like a basketball inside my chest as I prepared to run away from home to be with Victor.

Regret soured my stomach in the present. What would have happened if I had stayed in our apartment that night? If I had taken my father’s punishment without question as I had for the eighteen years before that moment? It would all be so different now.

But I shook the thoughts away. No time… No time for bitterness and regret. I had to get out of here.

The master bedroom was right above the carport. So even though I was pretending to be asleep, I knew exactly when the time arrived to make my escape.

The buzz and electric rattle of the gate opening told me that the night guard had arrived. I held still while I listened to the voices below exchange a few lines in Cantonese. Just a few short lines. Good. Maybe the day guard wasn’t a total tattletale about what happened earlier.

Soon after that short discussion, there came the electric clamor of the gate opening again, along with the sound of a car backing out. The day guard leaving for the night.

Okay, this was my chance. I’d tiptoe downstairs and sneak out through the back door, then around the left side of the house while the two Audis were do-si-doing on the right side.

I quietly slipped out of bed and grabbed my backpack.

But then, just as I began to head toward the door, a click sounded in the dark, right before the whole room flooded with light.

I looked toward the door and froze.

Victor. Victor was standing there.

I stared at him. And he stared at me, his shrewd gaze so obviously putting together that I was about to sneak out.

I braced, not sure what he would do. Threaten me for sure. Maybe even worse. He could not only keep me from seeing my mother but also make me submit to one of his punishments.

If he truly wanted to break me, that would be the perfect tactic.

The silence stretched on for what felt like centuries.

Then he raised his hands to sign, “You’ve already packed. Good. We leave for Texas in the morning.”