Our promised kiss the next morning was interrupted by an urgent knock at the door. Callum and I looked at each other in dismay, before quickly getting up, dressed, and down the stairs. There, sitting at the kitchen table, looking like he'd driven through the night, was my dad. "What the hell are you doing here?" I demanded, horrified.
Dad smirked and held up his phone. "You didn't remove me from your friends list," he said, his voice raspy from lack of sleep, but with an undercurrent of triumph underneath. "And since you've got geotagging turned on, well, it wasn't hard to track you down."
I clenched my fists in anger as Callum stepped up behind me and wrapped his arms around my waist. He hadn't bothered to put a shirt on, and the feel of his warm skin against my back calmed me a little. "I'm not going to Penzance, or wherever the hell you want to send me," I said angrily. "I don't care what your reasons are! It ends, here, and it ends now."
Dad got to his feet, jealous anger in his eyes. And that's when it all clicked into place. He hadn't claimed custody of me because he wanted to hurt Mum; he'd done so because he wanted me all to himself. "You're my daughter," he said, his tone tight and angry. "I won't let anyone have you! You belong to me!"
"I belong to no one but myself," I shot back.
Dad's glare deepened. "If I can't have you," he snarled, "then no one can. You can escape if you want, but I will find you, no matter where you go. I. Will. Find. You." With one last poisonous glare for Callum, he angrily pushed past Maud and stormed out, slamming the door behing him. Moments later, the Escort roared down the street, and I closed my eyes, thankful for the strong support of Callum's arms, the only thing keeping me on my feet at that moment. 38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡipiu8H4I2w
"You're getting a new phone," Maud told me, and I nodded, opening my eyes with a sigh of relief. "And you're turning that newfangled geotagging off,. Not your fault; your dad's just an aresehole. Callum, since you can't seem to keep your eyes and hands off her, take her into town and get her that new phone. Whatever it costs, I'll pay for it. Here." She fumbled in her purse and handed Callum her card. "If they put up a fight," she added with a tight smile, "you tell 'em there'll be twice as much trouble if they don't do as I ask. I might've been out of Glasgow for some fifty or so years, but I still know how to swing a right hook with the best of them!"
After a shower and breakfast, Callum drove me into town, keeping a close eye for the battered Escort that would spell Dad's presence. Luckily, he'd cleared out for the moment, and with my old phone left at Maud's as a precaution, we felt marginally safer. Even so, we were both on edge, and I wondered what fresh hell Dad would inflict should I be so unlucky as to cross paths with him again. 38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJ2Clv9ltYh
In any case, the shiny new phone Callum got me - with an equally shiny phone plan - soon put one problem to bed. In short order, I'd turned off the geotagging on my Facebook, and I removed Dad from my friends list, blocking him for good measure. I then reached out to Mum, telling her I was okay, but for my own safety, I had to keep my location a secret. 'I know you're worried sick about me,' I typed, 'but right now, Dad is hot on my heels, and while I've removed his avenues for tracking me, there's no tellng the lengths he'll go to to get those avenues back.'38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhoWSnU02ro
'I understand,' Mum typed. 'Just be careful. George and I will be keeping you in our prayers.'
I wasn't a religious person, but that'd never caused friction between me and Mum, and I was honestly glad for the implicaiton of divine protection. 'Thanks,' I typed. 'I'll get in touch with you when the dust has settled.'
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With my safety secured for the moment, Callum and I set out for Fort William in the early afternoon. My old phone remained at Maud's house, with the four of us agreeing that Angus - who drove trucks for a living - take it with him. If Dad still had some sort of tracking device on the iPhone, he'd follow it in his deranged quest to get me back, leaving Callum and I to get away scot free - no pun intended. With the promise of regular check ins, the way was, for the moment, clear.
And so was the weather. The wintry conditions of the disastrous day before had cleared, and there were blue skies as far as the eye could see. The Scottish Highlands were simply magnificent, and as the drive progressed, I took in all I could, taking a billion photos. Well, maybe not that many, but certainly enough to make a post or three. However, even though I'd removed Dad from all my socials - not just Facebook - I remained cautious, and any posts I did make left out identifying landmarks or signs, just to be on the safe side. I'd already posted about the need for discretion until I could be sure I was free of Dad's grasp, and all my friends and family, including Sally, Fanny and Oliver, agreed to keep identifying comments on the downlow. 38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlKuZM1vUKm
But there was still one subject I didn't want to touch on, even though I'd finally worked up the courage to let the focus of that subject go. It wasn't reluctance to pursue that subject, but rather a need to get my breath back before it could be discussed at length. However, as we arrived in Fort William, the focus of that subject hove into view - namely, a familiar tie-dyed Kombi parked at one of the shops, and my heart slammed to a stop. Callum put his hand over mine and, in that uncanny oneness that comes when you know a person inside out, pulled up alongside. "May as well rip the bandaid off," he murmured.
I nodded, but even so, I clung tightly to his hand as he helped me out of the car. Fate, I decided, as we prepared to face the elephant in the room, was a really fucking spiteful little arsehole.
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