Bound By Sin And Desire

s

all I could think about was collapsing on my bed and shutting out the world. The apartment building loomed ahead, worn and crumbling like everything

stakable stench of cheap whiskey hit me like a punch to the gut. My chest tightened with disappointment, thou

only response was his ragged

couch. A few bottles had rolled onto the floor, one teetering precariously

ied under empty pizza boxes and crumpled fast-food wrappers. Most of it was junk-credit card of

ce. Evicti

text. Unpaid rent. No chance for an extension. We h

roat tightened, and for a moment, I felt the sting of tears behin

ying to figure out how we'd come up with the money. I already worked two jobs, barely s

through me. He was supposed to take care of me, protect me, but all he'd ever done was let me down. How many times had

on the brink of l

oze, my heart hammering in my chest. It was past midnig

e? Someone looking for my father? I pushed myself up an

and the breath c

ing-everything about him screamed danger. His eyes were dark, cold, and calculating, locking onto mine with unsettl

e was low, smooth, but th

d hard. "W

ver me, from my rumpled uniform to my bare feet, and I

ther," he said, his t

.. he's not well. He can't

aint, humorless smile. "He'll

o slam it in his face. But something about the way he st

asked, my voice trembling despi

nd for a moment, I couldn't breathe. "Your father owes a deb

alking about? My father was bad with money, su

ic rising in my chest. "We're about to

ildly amused by my response.

und behind me. I turned to see my father staggering into

asped, his voice bar

That name... I'd heard it before. Whispers. Rumors. The man who contro

e Mo

nly took on a whole ne

ing to his knees in front of Dante. "Pl

n me, as though my father's groveling was beneath him.

inally spoke, his voice soft but filled with

more time," my father pleaded, his hands

ront of this man. He had brought this on us. Every bad decision, every broken prom

time, I felt a real, visceral fear settle in my b

" I asked, my voice barely

t pounding in my chest. He didn't stop, closing the distance between

s eyes locked onto mine. "Your father

g the weight of h

does h

s. I stared at him, my mind reeling

d, shaking my head. "I'm not... I'

dangerous smile. "I don't n

und, even though every instinct screamed at me to ru

, sending a shiver down my spine. "This means you belong to

acing in sheer panic. "This

ed, his voice cold and u

nd useless, while Dante's gaze held me c

aid, his voice returning to that c

he door wide open behind him, the weight of his words h