SkyGirl5
Cadet
just a few more chaps until there is a resolution
Chapter 27
When Michael heard the other end of the phone go dead, he felt like a knife had stabbed right through his heart. What they had dreaded for weeks was coming true. His head was spinning and he couldn’t think. What were they going to do? What was happening to Sydney? Her father had her and he was obviously furious… she was crying, scared and upset. All he wanted to do was hold her, but he couldn’t. He needed a plan.
For half an hour he paced the floors of his house with Lilly and Rose at his feet, following him at first then laying down and watching him as he walked back and forth, back and forth. Finally, he decided that drastic measures were necessary. He needed to go over to the Bristow’s house and have a calm and rational discussion with her father. Sure, he was slightly insane and very paranoid, but deep, deep down, he had to be rational, right? Right, of course, Michael told himself. He had to be rational.
Michael ran to his office and pulled out Sydney’s employment file, searching for her address. Once he found it, he ran to his computer and plugged it into a mapping service so that he could get directions. He printed them quickly and then raced to his car.
~*~
Sydney wasn’t sure how long she stood in the shower and let the scalding water turn her skin bright red. Finally, the hot water was starting to turn cold and she decided to get out, though she was so numb she could barely feel it. She wrapped her hair in a towel and tied a robe around her waist as she slowly shuffled out to her bedroom, which adjoined her bathroom. She simply stood there, unmoving for about ten minutes before slowly changing into her pajamas. She was tying the drawstring on her pants when the doorbell rang, causing her to jump.
In that moment, she had never felt more hopeful in her life as she raced to the window in her room, which gave her a view of the front of her house. Parked very poorly along the street she saw an SUV that she knew immediately was Michael’s. Quickly, she raced out of her room and towards the stairs, but it was too late, her father had already reached the front door and was staring Michael down.
“Who are you?” Jack demanded.
“My name is Michael Vaughn,” he said in a surprisingly strong voice. “Technically, I’m your daughter’s boss, sir.”
“And you came to inquire as to why she quit, have you?” he asked suspiciously.
“Not exactly, sir,” Michael said, his voice slightly less strong. “You see sir, I love your daughter very much and… and I’d like to marry her,” he said, figuring that as long as he was being honest, he might as well be completely honest. Plus, he figured that revealing the very serious nature of his relationship with Sydney would be best in this circumstance.
Upstairs, Sydney’s heart leapt into her throat and tears flooded her eyes once more, but for a completely different reason.
“Mr. Vaughn,” her father began slowly. “I presume that, because of the size of your house, that you are a very capable businessman. With that assumption, I have to also assume that you know how vastly inappropriate it is to maintain a romantic relationship with an employee.”
“Yes sir,” Michael nodded. “I assure you that when your daughter began working for me two years ago, this was not my intention. But sir, your daughter is an amazing woman, as I’m sure you know. I fell in love with her… she… Well, I cannot possibly explain to you how much she means to me. That’s why I’m here asking –begging you not to do this. Please sir, I want to marry her.”
For a moment, Jack simply stared at the younger man in front of him in silence. Then, his expression hardened. “My answer is no,” he said sharply before slamming the door in Michael’s face before he could utter another word.
The moment the door was shut in his face, Michael began pounding on it with both fists. Then, he switched to pounding with one fist while ringing the doorbell with the other. Finally, after nearly ten minutes of this, Jack opened the door once more. “Leave immediately or I will have you arrested. I have already called the police,” he shouted before slamming the door once more.
For one brief moment, Michael contemplated sticking around for the cops and explaining to them that Sydney was being held hostage, but on the off chance the police didn’t believe him, he didn’t really want to go to jail, so he left.
~
Inside, Sydney was inconsolable. She shakily descended the stairs and looked her father in the eye as tears continued to roll down her cheeks. “How can you do this?! Don’t you want me to be happy?! DON’T YOU?!” she shouted.
Jack sighed and turned away from his daughter. “You don’t know what you want, Sydney. Just go upstairs.”
Sydney was so disgusted, she could no longer even look at her father. She ran back up to her room and cursed herself for not being smart enough to just run out of her house and jump into Michael’s SUV before he left.
She wasn’t sure how long she was lying on her bed. The time passed endlessly slow, seconds feeling like hours, minutes feeling like years. She was trapped in her room and in her mind, wondering what would happen in the coming days. Would her father force her to marry someone he chose and saw fit? She vowed she wouldn’t let that happen even if she had to walk back to Michael’s house all night through the rain; she wouldn’t let it happen.
When she heard a soft knock on her bedroom door, she ignored it entirely. The knock came again a moment later, but still, she ignored it. The third knock was much harder and it was accompanied by her father saying, “Sydney, I need to speak with you.”
“What!?” she practically growled though her voice was still slightly hoarse.
Jack opened the door to her bedroom slowly. He took a step in her room, but only enough to view her, since she hadn’t moved from her spot lying across her bed. “I changed the alarm code,” he told her simply.
“Okay…,” she sighed. “What is it?”
“I’m not telling you,” Jack told her. With this, Sydney sat up slightly and looked at him with confusion. “It’s obvious you are untrustworthy,” he continued. “Therefore you will not be allowed to leave the house unless you’re with me. I’m taking your cell phone and your car keys. Tomorrow, you will stay here while I go to work.”
For a moment, Sydney just stared at him, waiting for the joke to come in or the laughing to start, but it never did. “So… you’re locking me in the house?” she asked slowly, trying to confirm his insanity.
“Yes,” he told her.
“That’s ridiculous!” she screamed. “What if there’s… a fire!”
“If there’s a fire, you run outside,” her father told her in a very ‘isn’t it obvious way’. “If you leave the house, the alarm will go off. Presumably, if there’s a fire, the smoke alarms will go off as well and the alarm company will notify the fire department and me. I have instructed them to notify me if the alarm goes off at all.”
“So, you’re… you’re keeping me on lockdown?!! You cannot do this!! I’m twenty-four years old!” she shouted at him.
“And obviously, no matter what your age, you have proved you are not responsible enough to exist on your own. I’m your father and I know what’s best for you. This conversation is over,” he told her firmly before exiting her room, leaving Sydney behind, stunned, confused and hurt.
Chapter 27
When Michael heard the other end of the phone go dead, he felt like a knife had stabbed right through his heart. What they had dreaded for weeks was coming true. His head was spinning and he couldn’t think. What were they going to do? What was happening to Sydney? Her father had her and he was obviously furious… she was crying, scared and upset. All he wanted to do was hold her, but he couldn’t. He needed a plan.
For half an hour he paced the floors of his house with Lilly and Rose at his feet, following him at first then laying down and watching him as he walked back and forth, back and forth. Finally, he decided that drastic measures were necessary. He needed to go over to the Bristow’s house and have a calm and rational discussion with her father. Sure, he was slightly insane and very paranoid, but deep, deep down, he had to be rational, right? Right, of course, Michael told himself. He had to be rational.
Michael ran to his office and pulled out Sydney’s employment file, searching for her address. Once he found it, he ran to his computer and plugged it into a mapping service so that he could get directions. He printed them quickly and then raced to his car.
~*~
Sydney wasn’t sure how long she stood in the shower and let the scalding water turn her skin bright red. Finally, the hot water was starting to turn cold and she decided to get out, though she was so numb she could barely feel it. She wrapped her hair in a towel and tied a robe around her waist as she slowly shuffled out to her bedroom, which adjoined her bathroom. She simply stood there, unmoving for about ten minutes before slowly changing into her pajamas. She was tying the drawstring on her pants when the doorbell rang, causing her to jump.
In that moment, she had never felt more hopeful in her life as she raced to the window in her room, which gave her a view of the front of her house. Parked very poorly along the street she saw an SUV that she knew immediately was Michael’s. Quickly, she raced out of her room and towards the stairs, but it was too late, her father had already reached the front door and was staring Michael down.
“Who are you?” Jack demanded.
“My name is Michael Vaughn,” he said in a surprisingly strong voice. “Technically, I’m your daughter’s boss, sir.”
“And you came to inquire as to why she quit, have you?” he asked suspiciously.
“Not exactly, sir,” Michael said, his voice slightly less strong. “You see sir, I love your daughter very much and… and I’d like to marry her,” he said, figuring that as long as he was being honest, he might as well be completely honest. Plus, he figured that revealing the very serious nature of his relationship with Sydney would be best in this circumstance.
Upstairs, Sydney’s heart leapt into her throat and tears flooded her eyes once more, but for a completely different reason.
“Mr. Vaughn,” her father began slowly. “I presume that, because of the size of your house, that you are a very capable businessman. With that assumption, I have to also assume that you know how vastly inappropriate it is to maintain a romantic relationship with an employee.”
“Yes sir,” Michael nodded. “I assure you that when your daughter began working for me two years ago, this was not my intention. But sir, your daughter is an amazing woman, as I’m sure you know. I fell in love with her… she… Well, I cannot possibly explain to you how much she means to me. That’s why I’m here asking –begging you not to do this. Please sir, I want to marry her.”
For a moment, Jack simply stared at the younger man in front of him in silence. Then, his expression hardened. “My answer is no,” he said sharply before slamming the door in Michael’s face before he could utter another word.
The moment the door was shut in his face, Michael began pounding on it with both fists. Then, he switched to pounding with one fist while ringing the doorbell with the other. Finally, after nearly ten minutes of this, Jack opened the door once more. “Leave immediately or I will have you arrested. I have already called the police,” he shouted before slamming the door once more.
For one brief moment, Michael contemplated sticking around for the cops and explaining to them that Sydney was being held hostage, but on the off chance the police didn’t believe him, he didn’t really want to go to jail, so he left.
~
Inside, Sydney was inconsolable. She shakily descended the stairs and looked her father in the eye as tears continued to roll down her cheeks. “How can you do this?! Don’t you want me to be happy?! DON’T YOU?!” she shouted.
Jack sighed and turned away from his daughter. “You don’t know what you want, Sydney. Just go upstairs.”
Sydney was so disgusted, she could no longer even look at her father. She ran back up to her room and cursed herself for not being smart enough to just run out of her house and jump into Michael’s SUV before he left.
She wasn’t sure how long she was lying on her bed. The time passed endlessly slow, seconds feeling like hours, minutes feeling like years. She was trapped in her room and in her mind, wondering what would happen in the coming days. Would her father force her to marry someone he chose and saw fit? She vowed she wouldn’t let that happen even if she had to walk back to Michael’s house all night through the rain; she wouldn’t let it happen.
When she heard a soft knock on her bedroom door, she ignored it entirely. The knock came again a moment later, but still, she ignored it. The third knock was much harder and it was accompanied by her father saying, “Sydney, I need to speak with you.”
“What!?” she practically growled though her voice was still slightly hoarse.
Jack opened the door to her bedroom slowly. He took a step in her room, but only enough to view her, since she hadn’t moved from her spot lying across her bed. “I changed the alarm code,” he told her simply.
“Okay…,” she sighed. “What is it?”
“I’m not telling you,” Jack told her. With this, Sydney sat up slightly and looked at him with confusion. “It’s obvious you are untrustworthy,” he continued. “Therefore you will not be allowed to leave the house unless you’re with me. I’m taking your cell phone and your car keys. Tomorrow, you will stay here while I go to work.”
For a moment, Sydney just stared at him, waiting for the joke to come in or the laughing to start, but it never did. “So… you’re locking me in the house?” she asked slowly, trying to confirm his insanity.
“Yes,” he told her.
“That’s ridiculous!” she screamed. “What if there’s… a fire!”
“If there’s a fire, you run outside,” her father told her in a very ‘isn’t it obvious way’. “If you leave the house, the alarm will go off. Presumably, if there’s a fire, the smoke alarms will go off as well and the alarm company will notify the fire department and me. I have instructed them to notify me if the alarm goes off at all.”
“So, you’re… you’re keeping me on lockdown?!! You cannot do this!! I’m twenty-four years old!” she shouted at him.
“And obviously, no matter what your age, you have proved you are not responsible enough to exist on your own. I’m your father and I know what’s best for you. This conversation is over,” he told her firmly before exiting her room, leaving Sydney behind, stunned, confused and hurt.
