Scornful Sadie

by Felicia Tatum

  Chapter Five-My Parents’ Daughter

  “Momma,” I choked out. Once again my emotions were taking over.

  What in the hell was wrong with me?

  She ran to me, tears streaming down her face. My dad stood behind her, stoic as ever, watching. She wrapped me in a warm, motherly hug and I held on for dear life. It felt so good to be back around my family.

  “Sadie Mae Tabors, you better never leave me like that again! You tell your mother where you’re going!” she chided as she practically strangled me with her embrace.

  I nodded my head, unable to speak.

  She held me, her soft, comforting scent of flowers overwhelming my senses and bringing back so many memories. When she pulled back, my father came over, roughly patting me on the back.

  “Sadie,” he said. “What you did was immature and unnecessary. If you wanted to leave, you know we would have supported you. Sneaking out and then cloaking your whereabouts?” he chided. “I thought we raised you better than that.”

  His anger masked his hurt, but I heard it in each word. His only daughter left without a word, without a trace, and he was left wondering if she was ok. If she was even alive.

  I’d have been mad, too.

  “I know, Dad.”

  “You know? Do you know what you put your mother and me through? How upset your brothers were? Your grandmother?”

  I hung my head. Normally I would fight him, argue, but the pain in his eyes was too much. It hurt me to even look at him. I should have called, at least.

  My mother spun and faced him. “Spencer, she’s here now,” my mother said. “Leave it alone. Sadie must have had a good reason to leave like she did.” Turning back to me, she caressed my cheek. “And I’m sure she’ll tell us all about it when she’s ready.” She said it as more of a demand than a comment.

  I wouldn’t tell them anything, but I smiled softly anyway. I wasn’t a child anymore, and while I understood they were upset, I owed them nothing more than a simple explanation.

  “How did you know I was here?” I questioned.

  “Santos informed your grandmother when you arrived, and she told us about twenty minutes ago,” my dad said angrily. “Why do you always go to her?”

  “I didn’t,” I spat back. Distancing myself from them, I silently told Sebastian goodbye and headed inside.

  “Where are you going?” he yelled.

  Yeah, he was uber pissed.

  “I’m going to get my stuff in a room and to take a shower. Then I’m going to go find my other brother,” I called.

  I heard my mother rushing to catch up. “Sadie, you aren’t staying with us?”

  I shook my head. “I’ll stay here with Santos. It’s obvious y’all are upset and I think it’s best I stay here.”

  “We just missed you, Sadie,” she said, crying once again. “We don’t understand why you left.”

  Spinning around, I said, “I needed space. I couldn’t deal with everything going on and needed to get away. That’s all.”

  “For five years?” Dad screamed. “Was this because of that Aiden boy?”

  Hearing his name made me fume even more.

  “Leaving your family over a boy is ridiculous,” he said, shaking his head.

  “Don’t, Dad. Just stop. I’m not a child, nor am I an idiot. I just told you why and that’s it. Stop trying to put words in my mouth.” I hurried inside before he could say anymore and growled in frustration.

  “They’ve been pretty upset,” Santos said from the doorway.

  “I couldn’t tell,” I responded. Pushing past him, I grabbed my bag and called out to him. “Which room can I use?”

  “Mine’s the one upstairs on the left,” he answered.

  The back door slid open and I rushed down the hall and into the bedroom at the end. Closing the door, I sealed it from outsiders and threw myself on the bed.

  How had everything gotten so messed up? What was wrong with me? When Grandma and Aiden left, something snapped inside. The more I dwelled on Harlow and her decisions, the angrier I got. I’d decided to leave months before I actually did, using Grandma’s resources to assist in my searches.

  Florida was my first destination. Orlando was overrun with hungry vampires and impish fae who enjoyed controlling the elements more than they should have. Within six months, I’d destroyed most of them and Orlando was fairly safe again.

  The years that followed were mostly the same. I traveled where I was needed, training every day and slaying the evil monsters when I found them. I worked wherever I could to have money and survive, since money wasn’t something I could create with magic. I hadn’t been back to Tennessee since, the pain of returning seemingly too much, and I refused to attempt it.

  Now that I was here, it was like a slap in the face. Everything I feared was coming true. Grandma still wasn’t here. My parents were more than a little pissed at my leaving. Scott was the only one left to see, and who knew how he would react. We’d always been close, him being the oldest of my brothers and therefore, the most protective.

  I didn’t know if I could handle him being mean to me, too.

  Taking my toiletries to the adjoining bathroom, I stripped down and allowed the hot water to relax my stress away for the time being.