and ruffling her auburn curls, he moved on past.
With her arms crossed, and her lips formed into a tiny pout, she shook her head at him. Rolling her eyes as she shot a fiery glare into his back.
“Well,” she said, jutting her hips out, “it's not my fault you’ve become such a snail.”
He waved her off, laughing at her terrible attempt at being snarky.
“Besides, we have to move quick. Mom’s about to leave,” Eli said, throwing her head back and setting her sights towards the sky. “We can’t miss that.”
Looking back at his daughter, a mixed expression colored his features, painting his face a pale shade of white. Before he could allow her to catch it and without a second thought, he heaved her over his shoulder and placed her onto the large rock beside him. His eyes shot up as he recalled the first few wisps of sunset. His wife, against his own desires, would be taking off far too soon.
“No,” he finally replied as his hands felt for the binoculars tied around his neck, “we wouldn’t want that.”
***
“I have to do this Terrence. I don’t know any other way to get this through your thick skull, but I’ve worked hard for this opportunity, and nothing could ever stop me from taking it.
Not this house.
Not this family.
And definitely not you.”
Like a sharp gust of wind, Hope’s words left a brutal sting in Terrence’s heart.
Lillian Grady, Grade 10