Tempted by love

Chapter 13

Chapter 13

I could feel his eyes bore into my back as I walked away from him.

He was so livid with me, I think that if last night’s confession hadn’t occurred he would have come after me and dragged me back to the house over his shoulder. “Don’t be stubborn. Have a little faith in the man. I now that I do and perhaps if you don’t have faith in your father, have some in me. I won’t let anything bad happen to us both. A soldier is a survivor and a survivor is a champion in his own game. You don’t know what’s out there. We could be stuck in the middle of this forest and it could be miles until there is a town.”

I stopped in my tracks and turned to face his deathly glowering. “There’s a town not so far north from here, come with me, Mason and we could be free of all of this crap my father put us in – ”

“– How do you know where the town is, Ari?” he asked with a tilt in his head, but I ignored his question and carried on with my rampage, determined to let him see my view of things.  

“Let’s leave this rotting cabin and find civilization. I know it’s out there. He wouldn’t have hid us that far away from life. Or are you just scared that if you go against my father’s wishes you’ll no longer be his favorite in his army? Trust me the title isn’t worth anything if you going to continue to hide in here like a rat all because he says so.”

“Ari, I trust your father. I honestly do. Don’t you?”

“I did once, but you know what? Sitting inside here with all this time to think has made me realize something. He’s been doing it my whole life, taking me out from a place I call home only to shove me into another life and another place to call home. Manhattan was the only place I stayed longer in for five years. The worst part is that he thinks I’ll just adapt at the snap of a finger. He was never there to know what it’s really like. To finally make friends with the people around you, to be comfortable and at home. He just swoops in and forces me to part with all of that and he leaves. He leaves me to do it on my own,” I cry.

He nearly hobbled forward to come and comfort me, but the gesture was an unknown concept for him that caught him off guard. He hadn’t even realized what he was doing that when he did, Mason turned to stone. His fists curled against his sides. The rage in him was barely contained.

“He’s doing it to protect you, Ari. He cares about you and I know that General Hale only wants you to be safe at where you are. Look, there are a lot of people out there that could use you as leverage against him. You are not a soldier to General Hale, you his daughter, his only child. He wouldn’t be able to emotionally let you go. And, if there was a chance for him to keep you safe any father would willingly take it to protect their daughter. I think you just haven’t been able to understand what he’s really been trying to do and it’s clouding your judgement right now,” he protested and his eyes darkened even more.

“Look at you. You’re so loyal to him that you’ll willingly do anything he says like a perfect soldier. Taking his orders as they come and go never questioning it, never wondering about the why,” I shouted over between the distance that separated us so agonizingly, “Don’t be a robot Mason. I know that there’s a person in you that’s so unique that it begs to be free. Stop letting other people control you. I know how that turns out and trust me it’s better to be free. Isn’t that what all humans really want in life: to be free?” The tears rolled down my eyes and my voice hitched in sobs.

“Freedom comes with a price just like everything in this world has. A price and to pay it we must be willing to sacrifice to get what we want. A compromise of faith. Your father has saved me more times than I can count. I been through difficult situations before and only with his guidance did I get out. Right now, his guidance will get us out of this. I believe in that. You should too after all he is your father.” Mason sounded like he was in pain. My heart skipped a beat. He wanted me to stay – no, it was only at the expense of my father’s want.