Good Girls Stay Quiet

by Jo Cassidy

  A lovely melody played from a piano. Had Daddy turned on some music? He normally liked to dance on my birthdays.

  All the smells hit me at once. Cookies, garlic, pasta, chicken, oregano, cake. Those were the ones I could pin down. He had made me dinner.

  But why was he so upset by it? Was he really still mad at me? Usually his anger would fade, especially after a few days. I hadn't complained once when I was locked in the basement. Never put up a fight or tried to argue. I'd been as pleasant as I could.

  Something was off about him. Different. I wished I knew what had changed.

  The music cut off, followed by soft clapping.

  "Play another song."

  Jenna? I shook my head. I must have heard wrong. There was no way Jenna . . .

  I rounded the corner and stopped so abruptly, I almost fell forward.

  "Surprise!" Julien blew into a party horn. He wore a glittery birthday hat way too small for his head.

  "What?" Jenna's wide eyes landed on me. Her blouse, skirt, makeup, and jewelry were a rainbow of bright colors. "Cora! I didn't know you were here." She ran to me and gave me a tight hug. "Totally ruined that for you. Sorry." She let me go. "I got lost in Dalton playing the piano. He's so talented!"

  Dalton blushed and stood from the piano bench. "I'm better at the guitar." He gave me an awkward hug. "Happy Birthday, Cora." His usually shaggy hair had been gelled back. It made his green eyes stand out.

  Julien hugged me next. "Happy Birthday!"

  I was in too much shock to respond to anyone. Why were they in my house? And where had the piano come from?

  "Yeah, Happy Birthday, or whatever." Sydney stared at her phone, her fingers moving rapidly over the screen. She held it up for a second, probably snapping a picture of me. Why was she here? She wasn't even a friend. Actually, neither was Julien.

  Brendon was the last one. He wore the button down green shirt I’d seen in the picture. He looked so handsome in it. He stood the farthest away, his jaw dropped, staring at me.

  I'd done my makeup wrong. I probably looked like an idiot. A clown.

  "Who did your hair and makeup?" Jenna asked, beaming. "You look so beautiful! We finally get to see you without a braid. You should do your hair like that more often. And your dress!" She squealed. "It's so nice!" She gave Daddy a thumbs-up. "Way to go, Dad."

  Daddy's hands were clasped behind his back. He stood in the kitchen, watching over everyone and their greetings to me. He was probably trying to get a feel for how close I was to everyone. Which was why I was happy Brendon stood so far away.

  But Brendon hadn't taken his eyes off me, which Daddy certainly noticed.

  "Happy Birthday, Cora," Brendon said. He smiled, but it looked strained. He was probably as worried as I was.

  Daddy had invited all of them over.

  And something terrible was about to happen.

  Chapter 33

  "That's it?" Jenna asked, narrowing her eyes at Brendon. "No hug or kiss or anything? She's your girlfriend!"

  All the air inside of me rushed out. I teetered where I stood. It didn’t help that I was completely famished. Julien, who stood closest to me, put his arm around my waist.

  "Are you okay?" he asked.

  Daddy's glare shot between Brendon, who also looked like he might pass out, and Julien, who had his arm around me.

  I pushed away from Julien. "I'm fine." I forced myself to look at Daddy. "We have a piano."

  "It's my birthday present to you." The words, so calm and natural, wouldn't faze my friends. But the storms brewed behind his eyes, fierce and nasty. When the tornado landed, I worried there would be nothing salvageable. "I know you've wanted to learn how to play."

  He'd bought me something expensive, but he was mad at me. He'd denied me a piano before. Why was he giving one to me? What had changed?

  Dalton smiled. "That's awesome! If she's as good as she is with the guitar, she'll be a natural at the piano."

  If I thought the air had rushed out before, now it had been completely sucked from every crevice of my body. Everything I wanted to remain hidden, close to my heart and kept all to my own, was now exposed. Falling free at every turn. Exposing me. I wanted to grab Noah, rush into the basement, lock the door, crawl into a corner, and wait out the storm.

  Daddy's hand tightened around a kitchen knife. He clenched his jaw and then forced a smile onto his face. "Cora, why don't you and your guests sit down? Dinner’s almost ready."

  "It smells so good, Mr. Snow," Jenna said. "Like, amazing."

  She sat down at the table next to Dalton and winked at me. Sydney plopped down next to Jenna, still on her phone. Julien took the spot next to Sydney and threw his napkin at her face.

  "Are you ever not using your phone?" Julien asked.

  Sydney glared at him, throwing the napkin back. "No."

  "Can't you put it down for today?" Dalton asked, looking over at her. "It's Cora's birthday. We're about to eat."

  "Like I care," Sydney said.

  Why had she come? She'd put herself in danger for no reason. She didn't like me and didn't want to be at my party. So, why?

  "Do you need any help, Mr. Snow?" Brendon asked.

  Daddy still held the knife. "No."

  "Sit down, Cora," Jenna said, motioning to the table. She sat tall in her seat. "You, too, Brendon."

  With a deep breath, Brendon held out the chair next to Julien for me. "Cora?"

  Jenna's smile widened. For once, she didn’t seem to care her braces were showing. "Such a gentleman. You should be happy, Mr. Snow. Cora got herself one of the good ones."

  I sat down, not looking at Daddy or Brendon. Jenna didn't realize she'd probably just gotten Brendon killed.

  Brendon sat down next to me and squeezed my hand. I finally looked at him, and he gave me the smallest smile. Sweat lined his palms. He was scared. Nervous. Yet, he'd still put himself between me and Daddy at the table.

  Daddy.

  When I looked up at him, he took the knife and drove it into the cutting board.

  "Seriously, Cora," Jenna said, leaning forward with a sparkle in her eye, "you look gorgeous. Love that color on you."

  "Thanks," I whispered. I had no idea if I’d be able to eat. Nausea had taken over my body.

  Daddy brought the food to the table, set it down, and then took the last seat between Dalton and Brendon. Sydney surprised me by tucking her phone into the cell phone band on her arm and turning her attention to Daddy.

  "I didn't know we were supposed to dress nice," Sydney said. She wore jeans and a shirt, just like Dalton. Julien wore jeans as well, but he had his typical dress shirt buttoned to the top.

  Daddy had put on a shirt and a tie that matched the color of my dress. He smiled at Sydney, one that sent shivers down my spine. "If I wanted you to dress up, I would have told you. Just the birthday girl needed to."

  "And yourself," Jenna said. "You look handsome, Mr. Snow." She licked her lips, staring down at her food. "This looks and smells so good!" She also wore her cell phone band. In fact, they all were wearing their bands. I was flattered. But then it was replaced by worry. What if Daddy asked about them? He didn't know I made them. Another secret to unfold.

  It took a lot of effort for me to force down the food. I worried it would come back up. Daddy was up to something.

  "So, Mr. Snow." Sydney poked at her artichokes with her fork. "May I call you by your first name?"

  "No," Daddy said.

  Sydney raised her eyebrows but didn't comment. Instead, she continued. "What do you do for a living?

  Her interest in Daddy took everyone by surprise. Sydney wasn't one to pay attention to the world around her. Maybe that was what happened when she didn’t have a cell phone to occupy her time.

  "I'm a repairman." He took a bite of his pasta, his cloudy eyes on me the entire time.

  I swallowed, forcing down the food in my mouth.

  "What do you repair?" Julien asked. Out of everyone at the table, he was the happiest. He smi
led without a care in the world. Like he didn't find it odd to be having dinner at my house even though we weren't friends. Like everything was perfectly normal.

  "Whatever people need." His dark gray eyes snapped to mine. "I like to fix broken things."

  Brendon's hand tightened around his fork to the point his knuckles turned white.

  "Where's Cora's mom?" Sydney asked.

  "Syd!" Jenna turned her wide-eyes to her. "You can't just ask questions like that."

  Sydney set down her fork. She’d barely touched her food. "Why not?"

  "Because it's rude," Dalton said through clenched teeth. "And none of your business."

  Daddy wiped his mouth with a napkin. "It's okay. Cora's mom died during child birth." The usual certainty in his eyes faltered for a second.

  I looked at him, surprised. He'd told me my birth mom had abandoned me. Was he lying when he told me, or lying to Sydney to spare my feelings?

  "I didn't know that," Jenna said, frowning at me. "I'm so sorry, Cora."

  I pushed my food around the plate. "It's okay. I never knew her." Which was true. But if she really had died while giving birth to me, that changed things. I always thought she'd left me – abandoned her daughter – which made me angry. Made me hate her. But if she died, there was still a chance she had wanted me. A chance she would have raised me and loved me.

  "So, it's just the two of you then?" Sydney asked.

  Brendon, Dalton, and Jenna all turned to her. They were just as shocked as I was. Why all the questions?

  "Yes," Daddy said. "I'm a lucky man."

  "Why didn't you remarry?" Sydney folded her arms, clearly not knowing what to do with her hands.

  "Holy rude, Syd," Jenna said. She smiled sheepishly at Daddy. "So sorry, Mr. Snow. When I invited her, I didn't know she'd act like this."

  Jenna had invited Sydney? Why? She knew I didn't like Sydney. Had she invited Julien as well?

  Daddy finished off his plate of food, silence in the air. When he'd taken his last bite, he wiped his mouth with his napkin and set it on his plate. "I wanted to focus on raising my daughter. She's the only girl I need in my life."

  "That's so sweet," Jenna said with a grin.

  "Thanks for cooking dinner, Mr. Snow," Julien said. "It was delicious." He'd cleaned his entire plate before everyone else had. He'd eyed the kitchen like he wanted to go check if there was more, but he'd remained in his seat.

  "You're welcome," Daddy said. He stood, so I did the same. I moved to pick up his plate, but he shook his head at me. "The birthday girl doesn't clean up." He stared down at Brendon. "Why don't you help me clear the table?"

  Brendon quickly stood, picking up his plate and mine. Julien got up as well, grabbing his and Sydney's plate. Sydney had hardly eaten a thing. Julien stuffed some of it in his mouth before taking the plates to the kitchen.

  Jenna sauntered over to me and pulled me toward the piano. "I hope you don't mind I invited everyone. I've been working on this party for a while. I thought it would be a good opportunity to invite all the suspects." She eyed Sydney who'd gone back to her phone. "She seemed awfully interested in your dad, don't you think?"

  I nodded. "I've never heard her talk that much."

  Dalton joined us, his hands stuffed in pockets. He checked over his shoulder before he spoke. "That was weird, right? Sydney asking all those questions."

  Jenna stared at him, her eyes glowing. She had a crush on him. Jenna giggled and placed her hand on his arm. "We were just saying that!"

  Dalton got this goofy grin when Jenna touched him. He quickly cleared his throat and covered it up. “Knowing her,” he said, his annoyed gaze flitting over to Sydney, “it probably has something to do with her social media followers. It always does.”

  I wished I could be as calm and happy as Jenna, but she had no idea she’d been invited into the eye of a storm. I glanced around the room, taking them in. Brendon moved cautiously in the kitchen, his tension painfully obvious. His shoulders were stiff, his hands working carefully on each dish he dried and handed over to Daddy. Daddy’s scrutinizing gaze kept flitting over to Brendon like he could pick apart his motives for me.

  Sydney was leaning against the counter, showing Julien something on her phone as he washed the dishes. For once, she was smiling, happy that Julien was interested in whatever they were looking at. Dalton and Jenna shared an embarrassed glance. Jenna swayed side to side as she bit her lip. Would any of them come out unscathed?

  "Dalton," Daddy called from the kitchen. He finished drying off a knife with a towel and shoved it back in the knife block. "Did you bring your guitar?"

  "Yes." Dalton shoved his hands in his pockets. His cheeks had the smallest taint of pink. "It's out in the car."

  Daddy tightened his jaw. "Why don't you go get it? I'd love to hear my angel play a song." His voice had strained when he said “angel.”

  Dalton flashed a grin at Jenna before he walked away, a lightness in his step.

  "Do you think he likes me?" Jenna asked, staring after Dalton as he closed the door behind him, her eyes filled with hope.

  "How does my dad know about me playing guitar?”

  Jenna's smile faltered. "When he called me, he asked who I was inviting to your party. I mentioned Dalton and how you two spent lunch together playing the guitar."

  "When did he call you?"

  She pulled out her phone and scrolled through it. "Uh, two days ago?" She tucked her phone away. "I've been planning this for a while. Remember when Dalton brought me that note at school?"

  "Yes," I managed to get out. I still found it difficult to breathe. I could feel Daddy's eyes pinned on me.

  "It was plans for the party," Jenna said with a sly smile.

  So it had nothing to do with the journal or test answers. I leaned against the piano to keep myself from falling over. "How did you get my dad on board?"

  She waved her hand. "Worked my charm. He seemed hesitant at first, but then I told him how you deserved a party with all that's going on."

  I placed my palm against my chest like it could calm my wildly beating heart. "All that's going on?"

  "Yeah." She leaned against the piano next to me. "All your awesome grades, guitar skills, cell band making artistry, all while balancing a boyfriend, a guidance counselor breathing down your neck, and a perv stalking man?" She patted my arm. "You're my hero. You look stunning and graceful through it all."

  I plopped down on the piano bench. "You told my dad all of that?"

  "Well, yeah," Jenna said with a slight frown. "Considering how close you two are, I knew he'd already know and want to help me celebrate your awesomeness."

  No wonder Daddy had snapped.

  "Did you tell him about the journal?" I whispered.

  She put one hand on her hip, the other on her chest. "Do you think I'm an idiot? Of course I didn't! Fathers shouldn't know about their daughter's journals. It's like their one private outlet."

  Dalton strolled back into the house with the guitar. He set his case on the coffee table and opened it up, a small smile spreading across his lips. A comfort washed over him as he held his guitar in his hands.

  “Is there anything stuck in my braces?” Jenna asked, lifting her lips so I could see her teeth.

  “No,” I said. She wiggled her eyebrows at me and practically skipped into the other room, fawning over Dalton.

  Julien chatted away as he, Daddy, and Brendon joined Dalton and Jenna in the family room. Sydney had gone back to her seat at the table, and I was still frozen on the piano bench.

  Aside from the journal, Daddy knew everything.

  With his angry mood swings, ripping off my doll’s head, shattering my snow globe, tearing off my shirt, I was coming to the conclusion that maybe Daddy was capable of darker things than I’d originally thought. Had Daddy brought everyone to the house to torture them? Torture me? I wanted to believe that maybe he'd turned a corner and wanted to let me get out more. Have friends and be a regular teenager. But by the scary gleam i
n his eyes, as he sized up everyone in the room, that couldn't be further from the truth. I'd never have a normal life with him as my father.

  "Syd, you going to join us?" Jenna asked, a slight impatience in her tone.

  With a reluctant glance at me, Sydney went into the family room and flopped down on the couch. She took off her shoes and rested her feet on the coffee table.

  I sat there, staring at Daddy with my closest things to friends. He watched them all, smiling and laughing, and clapping Brendon on the shoulder. Brendon flinched under Daddy’s touch.

  Only I could tell the smile and laugh were forced. Unnatural. What did Daddy plan to do? Lock us all in the basement? Pull off his belt and lash me? Or just lash them and make me watch? That would be worse than getting lashed myself.

  "Cora," Daddy said, "come play your father a song."

  I forced my feet to move, away from the piano, passed the kitchen table, and toward the couch. My feet were heavy, like iron weighing me down. By the time I reached the family room, I was out of breath.

  Dalton handed me the guitar and patted the spot next to him on the loveseat. I didn't want to sit near him. Daddy would hate it. But I didn't have a choice. I had to pretend like all was normal. Like having my friends over, laughing and playing the guitar was a commonplace occurrence in our home.

  With shaking hands, I strummed the latest song Dalton had taught me. A song that Daddy loved. One he used to sing to me every night before tucking me into bed.

  Sydney stayed glued to her phone, fully engrossed like there was no one else in the room with her. Any time I messed up a note, Dalton would encourage me and place his hands on mine to show me the correct way to do it. Julien seemed to be one of the few actually paying attention and enjoying the music. He clapped along the entire time, mouthing the words with a smile. Jenna was too busy staring at everyone as she tried to uncover the blackmailer. Worry sat in Brendon's eyes, his focus drifting between me and Daddy.

  The storm in Daddy's eyes calmed. He hated me having friends, learning things without him, lying to him, but I'd learned his favorite song, and he couldn't overlook that. I'd done something horrible, but I’d done it for him.