Unraveling the Threads of Fate

by Alice Winters

“Hellllo,” Alex says. “Alex… so… I’ve been thinking, and I believe it’d be best for us to continue our… bonding so we can get this over with quickly, and then I don’t ever have to see you again,” I announce. “Is this Bishop?” he asks, even though he can clearly see me standing on my porch holding my phone. “Obviously.” “Oh. My. God. Did… no… did your papa lock you out of your own house?” he asks, sounding borderline gleeful. “I swear to god, the amount of glee in your voice right now makes me never want to see your face again,” I decide. “Too bad because I’m getting closer to see your face. I want to know what rejection looks like. I mean… imagine being thirty and your papa locked you out of your own house for hanging out with a bad boy,” he says as I see him inching closer and closer. “You’re like a schoolteacher. I’m not sure how ‘bad boy’ you can get.” With a deep sigh, I walk over to the car where he rolls down the window a few inches. “You need something?” “Can I stay… with you, so I don’t have to call my dad and promise him I’ll never disobey him again, which is one hundred percent what he’s waiting for,” I say. “Hmm… the last time I had you in my car, you told me that you thought I had, and I quote, ‘abducted you.’” “I was mistaken.” “Uh-huh. Hop in, King.”