Dictator s Daughter by Lorena Angell Page A

Chandra says, ‘Oh sweetie you misunderstood me, ’
what she’s actually thinking is, ‘oops, I pushed you too far
that time. I haven’t beaten down your self-esteem enough yet.’ She proceeds to rephrase her otherwise rude comment to be that of
sweetness and gentleness. She plays with your mind until you don’t
know which way is up, and then she makes you feel like an idiot for
ever thinking she was being rude. And you sucker for it, every
time, and apologize to her .” Eli stopped pacing and looked
at Sean who was looking directly at him.
    Eli was out of breath and probably red in the
face, but it was too dark for Sean to see. “Eli... wow... I don’t
know what to say.” He didn’t know what to think. He paused for a
moment looking back at Eli, and added, “You didn’t answer my
question.”
    “What question?”
    “Why would you care about how anyone treats
me?”
    Eli looked away from Sean and walked over to
the window. Without looking at Sean, Eli said quietly, “Because you
are a good person and you deserve better.”
    Sean looked at the back of Eli’s head and
wondered how a kid so young had so much wisdom. Eli had certainly
put a lot of thought into Sean’s life and this still concerned
Sean.
    “You must have been hurt by a girl like
Chandra, right?”
    “No, I’ve never had a girlfriend.” Eli
answered back, still looking out the window.
    “You’ve watched other guys get treated
terribly?”
    “No.”
    “Have you read a lot of books about it?” Sean
was grabbing for straws.
    “I’ve experienced it,” Eli said and turned to
look at Sean. This comment perplexed Sean even further. What did
Eli mean by it?
    “Look Eli, thanks for being concerned about
my happiness. I know Chandra isn’t perfect, but what girl is,
right? Besides, it’s not like there are a lot of girls around here
to be selective over. I just need to learn to put my foot down,
that’s all.”
    “Probably so.” With that, the conversation
was over.
     
    Sara entered the bedroom the next afternoon
looking absolutely radiant. Eliwese stared at her and admired her
beauty. “How old are you Sara? I mean, you don’t have to answer if
you don’t want to.”
    “Why do you ask?”
    “I’m sorry; you look so young for having a
twenty-six year old daughter. I only wondered.”
    “Forty-five and thank you.” Sara had to
admire Eli for her manners and perceptive mind. Knowing Eli was
female and precariously placed with Sean made Sara all kinds of
nervous. She was sure Sean hadn’t figured out his crosser’s gender
yet.
    “You had Lyndee at nineteen?”
    “Yes.”
    “Sean told me you defected when you were
younger. Why did you cross?”
    Sara didn’t like where the questions were
going. She had her own suspicions about Eli’s identity and the last
thing she wanted was to be linked to Rendier or Victor
Rawlings.
    “Eli, I’ve never become comfortable here in
Baylend and neither should you. You’ll assume a new identity like I
did and you’ll forsake the old, never talking about it again. The
moment you let your guard down, you’ll regret it.”
    “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have asked.”
    “I understand your situation Eli, more than
you know, but please understand, I don’t talk about my past life,
not even with my own children.”
    “OK. Well, I have a different question. I
wonder if you could buy me some…supplies? I wrote a list.”
    “Certainly, I’ll get right on it. I’d like to
invite you to join us for dinner, tonight. Sean can help you with
the stairs, if you need.”
    “Do you think it’s safe?”
    “Yes. Besides, being downstairs puts you
closer to an exit, if needed.”
    “Alright.” The thought of seeing how a real
family operates and interacts excited her. In her childhood, dinner
meant sitting at an extraordinarily long table and eating yucky
adult food with an excessive amount of silverware. Talking was
prohibited unless addressed and no one left the table until they
were excused. This