Chapter 2
I shot up from my seat, trying with all my might to grab it, but Dad held me down tight.
During those countless painful days and nights in the pigsty, I had held this pocket watch close to my chest, hiding it under my tattered clothes as I listened to Mom's painful moans.
I never blamed her.
She couldn't even save herself, let alone me or the pocket watch.
So she told me to hide it.
Hide it somewhere no one would ever find it.
I had pressed it close to my heart, tucking it under my ragged clothes.
Sometimes, Mom would lose herself, and other times, she'd be completely lucid.
The folks there knew she wasn't going anywhere, so they untied the ropes they had used to keep her in place.
Every now and then, she'd sneak over to check on me.
She'd open up the pocket watch and stare at the photo inside, so dirty one could barely tell who it was.
She'd gently trace her fingers over it.
"This is your dad," she had said.
I didn't even know what a "dad" was.
Mom said he was supposed to shield me from all the storms out there, someone I'd be able to rely on for the rest of my life.
But Dad, why did you have to give Mom's last keepsake to Harley?
Why did you make me call Harley "Mom"?
While you were holding your new wife close, did you ever think about me and Mom, the ones you left behind?
Tears streamed down my face as I screamed at the top of my lungs.
"Dad!" I cried out.
But all I got in return was his disapproving glare.
I shouted, tasting blood in my throat.
"This is Mom's last keepsake. How could you give it to that homewrecker?" I shouted.
The sharp sound rang out, and I grabbed my face, completely in disbelief.
Dad stared at his own hand for a long moment.
Then, with his voice all shaky and awkward, he tried to speak, but nothing came out.
My vision blurred with tears as I snatched the pocket watch back and bolted to my room.
Staring at the familiar pocket watch, I missed Mom more than ever.
Mom lied to me.
She said that once we escaped that remote mountain village, I would be happy.
She said if I found Dad, he'd be there to protect me.
In that village, they let me live only because someone had already "reserved" me.
The moment I got my first period, they'd sell me off to get married.
Mom waited until everyone thought she had accepted her fate.
But instead, she grabbed me and made a run for it.
She fought tooth and nail to get me out, but she never got the chance to escape herself.
I slipped into a hazy, exhausted sleep.
Late at night, I faintly felt someone tucking the blanket around me.
I snapped awake in an instant.
After living in a pigsty for so long, I knew pigs could eat people.
After getting bitten a few times, I never let myself sleep too deeply again.
The figure standing by my bed was Dad.
I turned away, refusing to look at him, but I couldn't stop the tears from gathering in my eyes.
A tiny spark of hope lit up inside me.
Dad said, "Caitlin, I'm sorry.
"I'm just trying to do what's best for you. You never really went to school, so you're starting from way behind. Catching up isn't easy...
"If you really don't like studying, I can send you abroad later.
"But you can't be a bad person; you get that?"
His words softened my heart a little.
Was it really my fault, Dad?
If I just apologized obediently, would you love me then?
He continued, "Today, what you said really hurt Harley. She's just trying to do what's best for you.
"If you apologize to her, I will let you keep the pocket watch, alright?
"You can't talk nonsense like that. Harley isn't a homewrecker. Back then... I had no choice..."
"And what about my mom?" I demanded.
I glared at him, stubbornly holding back the flood of tears.
I said, "She waited for you all those years, clinging to that pocket watch. Do you have any idea how much she treasured that photo?"
Dad pulled the blanket up around me one more time, then hurried out like he couldn't get away fast enough.
The next morning, Harley came rushing downstairs.