Sonata

The most embarrassing night of her life would be an understatement.
Throughout her years there has been some fucked up, humiliating sundowns; some including becoming outrageously trashed that she made out with two random guys at a party hosted at her old best friend's house, having her swimsuit bottoms pulled down twice at a full capacity hotel pool, falling on her ass in front of all her peers and their mothers at their high school graduation, and her father talking about Evelyn getting her first period at dinner time like it was everyone's business.

She could even recall once ,although she's tried her best to sweep it under the rug, when Carolyne walked over to an ex-boyfriend's car and knocked on the passenger window as the two were kissing passionately; signaling the approach of her curfew. That may have happened years ago, and Evelyn could still feel its burn, but remembering how she must have felt all that time ago didn't feel as familiar as the current tense.

After her father had seen the two, he was simultaneously enraged. He saw it as some strange guy all over his daughter; smothering her. The phrase "takes two to tango" had been missing from his thoughts as his only objective was to take the trash out.

Out of his wits, Evelyn's father roared for Oli to get out of his house before he called the cops, and the petrified young man, hovering above his girlfriend, remained for a brief moment before he scrambled towards the back door and slammed it shut.
He left Evelyn and surrounded by her cotton and feathers, and had the unwanted privilege to listen to him pull up his pants with her dad listening; dangerous and outraged.

It was when Oli could no longer be heard that the older man gave Evelyn the sternest look she had ever seen; more hard than when she was a young child and sometimes snuck into his office as he was on the phone speaking in tough pitches. His face would be contorted in a thin line straight across the lower half of his profile and heavily displeased with whoever was on the other line. It instilled fear in her at even that ripe age, and at his worst, she was shivering.

It didn't help that she was practically naked and sprawled out on the bed uncovered.

His gaze was stuck on the goosebumps on her arms and neck in the moonlight; no one should ever have to go through this was all that was running across his skull and back. They then met eyes, and as hearts were broken or found, her father finally took control of the situation.

"Get up," he uttered with shame and still grabbed her by the upper arm even though she was rising.

Evelyn gasped at this unexpectedly, but didn't resist.
Even in the pitch black corridor of the hallway they were then going through, she was hotly humiliated by him pulling her along like the little girl she was two decades ago. Why she let him treat her like this was not an easy question to answer nor simple task to enforce. There were time periods that cruised by where she didn't catch a wink of her father for a couple months in intervals until she would walk down to breakfast and see him at the head of the table, sipping his coffee with the daily paper in the other hand as though he had never left.

For those long spams when he was MIA, she could almost do anything...almost. Evelyn was timid in her small ounces of rebellion towards him or even, god forbid, Carolyne.
Even the damned housemaid had her on edge.

Going out with the band ever night was the most spontaneous and "bad" thing she had ever done, but that was hard to decipher at first glance. She had cheeky things to say once you brought the challenge, and wasn't shy in her body movements of any kind.
"Comfortable in her own skin" would be even better.
All the guys who found her appealing in the past did not only because of the natural beauty she had been granted, but for her confidence.

Hell, that was why Oli liked her.
He liked her sassy attitude in the van the first time, but also got to see her real unsure side in the stairwell on their way to his own show.

Never though would he have fathomed this.

Her father was taking her down the stairs; his claws bending tightly around the flesh cylinder that was her arm and muttering his angers and disappointments loudly enough to wake up the dead house. Lucky for Evelyn, all the maids had their own house to sleep in, along with the wretched Carolyne, so no one would be seeing her this horribly except her own blood.

She could feel somewhat thankful in that sense; Oli was probably on the other side of the border by the time she had been dragged to the end of the stairs. He wouldn't be sitting on the couch next to her or on the other side of the room; witnessing her one and only father treating her so immaturely for someone her age.

Oli had always been telling her to stop tip-toeing around and just move out or something if the situation came down to it, to which she would say that things were really fine and there was no need to keep harping about it. That she would continue to sneak out and see him no matter what.
That wasn't the main point for Oli though, for it did essentially matter how many times they were together, but really, his main objective was for Evelyn to stand up for herself.

To be her own person with independent decisions that shouldn't be questioned at the age of 24.

Whenever he tried explaining this, it went unheard by her ears, and it was the closest they ever came to actually bickering. She didn't like being called out on the way she had handled things, and he was baffled by such obedience. He knew that if he was ever stuck in that situation...well, he would never be stuck there.

It was once he turned eighteen, and official adult, that he could finally say "no" to his parents. It never did get to that point because they knew there was nothing they could really do anyway, their son was legally allowed to freedom, which meant hello to tattoos, piercings, cigarettes, and anything else that required a signature. He didn't have to be dependent on them as much as he used to, and that liberation tasted fucking delicious.

He felt horrible that his girlfriend couldn't experience this with him; it took some guts, he knew well, to tell the parents that they couldn't treat him like a child with so many rules anymore. That he was an equal now, and they had to respect that the time has come.

He just wanted Evelyn to gain that courage and strike down all the restrictions that should have been prohibited in her twenties and beyond. He couldn't understand that his small-time preaching of this had hurt her feelings; had her experiencing inferiority, and even slight jealousy. It was just so easy for him considering his naturally rebellious streak.

Evelyn wasn't rebellious.
She had only been this way once the band came into her life and caused her to become fascinated enough to come for more.
In her most desperate time of need, when she was deprived of a different but equally necessary form of oxygen, they had the tank that she could breathe from.

How could she have refused something so life-saving?

She couldn't; no one could, so she did what any other human being with an ounce of a brain would do and followed their steps. Not that they minded, of course, considering her beauty and silent will to be corrupted all over again. It was nice to have the opposite gender around to even out the over-flowing testosterone, and if she dug their music, that was an added bonus.

They had to, obviously, agree with Oli though about her excessive sneaking out only because it was ridiculous. No one should get to that level of caution at, once again, her age. The boys began to especially hold her father to vindictive heights; disparage towards his control that extended past his occupation. He could dictate all of his citizen's rights through bullshit laws and regulations, but still baring that governmental crown on his parental skull was something completely unethical.

A power trip out-of-control.

They could preach to their female friend all they wanted about how it was wrong that her dad still had authority over her even when he was absent, but they ultimately couldn't help her. Only she could help herself, and it didn't seem as though she were going to hit that epiphany anytime soon.

Evelyn was instructed to take a seat on the wrap-around sofa by a grim and angry voice she was still trying to adjust to. Without a word to say in return, she lowered herself onto the freezing leather that did noting for her goosebumps but intensify them. The same way as if you were in a restaurant with an overactive AC with shorts on, and sitting in that plastic booth.

Her father hadn't even given her the chance to change like he did Oli, and her clothes were laying outside as cold as she was. She took a dare and reached for the quilt that hung off the back of the couch and covered herself; more ashamed of her state than ever. The elder in front of her had nothing but silence to allow to fill the room, and more staring.

He hadn't see his daughter in so long and it was beginning to effect his work days. He never intended for their lives to drift apart so distantly; the office had swallowed him more quickly and worse than he thought it would. His job required constant attention like a garden suffering a drought, and sometimes the maids and cooks he had hired were more appealing than exhausting himself to the point of no return.

This sad routine had been going on for years, and he was attempting to make up for that lost time of parenting even still. A lot of the time he had forgotten Evelyn's age and continued to think of her as a teenager anyway. She still lived in his house, didn't she?
Which meant that she was dependent on him, so all in all, he had the right to still instruct her to do or not do certain things.

Little did he know that he was breaking her down by doing so.

That level of domination was not healthy for either parties, and continuing it would only make everything worse. It didn't matter to him in that moment though; he was so enraged with what just happened under his roof that punishment and scolding were in order. He had his hands firmly on his hips and looked as though he were about to explode. Before he could, Evelyn oozed her apologies compulsively.

It all came rushing back in her head: the feelings that she was always in the wrong and deeply sorry.
So, so sorry.

She would always be inadequate to him and they knew it.
This was a normal understanding, and a concept that couldn't be grasped by her friends; making relief wash over because they weren't there to witness something hideous.

She was scared.
She felt helpless.
She was close to naked.
She didn't want anyone to see that.

"Do you have anything to say about this?"

The question was just another step in the routine that Evelyn knew more than anything. Even though she absolutely loathed her only living parent in circumstances like so, his strive (or possibly natural trait) to be diplomatic and allusion of democracy was lightly thanked upon.

She had heard of past friends' grievances over how their folks would only yell over them, and how each side became progressively louder and louder in minutes time. It was run as a dictatorship, and communistic in the way that their most prized possessions were snatched away as fast as they were presented. They would cry and cry about the unfairness weaved in fights, age discrimination factor, and any other miscellaneous touches added based on the family.
Evelyn didn't know what it was like to that extent, but she could sympathize from memory.

There were instances though where her father conducted a debate-like scenario and they had a face-off; him winning some, and her winning some. It was possible for her to get her way and leave him with his thumb up his ass, but rarely.

She shouldn't have been trying to pull one over on him anymore.

Since her embarrassment was so strong and the last intention she had was to start yet another battle, Evelyn sullenly shook her head and kept all sights on neighboring furniture. She knew that continuing to look in his eyes would only lead to more internal turmoil, or the start of an external altercation, although the latter was a promise anyway.

Having nothing to say for her sensual actions meant that it was her father's turn, and he would use everything he had to make certain that he made the most of it. He was in the political system, after all, and with the help of his business partners and own education, he knew exactly what to say to boost his appeal in even the most slime-infested circumstances.

That was likely the reason why Evelyn was still obeying him; taking every order as law when it was so corrupted. It was so flawed, just like the community he had created for all the people of Wilcom.

A corporate clone.
An unjust maker.
The man.

This was someone who always oppressed others in order to make himself feel righteous. This was the guy that the boys hated; the one that was making things so difficult.

"You know who's house you're in?"
He was menacing in his tone, with a touch of purpose to belittle.

This was also familiar, and everything to happen from then on would be deemed the same. First it was a chance for her to claim her position, or jump right into argument. Next was his turn, and he would usually begin with a rhetorical question (as he just did) and wait for her to acknowledge that he was correct, that way he already had the upper hand in making his daughter inferior.

Evelyn fell right into the cycle again and nodded, signaling that she, of course, knew. He pulled up his pants, because he evidently didn't wear anything other than suits, and pursed his lips. This was either going to be a long night or an instant one.

Opening his mouth, he was cut off by the speed of a vehicle down their street and something he thought that he had gotten rid of.
Music, or more specifically, metal.

The stunned father not yet reaching the process of paralysis dashed to the bay window by the plasma screen and opened up the rouge, floor-length curtains to look outside. There was the van that his daughter knew so well, with a man who she could never forget flipping him off.

He took in a sharp breath as the car sped off and disappeared into the ebony of the night. It was Oli's anger getting the better of him, it seemed, and when that happens to anyone it is guaranteed that something stupid will ensue. So he tells his girlfriend's father to go fuck himself.

Tells the man to fuck himself.

It must have felt really good at the time, but he would be feeling fucked himself in the morning when he would realize the severity of what he had just done. Then what would be of his relationship with Evelyn after? He just thought about how her father would tell her to stay away from such a danger to society, and she would most likely obey.

That hurt for him to think of such a thing, but between the two men, she had no choice, and Oli was no competition. He was aware that she wouldn't pick him only because her dad had so much control over her, and it was fucking disgusting. The realization returning gave him no alternative but to be vulgar to a man who would always win.

He would feel bad tomorrow.
He would want to see her.
Then she wouldn't be able to.
He just screwed himself over.

He left Evelyn to deal with the aftermath of her dad witnessing such behavior targeted at himself, and she jumped as he kicked a fold out chair over that must have been left there from the afternoon as one of the maids had finished cleaning the windows. The piece of interior flipped and made a piercing echo through the entire first floor, still loud however in the second story.

His eyes were filled with venom.
"You are not to see him again."

Evelyn's heart stopped in that instant; hearing the words she had forgotten existed, and couldn't believe that they were even being uttered. This was just too much for her to handle anymore, and then, thinking of all the things Oli had said to her, she finally let it all go.

"You can't tell me what to do. I'm 24 years old and can make my own decisions. I'm not 5 anymore dad, I'm going to see him as much as I want, and you can't fucking control me anymore."

"You are living under my roof, so you will live under my rules! You're going out with a degenerate, and I'm not going to just stand aside and watch him take you down with him!"

She leaned away from the couch and grabbed the quilt closer to her body in a defensive style, and felt heat rush to her face as the anger was getting the best of her.

"No he isn't! You're just so goddamn blinded by a bunch of bullshit that you can't see that!"

"Watch you're mouth, young lady."

She just shook her head and rose from the sofa. She wasn't going to be in the same rotation of good and evil with someone who only knew one side. She was going to end the back and forth and just walk away. Taking the blanket with her, she went past the man that had abandoned her a long time ago, and began to walk up the stairs.
The last thing she heard was him threatening to arrest Oli, and at that point, she just wanted to shoot him for such ignorance.

Arrest Oli; start a war even bigger than the current one.