“Indi!” my dad yells as I spin and rush toward the stairs. “I won’t leave, princess. Not until you hear me out.”

I block him out and rush below deck. I run into Jess, and she wraps her arms around me instantly. “I heard it all. I’m sorry honey.”

I say nothing, just walk with her to her room. Like many times before, we sit on her bed. I stare down at my hands, unsure how I feel. A huge part of me wants to run over and throw my arms around him, feeling his comfort. The other part is repulsed by thoughts of what he might have done.

“Are you okay?” Jess asks.

“I’m not sure,” I whisper. “I don’t know how I feel.”

“Have you spoken to him?”

I shake my head. “It doesn’t seem like he’s going to leave until I do. Neither of them will hurt one another because they’re both protecting me. So they’re just going to sit out there brewing until I decide what I want.”

“Don’t you want to talk to him?” Jess says gently.

“I do, but I’m scared of knowing. Hendrix was going to sell me to him, Jess. I’m not sure I can live with the reality of that, but…”

“But what?” she urges.

“I have so many questions.”

“Can I say something?”

I nod, lifting my eyes to meet hers. “I know that part of you is scared to find out that your dad is a monster, but the fact he is waiting, desperate for you to hear him out, means he has a story to tell. Sometimes, as hard as things are to listen to, they give us closure. If you run now, and don’t speak to him, you’re going to spend your life wondering. I imagine it will hurt if your fears come true and he has done what you think, but isn’t it going to be worse if you never know?”

She’s right.

She’s always right.

I reach across and grip her shoulders, hugging her close. “Thank you, Jess.”

“You don’t have to thank me.”

I pull back. “You’ve risked your relationship with Hendrix for me. You’ve been by my side and helped me through so much, for someone you don’t even know.”

She shrugs. “Helping people makes me happy, and I didn’t risk anything with Hendrix…he still doesn’t know it was me.”

“I didn’t think he did,” I say quietly.

“Enough about me. Go up there, get your answers and then start making the steps to create your life over again.”

I nod, swallowing. “Thank you, Jess.”

“Anytime, sweetie.”

I get up, and, with shaky legs, I head back toward the deck. Jess is right, I know she’s right but it doesn’t make it any easier to process. I don’t honestly know how I’ll react if my father tells me something I already feared, but I know I need closure. I at least need to know why he left.

I take each step, one by one, slowly, taking deep breaths to keep my calm. I step out onto the deck, and I see Hendrix growling something at my father, who is leaning over the side of his ship growling something back.

My father notices me first, and he stands straight. “Indi…”

“I want to talk to you, but it isn’t for your benefit, it’s for mine,” I say in a stern voice.

He nods.

Hendrix walks over, grips my shoulders and leans down. “I’m not letting you on that ship, Indi.”

“How do you suppose I talk to him then?” I say back.

He lifts his head and glares at my father before looking down at me. “There is an island fifty miles south. We can stop, mutual ground…”

“Sounds find to me,” my father says.

“There’s to be no fights, or I won’t speak to either of you,” I point out.

“Understood,” Hendrix mutters, but he doesn’t look pleased about it.

“I’d never do that to you,” my father says.

Hendrix snorts, and I glare up at him. “Stop it, I need to do this.”

He lifts his head. “GG, sail us to the south island, we’ll stop for the night.”

“On it, Cap.”

My father is starting at me, and it’s hard for me to meet his gaze when he’s looking at me like that. “I’ll see you soon, princess,” he murmurs, before walking off.

My entire body shivers, and I find a seat and slump down onto it. Hendrix falls down beside me, gripping my hand.

“You sure this is what you want, inocencia?”

“I’m sure,” I whisper.

“You might not like what you hear.”

“Tell me what you know, Hendrix.”

He flinches a little, and then shakes his head. “It ain’t my place, baby. You know that.”

“When we first met, you said Chopper likes girls like me. Tell me what you meant.”

He sighs. “He has a reputation of getting girls off people and selling them.”

There has to be something we’re not understanding here, something being left out. I just can’t see him doing it.

“And you’ve sold him girls before?”

“No, but when I said I had a girl for him, as payment, he was more than willing to accept.”

I swallow and look away as the two ships begin to move.

“I don’t understand, I know my dad…it just doesn’t fit…”

“He’s a pirate, sweetheart.”

“Would you sell girls?” I snap.