"Your parents are home. If you tell them you want to leave, and they inform me that I should let you, that's the only way I can open this gate for you."
Oh God.
This man was even more difficult than I had imagined, and he was only making my anger, frustration, and impatience spike higher.
My phone rang again, and I didn't need to check to know it was Shawn. The fact that he was calling again only made the panic claw deeper into my chest. Something was wrong. Something had to be.
"What was your name again?" I asked, my voice coming out sharper, colder than I intended. "Chris," I repeated, recalling it before he could answer. "If you don't let me out of this gate right now, and keep it a secret, you won't have this job by tomorrow morning. You know why? Because even if you don't let me leave, I can still say you did. Or I could say something worse. Trust me, they won't even listen to whatever you have to say. It will be my word against yours."
