Beast Daddy: Once Upon A Daddy

by Callahan, Kelli

  “I need to think about that.” I looked down at the couch.

  “The invitation is open.” He pulled me into an embrace again.

  I loved being with Adam, and I definitely felt a longing when I left his house every day. I just didn’t want to feel like I was running from a couple of teenagers—I wanted to move in with him under my terms when the time was right. Still, I knew how I felt—I knew my future was with him—maybe the time was already right. If my foster parents were to be believed, my evil little foster sisters were practically angelic before I moved in. I upset the balance in their household and if my foster parents were really thinking about adopting the two little brats, then it would be much easier for them to build their family dynamic without me around.

  Maybe it would be easier to just stay…

  * * *

  The next morning

  I didn’t leave Adam’s bed after we chased our desires. I slept for a couple of hours, and normally that was the time when I would get dressed and go home. Instead, I just snuggled closer to him and fell back asleep. It was an incredible night. We woke up several times and passion erupted between us as soon as we realized we were both conscious. When morning finally came, I was tired, but there was no reason to even sit up. I was next to the man who had stolen my heart, and I didn’t want to be anywhere else. It was almost ten in the morning when we finally got the energy to wake up and get dressed. Adam finished before me, so he went downstairs to fix some tea while I finished putting on my clothes.

  “I probably should have told my foster parents I wasn’t coming home…” I looked at my phone when I got downstairs. “I have several messages from them.”

  “Well you can’t leave now.” Adam poured some tea into a cup and smiled. “It’s past time for you to start your shift—there’s lots of work to be done.”

  “Like we’ve done any work in weeks…” I laughed under my breath and listened to the messages.

  I called my foster mother and let her know that I was alive, well, and there was no reason to call the police. She was really upset, which was understandable, and I felt like crap for not calling her ahead of time. They had never given me any sort of curfew, but it was the first time I had simply not come home. They had been nothing but kind to me and didn’t deserve the worry I caused. I hoped she would understand that what happened with my evil little foster sisters didn’t make me excited to return and find out what else they had in store for me. They had already destroyed the only picture I had of my parents, ruined my clothes, put ghost pepper juice in my lip gloss, and it would be years before my hair grew out and felt normal again. Those were just the so-called pranks that went too far. There were plenty of others that were mild annoyances, but completely uncalled for. The truce was obviously over, and I wasn’t going to buy my way back into their good graces again.

  Maybe it would just be better to leave.

  “Did you think about it?” Adam walked over and put his arm around my waist—almost as if he was reading my mind.

  “I didn’t have much time to think.” I leaned against his shoulder. “You kept me really busy last night…”

  “Last night was incredible,” he sighed. “But the best part was having you in my arms when I woke up this morning…”

  “You don’t think you would get tired of having me around.” I turned to face him and grinned. “You’ve only gotten me in small doses—you might not like having me here all of the time.”

  “Small doses?” He raised an eyebrow. “I think this has been a lot more than a small dose…”

  “Perhaps.” I nodded. “We’ve just got something—very special. I’ve never been this happy. If I move in, then we won’t have that overwhelming need to make the most of the time we have…”

  “You’re wrong.” He shook his head back and forth. “Every minute is a gift, regardless of where you lay your head at night. None of them should be wasted.”

  He understands that more than anyone…

  “Okay.” I leaned against him and sighed. “I’ll move in with you.”

  It was a big decision, but it just felt right. I had two cups of tea with Adam, spent a few hours in his arms, and decided to go back to my foster home so I could break the news to them. I called Ms. Betty on the way and she said there was paperwork that I would need to sign, but since I was eighteen, that was just a formality. Once I moved out of my foster home, I would be officially emancipated from the state. There was no going back since I was already eighteen. I dreaded that moment for years, but it no longer filled me with any form of concern. My future was with Adam, and I wanted to be in his arms. I wasn’t running from my evil foster sisters—I was making the right decision for myself.

  My life finally feels like it belongs to me.

  * * *

  The next day

  My foster parents weren’t upset with me when I told them that I was leaving. The two of them suspected it would happen once I got a job and started making real money. I couldn’t tell them about Adam, but I did confess that I was involved with someone—the reason I didn’t make it home after my evil little foster sisters ruined my hair. My foster parents made Sandra and Gina give me an apology before I started packing my things. It sounded authentic, but I wasn’t sure if it was real or if they were going to be celebrating their victory once I was gone. The only good thing about being in foster care was that I didn’t have much stuff. My clothes fit in the backseat of my BMW, and the three boxes with everything else I owned fit in the trunk. It only took me a few hours to be completely moved out and on the way to Adam’s house.

  I always used to hate moving out and unpacking my stuff in a new house—I never knew how long I would be there. This time, it feels like forever.

  “Let me get that box.” Adam leaned forward and picked up the biggest one.

  “I can carry them. I packed my car…” I leaned forward to pick up one of the smaller boxes.

  “You can get your clothes. I’ll get the boxes.” He started walking towards the house.

  It took less time to move my boxes into Adam’s house than it took to get them into my car since he was helping. I made one more trip once everything was inside and made sure my car was locked. When I turned and looked at the mansion, I no longer saw an old abandoned house in the woods—I saw my home. It was a calm and serene feeling—nothing but pure tranquility where turmoil had always lingered when I moved into a new house. I walked up to the fountain and ran my fingers across the petals of a vibrant crimson rose. They had found a way to push through the cracks in the fountain and turn into something beautiful. Adam and I had done the exact same thing. We turned sundered lives and shattered hearts into something amazing.

  Now we will start the rest of our lives—together.

  * * *

  Two hours later

  “There’s plenty of room in the closet for your clothes.” Adam walked over and pulled the doors open. “Unless you would rather have your own closet.”

  “No, that looks perfect.” I shifted some of his clothes to the side and noticed several boxes stacked along the back.

  “I should probably move those into one of the guests’ rooms.” He exhaled sharply.

  “What is it?” I raised an eyebrow.

  “Another life…” He leaned forward and pulled the biggest one out. “I’ll be right back.”

  “Wait.” I put my hand on his arm. “It’s her stuff, isn’t it?”

  “Yes,” he sighed. “I promised you’d never compete with a ghost—I meant that.”

  “I don’t feel like I’m competing with her.” I shook my head back and forth. “She was a part of your life, and that isn’t something we have to ignore.”

  “She would have kicked my ass if she saw me sulking around this house for ten years.” Adam looked down and sighed.

  “I would too.” I took the box from him and put it down on the bed. “If—something ever happens to me…”

  “Don’t even say that.” He walked up behind me and wrapped his a
rms around my waist. “I can’t go through it again.”

  “I just…” I leaned against him and sighed. “I wouldn’t want you to spend the rest of your life stuck in the memories of what we had. I would want you to live your life—and be happy.”

  “I was destined to live in a prison regardless.” He pressed his lips to the back of my head.

  “You made it a prison…” I exhaled sharply. “It could have just been your home.”

  “Maybe it can be again.” He nodded.

  “Can I?” I put my hands on the box. “Unless it’s too painful.”

  “No.” He let go of my waist and sat down on the edge of the bed. “There will always be a scar on my heart—worse than the ones on my back—but you helped heal the wound that was there for so fucking long.”

  I was hesitant to open the box, but if I was going to be a permanent part of Adam’s life, then I wanted to meet the woman that he used to love, even if there was no way to do that except for looking at the stuff she left behind. Their love was precious and pure—losing her broke him. I didn’t believe that she needed to be erased or purged from his life. We could find a way to honor her. She didn’t need to be forgotten. I pulled one flap on the side of the box, and Adam pulled the other. The first thing I saw was a picture of them—based on the way she held up her hand; I assumed it was an engagement photo.

  “This was her?” I gently lifted the photograph out of the box.

  “Yes.” He nodded. “That was my Emily.”

  “She was beautiful…” I held the picture in my hand and felt tears in my eyes. “You both look so happy.”

  “Two kids with no idea how fucked up our future was going to be.” He took it from me. “We knew it was going to be hard. Our lives were never going to be normal after I gave up my crown…”

  “What’s this?” I reached into the box and pulled out a newspaper.

  “That…” He exhaled sharply as I turned it over in my hand.

  “Oh god.” My stomach twisted into a knot when I realized it was her obituary.

  “I don’t even know why I kept it.” He took the newspaper from me and another one fell to the bed. “Or that one.”

  I looked down at the bed and realized that the story in the corner of the newspaper was about the accident. It detailed a horrific car accident—with three fatalities—and one survivor that sustained serious injuries. Adam was the survivor. Emily was one of the fatalities. The other two were in the car that hit them. The driver was intoxicated—He was under the influence of drugs and alcohol—he died at the scene. The passenger in his car survived for a few days, but she died in the hospital. My head started to spin. My whole body went numb. I took a step back and tried to speak, but my lips just trembled. I could feel the color draining out of my face—possibly draining out of my whole body.

  “What’s wrong?” Adam looked at me with concern on his face. “I’m sorry, that article is hard to read…”

  “It’s…” I forced words through my throat as it tried to close up. “My parents.”

  My father was driving the other car…

  Sixteen

  Adam

  I stared at Anabelle for a moment as the words she said registered. She was ghost white and shaking so bad that I wasn’t sure how she was still standing. I wanted to grab her before she collapsed, but I was frozen in place. I looked down at the newspaper and grabbed it. My stomach twisted into a knot that was so tight I thought I was going to throw up. She had to be mistaken. There was no way it could be true—the drug addicts in the car that hit us were—her parents? That felt like a knife through my heart—like the wound that had finally begun to close was torn open so that I could feel every ounce of the pain again.

  “I’m sorry…” She took a couple of steps backwards, and I realized she was moving towards the door.

  “Wait.” I put down the newspaper and stood up. “Hold on, this isn’t possible—my car was hit by…”

  “Drug addicts.” Anabelle’s eyes filled with tears, and they started to stream down her face. “Steven and Maria Budreau.”

  “Your name isn’t Budreau…” I tilted my head in confusion.

  “No.” She shook her head back and forth, and a sob echoed in her throat. “My social worker had the courts change it—and sealed my record so that nobody would know who my parents were.”

  “You’re sure?” I put my hand to my temple. “No, no fucking way.”

  “I’m so sorry…” She started to bawl. “I should go.”

  Anabelle ran out of my bedroom, and I just sat on the edge of the bed trying to process everything. I felt a connection to Anabelle the first time that I met her, but I thought it was just a beautiful twist of fate—destiny coming together after all of the pain I endured. I had no idea that the connection was deeper than that. Both of our lives had been shaped by the same tragedy. I spent so many years of my life wishing Steven Budreau would have survived that accident—just so I could kill him with my bare hands. I hated him. I hated his very existence—yet his existence—and his terrible choices—they were the only reason Anabelle ended up at my mansion. I regained enough of my composure to stand up—I made my way to the door—and then I started running down the stairs.

  “Anabelle! Anabelle wait!” I made it to the door before she got it open.

  “Please…” She was crying so hard that her face was red, and her whole body was convulsing. “I just want to go!”

  “You can’t—you can’t drive like this.” I shook my head back and forth.

  “How can you even look at me?” She lifted her head and forced her eyes to open. “I’m the child of monsters! I always knew I was—but I thought I finally escaped it…”

  “You didn’t make those choices.” I pulled her into my arms. “They did.”

  I managed to get Anabelle away from the door, and we sat down on the couch. She melted into my arms and cried—we both did. I couldn’t find any hate in my heart for her. It was ripped open and bleeding as the past collided with the present, but she wasn’t the source of it. We were both victims of that tragedy. I lost my wife, and she lost—so much more. I retreated into my prison, but the choices that her parents made put her in a prison too. We were both caged for ten long years before fate pulled us together. I couldn’t ignore that. The bitterness cut through me like a poisoned blade, but she wasn’t responsible for the accident. Our only path to salvation was intertwined in a way that I never realized, but it had never been clearer.

  “I would have told you from the beginning if I knew…” Anabelle leaned back from my embrace and wiped away her tears.

  “I believe you.” I put my hand on her arm.

  “I’ve never told anyone the truth about my parents.” She exhaled sharply and sobbed. “People never really asked any questions once I told them my parents died in an accident—every foster kid has a tragedy somewhere in their life…”

  “You were a child when it happened—god, you were old enough to know them.” I looked down at the couch.

  “They weren’t always so bad. I didn’t know life was supposed to be any different than what I knew. As long as they had drugs and alcohol, things were good—they didn’t fight much when they were high. They left me at home that night—but they did that all of the time.” She sighed. “I hid in my room when the police showed up…”

  “You don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to.” I pulled her back into my arms. “You lived it once—that was enough.”

  “They ruined your life…” A sob followed her words. “They killed her.”

  “We can’t change the past.” I squeezed her a little tighter.

  I was torn up and conflicted, but nothing Anabelle said changed how I felt about her. She pulled the beast out of the darkness and helped me find the man that still existed beneath the surface. Her parents might have been the ones that pushed me into the abyss, but she was the light that pulled me out of it. My heart had managed to heal once—because of her. The wound was reopened, but I cou
ld find a way to close it again. I could do anything as long as my beauty was in my arms. She was the reason I learned how to breathe again—the reason I opened my eyes—the reason my heart started beating after ten long years. That connection was stronger than the past and too strong to be severed by fate’s cruelest knife.

  I’m not going to let go of her—no matter what.

  Seventeen

  Anabelle

  Adam held me in his arms while I tried to process all of the emotions that were tearing me apart. At some point, he went to make tea, and I found the strength to stand. I walked to the top of the stairs, but I didn’t go to his bedroom. I went to one of the bedrooms at the end of the hall and closed the door. I just needed some time to myself. Adam was incredible, and the fact that he could look past the things my parents did—it was a testament to the kind of man he was—but I didn’t need love or affection. I was too numb to feel that. I never had to compete with the ghost from his past, but the two from mine left me my soul shattered when I realized it was Adam’s wife on the other side of that twisted steel and broken glass.

  He became a beast because they robbed him of his future. I pulled him out of his darkness, but I’m going to be a constant reminder of what he lost…

  “Anabelle? Are you in there?” Adam knocked on the door and tried to twist the knob.

  “Yes.” I walked to the door and put my hand on it. “I just—need to be alone right now.”

  “That’s not good for either of us right now.” He tapped on the door.

  “I’m sorry,” I sighed. “I just can’t…”

  “I love you Anabelle,” I heard him exhale sharply on the other side of the door, and then he walked away.

  I love you too.