by K. Webster
Stepdaughter. Get your facts straight, moron.
“The real father,” I implore.
“I’m the real father!” He rams his fist through the wall, sending hunks of drywall crumbling to the ground.
I don’t move or flinch. I give him my most bored expression I can muster so he doesn’t see the terror in my eyes.
“Don’t you have somewhere to be?” I ask, keeping my voice even.
“I need a fucking drink.” He storms past me, clipping into me and nearly knocking me over.
Once he’s gone, I rush down the hallway to check on Zella. I find her under the covers, trembling. I close the door and then kick off my shoes. After setting my keys down on the nightstand, I peer down at her small form.
“You awake, Princess Zella?”
She pretends to snore and it’s the cutest thing ever. I walk over to her bed and curl up beside her, teasing the covers away from her face.
“Boo!” she whispers.
I gasp, acting as though I’m shocked to find her awake, which makes her giggle even more. I pull the blanket away so I can look at her face, assessing her for any cuts or bruises. Big brown eyes peer up at me, twinkling with happiness.
Not from him.
Me.
I hope she can tell I’m happy to see her too. I toy with a blond curl of hers with my finger, admiring how adorable she is. Terrence is going to be pissed when he finds out I’ve been coming here. He’ll get over it, though. I did what I had to do to keep her safe.
“Can you finish the story?” she asks.
“Which one?” I tease. “Goldilocks and her bears?”
“No, the Knight Penny one.”
“Ahh, where were we?” I grin at her. “Oh, that’s right. We were at the part where Knight Penny teamed up with the king.”
“Is the king nice?”
“Very nice. Handsome too.”
“What does he look like?”
“Remember the man who came with me the first day we met?” I ask, waiting for her to nod before I continue. “Like him.”
“He got hurt,” she tells me, her brows knitting together.
“Yes,” I agree. “Because he’s a brave king and fought another monster before. That’s why he was in his deep sleep.”
“His eye makes him look sleepy,” she tells me.
I think about Terrence’s eye that droops when he’s stressed or tired or has a migraine. I use it to gauge how he’s feeling. Sometimes you can barely notice, while other times it’s nearly closed with fatigue.
“It does make him look sleepy. And his scars make him look fierce.”
“Does Knight Penny have any scars?”
“Hers are inside her mind,” I say, tapping on my temple. “Scars aren’t always on the outside, but they usually tell a story of a battle the person has fought and won.”
“What are Knight Penny’s scars from? Did her daddy hurt her?”
“No, Knight Penny’s daddy is a doctor. He heals all the people in the land.”
She smiles. “What about Knight Penny’s mommy?”
“She gives money to the people and cupcakes.”
“Sounds like a queen,” she says with a giggle.
“Knight Penny has a sister and a brother too. The brother is like her daddy. He helps heal the sick and the wounded. Her sister fought the same monster the king did.”
“So she has scars too?”
“Plenty. Both inside and out. She’s beautiful like a princess, but tough like a knight.”
“Did the king ever find the princess and the queen?”
I let out a sad sigh. “He found the princess, but she was locked away in the dragon’s tower. I was hoping you’d be able to help me tell the rest of the story. Where do you think the queen is?”
“She went to smell the pink roses. Those were her favorites.” She frowns. “But she got lost and never came back.”
Her eyes well with tears. I hug her to me, kissing her forehead. “Shh. This story has a happy ending. We’re just not there yet. I promise we’ll get there, Zel.”
We both grow quiet as my mind wanders. I wonder how quickly her happily ever after will come. Samantha is working on helping Terrence, but it’s taking forever. Eventually, her breathing evens out. Soft and rhythmic. It’s a soothing sound that lulls me into my own sleep.
A loud, grinding sound drags me from my peaceful slumber.
It sounds as though it’s on a repeating reel. Each time it reaches its peak, my hair moves in tandem with the softer part of it. Then, my hair seems to get sucked into the louder, more intense part of it.
I’m dizzied and confused by it, trying to make sense of it as I blink my eyes open.
Warmth surrounds me, making me sticky with sweat. I’m fully dressed, but a hand cups my breast beneath my shirt over my bra. The scent of stale alcohol assaults my senses.
This is a bad dream.
I turn my head slightly, earning a bright stream of sunlight straight into my eyes. It’s enough to wake me out of my daze.
The scent.
The man holding me in his sleep.
Oh my God.
I’m in Jack’s bed.
Panic consumes me as I slide out of his grip. His snoring continues as I stumble out of the bed, my ass hitting the floor with a hard thump. I jump to my feet, shoving my hand into my hoodie pocket, searching for my phone. It’s missing.
Why was I in his bed? How did I get there?
I remember falling asleep with Zella.
Rushing from his room, unable to shake the oily feeling, I hunt for my phone. I find it in the bed with Zella, who sleeps peacefully. With a quick kiss to her head, I shove my shoes on, grab my keys off the nightstand, and get the hell out of Jack’s house.
My phone is dead, so as soon as I turn on my Jeep, I plug it in. Within seconds, I realize I have tons of missed calls and texts.
Crap.
Dad. Charlotte. Mom. Aunt Karen. Terrence. Tierra. Cal. Hollis. Roan. Jordy. Roux. Jace. Lo.
Everyone, and I do mean everyone, has tried reaching me. Most of this didn’t happen until about an hour ago. Probably after they woke up and realized I never came home.
I reach a stoplight and quickly reply to Dad.
Me: I’m fine. Be home in ten minutes.
It takes more like eight minutes, but as soon as the door to Dad’s loft opens, I’m met by several extremely pissed people. They all yell at me at once, the sounds beating on into my skull at a maddening level. The tears burn at my eyes, but I refuse to let them free.
“I’m late for work,” Mom says finally, a mixture of fury and hurt on her face. “Call me later, Garrett, and fill me in.”
As soon as she’s gone, I’m trapped with Dad, Jace, and Terrence. I can’t look at Terrence knowing I spent the night with his daughter and the man he hates. He’s so good at reading me. If his stare bores into me, I’ll lose it.
“I’m tired,” I mutter. “I can’t go to school today. Can we talk later?”
“No,” Dad growls. “Not until you tell us where in the hell you’ve been.”
I glance at Jace, who scowls my way. Even my playful, never serious friend is pissed. Great.
“A friend’s house.” Not a lie. Zella is my friend.
“Who?” Terrence demands. “We were worried sick about you. Charlotte and Cal left as soon as you texted to head to school, but they thought…” He trails off with a growl. “They thought you were hurt.”
The reminder that Charlotte was kidnapped, raped, and severely injured is all too fresh in my mind. I’m sure it gave her quite the panic, and I hate that. I hate that I caused everyone to worry.
“I’m sorry, okay?” I croak out.
“Not okay,” Dad grinds out. “You have no idea how fucking worried I was. I thought those guys from the party somehow got a hold of you. I thought I’d lost another little girl to violence.” He swallows, his eyes sheening with unshed tears. “Where were you, Penny?”
“I told you! At a friend
’s!”
Jace rolls his eyes in disbelief and Terrence glowers at me.
“Unbelievable,” Dad bites out. “You always had a level head on you, kid, but something is up. Is it drugs?”
Jace finally snorts. “Drugs are bad.”
I want to crack a smile at him, but I know Dad will lose his mind.
“It’s not drugs. I went to a friend’s and fell asleep. When I woke up, it was morning and my phone was in the other room. It’s not a lie. Believe me or don’t.” I lift my chin, meeting each one of their stares.
“There’s more you’re not telling us,” Terrence says. “You can tell us anything. Anything.”
Not this.
Tears threaten once again, but I force an impassive look. “There’s nothing to tell.”
Dad opens his mouth to probably yell at me some more. I hold up a hand, stopping him. Turning on my heel, I storm back to my bedroom. I lock it behind me and then take a long, hot shower where I do let the tears leak free.
He touched me. Again.
That sick, disgusting, cruel bastard touched me.
And I can’t tell anyone about it.
As soon as the shower ends, I dress and crawl into my bed, ignoring the world in favor of some blissful quiet away from everyone.
This knight in shining armor gig is painful and stressful and terrifying.
It’s a good thing the princess’s happiness in the end is worth it.
Terrence
Sunday night, I was worried. It wasn’t like Penny to not reply to me. By Monday morning, I was sick with terror, ready to kill Eli or Paxton or Grayson. I was sure they’d done something to my girl. When she rolled into her dad’s place like she didn’t scare the shit out of everyone in her life, I was infuriated. It’s Wednesday and I’m still mad, but the hurt is starting to sink its claws in to feed on me.
I’m upset that she’s hiding something from me and has effectively closed herself off. It’s not that I think Penny was off getting dick from someone else. That’s not her. This is something else. Penny lives by her own code. Whatever she did, she had her reasons for doing it. Just like she has her reasons for keeping it from us. The part that hurts is that she feels like she can’t include me in those reasons. She’s been allowed front row access to all my shit, but when I probe about what’s going on with her, the door is slammed shut in my face.
Earlier, at practice, she played hard but kept to herself. Even Tierra is getting the cold shoulder. I hate that she’s pushing everyone away. It only makes me want to discover what’s wrong even more.
I stare at my phone, wondering if I should text her again. Every text has gone without a reply. Sure, most of them have been me being pissy with her, but I expected something in return. Not crickets. It’s like she’s mad at me for worrying when I should be the one mad at her.
Rather than texting her for the millionth time, I tidy up Cal’s living room some more before going to the window in the dining room to stare out.
I have something a little more pressing to deal with. My Penny problem will resume in just a bit. Right now, I need to give my focus to this moment. To her. Zella.
Samantha called yesterday to let me know I’ll be having my first meeting with Zella. The social worker is bringing her over so we can meet. It’s something the judge is requiring. I didn’t tell Samantha I’d already met Zella. I’m anxious as fuck because if she doesn’t warm up to me, it’ll kill me. I never cared about being a dad until I locked eyes with her that day, knowing without a shadow of a doubt she was mine. Now, I’ll move hell and earth to make sure I get her in my life.
A sedan pulls up to the cabin, making my heart skyrocket. The driver side door opens and a woman with graying hair steps out. She opens the back seat, unbuckles Zella, then holds on to her hand as they approach the cabin. I open the door, trying and failing to remain casual. I’m buzzing with nervous energy.
“Hi,” I call out, waving like an idiot.
Zella doesn’t look up at me. She chews on her bottom lip, staring at the ground.
“Hello, Mr. James,” the woman greets as they climb the porch steps. “I’m Renee. This here is Zella Teejay Henderson.”
I kneel down in front of Zella. “Hello, Zello.”
Her brown eyes lift to meet mine and she graces me with a small smile. Recognition flashes in her eyes, but not fear. If anything, she seems pleased to see me. Relief floods through me.
“Please, come in.” I stand back up and usher them inside. “Would you like something to drink?”
“I’d like a bottle of water. Zella? You want some water?”
“We have water and also orange soda. I love orange soda,” I tell her. “We even have silly straws for when my little buddy Sebban comes to visit. Want an orange soda with a silly straw?”
Zella frowns. “I’m not allowed to have soda. My daddy says it makes me bad.”
Renee and I exchange a stare, then she nods at me, allowing me to proceed as I feel necessary.
“This soda is just fine,” I assure her. “Sebban is your age. He drinks it all the time and he’s a good boy.”
Her brown eyes twinkle. “I want a silly straw.”
I let out a relieved breath that we’ve dodged our first awkward moment. Quickly, I grab the drinks and a pink silly straw. I hand one to Renee and then open the can for Zella. She watches me intently as I put the silly straw in and hand it to her. They sit side by side on the sofa and I take the recliner. Charlotte and Cal decided to go to dinner to allow me this time alone with Zella, but I’m nervous and wish Charlotte were here to make snacks or something because I feel so out of my depth here.
“Zella, sweetie,” Renee says. “Remember what we talked about? Who Mr. James is?”
She nods, sipping her soda.
“Go on, Terrence,” Renee encourages. “She knows. Just needs to hear it from you.”
My hands shake as I lean forward, resting my elbows on my knees. “I once knew your mother Lacey. We went to school together. Do you go to school?”
“Morning pre-k now, huh?” Renee pats her on the back.
Zella nods, curiosity at my story shining in her eyes.
“We went to high school together. Since we, uh, liked each other so much, we made a beautiful baby girl.” I smile at her. “You. But then your mom had to move away. I didn’t know where you were.”
“I know this story,” Zella says, smiling. Her eyes dart around the cabin as though she’s searching for something.
“You do?” I dart my eyes to Renee and she shrugs. “Well, anyway, when I saw you at the doctor’s office, I recognized you. You’re my daughter, Zella. I’m your real daddy.”
“Your grandfather has raised you,” Renee says, “but remember what we talked about? That Terrence here is your real father?”
Zella nods. “Can I call you Daddy instead?”
My chest nearly splits open with love I didn’t even know existed inside of me, threatening to spill from me. “Yes, you certainly may. I want to be in your life. I’m trying to make it so that maybe you can come live with me one day.”
Renee pats her on the back. “What do you think about that?”
“Right now?” Zella asks, her eyes once again searching my cabin.
“Not right now,” Renee says. “But hopefully soon, even if only half the time. Two homes would be fun, right?”
Zella flinches. I want to pull her into my lap to kiss and hug her. She barely knows me, though.
“Where’s your mom?” I ask Zella.
Renee frowns at me, but I need to know where Lacey is.
“Lost,” she whispers. “Will she find me?”
“Absolutely,” I say with conviction, though I don’t know for sure.
“Zella here loves to play with Barbie dolls,” Renee reveals. “Don’t you, honey?”
Zella nods. She glances past me toward the hallway. I think she obviously remembers me from the day Penny and I came over. It’s as though she’s looking for Penny.
R
enee’s phone rings, so she excuses herself to take the call in the kitchen.
“Are you looking for Penny?” I ask, my voice low.
Zella grins, her whole face lighting up, as she nods.
“You can see her again one day soon,” I assure her.
She sips more of her orange soda, the tension leaving her body. I hate that she’s been with that fuckface Jack. She belongs with me. I could keep her safe and happy.
“I know you don’t know me very well, but, Zella, I swear I will be the best dad in the world. I already love you and would do anything for you.” I reach forward and tease her with a little boop on the nose with my thumb. “We’re going to have so much fun.”
“Will we go on adventures?”
I chuckle. “My life has been one big adventure and you’re a part of it. Of course we will. We’ll make Penny come along too.”
“And Mommy?”
“Once we find her, yes.”
She beams at me. “Can we go on an adventure now?”
Renee ends her call, catching the tail end of our conversation. She nods at me. “I have a few phone calls to make. Meet back in half an hour?”
“Thank you,” I tell her. “Come on, Mello Zello. Let’s go.”
She sets her drink down on the table and takes my hand. It’s so small in mine. Everything inside of me screams to protect this little girl with all I have. I know, in this moment, I’d step in traffic for her, slay dragons, fly to the moon. Whatever she needs, I’ll make sure she gets. Hand in hand, we walk outside. It’s chilly, but spring is on its way. I guide her down the steps and toward a path in the woods that leads to the river. I chatter about the things I like to do. Basketball. Camping. Barbeques with friends and family. By the time we reach the river, Zella has opened up some too.
“I love going outside, but Dadd—” She cuts off her words, flashing me a look of panic.
“I know it’s still confusing,” I assure her. “You’ve been calling him that your whole life. I’m not mad.”
“He says I can’t go outside,” she finally says, frowning.
“How come?”
“Someone might steal me.”
I force a smile even though I want to go pummel that asshole. “Your grandfather doesn’t know everything. I’m your real daddy. I will protect you and won’t let anything happen to you. We can go outside as much as you want. One day, when you come to live with me, I’ll even build you a swing set so you can go outside as much as you want.”