Save Me, Daddy

I take a moment to stare him over, looking at the small expression of the corners of his mouth, the way he's blinking, the way his body faces mine. My mother used to say that the small clues about somebody's real intentions were in their posture. Even if someone was trying to manipulate you or hide something from you, their body would give it away.

His body is revealing to me that he is telling me the truth. He's facing me directly, with a plain and honest expression.

And then I realize, I'm not giving him the same consideration. I'm holding this pillow in front of me like a shield, with my legs twisted away from him protectively. As a gesture of good faith, I take the pillow and stuff it behind me. When he bites back a smirk, I know that he recognizes what I just did. So he's trained to the same way. Military intelligence perhaps? That seems to fit.

“All right,” I say, meeting his eyes even though it's difficult to sustain that connection for more than a few seconds at a time. “I'd like to hear what you have to say.”

“That's a good girl,” he smiles with a relieved sigh. “I have a guest room… two, actually. You could have either one. I'll send Freddie to retrieve your clothes. You can go back to classes on Monday. You can borrow one of my cars. You can stay as long as you like. And if you prefer, you never even have to see me. It's a big house, and I don't intend on hovering over you.”

I pause for a few seconds, letting the thoughts rush through my mind. Stay here? Just like that?

Am I crazy?

And, do I have another choice?

“I mean,” he continues, now slightly uncomfortable, “as long as you don’t have anywhere else you’d rather be. Is there, um, a man in your life?”

I twitch back. I don’t mean to, but I do.

“I’m sorry, that’s none of my business,” he mutters.

“No, it’s not that,” I rush, “you just took me by surprise, is all. No, there’s not a man in my life. With college and everything else, I haven’t had, you know… time.”

“I’m sure you’re very busy,” he nods. His eyes are locked on mine, almost like he’s deliberately not looking me over. Suddenly I can feel how my skirt has shifted upward and bared my thighs. I should pull it down, but for some reason, I don’t.

“I have been busy, yes.”

“So then there’s no reason you shouldn’t accept my offer, right?”

“Actually, maybe I should be looking for a job.”

He nods as though he seriously considering what I'm saying. “Plenty of time for that later, after you have finished your degree work. What’s your major?”

I clear my throat. “I mean… maybe I should look for a job now. Instead. Of everything else.”

His expression doesn't change, but the air around him does. I sense that he has quite a lot to say on the subject, but all he says is: “Kita, you're not quitting school. You don't have to do that.”

“Maybe I should? I mean, I need to take care myself and I don't know if —”

“Who keeps texting you?”

I shake my head, confused. “I don't know… you can hear that?”

He nods. I reach behind me and retrieve my purse with my cell phone inside it. It's been on vibrate this whole time. How did he even hear the text alerts?

But he's right. I’ve got twenty-three new messages, most of them from Lizzie. They start off nice, but end in a not nearly as nice way.

The last one is from Serena.

“Oh, Serena sent me a YouTube link…”

I tap the link automatically and the YouTube app starts. It's a different video of me, taken from a different angle. The camera swings around, illuminating the face of the guy who'd been touching me, then back to me again.

“This bitch is going to cost me extra, but she's totally worth it,” he is saying. “Did you see the pictures? Absolutely outstanding —”

“What is that?” Daniel asks me, his voice sharp.

“It's another video from the bake sale. I don't know who —”