The Beginning (The Life 1)

“Oh, hey, you’re here. Your dad called and said you were on your way.” There was no sign of guilt on his face, but neither was there any of the anger you’d expect from a man whose daughter had been assaulted. “Did your wife tell you what happened to your daughter?”

“Yes, she said the kids were playing a prank, and it got out of hand.”

“A prank? How many pranks involve gluing your hair to your head? Do you know she could lose all of her hair if it’s not taken care of correctly?”

“I didn’t know it was that serious, Victoria said it was just a little bit, not enough to cause any harm, but you overreacted.” Is this guy for real? Either way, he was making my decision even easier for me, not that I needed his help.

“Victoria said, how often have you heard or said that?”

“What? What does that mean?” If I had the time, I’d school him on what an asshole he is, but time was of the essence, and besides, the less time I spent in his presence, the less likely it is that I’d end up in a jail cell tonight. I took a deep breath and eased the kill lights in my eyes when I looked back at him.

“You met my sisters, yes?”

“Huh? Your sisters? Yes, I did, for a little while anyway. Did something happen to them too?”

“What was your impression of my sisters?”

“They seem like beautiful, confident young women. Very sure of themselves if I remember correctly.”

“Confident, that’s the word I’m looking for. Do you know why my sisters are as confident as they are? Because their father, our father, treats them like the princesses they are, the queens they will one day be.” He isn’t getting it.

“They’re almost sixteen, and if one of them so much as stumps her toe, my father would fret as though they’d lost a limb. He still sits by our bedside if we have a fever. A common cold can send him into a tizzy, and he has more doctors on call than a general hospital, not for himself but for his wife and kids. And you? How do you take care of your daughter?”

“Gia’s just fine; she doesn’t want for anything, and if something was really wrong or someone was bothering her, she’d have told me. I may not be as hands-on as your dad, but…”

“What the fuck are you saying?" Gloves off. "Did you know that they were tormenting her for the past twelve years?” My anger was back in full force at this bullshit.

“Who’s tormenting who? I don’t understand anything that you’re saying.”

“The animal with a human face that you married and her soulless spawn has been tormenting the child that came from you. The one you and your dead wife, made. The one I’m sure she trusted you to take care of after she’s gone.” He turned pale and fidgeted around in his seat.

“That’s not true. That can never be true. Becky’s loved Gia since before my wife passed away. She used to call her Aunt Becky...”

“Did you hear what you just said? Used to. Why did she stop? When did she stop? Have you ever asked yourself that?”

“That’s because…. Because Gia never approved of our marriage.”

“And what has your wife done in all this time to change that? As the adult you trusted to care for your motherless child, what has she done to bridge the gap? You know what, you don’t need to answer that.”

“Let me ask you one last thing. Who bought the car Victoria drives?”

“I did, of course; what has that got to do with anything?”

“So, some other man’s kid is driving around in a luxury car bought with your money while your daughter’s the passenger.”

“Well, that’s because Gia’s not careful enough to drive yet. I plan to buy her…”

“Says who?”

“What?”

“Who told you that your daughter was too clumsy to drive? Was she that clumsy when her mother was alive? How many tumbles down the stairs did she have back then compared to after you remarried?” The more I spoke, the angrier I became.

His eyes opened wide when he caught on to where I was going with this, but it was too little too late. I’m not sure which is worst, the fact that he seems genuinely clueless to what had been going on right beneath his nose or that he knew and turned a blind eye. He made a whole lot of excuses when realization started to dawn on him, but I knew he wasn’t completely sold. That if I sent her back here, the same shit would happen again. Worthless!

Either way, I had no more use for him. Not sure what I expected when I came here, and in all fairness, I’d already made up my mind before I came here, but I was hoping for her sake at least that he wasn’t such a fucking disappointment. The thought of what her life would’ve continued to be had I not come along stifles the breath in my lungs. I got up from the chair I’d taken when I walked in with a look of disgust.