Paying Daddy's Debt

The end is coming. It’s so close I can almost taste it. Three thousand dollars I’ve saved. Once I have the diploma in my hand, I’ll be as good as gone. No more walls closing in. No more father I can barely stand to look at. No more having to be somewhere that makes me feel like I’m slowly dying. The calmness the park gives me leaves my body thinking about going back home and how long I have left.

Soon this will all be over I remind myself.

2

Ash

My alarm on my phone goes off and I reach into my pocket and turn it off without even glancing at it. I don’t know why I set the thing, but I always do. Like I could ever forget this time of day. It’s like I have an internal clock that is always ticking down to when I’ll see her next.

It’s three thirty in the afternoon, and I’m standing by my office window. I bought this building for the view when I started my company. It’s directly across from the park, and it’s nice to see some trees instead a sea of concrete. It cost a pretty penny, but luckily I make enough to afford it.

My pulse picks up slightly as I scan the sidewalk. The moment I see her, my palms start to sweat and I clench my fists to keep from moving. To keep myself from running out of this office and down to where she is to drag her away from the world.

Some men fantasize about schoolgirls, but I’ve never had that inclination. And even now as I watch the young woman, it’s not her uniform that’s pulling me to her. Her plaid skirt is long, over her knees. It’s a little baggy on her, which makes me think it’s a few sizes too big. Her white collared shirt is hidden under a worn sweater that looks like it was once black. Her dark hair is in a low ponytail, and her glasses are too big for her face. She’s wearing clunky combat boots and keeps her head down.

Nothing about her says she’s inviting sexual advances. Yet every morning and every afternoon I stand here and want her. My body screams for hers, to be pressed against her and for her to belong to me. Every inch of me begs to strip her bare and see the delicate sweetness that I know is there. I would treat it with such softness, even if I felt like I was ripping in two just to get inside her, making us one like fate intends.

I never make a move though. Never try to sate this desire that boils inside me. Instead, I watch her from a distance and dream of touching the soft petals she hides from me. Dream of how they would soften under my touch and dew with desire.

“Mr. Carpenter.” My secretary’s voice buzzes from the intercom, and I growl. “There’s a Mr. Brown here to see you.”

I reach behind me and tell Rachel to give me fifteen minutes. I don’t want to lose a second of my time with her.

Today she’s different. She looked so sad at first, and now she’s got her head tilted back with her eyes closed as the sun shines on her face, as if she is trying to wash something away. Something must have happened, and I clench my fists as I think about how I want to kill anyone who’s made her unhappy. My sweet flower has wilted and I want to do all that I can to make her better.

Reaching out, I touch the glass, wishing it was her cheek. How soft and sweet would she be under my fingers? Would she be warm, like a favorite blanket, ready to wrap around me? Would she lean into my palm, begging for my strength? God, how I would give it to her. Nothing on this earth would be out of her reach if only she were mine.

Minutes pass, and I see her take a breath and walk away. She leaves me standing here, holding my heart in my hands, begging her to take it. But she doesn’t know. Not yet.

When she’s taken the last step that puts her out of my sight, the dark cloud falls on me again. There is only light when I have my eyes on her, otherwise my world is nothing but dark. There’s nothing good in it but her, and I’m tired of her taking it from me every day when she leaves. It’s time to put an end to it. I can’t bare it any longer.

Reaching over, I click the intercom and tell Rachel to send in Mr. Brown.

I shake his hand when he comes in and we take a seat. Mr. Brown hands me a large envelope and I open it up, taking out the contents. He goes over a few things, and I try to keep my body calm as he explains what he found during his investigation. It’s over two hours before he leaves my office, and once it’s finished I can hardly contain my excitement.