Paying Daddy's Debt

“You can come with me,” he says when he sees I’m not going to answer him.

“I don’t know you.” I take a step back, and I watch his jaw tick at the action, but he doesn’t stop me.

“Anything has to be better than this.” He looks around my room, and I want to cringe with embarrassment. I can tell he’s got money. I’m sure his suit cost more than I want to know.

“I don’t understand,” I admit. This is crazy. More than crazy, but for some reason my heart and body are screaming at me to say yes. Go with this man. He is something to you. Feel it.

“I’m going to be straight with you, Jasmine. I want you.” He shakes his head. “No, I mean you’re mine. Want doesn’t begin to cut it.” He says it so simply, as if it’s a fact known to everyone.

“I watch you. Every day you have school, you walk past my building in front of the park. My office is on the bottom floor, and each day I wait for you.” He takes a step closer to me. “All day I feel darkness around me. Almost as if it’s trapping me in, and then you walk by and for a brief moment in my day I feel…” He shakes his head as if he can’t find the word. “Peace,” he finally finishes.

I glance over at the open window and back to him. While I don’t get why he thinks I bring him peace, I get having something that comforts you.

“You work across from the park?” I ask.

“I own the whole building. My home is on the top floor.”

It’s my turn to take a step toward him. I think I know which building he’s talking about. “The building with the giant balcony on the top floor? Overlooking everything?” I’ve always wondered what it looked like up there. Overlooking the park. The rest of the city below you. Far enough away to find comfort.

“Yes.” He smiles.

“And you want me to come home with you?” He takes another step toward me, the space between us fast disappearing. “You want me to bring you peace?”

“I want you to bring me everything.”

6

Ash

“If you agree to come with me, I’ll provide everything for you. A place for you to live, money to do what you want. I can pay your tuition if you want to go to college. I can make every dream you’ve ever had come true.”

She bites her lip, and I can see indecision on her face.

“I promise to never hurt you, Jasmine. I’ll protect you from all the darkness in the world, including what your father is bringing home. You’ll be mine, and I will treat you like a queen.”

“You won’t hurt me?”

“Why would I hurt the most important thing in the world to me? The thing that holds my heart in her hands?” I shake my head because the thought disgusts me. I reach out, touching her powder-soft cheek. “No, my sweet girl. I will only ever do what you ask me to do. Your words command me. Speak it into existence and it’s yours. Everything you’ve ever desired.”

“Why are you doing this?”

It’s a fair question. I can see how badly she wants this, how much she wants what I’m saying to be true. I just need her to give me a chance to show her it is. “Because from the moment I saw you, I felt something inside me come to life. Everything was so bland and sparse before you. Walls of nothingness started to close in around me. Nothing held any flavor anymore. It was like there was no point to life anymore. I’d done everything I’d ever wanted to. Until you. You awoke a sleeping heart in my chest, and every day it aches for you. I have reason to want to get up each morning. I want to take care of you. Make sure you have enough to eat, that you have what you need. That everything is yours. The world, Jasmine. From first sight, I knew you were the missing piece in my world, and by taking care of you, it fills this need in me. By knowing that I’m the one making you happy and making sure you have your dreams come true, mine come true.”

She looks past me to her bedroom door and then back to me. She takes a breath and squares her shoulders.

“Okay. I’ll come with you. I know what will happen to me here, and maybe if I go with you there’s a chance. But if you hurt me—”

I cut her off by placing the tip of my finger on her lips. “Never.”

She must see the truth in my eyes, because she nods.

“Pack your school things. I’ll meet you downstairs.”

She gives me a small smile, and I reluctantly step away from her. I hate putting even this small distance between us, but it’s necessary.