Possessive Daddy Next Door

1

Delia

The birds are chirping, the air is clear and crisp, and I feel like my world is crumbling all around me.

That’s dramatic. I mean, it’s true, but it’s dramatic. At least I can admit it.

I walk along a shaded path under a canopy of green leaves. The underbrush crunches softly and there’s nobody around for miles, at least nobody that I’m aware of. I left Lofthouse Manor about twenty minutes ago, and the last thing I want to do is to have to talk to someone right now.

Coming home with my tail between my legs isn’t exactly something I thought I’d ever have to do.

I climb up a short rise, my breath coming hard. I’m not used to hiking anymore, not since I left for college. Back when I was a teenager, I used to hike around here all the time. It was the only way I could avoid my family and have a little time to myself. I used to be all over these trails, and it feels good to be out on them again, even if it’s been a long time.

I make it up the top of the rise and hold on to a young sapling. I smile and shade my eyes as I look out down the hill. The view is beautiful. Trees spread out all around me, their leaves shining green in the high, bright sun. There’s not much out here in the woods of Virginia. Lofthouse Manor was built in seclusion outside of town, and my family owns most of the land all around here.

I lean forward, trying to get a better look, when I feel something shift. It takes me a split second to realize that it’s the tree I’m holding.

I hear a crack and I’m wheeling my other arm, trying to grab onto something, but it’s too late. The tree breaks and I stumble forward before toppling down.

I hit the ground and roll. Fortunately, I wasn’t standing on the edge of a cliff. It was only a slow, rolling hill, but that’s not too much comfort as I hit the ground and bounce a little. I hit again and come to a skidding stop. I lie there in the dark, staring up at the sky, blinking slowly.

That about sums up my life right now.

I sit up with a groan. Nothing hurts too bad. I’ll have some bruises but as far as I can tell, nothing’s broken. I roll over and push myself to my feet and—

“Oh, fuck,” I gasp when I put weight on my right ankle.

Pain lances up. I try to take a step but the pain is too much. I gasp and drop back down on my ass. I lean back and put my foot up in the air.

“Shit,” I say. I take my hiking boot off and look at my ankle. It’s already starting to swell. “Fuck!”

I look around, as if I’m about to find someone that might help. But there’s nothing and nobody. I’m alone in the damn wilderness like a freaking moron.

“Perfect.” I stare down at my ankle. “Just perfect.”

I pull my boot back on but I don’t lace it up. It hurts too much, and anyway, it won’t matter. I crawl back up the hill and reach the top, pausing only to swat at the stupid tree that broke and caused this problem in the first place. I sit there at the top of the hill and look around, breathing hard again, sweating slightly. My ankle aches and I’m not sure what I’m going to do. I’m twenty minutes from home, which means nobody’s going to hear me yell.

I might have to hop all the way home.

I start looking around for a stick to lean on when I hear a noise. I’m not sure what it is, could just be an animal, but I take the chance.

“Help!” I call out, feeling like an idiot. “Is anyone there? Please help!”

I sit still and listen. I hear the noise again, this time closer. Someone’s walking through the forest toward me.

“Hello?” I call out.

“I’m coming.” The voice is low and resonant. I shift a little bit toward the tree, wondering if I just made a horrible mistake. If this is a bad person, I can’t run away.

He comes up the rise and stops when he spots me. I stare back at him, just as astonished as he seems to be.

“You okay?” he asks, narrowing his eyes.

I try and smile. “Uh, sort of.”

“You look like you just fell down that hill.” He cocks his head and looks at the broken tree next to me. “You fell down that hill, didn’t you?”

I blush and feel so dumb. “Yep. Sure did.”

He takes a step closer. “My name’s Max,” he says.

“I’m Delia.”

“All right, Delia. What’s hurt?”

“My ankle.”

“How bad?”

“Can’t put weight on it.”

He nods once. “I can get you back to my place, bandage you up, and drive you home. Are you with anyone out here, or…?”