Daddy Dearest

The bastard had known for a full day and he didn’t even mention it to me.

Even knowing about my crush, he still didn’t give a shit about me. All he cared about was Kendall, his perfect little baby girl.

Envy blackened my vision, the green-eyed monster making it impossible for me to see straight. I hated that both in that moment and I had to bite my tongue before I said something I’d regret later on.

I didn’t say a word. Just turned away from Kendall and rested my head on the pillow. I couldn’t even look at her. It felt like I didn’t know my sister anymore, not at all.

I felt her snuggling up to me, holding me from the back. I didn’t acknowledge it, but I couldn’t muster the strength to get up and walk away either.

“Are you going to say anything?” Kendall whispered in my ear. “Please, Mandy. I feel so fucking alone right now.”

“Yeah?” I asked bitterly. “It doesn’t seem like you’re alone at all. You have Ryan, and you have Levi, too.”

“But I need you,” she whined. “I want my sister. Is that too much to ask for, Mandy?”

It was, but I didn’t want to tell her that. Even though I was pissed, I still had a conscience, and I knew what had happened wasn’t completely her fault. Kendall wouldn’t hurt me on purpose, and Levi had no idea what he’d done until it was too late.

“I’m sorry,” I muttered into the pillow. “I’m jealous.”

“Why?” Kendall sounded genuinely curious.

I was about to answer when the door cracked open and Levi walked into the room.

He didn’t say a word, and both our gazes followed him as he approached us.

He stood at the foot of the bed and stared down at us. His eyes were rough and a little angry at first, but they became gentler, kinder, the longer he kept looking at us in the bed like that.

“It’s late,” he finally said, his voice brimming with emotion I didn’t quite understand. “Why don’t you go to your own room, Amanda.”

“Please!” Kendall cried out. “Let her stay here tonight. I want her to sleep with me.”

I didn’t say a word, but I met Levi’s eyes with a fervent gaze of my own.

Surely he knew what he’d done. Surely he knew I was aware of it too.

His eyes sparkled, and so did my own.

“Please,” I whispered, taunting him. “Please, Daddy.”

He stared at me for a second longer before smiling gently to us.

“Okay, girls,” he said, grabbing a blanket from Kendall’s vanity chair. “You can both sleep in here, just for tonight. It’s a special night, after all, isn’t it?”

We both nodded and he placed the blanket over us, tucking it around us. Kendall hugged me and I let her, feeling like a little kid again. Levi turned on the nightlight in the corner of her room, and gave us one last look from the doorway.

“My little girls,” he muttered to himself, and we stared at him as he closed the door and left us in the semi-darkness, our arms around each other.13LeviI stayed up until Barbara came home.

I had enough to do anyway, especially after taking the afternoon off work. There were several emails waiting for me in my inbox after I tucked the girls in, and I had papers to file through that couldn’t wait. I was deep in thought, my mind firmly on work when I heard her unlocking the front door.

There was no need for me to go and greet her. I was sure she’d come check on me herself.

And my suspicions were correct. I heard her walking up the stairs not two minutes later.

She didn’t knock, of course, instead choosing to barge into my study and glare at me with a stare so vicious I was almost concerned.

“Can I help you, darling?” I asked her sarcastically, and it only took her a second to huff and puff, rolling her eyes dramatically.

I pointedly ignored it, and instead chose to anger her further, because I was a fucking dick and I couldn’t help myself.

“My day was great, how about yours?” I asked, knowing full well I was angering the beast and only making things worse for myself. “Your daughters are doing well too, thank you for asking. They’ve had a busy day but I took care of them since their mother didn’t bother to show.”

“How dare you,” Barbara snarled at me. “Those girls mean everything to me.”

“Well, at least one of them does,” I said cheerfully, pushing back my office chair and walking in front of my desk, leaning back against it. “Because you know you can use Amanda to your advantage, twisting her this way and that until you get what you want, don’t you, Barbara?”

“You’re a fucking jackass, Levi,” she said, and we glared at one another, both knowing what I’d said was the truth.