“Bring a swimsuit,” she said, and turned around.
“See you at school, teach.” Caleb gave me a two-finger salute and wrapped his arm around Emma’s shoulder as they walked out of my sight.
I sighed and pocketed the envelope. I might visit the infamous Moore house if I was interested. I was about to walk into Clyde’s hospital room when I heard the high-pitched voice of a certain someone.
“But Dad, I saved up for it myself and we can use it to pay the bills—”
“I’d rather work myself to the grave paying off another debt than take your hard-earned money, Pumpkin.”
My jaw clenched at the thought of Mia thinking about paying off her father’s medical bills. As if I’d ever let her.
“I sold cupcakes, Dad. I don’t care. I… I know it won’t be enough, but don’t worry, I’ll do something.”
“Mia.” I heard Clyde whisper, calling his daughter by her first name. “I don’t want you to worry about money, okay? I survived and after a few days, I’ll be out of here. I’ll make you eggs and tie your tie. Just take care of yourself and focus on school. Let your old man worry about you.”
“Dad.” Her voice broke and my hand clenched on the door handle before I took a step back and walked away.
Images of turned over car and blood flashed in my head as I thought about how young and reckless I was when that accident had happened. Even then, Clyde was the only person who looked at me and told me it wasn’t my fault. I had wanted to die, and he saved me.
Now, I was going to repay all his debts tenfold. After all, he was the only person who ever had my back.
* * *
“Yeah—youlike that, you little slut.”
I stopped mid shave and frowned at my reflection in the mirror.What the fuck was happening?
It had been a week since I moved in to Clyde’s home to take care of Mia and make sure she was coping well. During the entire time I was in the house, I either stumbled into Mia half-naked with a face mask on and dancing to dramatic songs of Taylor Swift, having a pretend breakup with one of her stuffed toys (it’s usually a kangaroo because the cartoon eyes look really sad), or she’s dead-asleep whenever she could find a comfortable place.
She’s like a cat. Or a kitten. Falling asleep on the kitchen stool, in an empty bathtub with clothes on (yes, I almost left her there seeing her cocooned so comfortably inside a bathtub), on the floor with her face planted on the rug.
I could go on and on about how odd she lived (maybe it’s because she’s a Gen Z),but hearing those words in a growly moaning voice of a man made me wonder about all the choices I had made before to end up at this moment, naked with a towel wrapped around my waist, my jaw covered in shaving foam.
“You want me to suck your little tiddies, babydoll? Yeah, mmm.”
Visibly shuddering and cringing at the porn-y dialogue, I made my way out of the washroom after washing off the shaving foam. The guest room I’d been staying in was scattered with a few books, my laptop, and my clothes hanging in the closet.
My feet padded against the wooden floor, getting close towards Mia’s room. I knocked, shaking my head at the guy who was full on fake moaning in the mic.
After losing my patience, I opened the door and found the little feline-like culprit on the bed.
14
NO, THANK YOU, DADDY
MIA
“You like that, don’t you, babydoll? I bet your lil’ cunny is soaked.”
I whimpered and closed my eyes to try moaning sultry like the voice actor was doing over the speakers. But I found it awkward and a bit cringe-y that he was faking most of it.He was, right? Or was it real?I couldn’t tell. I was too busy trying to find the right—
“Mia.”
I squeaked and turned to look at the face of the man who was currently stripping me out of my night clothes in my head.Oh God. Oh, my God.Why does everyone find the perfect time to disturb me every time I try to masturbate?
I rolled over in my panic—fueled by embarrassment and a guilty conscious—and fell over the other side of the bed, almost hitting my head on the nightstand.
“Are you alright?” He came forward, but I was still in my panic fueled—oh, you get the point. I scrambled away from him, standing up too quickly and tripping with my foot on the blanket that was wrapped around my ankles.