I may not have been able to save my sister from his acts of depravity, but I’d make sure that this girl wouldn’t befall the same fate.
“Move,” I order my father.
He grins, misreading my request.
The girl starts backing up, shuffling away until her back hits the wall. I pursue her. She yelps as I kneel and stare into her face. She is terrified for her life.
“What’s your name?” I say.
“Iris,” she whispers.
“Well, Iris,” I lean in closer and whisper in her ear, “I want you to close your eyes. Everything will be okay.”
She sniffs and squeezes her eyes shut.
“Whatever happens,” I say, “don’t open them until I say so.”
I stand and take my jacket off. Dad’s judgmental glare burns into my back, analyzing every motion. His heady lust hangs in the air and gets caught in the back of my throat, making me want to be sick.
Iris pulls her quaking knees to her chest. I’m disgusted that her fear is down to me, but I’ll make sure she gets out of here alive. Her and Clemmie. I can save them both. I don’t know what happened between my parents, but I can only guess that what my mom suffered at his hands drove her down the path of self-destruction. This is for all three of them, but mostly it’s for me.
I look back at my father. He grins in encouragement, the same smile that a doting parent would give a child participating in a race on sports day.
I roll my sleeves up slowly and purposefully, then I turn.
It’s what I’ve been waiting for since the moment I arrived.
Dad doesn’t see it coming when I smash my fist into the side of his face.
There’s a loud crack, and I hope I’ve shattered his jaw. He staggers backward. He’s unsteady on his feet but manages to stay upright. His fight or flight response kicks in, and he swings back. He would have been a match for me years ago, but his age and time spent indulging in depraved desires have given him a superiority complex. He thinks he’s untouchable, but I can beat him.
“You’re going to let her and Clemmie go,” I growl.
“Is this what you’ve been waiting for?” he snarls. “To get me out of the way to take my place? To take Clementine and my money?”
“This isn’t about money,” I spit, diving forward and knocking him to the ground. A frenzy takes over my body as my fists act of their own accord. It’s the same feeling that overpowered me when I killed the cop. “It never has been. You’ve ruined her life. What you do here, it’s all fucking wrong.”
Blood bubbles and spews from his mouth as the bastard laughs.
I pause, and he hisses, “Do you think you’re any better than me? I’ve seen how you look at her and how your cock gets hard whenever she walks in the room. I thought my gift today would help you. Give you what you want. She even looks like her. You can have this one all to yourself. She’s unspoiled.”
“You’re even sicker and more delusional than I thought. Offering me this fucking child won’t change anything,” I snarl. “Clemmie’s not spoiled. You are.”
He tries to say something else, but I don’t let him.
He wants to get into my head with his warped comments.
I’m nothing like him. I refuse to be.
I punch with full force again and again. His arms flail as he struggles, but he’s not going anywhere. How many girls has he pinned down like this? How many times has he let his friends hold his fucking daughter down? He’s not used to being defenseless. I take out years of pent-up fury and resentment until there’s a toe-curling snap, and his neck twists at an unnatural angle.
I’d have been better off never knowing who my father was.
“Wh-wh—?” A tiny voice squeaks behind me.
My head jerks around to see the small girl watching through the gaps in her fingers.
“I told you to keep your fucking eyes closed!” I roar.