Page 131 of Not Your Little Girl Anymore

I swallow the vile that threatens to come up. “Y-yes. Raleigh. 305. I’m… I’m his daughter. He should be expecting me.”

His lips press together in a tight line; two small creases form on the corner of his lips. He nods. “Right this way.”

I follow him down a long hallway. He swipes his card to unlock the door. I jump from the sudden loud beep before it swings open. Bile continues to rise to my throat, and my body weakens as I see my father sitting behind the bulletproof glass. Two guards stand close behind him. His hands are cuffed just as they were at the courthouse. I slowly sit, hoping my fear isn’t too noticeable from the outside. I grab the phone to my left and watch as he does the same.

“Hello, Dad.”

He chuckles. “You sure have guts to be showing up here. It was made clear that you don’t give a flying fuck about your father. Leaving me here. This is all your fault.”

I look down, thinking of what Alec told me when I brought up the idea of coming here… “He’s going to do everything he can to antagonize you. Don’t let him.”

“What? Have nothing to say to your good old man? You know how embarrassing it is that my little girl is the reason I’m locked behind these bars?”

I’m having a mental battle with my lip that’s threatening to quiver and break.

I’m the tiger, I remind myself.

I release a breath. “You don’t get to torment me. You have lost your right to sit here and try to bring me down like you do to everyone else around you. You are a miserable old bastard who lost his soul the day I was shipped off to college. Mom knew it. I learned it. You’re nothing but a lifeless murderer.” I half-laugh. “And to think, I wanted to come check on you. Let you know that your daughter got into the best college in New York.”

The smug expression he holds so well fades, and I shake my head in disbelief.

“Yeah. That’s right, Dad. I did it. On my own, too,” I blink back the tears that form behind my lids and brush my hair out of my face. My chin tries to wobble, leaving me sucking in oxygen and holding my breath for a second. “I’m going to become a detective, Dad, and I will fight to the end of this Earth to put every human like you behind bars.”

Dad stares at me for a long while before his eyes start to fill up with tears. “Princess,” he whispers through the phone he’s holding. “You got in? My little girl got into her dream college.” I watch the tears slip down his cheek. Not a single feeling of remorse spread through me. “I’m so proud of you.”

I listen as he goes on, sobbing behind the glass as if he’s the one who lost something.

All this time… since I’ve been home, he’s done nothing but bring me down. Everything he’s done to me was out of anger. He put me down, abused me, and ruined the lives of two innocent people. I shake my head. This man doesn’t deserve to be happy for me. He doesn’t deserve a life full of light. He deserves to sit here behind these bars and rot for eternity.

My lips pinch together, anger slowly coating my skin as I inhale through my mouth and blow out my nose.

“I’m not your little girl anymore.” I hang up the phone, rise, and head out of the prison without looking back. I stand taller, with more pride than I have ever felt in the past two years.

And I never look back.

Epilogue

Alec / Summer

Alec

I blow out a long breath, my skin itching and my nerves clawing their way through my insides. There’s no reason I should be nervous, but I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t a wee bit worried about how my aunt is going to react to my being here.

Court was over a week ago. My charges were dropped, and the restraining order was lifted exactly as Summer and I argued. Yet, I still have this unsettling feeling weaving deep in the bottom of my stomach that the second Jules opens this door, she’s going to slam it in my face after telling me never to show up on her doorstep again.

I wouldn’t be at all surprised.

Aunt Jules’s feelings toward me aren’t going to just magically go away like they were never there to begin with.

Callie is my baby sister. It’s not like I can take Jules to court for parental rights. Sure, I could steal a page out of Summer’s book and threaten her with the recording. But what good would that do for me? We got what we asked for.

The only thing I’m left with now is praying, and I’ve never prayed harder in my life.

I watch intently as the knob turns. My stomach is left, creating an endless knot. I’m forced to hold myself together, though, because if I crack, everything else in my life will follow. I’m met with Jules as the door cracks open. The look on her face is unpleasant, but what’s odd is she doesn’t give me the knowing, snarky attitude that I’m used to. In fact, she doesn’t say anything at all.

“Jules,” I nudge my head as a way of saying hello. “I was wondering if I could take Callie for a couple of hours. Summer and I were hoping you wouldn’t mind if we took her with us to Midnight Bowl.”

I’m mentally preparing myself for her to spit in my face, but oddly, that doesn’t come either. Her nostrils flare from breathing. Not in an aggravated way, which has me a little confused.

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