Page 56 of Daddy's Little Survivor

She nodded but didn't really pay attention to his words. Monroe didn't think she was going to be awake by the time he got to that point, and she was okay with that. She trusted him and knew he would take good care of her in her most vulnerable state.

CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

MONROE

Monroe sat on the couch while she played on her phone. Daddy had gotten her a phone the other day, a fancy touch screen phone, and she was still learning what she could do with it.

Jared had never let her have a phone before and she’d only had a flip phone in high school. Even the flip phone she’d had was very basic. She had been working a part-time job and was able to pay for the phone, but it wasn't anything spectacular.

She felt so outdated with this. When she was with Jared, she had seen him use a phone but never up close. It had been over six years since she had even touched a phone other than the small prepaid burner phone she’d gotten when she had left Jared.

She had seen Daddy use his phone but she’d never really taken a close look. In the back of her mind, she was doing the same thing she did with Jared. He never wanted her to get close to see it and if she did, he would beat her. She didn't want that to happen with her Daddy even though she knew he wouldn't hit her.

It was a response she had acquired over the years and was ingrained in her mind. There were a lot of things like that, habits she was slowly trying to break, but it was so tiring.

When Daddy had handed her the phone several days ago, she hadn’t known what to do with it. She had just stared at it until he started to show her how to use it.

Monroe had thought about asking if he could just get her a flip phone, but she didn't want to be rude. This phone had to have cost a ton of money and she didn't want to just throw it back in his face.

He had given her a quick rundown of how to unlock it, call him, send him a text message, and had even downloaded some games. To say she was overwhelmed was an understatement.

Soon after he’d given her the phone and told her how to use it, she had gone online and found her old boss, Mario, from the diner. He had been a sweet fatherly figure when she’d worked at the diner and had warned her about Jared, but she hadn’t paid any attention to his advice. She wanted to let him know she was safe now.

She thanked Daddy and told him she really appreciated it but deep down, she didn't know if that was true. She would have been fine with just a flip phone and nothing else. Especially since she wasn't staying here forever.

The thought of that broke her heart because, she realized, shedidwant to stay here forever. The idea of leaving Daddy to go somewhere else to escape Jared both saddened and frightened her.

She wanted to stay with him forever, but he hadn't said anything about her staying after she was all healed. Maybe he didn't want her here anymore and wasn't going to say anything. Maybe he was sick and tired of taking care of her, and wanted her gone as soon as she was all better.

It hurt to think about but she needed to remind herself that this had never been a long-term solution. She had to remember that.

Monroe's phone pinged and she looked down. A text message? It wasn't from her Daddy so who could it be from?

Pulling up the message, her heart sank as she read it.

You can run but you can’t hide. I’m coming for you. - J

Her heart hammered in her chest as she reread the message. He couldn't have found her already, could he? How could he have found out her phone number? She had just gotten it a couple days ago.

Be a good girl and come to me without a fuss and no one will get hurt. - J

Her eyes filled with tears as she shot up from the couch and made her way toward the front door. She needed to get out of here as soon as possible.

Running outside, she looked down the street to try and find her car, but it wasn't there. Where could it be? She hadn't moved it so it should still be there.

Her stomach rolled at the thought of not being able to escape in time. She needed to leave before Jared found her and anyone could get hurt. She would never forgive herself if someone else was injured because she was stupid and stayed in one place too long.

Turning her phone on, she called her Daddy because he was at work and had taken his car. Of course, the one day that she would need a car, both of them were gone.

“Bunny?” he asked. “You know I'm in a meeting today. What's up?”

“W-where’s my car?” she stuttered as her breaths came out in little pants. “Wh-where is m-my car?”

She couldn't talk about anything else. She needed to get straight to the point and figure out where her car was and how she was going to get out of this town.

“Slow down,” he said. “Why do you need your car?”

“I need my car. I need to know where my car is and my keys,” she said, her voice raising a little. “I can't find it, it's not out on the street, and I need it. I need to leave and get as far away as I can.”

---