Page 44 of Daddy's Little Survivor

Tears pooled in her eyes and she blinked several times, trying to get them to stop. She couldn’t cry again.

“It’s okay,” he murmured, like he knew she was getting emotional. “I care about you. I want you to flourish and live a great life. I want you to feel safe and able to come out of your shell.”

Tightening her hands around his, she took several slow, deep breaths in to try and calm down.

“Can you tell me where he works? Where did you come from?” he asked.

Monroe shook her head and pulled her hands away from his. Daddy couldn’t find out where he worked. The look on his face told her that once he found out, he was going after him and she couldn’t allow that.

Jared was a powerful person and could ruin Daddy with a snap of his fingers. The guilt she would feel if that happened would be too much for her to handle.

Monroe already carried the guilt about not trying to help all the people Jared had turned his back on. She knew what went on yet she did nothing about it. There were many days where she thought about ending her life because it would be better than carrying that guilt inside her.

“Daddy, I can’t,” she whispered, guilt weighing down in her stomach as she said those words.

She wanted to tell him, but she knew he would go after Jared and she didn’t want Daddy to get hurt.

Jared had ruined so many lives while she was living with him and each time, when he would boast about it, it made her feel even more guilty than before. She had thought about telling someone about it, but when she heard him talk to his supervisor in their house, she knew he was also in on it.

Who could she have gone to? She didn’t have a phone back then and she wasn’t allowed to leave the house, either.

“That’s okay. Maybe sometime soon you can tell me,” Daddy said.

She highly doubted that, but she nodded her head anyway.

“Thank you for telling me. I know it was hard, but I’m proud of you,” he said. “Hug?”

Daddy opened his arms and she didn’t think twice. Moving quickly, she climbed onto his lap and snuggled into his chest as his arms wrapped around her body.

Everything felt heavenly when his arms were wrapped around her. She could get used to this.

Peace. Comfort. Safety.

“Does my Little Bunny like it when we hug?” he asked.

“Yes, Daddy,” she whispered. “So much.”

“Well, it’s a good thing I like giving hugs. Anytime you need one, you can come to me. You don’t even have to ask.”

She nodded her head and melted into his embrace even more as he tightened his arms around her.

“Why did you leave the hospital?” she whispered. “Working there?”

Monroe felt him take a deep breath in before he started to speak.

“There were a lot of reasons, but the major one was I was getting burnt out. I was sometimes on call for twenty-four hours or more. Several times I saw where someone was severely injured and died before they could arrange to pay for the necessary treatment they needed,” he said. “And there were the ones I couldn’t save. Children were the worst.” He was silent for a moment, and she could tell by the pain on his face he was remembering. “It was tough mentally but also physically, so when I came into some money, I moved back here and started up a clinic with some other doctors.”

“That’s so cool. What do you do there?” she asked.

“It’s a free clinic so anyone and everyone can come in if they need help and don’t have insurance or a lot of money, but we also have a women’s shelter attached to it. So, abuse victims can come, stay, and heal.”

Monroe looked up at him in awe. He did all that and still took care of her.

“I was thinking maybe at some point, when you feel more comfortable, you could come and volunteer at the clinic. I bet a lot of the women would love to talk to someone that has gotten out of an abusive situation and is happy and living a good life,” Daddy said.

She thought about it for a second. It sounded interesting but she didn’t know if she was up for it right now. Not while she still didn’t feel safe.

“Not now, but maybe sometime in the future,” he said. “And maybe in the future, you could talk to someone about what happened. A professional.”

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