Page 42 of Hey, Daddy

Not after what she’d just gone through.

“Back to what happened today,” I urged.

“So I had to go out and get dog food.” She looked from me to Nastya and back. “The drive is like ten minutes max. I went to the Dollar General. They had food on sale this week, and I had coupons there.”

“Okay.” I gestured with my hand to keep her going.

“I got back with the food, and went inside, only then realizing I forgot to set the alarm. I set the alarm, fed Finn, and then put him in his kennel because I was going to mop the floors.” She let out a shaky breath, and I resisted the urge to hug her to me and tell her it was going to be okay.

If I took her in my arms, she’d only break down, and I needed her to be strong right now and tell me exactly what happened.

“Then what?” I pushed.

“I was mopping and listening to the oldies station,” she said. “Savage Garden was playing…”

“That’s the oldies?” Nastya muttered under her breath, looking flabbergasted.

“She also thinks the newest slug bugs are old, just like the older model ones,” I pointed out.

Some of the color came back to Desi’s cheeks. “Well, just sayin’, but I was born well after two thousand, which was whenthe Beetles started becoming really popular. And if they’re older than me, they’re old.”

“Jesus, I feel ancient.” Nastya shook her head.

Desi’s smile disappeared as she continued. “I was mopping and singing along, and all of a sudden, I realized I wasn’t alone. I whirled around, the mop in my hand, and found Eddison standing behind me, with his p-p-penis in his hand.”

I felt my gut clench. “Then what happened?”

“He tried to catch me, but I was able to hold him off because of the mop handle. I whacked him with it,” she admitted. “I ran to the car, thankful I still had my keys in my pocket, locked the doors and left. I don’t know how he found me, though.”

“He knows where your father lives,” Nastya guessed. “If he’d followed you from your mother’s house, he would’ve been right on top of you getting inside the building. As it was, you knocked on your dad’s door for like a minute or two before coming over to mine. Then you and I talked a bit before he showed.”

“Or he has a tracker on your car,” I added.

“True.” Nastya nodded.

“And the first time he assaulted you?” I pushed.

“It wasn’t an assault, per se. He only cornered me in the hallway and tried to push me up against the wall. I didn’t let him and went and found Mom, who then told Rich to keep his son away from me.”

“And they weren’t concerned about this?” Nastya asked. “Did they punish him?”

“Eddison has some developmental issues. He looks like he’s twenty years old, but he acts like he’s fifteen. They say that he has always been delayed, and he actually has some sort of disorder. I don’t know.” She looked sick.

That’s when I pulled her into my arms.

Desi’s sniffles broke my heart, as well as her silent crying.

“What do I do now?” she wailed.

“Now,” I said, “I call my lawyer and get an emergency court order that keeps you out of that fuckin’ house.”

“She’ll be so mad,” she whispered. “And this is a different school district.”

“You have a car, and you can drive,” I pointed out.

Desi had turned sixteen about four months ago, and it’d been a godsend. No longer did we have to do any awkward meet ups that inevitably led to Julia throwing a fit because she saw me.

Buying her the new car had been the best purchase I’d ever made.

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