Page 11 of Beautiful Deception

I hurry back to the motel to find my dad gone. Where did he go?

With nothing to do, I pace around the room until he finally returns a few hours later, stinking of alcohol and stumbling around until he falls face first onto the bed.

“Where have you been?” I ask.

“Out.” His voice is muffled by the mattress.

“Did you gamble again?”

His silence tells me he did exactly that.

“Dad, we have to pay for the motel room tomorrow night. Tell me you have forty dollars at least?”

“I have nothing, Inessa. It’s all gone.”

“All gone?” My heart feels like it’s going to leap out of my chest. “We have no money? Nothing?”

He groans as he rolls onto his back. “I thought you were getting a job.”

“I did. I got one.”

“See? There you go.”

“But I probably won’t be paid for at least a couple of days. Where are we going to stay until then? They’re going to kick us out of this motel.”

“We’ll be fine,” he mumbles in his drunken state.

I’ve been frustrated and disappointed in my father many times but right now, all I feel is rage.

Before I can stop myself, my palm finds his cheek in a sharp slap.

He groans. “What was that for?”

“We needed that money! Did you happen to win any money at all?”

“It’s all gone.”

“So why did you gamble it away? You didn’t win anything. You never win anything. What is wrong with you?”

He suddenly breaks down into tears. He always does that – uses his emotions against me. It’s manipulation. I know this but it doesn’t stop me from lying on the bed and hugging him.

“I’m sorry, Inessa.”

“I don’t want you to be sorry. I just want you to stop gambling.”

“I will. I promise.”

We both know he’ll never stop.

“When do you start work?” he asks.

“Tomorrow.”

“See? There you go. You can ask for the money right away.”

“I’m not sure I can, Dad. I probably need to work for a few days before I get it.” I don’t tell him that I’ll be living in Viktor’s house. It’s better he doesn’t know.

“You’ll save us,” he says. “I’m so proud of you.”

---