Page 32 of Tinley's Daddy
“Nope, use different words, but we are not using that one.”
She pulled the blanket over her head.
“Tinley.” I pulled on the blanket. “You don’t need to hide from me. You can tell me anything and you know what.”
“What?” Her words were muffled by the blanket.
“I’m still going to think you’re brave and beautiful.” I leaned closer and whispered, “I may even start calling you BB.”
“Ugh!” She flipped the blanket down to reveal her face. “Why are you being so nice to me?”
“You want me to be mean to you?” I stuffed a loose strand of hair back into her bun.
She shrugged.
“Sorry, that’s not going to happen.” I caressed her cheek with the back of my fingers. She leaned into it before stiffening and then the blanket went back up over her head.
“Tinley.” I tugged on the blanket. “While this blanket is very nice, I’d much rather see your pretty little face.”
She folded the blanket down.
“There’s my brave girl.”
“You know?” She narrowed her eyes.
“Know what?” I pulled the blanket out of her grasp. She rested her hands on her chest.
“You know what I am or was?” She pouted.
It was my turn to be confused.
“A little.” She whispered the words.
My heart raced and my chest tightened. I wasn’t shocked at her admission. I was thrilled, she trusted me enough to tell me.
“What do you mean was?”
She yanked at the blanket, but I had a firm hold on it.
“Well, obviously was.” She sighed. “Because I can’t be one anymore. That’s why I can’t sleep.”
I sat back and rubbed my face. She blinked a few times and tears pooled in her eyes.
“It took me a little while to accept being little and mostly because I was afraid my boyfriend wouldn’t like it, and I loved him.” She shifted on her side. “I loved him so much.”
“Oh, Tinley,”
“They took so much from me. They took Damon away from me and I’ll never get him back. But they also took my freedom, my body, my little away from me, too.”
“I’m so sorry you had to go through any of this.”
“The guy who sponsored us in the club, he knew the type of relationship we had. The people at the club knew all about us before we arrived. I figured it was normal. But thinking back on it now, it was all wrong. We were so naïve.”
“The guy who sponsored you, was he there that night?”
“I never saw him, but I heard him a few days after Damon was killed. I was in a dark room, and I heard him and two other men talking about me. How they could use me?” Tinley motioned for me to come closer. “There is a big market for women who not just dress but also act like little girls.”
My stomach rolled.
