Page 55 of Gene

She shrugged. “Panic? I know what I was doing wasn’t wrong since it wasn’t the wall. The markers did tell me to draw on the wall. I mean, look at the wall. It’s so bare and boring. It needed some of my touch, but I didn’t do it. I just did it on the boxes.”

It took her several minutes to talk herself out of coloring on the wall. She knew if she did, nobody would buy the house, and she needed them to. She needed the money so she could give it to Deccan.

Daddy cupped her face with his hands. “Daddy is super proud of you for not coloring on the walls. You coloring on the boxes was not wrong.” He looked around the room.

She had been packing her Little room. She needed it all gone before the lady came to take pictures. She didn’t want this room on display when she wasn’t married or had any kids. What would they think of her if they saw it?

“Why are you packing?” Daddy asked. “Especially your Little room.”

Sammi opened and closed her mouth several times, trying to figure out something to say. She hadn’t thought about what she would say if Daddy asked. She wasn’t planning on Daddy coming over today.

It was getting trickier and trickier, keeping everything away from him. But it wasn’t her place to say that her brother had a debt she got dragged into. It was his debt, and he wanted it kept a secret, which she was doing. Even though it was breaking one of her rules. It was stressing her out beyond belief. She was supposed to go to Daddy for things like this.

But she couldn’t.

Maybe when it was all over, she would be able to explain it to Daddy. She was definitely going to be getting a spanking, which was coming to terms with that.

“Little One, why are you packing?” Daddy asked.

“My brother needs help, so I’m moving my stuff back into my parents’ house to help him,” she quickly replied.

It wasn’t a complete lie. Her brother did need help with the debt. Sammi was the only person who was family who could help with the debt. It seemed to be a family thing but she wasn’t sure, Deccan going after people who owed him money. Or so she thought.

Sammi had only heard rumors about Deccan and him loaning money. There was nothing solid until her brother came to her. And now she was in this mess. His mess. This horrible mess that she wouldn’t wish on anybody.

“What are you doing with this house? Why are you packing? Can’t you just help him by dropping by every once in a while?” Daddy really had no idea.

Her armpits started to sweat as she stared at him. He was asking way too many questions. Ones which she didn’t have the answers to. She hadn’t thought that he was actually going to see her move any boxes, so she didn’t think about what he could possibly ask. Now, she knew that as a mistake. She should have figured that he would be checking in on her since everything had gone down. She couldn’t go ten minutes without him asking if her blood sugar levels were in normal range.

“Um, I’m going to sell the house?” It came out more like a question, and she closed her eyes.

She was definitely bringing more attention to the situation than she wanted. But Sammi wasn’t a good liar. She never would be because she didn’t like lying to people, but she had promised her brother she wouldn’t tell a soul. Deccan had also threatened her not to tell anybody else. She wanted her pinkies all intact. Deccan didn’t say he was going to take her fingers, but that was the first thing to go whenever the person was getting tortured in movies. She didn’t want to end up like them, so she kept it a secret even though it meant lying to the people she loved.

Well, it was only Daddy, but still, it was hard. Especially when it was one of her rules, and she knew when Daddy found out that her bottom was going to be so red. Maybe Daddyneverhad to find out. Maybe she could live with the lie forever. She probably would have to since she had no idea if Deccan meant keeping it a secret until it was paid off or until one of them died.

Sammi was going to go with keeping the secret until one of them died. It made the most sense when she thought about it.

“Why are you going to sell your house? What does he need help with?” Daddy asked.

Tears pooled in her eyes as she stared at him. She so badly wanted to tell him everything, but she couldn’t. She didn’t know what Deccan was going to do, and she didn’t want to think about the consequences for her or her brother.

“I... I can’t tell you,” she whispered. “It’s not my place to say because my brother doesn’t want anyone to know. I just need to help him out.”

“Are you safe?” Daddy cupped her face.

“Yes,” but she sounded unsure.

For now, she was safe, but she didn’t know how much money her brother still owed and if she would have to work or not. Would Deccan want her if he found out she was diabetic? Not being able to work for Daddy meant no insurance to get her medication. Would Deccan have insurance for her?

Daddy eyed her for several seconds, which made her hold her breath. She didn’t want to give him any indication that she was even more worried than she sounded.

And it seemed to work as Daddy smiled at her. “If that changes, let me know straight away. I don’t want my baby girl in any danger. I want you safe and sound, cuddled in my arms.”

Sammi nodded, agreeing with Daddy. She would love to be safe and sound and cuddled in his arms more than anything in the world. It sounded glorious. Maybe one day she would hand everything to Daddy so he would take control, and Sammi would have a stress-free life.

That would be the best thing ever.

“Do you need help transporting these to your brother’s house?” Daddy asked. “I drove in the truck, so I can help you if you want.”

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