Page 4 of Alien Daddies
“I’m sure I can’t join you tonight. Sorry, ladies,” Makenna finally replied as they all sighed with disappointment. “My father says he’ll miss me this summer and wants us to have some quality time together before I leave.” She had never told a lie that tasted so bitter.
“Aw, that’s so sweet!” Heather said, and the girls were all smiling again. “Well, have fun!”
“We gotta go now,” Sherry said. “Our otherworldly princes await. We’ll see you tomorrow, Daddy’s girl!”
“Bye! See you tomorrow morning!” Makenna waved at her friends, still forcing her brightest smile, then disconnected the call.
Daddy’s girl. Ugh. She was the farthest thing from it. Collin Vega could barely stand the sight of her and she didn’t enjoy being in his presence either.
Her smile instantly faded, and sickness rose in her stomach over the lie she’d told.
Not the lie about already having bought her ticket to Phennulos, but the lie about spending the evening with her father.
As if Collin Vega would take time away from his precious work and spend as little as five minutes with her. He might miss out on a last-minute investment or trade if he had to spend even one minute with her. She wasn’t worth his time. Not unless she majored in stupid Interplanetary Business and joined the family trade and made billions of dollars to add to the Vega fortune. Her spirits sank lower and she curled up on her bed, awash in a bone-weary sense of isolation.
She had no access to her money. She was locked in her room. And apparently her father had alerted the authorities not to allow her to set foot on an interstellar vessel under any circumstances. Though she was a grown woman, her father’s wealth and power allowed him to control her completely—the authorities and financial institutions wouldn’t dare oppose his demands, even when such demands skirted on the edge of the law.
She stared out her open window as the gentle ocean breeze entered her room, ruffling the sheer white curtains. The moon shone high in the sky, but the glow of Rissa Island prevented the stars from shining in all their glory. For a moment, she laid in her bed, peering up at the night sky through a part in the curtains and wishing she could see all the stars in existence.
One thing she enjoyed about space travel was the breathtaking views. She loved to turn off all the lights in her quarters and curl up next to the large wall-length windows, where she could stare at the stars for hours upon hours, adrift in the silent beauty of open space. Not only would she miss out on having fun with her friends, but she would miss her silly soul-searching ritual of gazing at the stars and wondering what her future held—please, not a future like her father’s or her siblings’.
She would also miss the swirl of sparkling colors that made up the inside of the interstellar portals. The artificial wormhole from Earth to Phennulos, which she had traveled through numerous times, was absolutely breathtaking, glowing blue and green with occasional glimmers of radiant silver. To think she might have to wait months to make the journey to Phennulos had her pacing around her room, trying to figure out how she would manage the interstellar trip without any money to her name—not to mention how she’d evade those handsy ISA agents.
She couldn’t risk attempting to pass through the security line or even purchase a ticket, assuming she somehow came up with the funds. But maybe…
Diamonds and other jewels.
The idea hit her, sending her scrambling over to her large jewelry chest.
Yes, this could work! She immediately started shoving her most expensive pieces of jewelry into a large velvet bag. Once she made it to Phennulos, she could trade in the jewelry for Phennulian credits. And maybe, if she had any trouble sneaking aboard a vessel—yes, her only option was to stow away—she could bribe any potential lone ISA agents who happened upon her with a handful of priceless jewels, particularly the extremely valuable ones mined on Preemmix 3.
Feeling more settled as a solid plan formed in her mind, she glanced at her open window. Another gust of wind ruffled the curtains, the humid breeze and familiar buzz of nighttime insects promising freedom.
Knowing she couldn’t scale down the walls of the mansion with two heavy suitcases, she entered her massive walk-in closet and rummaged around for a backpack. Once she found a black one—which she hoped would help keep her hidden as she snuck aboard a vessel in the darkness—she selected her favorite dresses, bikinis, shoes, makeup, and toiletries from her already packed suitcases, shoving as much as she could inside the backpack. Once she reached Phennulos and traded in the jewelry for credits, she could buy any additional clothes or items she needed.
She smiled to herself, already feeling better. She wouldn’t spend the summer lonely beyond measure on Rissa Island, enduring the coldness of a disapproving father who believed her an embarrassment and an utter failure. She would escape that judgement and heartache, and then once she returned to Earth she would find a way to convince him to allow her to pursue her passions. If he still refused… well, he could not compel her to attend classes, she reasoned with an aura of growing rebellion.
She took a deep breath to calm herself further, then changed into a pair of black yoga pants, a tight gray tank top, and her most comfortable running shoes. After fashioning her hair into a ponytail, she slung on the backpack and peered over the ledge of the window.
Her stomach flipped. It was a long drop to the surface. If she fell, she would likely land in the thorny Reestrovian rosebushes that circled almost the entire perimeter of the house. Her heart panged as she stared down at the otherworldly vegetation, the blooms of which glimmered blue in the moonlight. They had been her mother’s favorite flowers. At the age of ten, only six months before her mother’s passing, she’d gone to Reestrovia on a wonderful four-month long vacation with her parents and siblings, and her mother had loved the native flowers. Her father had risked a hefty fine to bring the rosebushes to Rissa Island, paying off the entire crew of an interstellar trading vessel to smuggle the plants safely back to Earth.
Makenna’s chest tightened and her throat burned with emotion. Her father seemed like a stranger now compared to the man he’d once been. She couldn’t imagine him leaving Earth for a leisurely vacation, trusting his business and trade ventures to his employees for months on end, let alone risking a huge fine just to see a member of his family smile.
All the joy had left his life the day her mother died, having contracted a rare but deadly virus on Reestrovia. The virus had lain dormant for months. By the time anyone realized something was wrong, her mother’s organs were already shutting down. She had passed away within hours of arriving at the hospital, within hours of feeling the first symptoms of illness.
It was a wonder Collin Vega hadn’t had the rosebushes yanked out of the ground, but they remained in place, becoming more beautiful and lush as the years passed by. Makenna was glad he hadn’t ordered the groundskeeper to remove them. The rich fragrant aroma of the rosebuds—which remained in bloom year-round—wafted up with the breeze, filling her senses as memories of her mother and her happy early childhood washed over her.
She sighed and ran a hand over her ponytail, trying to shake away the clinging remnants of the past. She needed to focus on the here and now and what must be done to ensure she didn’t spend a miserable and lonely summer on this island.
Then she suddenly remembered the hoverboard she’d gotten for her ninth birthday. She rushed back into her closet, pushing aside boxes and moving a small dresser out of the way, until she found the item she was seeking.
Her heart thudded faster as she grasped the hoverboard and raced back to the window. She adjusted the controls, setting it on the highest hover—four feet above the ground, to allow for the shortest drop possible once she escaped out her window.
A swift breeze hit her face again, the promise of freedom beckoning her louder.
She placed her feet into the notches of the board and swung over the ledge, feeling brave and deliciously wild. A strange sense of knowing washed over her, a whispering premonition that once she jumped, life as she knew it would change forever. Would it, really? She could only hope her intuition proved right as she stared at the ground, so far below her perch in the window.Rebellion. Freedom. Change. Please God, let it all come to pass.
She counted backward from ten.
