Page 10 of Lacey's Daddy
“I’ll be a burden to you. Where do you think you’re going to take me?” I tip my head back. “He’ll find me. I don’t have money or an education. I can’t get a job. It’s not simple. You can’t just swoop in here and give me a place to sleep tonight, and everything will be okay.”
Brian holds my chin again and leans closer. “Lacey, I’m not going to leave you anywhere. Never. We can discuss your options when we get to Noah’s apartment.”
“Options? I don’t have options. If I had options, I would have left a long time ago.”
“You do, Little one. You have options because I’m going to make sure you do.” He reaches for my backpack, tucks the box of my mementos in it and stands. “Is there anything else you need?”
I rise from the floor, wincing again, and glance around my room before rushing over to my bed to reach under my pillow and pull out Fluffy. Will he think it’s weird that I have a tattered stuffed animal I can’t leave behind?
I hug her to my chest with my bad arm and meet Brian at the doorway.
He’s staring at the frame at the entrance to my room. “Where’s the door?”
I swallow as I meet his gaze. “He took it off when we moved in.”
Brian’s entire face tightens. “He took the door off your room?” His voice rises.
I nod.
Brian searches my face.
He needs more of an explanation. I give him the only explanation I have. “So I can’t do anything he doesn’t permit.”
Brian lifts a brow so high it looks like it should hurt. “What’s not permitted, Lacey?”
I take a step back, nervous. “Reading,” I whisper. “That’s also why I don’t have a lightbulb.”
Brian sucks in a sharp breath and holds it. For a long time, we just stand here, not saying a word until he lifts my backpack up one shoulder and takes my hand. He leads me out of thecabin. Our shoes crunch on the leaves. We don’t have a concrete driveway. It’s just dirt and leaves.
Brian opens the back door of his car and sets my backpack on the seat before closing it and helping me into the front passenger seat. He silently reaches across to buckle me in.
When he’s settled behind the wheel a few seconds later, he turns to me. “Are you going to introduce me to your stuffie, Baby girl?” He points toward my kitten.
I tentatively hold her out. I feel vulnerable and scared. “This is Fluffy.”
He smiles and pats my kitten on the head. “Nice to meet you, Fluffy.” After he starts the car, he reaches for my hand and holds it loosely.
I feel less anxious when he’s touching me.
As we drive away, I turn my head to stare out the window. I’m leaving this cabin. I don’t know what Brian is going to be able to do to help me, but I have to trust him. It’s the best chance I have at ever escaping.
Brian squeezes my hand gently. “It’s going to be okay, Little one. I promise.”
Chapter Four
I’m quiet on the way to Noah’s apartment. I’ve known Brian for a long time. Even though he doesn’t live on the mainland, he visits on weekends sometimes, and I feel lucky when I get to see him, but how well do I really know him?
When he pulls into a parking spot and turns off the car, I start to panic. I shouldn’t be here. I shouldn’t have told him so much about me. I should have gone home and forgotten I ever met someone as kind as Brian.
I wait for him to help me out of the car, mostly because I’m too nervous to move. He grabs my meager possessions and leads me into the apartment. As soon as he shuts the door and turns on the lights, I bite my lip.
I haven’t been inside a normal home owned by normal people for over ten years. Before my mother died, we had a normal home. I had friends who did, too. I went to their houses. We had sleepovers.
I’m standing in a large room that’s both a kitchen and a living room. Everything in this apartment is new and clean and bright. I’d forgotten how other people live.
“Come, Little one.” Brian sets my backpack on the coffee table and points toward the stairs. “The bedrooms are upstairs.”
I follow Brian upstairs and into a bedroom. It’s well lit like the downstairs. I’m not used to so much light. My father doesn’t like to waste electricity, so he only permits one lamp in the evening. When it’s dark, he tells me to go to bed.
