Page 48 of The Spirit Key
“Now I have to see if she’s around and willing to talk to me. It shouldn’t be that hard, since she was trying when we were here last.”
We walked across the street, which didn’t have a lot of traffic. Surprising considering the college wasn’t too far away.
“I’m going to see if I can get her to come to the park. It should be close enough for her to reach.”
“Okay. I’ll go over there and wait.” He turned and started walking away.
I knew he was still upset, but at least he was here. “Tim?”
He didn’t turn around. “Yeah?”
“Love you.”
I didn’t have to see his face to know he was smiling.
“Let’s just get this done, okay?”
He sauntered off to the park, and I walked over to the door of the diner. I peered in the window and was rewarded when I saw her standing there, eyes wide. I could feel the fear coming off her in waves. I tapped lightly on the window, and she jumped. When she looked in my direction, I gestured to her. Her steps were hesitant, but she came closer, walking through the door of the restaurant.
“Sir? Can you help me? I don’t know where I’m supposed to be, and I’m afraid.”
I bent down, wanting to seem less imposing. She got close enough for me to reach out and touch, but I wasn’t ready for that just yet. “My friend and I want to help you.” I gestured to where Tim stood, watching me like a hawk. “Can you come with me and we’ll see what we can do?”
She followed beside me, nibbling on her finger. When we got to where Tim stood, I reached out and took his hand. He gasped.
“Can you see her?”
“Yeah. She’s so… young.”
I drew in a breath. “I’ve seen younger.” I gave the girl a smile. “What’s your name?”
“E-Elizabeth. Mommy was supposed to pick me up, but I waited and it got dark.” Her lip trembled. “I don’t know where she is, and I’m scared.”
“It’ll be okay.” I reached out to take her hand, and white-hot pain slashed through me. I gritted my teeth to contain my scream, but even still, it was a close thing….
He stood over me, grinning. “Mommy was never coming back for you, you know. She never loved you. It’s why you were lucky I found you.”
My cheeks were hot from the tears, and my heart was pounding. It was so dark, and I was scared. I knew I wasn’t supposed to go with strangers, but I was afraid. I reached out and took his hand and let him take me home with him.
His house was big, and I was in awe of it. He showed me to a room that was decorated in a sea of varying shades of pink and purple. It was the prettiest room I’d ever seen. For dinner that night, we had spaghetti and for dessert, a big piece of chocolate cake.
He was a nice man, but I still missed my mommy. I cried every night, wanting her to come and get me. Through it all, he kept telling me it was just the two of us, and he would take care of me. Eventually I accepted it was true and started to think of him as my father.
Then one night, on my eleventh birthday, he made me my favorite dinner—chicken tenders and fries. After we ate, he brought out a cake with a princess on top. He sang “Happy Birthday” to me, and we laughed and ate until we were so full, I thought I’d be sick. Then he gave me a pretty dress. I’d seen it in the shop once and thought it was the most beautiful thing in the world. When he gave it to me, I was so happy.
“My beautiful girl deserves to have pretty things.”
That night he walked upstairs to my bedroom. As we went, I thought about all the things he’d done for me and knew what I had to say to him. “Thank you… Daddy.”
For a few moments I found myself pulled out of the scene, and was watching as a spectator instead of a participant. I wanted to scream, to tell her to get away from him, but I knew this was just a memory.
Then I noticed his red hair and pale blue eyes, and I got confused. He didn’t look like he did before, and I had no idea what that meant. Before I could think about it, I was dragged back into the scene as it unfolded.
I knew I’d made him happy, because he smiled at me. It was the first time I’d called him Daddy, and it felt right to do it. He stroked my hair and said of all of them, I had been his favorite. I didn’t understand what that meant, but then he reached out and wrapped his hands around my neck and squeezed. I hit at him, more terrified than I’d ever been, but that didn’t stop him. He kept squeezing harder and harder. I couldn’t breathe, and I didn’t understand what I’d done to make him angry.
Then he smiled at me, and I thought maybe he’d been playing. But he tightened his grip, and I knew I was going to die….
Tim pulled me back, and I fell onto the ground, shaking like a leaf. He held the bottle of juice to my lips and tipped it while I gulped it down. Then he grabbed a PowerBar out of the bag, tore open the package, and started feeding it to me. My stomach churned and I tried to turn away, but Tim held me in place.
