He sighs, sitting down beside me in the cramped closet. “Aw, bug, Dad doesn’t hate you. He just… he has a hard time showing how much he cares sometimes.”
“Well, I hate him!” I rub my nose with the back of my hand. “I wish you were my only family.”
Jake pulls me into a hug, and I bury my face against his chest, breathing in his familiar, comforting scent.
“Hey, now, don’t say that. We’re all a family, even when it’s hard.”
I nod, but the tears keep coming. “Maybe Mommy should have let me die instead.”
Jake’s eyes widen with shock. He grasps my shoulders, looking right into my face. “No, bug, never say that!” He pulls me close again. “Mommy loved you too much.”
Lifting my face up and giving me a nose-to-nose rub until I can’t help but giggle a little. “Mommy was so brave, and she was just like you.”
“Really?” I snort, my nose running messily down my face.
“Here.” Jake pulls his shirt up, wiping my nose with it. “Blow.”
I let out a big snort right into the fabric, then peek up at him. He’s got that goofy grin on his face, the one that always makes me laugh.
“Hey, you, cheeky girl.” He tickles my sides until I’m squealing and squirming. “Better now?”
I nod, the tight feeling in my chest starting to ease. Jake always knows how to make me feel better.
He tugs me onto his lap, wrapping his arms snug around me. “How about a song?”
I lean my head on his shoulder as he starts to sing softly. “When you’re down and in trouble…”
I join in, my voice wobbly at first but growing stronger. We sing it through together, our special song.
As the last words fade away, Jake squeezes me tight. “Now, let’s go get you cleaned up and put on that pretty flower dress of yours.”
I tilt my head, confused. “Why?”
“Well, we’ve got a birthday party to go to!”
“Birthday party? Whose birthday party?”
Jake ruffles my hair, his eyes twinkling. “The birthday party of the most precious girl in my life, of course.”
I giggle, feeling the warmth of his love. But then, his face starts to blur, edges fading.
Panic grips me. “Jake? Jake, don’t go!”
I reach out, trying to hold on to him, but my hands pass through empty air. “Jake!” I scream.
Please, don’t leave me.
I struggle to open my eyes, my lids heavy as lead. The world swims into blurry focus. An unfamiliar face hovers over me, a man wearing a dark mask.
Fuck. Where am I? What’s happening?
I blink hard, trying to clear my vision. The stranger’s intense brown eyes bore into mine. A musky, unfamiliar scent fills my nostrils.
Hazy memories slowly surface—flashing lights, pulsing music, masked figures all around. The sex club. I’d come here tonight looking for… something. An escape. A thrill. But I got drugged. I can see the prick’s face.
Fuck.
Cold fear tracks through me as I notice my disheveled clothes, the ache in my muscles. I try to speak, to demand answers, but my tongue feels thick and clumsy. No words come out.
