Scream For me

WESTON

“Daddy?”

I crack my eyes open, the sound of Daisy’s little footsteps coming down the hallway toward my bedroom.

“Shit! Shit! Shit!” Daphne scrambles awake, trying to slide off the bed before Daisy enters but I grab her arms.

“Hey, hey, where do you think you’re going?”

“I don’t think that telling her we’re seeing each other by having her walk in with me in your bed is a great idea.” She tries to wriggle away again but I stop her.

“Seeing each other?” I reach for my shirt and hand it to her so she feels more comfortable. “We aren’t seeing each other, Daphne. We’re together as in getting married as in I very well could have put a baby inside you last night.”

“I don’t think it happens that quickly but-”

“I’m serious, let me handle it. It will be fine.”

The door slowly cracks open as Daisy trudges into the room. She drops her rainbow unicorn stuffed animal and bends down to pick it up before crawling into bed with us, completely oblivious. I pick her up and swing her around so she’s facing only me.

“Morning, Daddy.” She yawns, stretching her arms overhead. “I don’t want to go to school today.”

I glance over at Daphne who is almost covered by the sheet, just the top of her head and eyes poking out.

“Is it because you still miss Miss Flowers?” She nods her head, rubbing her eyes as she starts to pout. Daphne pokes her head out from under the sheet a little farther. “What if I told you she was back and she’s going to be your teacher again?”

“She is?” Her demeanor changes in an instant. “Daddy?”

“What if I told you that you could see her right now if you wanted to?”

“Huh?” She looks at me confused and I point behind her. She turns around, finally seeing Daphne. “Miss Flowers!” she shouts, launching herself into her arms. “What are you doing in Daddy’s bed?” she asks and Daphne’s face goes bright red.

“Well, sweetie.” She brushes her hair away, glancing at me, then back to Daisy. “I love your daddy very much and I love you very much too.”

“Wait”-she points to Daphne, then me-“are you going to be my new mom?”

“What would you say about that if she was?” I’m playing it cool, but my heart feels like it’s about to beat out of my chest.

“I would say duh!” She gestures, her unicorn bobbing in her hand with the movement. “You liked her for a long time, Dad. I know that.”

“You see that?” I laugh at Daphne. “Already giving me attitude at six years old.” I grab Daisy, pulling her into my arms to tickle her, making her giggle. “Daisy, are you sure you’re okay with Daddy and Miss Flowers loving each other?”

“Yes.” She smiles.

“That means she’s going to live with us and that someday, you will have a little brother or sister or both.”

“Can you make it a sister, please?” she says in all seriousness, making us laugh again. “I don’t like boys, besides you, Daddy.”Copyright Nôv/el/Dra/ma.Org.

“Okay, sweetheart, we’ll try to make sure you get a baby sister.”

She crawls into my lap with her unicorn, telling Daphne and me about her dreams last night and about how excited she is to have Daphne as her mom. She jumps up, grabs her hand, and drags her down the hall to show her her bedroom.

“So what’s the plan?” Daphne asks me as we put Daisy in the car and head toward school.

I glance in the rearview mirror to make sure she has her headphones on. “We’ll drop Daisy off, then take you back to your old apartment. I want you to pack some things and get ready. I have a few guys meeting me at your building. We’ll handle getting Steve and Ken and take them to the school where we’ll pick up Rick.”

“What guys? Is this going to be dangerous?” She looks concerned and rightfully so.

“Could be, yes. These guys are just some hired muscle I’ve used in the past. Special Forces types.”

“What if they’re not home?”

“They are. The guys have already been camped outside the building all night. Don’t worry about it, baby.” I reach over and cup her cheek.

We drop Daisy at school, Daphne stays in the car.

“Good morning, Mr. Vaughn.” Rick stands by the entrance with a smug look on his unsuspecting face, greeting parents as they enter the building.

“Morning, Rick.” I look him dead in the eyes. “Hey, just wanted to apologize for my behavior the other day. I was completely out of line. I understand why you did what you did.” I grab his shoulder, squeezing it a little harder than necessary, making him wince.

“N-no worries, Mr. Vaughn.”

“Please, call me Wes.” I clap his shoulder before walking back to the car where Daphne is slouching in the front seat.

“The windows are blacked out, baby; nobody can see you in here.”

“What was that about? You looked like you were smiling.”

“I was just fucking with him. I want him to feel at ease so he has no idea his entire world is about to be fucking rocked.”

When we get to the building, the four guys I work with are sitting in a black SUV. As they see me approach, they get out and follow a distance behind as I walk Daphne inside.

“Okay, baby.” I turn her to look at me once we’re in her apartment. “Just put some music on and don’t come out, no matter what you hear, okay?”

“What are you going to do?” Her eyes search mine, her hands clinging to my shirt.

“Nothing crazy, don’t worry. Nobody will be getting hurt… Well, they shouldn’t if they do what we say. Either way, once this is all over, I’ll come back and get you. Right now, I’m going to deal with these pieces of shit and take them to Rick where I’ll handle this once and for all. I love you.” I kiss her.

“I love you too. Please be safe.”

“You guys stand out of sight for a minute,” I say, motioning toward the men once Daphne is behind her locked door. I knock on the door, stepping back so that whoever looks out the peephole can see that it’s me.

“What do you want?” Steve opens the door a few inches, his weaselly face just visible. Before he has a chance to realize what’s happening, I rear back my leg and kick the door in as hard as I can, sending him flying across the entryway.

“What the fuck!” Ken comes flying out of his room at the intrusion, his face going white as a shit the second he sees me walking into his apartment.