Prologue

Nine Years Old

“Patricia, can I get you something to drink… water… soda… maybe something to snack on?”

I opened my eyes. A big policeman stood in the doorway. He asked if I was okay or if I needed anything a lot. He looked nice.

Officer Mary, the police lady that sat across from me, said that all men were to be kept as far away from me as possible. But I wasn’t scared of these men like she thought I would be.

Only two people scared me. I hope I never have to see them again.

I closed my eyes and shook my head. “No, thank you,” I whispered, and hoped the officer heard me.

My eyes hurt. I squeezed them so tight I saw see spots.

But I had to hide my tears… I just had to. Momma hated my tears. She hated it when I cried. She hated everything about me.

Don’t think about her… don’t think about him… Just forget.

“I want my daddy,” I said in a trembling whisper.

“He should be here any minute, Patricia. My partner spoke to him moments ago and he was just down the street. Are you sure you don’t want your mother to come in and sit with you. She’s right down the hall and I can go get her if you want,” Police lady Mary said carefully.

My stomach hurt at the mention of my mother. I felt kinda sick.

Momma scares me.

I opened my eyes and the air made them burn. I wanted to cry so bad.

The police lady smiled at me, but when I looked in her eyes, I knew she wasn’t really happy. She was only trying to make me feel better.

“Please don’t make me see my mama,” I begged in a tiny voice. I knew Officer Mary didn’t understand why I wouldn’t see momma, but she would as soon as my daddy got here. They’d been waiting for him to get here.

“Patricia -” she started to say, but I couldn’t take anymore.

I hated my name. I hated the sound of my name. I heard him saying my name over and over again in my head. He loved my name. The way he said my name made the hair on my arms stand up.

“Please don’t call me that… anything but Patricia. I hear him saying that name in my head,” I said softly as I fidgeted with the bottom of my pink shirt.

Officer Mary’s face quickly changed from sad to angry, but I knew she wasn’t angry with me. I hadn’t done anything wrong.

She opened her mouth to say something, but she closed it before anything came out. And that’s when I heard running footsteps outside the room.

“Patricia! Honey! Where is she?” I heard Daddy shout hysterically.

He came for me.

“She’s right in here sir,” the policeman that stood at the doorway said as he pointed inside my room. Not a second later, my daddy came running inside. He spotted me, ran around the table and scooped me up into his arms. He squeezed me so tight and held me as close as possible while we both cried. His body shook. My little body trembled in his arms. I was so happy he was here. This was all over. He would make me forget. Daddy always knew how to make everything better.

“Daddy’s here, honey. I’m here,” he whispered as he squeezed me tightly. “You’re never going back. I won’t let you go. I won’t let her take you,” he promised me.

Daddy pulled back. He cupped my cheek and wiped away my tears as he looked down at me. He swept the hair off my face. “I’m so sorry, honey. I will never, ever, let you go back. I swear it. I will never let your mother put you in harm’s way again.”

I hated her.

“I told her,” I managed to say through my sobs. “I told her that man was bad. She said she didn’t care. She said I was trying to get attention. She just left me there,” I cried.

Daddy sucked in a sharp breath as he stared at me through watery eyes. I saw his nostrils flare before he pulled me in for another hug.

“Your mother needs help, honey, but I refuse to let her see you again until she gets it. I swear baby girl, I will never let anything happen to you again.”

“Mr. Kincaid, I’m so sorry to interrupt you sir, and I’m sorry for everything that has happened, but the sooner we can take your daughter’s statement the sooner we can file charges against Mr. Danblerg. I want to make sure we do everything in our power to guarantee he’s put away for as long as possible,” Officer Mary stated.

Daddy’s eyes closed. I knew he was losing his patience when he pinched the middle of his nose, but after a few seconds, he lifted his head and spoke, “Let’s get this over with. I want to get her home and the longer I stay here, the more tempted I’ll be to commit murder if I find out that he’s anywhere in this building,” he growled dangerously. He lifted me up, sat me in the chair I’d been sitting in and sat in the chair next to me.

Officer Mary nodded in understanding before she turned to face me. “Okay sweetheart, before we start, are you sure you don’t want anything to drink?”

I shook my head. I wanted her to hurry up.

“Okay, I know you don’t want me to call you Patricia, so what would you like me to call you?”

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw daddy’s head turn to me.

“What does she mean, honey? Why don’t you want her to call you Patricia?” he asked.

“I just don’t like it anymore,” I answered in a shaky voice. He was already so angry. I was scared to tell him why. He would hurt.

“Whatever you want baby girl. Anything you want,” he said softly. I rubbed my hands on the top of my jeans, played with my fingers and thought about my name.

How did I choose a name? What could I make out of Patricia?

Pat? No… Patty? Eeekkk! Hamburger Patty… Uh huh!

If Lex was here, she’d know what to call me.

“What about Trish?” Officer Mary asked. Her voice cut into my thoughts and I lifted my head. “Would it be okay if I called you Trish? I think it’s the perfect name for such a beautiful, strong, brave little girl.”

I stared at her while she spoke. I studied her. She was a pretty lady. She wore no makeup and her brown hair was pulled back into a tight bun on the top of her head. She was really nice to me and had been since the moment she first saw me. She was small too, but somehow, deep down, I just knew her size probably didn’t matter. I had a feeling she could be mean if she wanted… probably very mean. I bet she could shut up some of the policemen with a stink eye.

I liked that.

I liked her.

I wanted to be like her; a strong woman. A woman that would be nothing like the horrible woman my momma was.

Trish… if she liked it, I liked it.

I smiled a little to myself. Officer Mary smirked.

“Trish, just Trish. I love it... thank you,” I said in a tiny voice.