Darby looks at Jocelyn and tilts her head, then she looks at me with accusing eyes. I’m so angry right now that I can barely see straight, but I know exactly how to stop this little piece of information from fermenting in her brain.
“She’s a liar,” I reply simply. “Come on, baby. Do you really think that Daddy would be such a mean man that he would do something like keep you and your Momma apart?”
Darby turns her eyes back to Jocelyn, then to me again, before she shimmies off of her chair and walks over to where I’m sitting.
“I wanna go to my room,” she says, dangerously close to tears.
“That’s a good idea, baby. You go to your room and I’ll come get you as soon as I’m done talking to your sister.” I put emphasis on the last word so that she knows that she does share Jocelyn’s blood, but not in the way that she’s trying to tell her she does.
So what if it makes me the bad guy? I’ve been the bad guy since I fell from my mother’s womb—but hey, you teach what you’ve learned during your upbringing, and I’m just passing on the “good word” as it was taught to me.
I never did feel quite right sticking my dick in someone that wasn’t family after my mom died, but I got used to it for a while. Then Jocelyn came along and everything was right in my world again.
Once Darby is out of earshot, I get to my feet and walk over to Jocelyn, who’s now cowering in her chair. She knows that I’m pissed; she knows that she fucked up, and she damn well knows what that means.
“You little bitch,” I seethe at her. “I did my best to be a good man to you today, to bring you up to meet our child, and this is the thanks I get?”
I yank Joce out of her chair and pull her body against mine. Her lower lip is trembling and the fear in her eyes tell me that she’s not my baby girl anymore. My daughter would never act like this. If my daughter pulled a knife on me, she would have fucking used it. This is just a shell of the woman I loved and nothing more.
“Guess it’s time to take out the trash,” I say quietly, my lips grazing against hers.
“No, I’m sorry, Pater! I don’t know what came over me, I won’t do it again. Please!” she begs as I begin to drag her out of the dining room.
“It’s too late for this bullshit and to be quiet honest with you, I’m done dealing with you. I’m done worrying if you’re alright and if you’re still alive. Everything will be better this way and I’ll never have to think about your miserable ass again after tonight.”
“Just one more chance, please,” she sobs as I drag her into the kitchen.
“You had your chance, now quit your fucking begging and clean your face. I’m gonna give you the chance to say good-bye to Darby, but not if you’re crying like a whiny little bitch,” I snap at her.
I drop her hand and leave her crying on the kitchen floor, a sobbing mess of disappointment as I call out for Darby.
“No! I’m not coming out of my room!” she shouts back.
I sigh angrily. I’m not in the mood for this bullshit and I’m going to snap and beat her if she doesn’t come to me.
“Darby! Don’t make me come to collect you. Bring your little spoiled ass out here, right now!” I shout at the top of my lungs.
I’ve never yelled at her like that before so she knows I’m damn serious, and within the next minute or so, I can see her door open slightly, and her head pop out to look at me with wide eyes.
I run a hand over my face and do my best to swallow the anger that I’m feeling at both of them right now and sigh.
“Come to your Daddy, baby. I’m sorry I yelled at you. I’m not mad at you, I promise,” I say, crouching down and holding my arms out. She takes a timid step out of her room and bites her lower lip nervously.
“You know I wouldn’t hurt you, Darbs,” I say as gently as I can, through grit teeth. “I need you to help me say good-bye to Jocelyn now, cause she’s gotta go and then we can be together. Just the two of us.”
Darby finally begins to walk slowly down the hallway and lets me pick her up in my arms when she reaches me. She doesn’t snuggle into me like she always does when I pick her up, and I can understand why.
“It’ll be okay from now on. I promise,” I whisper to her, giving her a gentle kiss on the cheek. “Daddy loves you.”