Richard’s been gone for an hour when I hear the doorbell ring. Frowning, I switch off the TV that I wasn’t really watching anyway and head towards the screen. I light it up and see my mum standing there by the gates. Immediately, I notice how angry and distraught she looks.
“Mum,” I say, not knowing what to say at first.
“Scarlet, let me in.”
I press the buzzer for the gates and see her run through. When I open the door, she fixes her eyes on me as she runs in. “Is he here?” I shake my head. “Is it true?”
I frown at her. “I don’t understand.”
She looks down, pointing at my bump. “Is the baby his?”
Adrenaline pumps through my veins. At long last, she finally believes it could be true. After all these years of casting me aside as some resentful, hateful girl, she finally sees the light.
It’s funny, really. All these years, I’ve often gone over and over in my head what I would say to the woman who turned a blind eye to my abuse, but now, I’m stunned. It’s like my tongue’s stuck in my mouth.
When I don’t say anything, she grabs me by the arms, gripping them. “I saw the video, Scarlet. The one David had. I saw your father …” she trails off, looking away in disgust before a sob wracks her small frame. “Oh, my God,” she says, falling to her knees. “All this time you’ve been trying to tell me, and I …” She throws her hand over her mouth, capturing the next sob.
All I can do is stand there and watch. I wait for an ounce of sympathy for her, but it never comes. In fact, I pity her now. I watch her in her position at my feet as she breaks down. She’s finally realising what a fucking shitty mother she’s been to me all my life. She’s in obvious turmoil. She’s heartbroken and in despair, but when I try to pinpoint what I’m feeling, I realise why I can’t do it. I feel … nothing.
Nothing at all.
Grabbing my legs, she hugs them, desperate to get comfort from me. Comfort I’m not willing or able to offer her. Completely broken, I feel the question of forgiveness wrack her whole body, but knowing this just makes me angry. Angry for all the times I tried to tell her and she didn’t believe me.
I feel hot tears pool in my eyes. Tears my mother doesn’t deserve. The fact that she is making me feel anything right now only makes me angrier.
“I’m so sorry! So, so sorry!” she screams at my feet.
Having had enough, I pull away from her, shocking her into silence. “It’s much too late for that now, Mum.”
She starts shaking her head. “I just couldn’t see it. I didn’t want to believe it.” She rises from the floor and slowly moves towards me, but I move back.
“Even now, you can’t help it, can you? I’m the one who was abused and yet, here you are at my feet acting like the victim. I was the victim, Mum!” I shout, pointing a finger at my chest. “ME!”
Feeling my vision blur, I glance away, disgusted that I’ve let her see me cry. Angrily, I wipe my eyes, and that’s when she walks forward.
“Come with me. I’ll look after you. Let me be the mother I should have been. Let me protect you.”
I start laughing. “Protect me?” I reply, waving a hand over my body. “Look at me. Look what’s growing inside of me. It’s a bit too late for acting the part of the protective mother now, isn’t it, Mummy Dearest?”
Grabbing my hands, she pleads with her eyes. “Come with me, and I promise to make it better. I’ll be a good mother. You can live with me, and I’ll help you raise the baby.”
I’m about to answer when a voice sounds behind us. “She’s not going anywhere.” His growl is venomous as it practically bounces off the walls.
My mother’s eyes widen and she stiffens. At the same time, we both look in the direction of Richard walking towards us.
“I know what you did,” she states, getting angry at him. “I know what you fucking did!” She attempts to hit him, but Richard’s fast, ducking out of the way. My mother stumbles, and is about to fall, but he catches her before she does. I watch as she becomes feral. She’s scratching at his arms in between hitting and biting him. All the while, he just takes it. This monster—my angry monster—is being surprisingly gentle with my mother.
“Get off me, you fucking bastard. I hate you. I fucking hate you, you sick motherfucker!”
Finally having had enough, Richard holds her firmly in his arms, shaking her. “That’s enough!” he growls, forcing her into silence. “I didn’t intend for this to happen.”
Liar!
“But it did, and now we’re in love.”
“No!” she cries, sobbing into his arm. “I don’t believe you.”
“We know it’s wrong, but we can’t help the way we feel.”
Pushing him away from her, she turns, giving him an evil stare. “She was just a child. Your child. You abused that trust. You’re a fucking sick bastard, Richard. How did I never see it?” She sobs again, shaking her head like she doesn’t want to believe what’s happening.
“I tried not to feel anything for Scarlet, but I couldn’t help myself. Now we’re together, and we’re having a baby. We’re in love, and nothing and no one can take that away from us.”
Mum grips her eyes shut tightly like she’s trying to rid her head of those words. “I don’t believe you,” she says again.
“Okay then,” he answers, pointing towards me. “Ask her. Ask Scarlet what she wants.”
Widening my eyes, I stare at Richard before glancing at my mum. I see the questioning in her eyes, and that’s when it all hits me.
What do I want?
What do I really want?
Stunned for a moment, my head’s swimming with scrambled thoughts. This was supposed to be my moment to shine. My moment to finally get my family to see the truth. I wanted revenge. I wanted salvation.
As I stare across the room at Richard and see his expectant stare, I realise this could still be my moment. My next act will be the cruelest thing I could ever do to my mother.
So, I take a step towards Richard, and once I’m close, I lean into him, placing a hand on his chest as he places an arm around me. “I’m where I belong now, Mum. Aren’t you happy? This is always where you wanted me to be.”
I lean up, kissing Richard on the lips before glancing back at my mum. She’s standing there with fresh tears pooling in her eyes as she shakes her head. “No, no, no, no,” she says over and over again.
I frown. “Why are you so surprised? You and Amber were always keen for us to have a close relationship. You both pushed this.”
She stumbles back, gripping her stomach like she’s going to be sick. “I can’t … this … I can’t.”
“You pushed me into his arms,” I say, putting the final nail in the coffin. I turn to Richard, landing another kiss on his lips—surprised that he’s going along with this and letting me.
I pull away, and we lock eyes with each other, smiling. We turn to look back, but my mother’s gone. Someone else, however, is in her place.
Amber.
I watch the look of disgust on her face, and when I turn to look at Richard, his smile is replaced by fear.
“Amber,” he whispers, letting go of me when she runs.
It stings to watch him run after her like he does, but I should have known it would come. When they both disappear, I feel the relief coursing through me.
They know.
Finally, they know. It’s all I’ve ever wanted. I wasn’t a liar. I never have been.
As I walk towards the window, I watch as Amber breaks down and our father tries to comfort her. I can’t hear what’s being said, but I can guess. She pushes him away from her and starts to fall to her feet. He grabs her, cradling her in his arms as she falls apart.
Having had enough of watching them, I start to walk up the stairs to bed. It’s only a little after ten, but I’m already exhausted.
Once in the bedroom, I get undressed and slip under the covers. I turn off the light and lie there, wondering what Richard will do once he eventually emerges.
About fifteen minutes later, I feel the dip in the bed and a tug as he’s trying to pull his shoes off. I wait as he undresses himself, and when he slips in, he doesn’t try to spoon me like he normally would.
Wondering why, I turn to find my father crying in the darkness. I can see enough to know he’s hurting as tears wrack his whole body. “Dad,” I say, scooting up to him and placing my arms around him, shocked at his show of emotion. He starts to sob, clutching me, and I lie there watching as his world falls apart. He’s lost his daughter. He knows it, and I know it, too. I did try to warn him, but I know this moment isn’t for “I told you so.”
“Everything’s going to be okay,” I coo, threading my fingers through his hair. “You have me. You’ve always had me.” I bend down, kissing his head as his tears begin to flow.
“Make it better,” he urges, and I know exactly what he’s asking.
Climbing on top of him, I start to kiss his chest and neck, and all the while, he’s still crying. As I straddle him, I feel his hardness press deep into me. I act, placing the tip of his erection at my entrance and throw my head back as I ease down on his cock. I start to ride him, and I relish the fact that for now, he’s letting me take control. For now, in his hour of suffering, he’s letting me take the reins.
So, I do. I know this isn’t the time to be rough, so I ride him slowly as he continues to cry over Amber. I’m giving him that. I can take that, knowing that the one person he’s seeking the comfort in is me.
“Scarlet,” he cries, grabbing my hips as I ride him. He doesn’t try to take over. He just holds them there as I continue to fuck him.
“It’s okay, Daddy. I’ve got you. I won’t let you fall.”
He sobs out a heart-wrenching cry, and I take it all for him, thrusting my hips over and over, up and down his cock. I can feel him getting close, and the thought has my own orgasm rushing to the surface. I’m euphoric, riding high on the power I now hold over him. It’s addictive and sweet. Lost in the moment, I bend down, licking his tears, relishing in the taste of his suffering.
“Scarlet,” he moans out again, adding fuel to my fire. I start to ride him faster, moaning and crying out. His cries can be heard above mine, and by fuck, it turns me on.
I’m so close. I can feel the buildup as my climax races to the surface. It’s when I hear his moan coupled with another sob that my orgasm bursts through, robbing me of sight and speech. Unable to control how I feel, I scream his name, continuing to ride him. My pussy throbs, coaxing out his release as well. It’s not long before he stiffens, gripping his fingers into my flesh as he comes apart.
Sated, I collapse on top of him, my head resting on his heaving chest. I wait a moment with a smile on my face as his heavy breathing calms. I wonder if he’s still crying, so I look up, trying to gauge his face, but he looks somehow … lost. Pulling myself off his cock, I push myself up to face him.
“Dad,” I say, trying to get him to look at me. He looks my way, finally smiling as he strokes a lock of hair away from my face. “I love you, Dad.” I witness the shock on his face as I bend to kiss him.
When I pull away, he places a hand on my face, cupping me gently. I close my eyes, relishing the feel of his tenderness towards me. “I love you too, baby.”
“I’m all you need now.”
I see the pain on his face when he realises what I’m telling him. He has to let Amber go. It was always a choice. As long as he kept pursuing us, he would always ultimately have to choose.
“You’re all I need,” he says back.
“Get it out tonight. Cry as much as you want. I’m here to make it all better. I’m here to love you,” I say, placing kisses all over him. I kiss his mouth, capturing another sob that breaks through. I’m taking it all from him tonight—all his suffering and all his pain—and I’m making it all my pleasure.
All night, I comfort him the only way I know how. When he gets hard again, I take him again, and soon after, I do it again. I keep doing it until my body can’t take any more, and it collapses in an exhausted heap on the bed. I take the night and feed off of it because I know that come the morning, he’ll be back to his normal self, and life will go on as normal. Well, as normal as life for us can ever be.
As I lie in his arms, Richard starts to stroke me tenderly, giving me the love I crave from him, and all the while, I’m smiling. I’m not just smiling because it’s all I’ve ever wanted for my entire life.
I’m smiling because for once in all these years, it’s not Amber getting the devotion from Dad. It’s not Amber who’s having affection lavished on her like she’s the most precious person in the world. And it’s not Amber who’s currently lying in his arms, feeling his warmth, his tenderness, and his love.
It’s me.