Chapter 20
Chapter Twenty
On her way out the door, after shedding the diaper and putting her panties and jeans back on, “Tonya” had briefly mentioned to Auntie Athena that she was moving away.
She didn’t stay long enough to answer any questions, either. There wasn’t time to. Samantha had to catch her buses, get home, and scrub all her makeup off. Wen she made it back to her apartment, she also shed her wig, ditched the fake boobs, and dressed in her regular clothes.
Tonya was gone. Forever.
Daddy would be here any moment to pick her up.
She squealed in delight at the thought. It was kind of crappy that she’d tested Kendrick earlier in the day. But he’d passed. It was obvious he was over the moon about her! And obvious that he was indeed her Daddy.
Samantha inspected herself carefully in the mirror, making sure all vestiges of Tonya were gone.
She didn’t see any.
And now that Tonya had told everyone her plan, no one expected to see her around there. Samantha could go to Auntie Athena’s nursery as herself.
Should she wait a while? Like give it a week and then go? Or was it safe to jump right in? Hmm. Might be too obvious if she showed up tomorrow.
It didn’t really matter, she remembered, because she worked a double shift at the diner. That was probably for the best. She needed the money. Plus, it would let a little time pass before Samantha made her first appearance at the nursery.
A knock at the door startled her.
“He’s here!” she cheered.
Spinning on her heels, she barreled out of the bathroom but quickly ran back. She couldn’t just leave her Tonya outfit and wig out! What if Kendrick asked to use the restroom or something?
She threw them under the sink, shut the cabinet doors, and then hurried out. But when she opened her front door, she was surprised to find the staircase empty.
No Kendrick.
Stepping out, she put her hands on the wooden railing, peered over the side, and looked all around.
Not a person in sight.
Kendrick’s truck wasn’t parked in the grassy lot beside her house, either.
Strange.
The tiny hairs on her arm stood on end as the sensation of being watched swept over her.
“Hello?” she called out.
She could see part of the street that ran directly in front of her place. There were a couple of people strolling on both sides of the road, along the jagged sidewalk that was overgrown with weeds and grass that poked through the cracks.
A bus rolled by, followed by a small car and then a garbage truck.
But no one paid her any attention.
She shut her door enough so that she could look at the front of it, wondering if someone had put a takeout flyer or something there.
Nope. It was bare.
It could have been a bill collector, she realized, but the odds of them actually dropping by the house were pretty much slim to none. They just called and sent certified letters. And the mail had already run that day, so it wasn’t the postman bringing bad news.
She decided to check one more thing before heading back inside.
Keeping the door closed so she could step to the rear of the tiny square patio—that was really only big enough to hold one person at a time—she leaned against the railing and looked into the space behind her apartment.
She couldn’t see much around the corner. But there wasn’t anyone in sight.
It was possible someone was out of view, lurking near the dumpster.
Remembering the view she had of that from the window above her kitchen sink, she went back inside, locked her door, and hurried to the spot. She had to hoist herself up a little, and she was thankful it wasn’t to climb down this time around.
Opening the window, she poked her head out and looked straight down.
Still nothing.
“Maybe it was someone who realized they had the wrong address and left.”
She yelped and jumped a little as another knock at the door startled her.
Hurrying toward it, she wondered if she should actually answer it. What if this was some creep playing psychological games or something? Someone who thought it was funny to mess with a young woman who lived all alone.
She inched her eye to the peep hole and smiled.
Daddy was there!
Well, the guy she thought was her Daddy. She hadn’t exactly called him that yet. But if the kiss they’d shared last night was any indication…
She threw the door open, wrapped her arms around his neck, and squealed in delight.
“Mmm. You seem happy to see me. I like that.”
She confirmed his suspicion with a nod and a smile. But a frown turned her lips down a second later. “Did you just get here?”
“Yep.”
“Did you see anyone running away from here?”
She felt his body tense as she continued to press herself against him.
“No. Why? Did something happen?”
Of course, she no longer felt uneasy now that Kendrick was there. Only an idiot would try something when he was around. But that didn’t change the fact that someone had knocked on her door and run away.
“It’s probably no big deal,” she replied as she pulled away.
“But?”
Samantha shrugged. “No big deal. It’s just… someone knocked on my door right before you got here. When I answered it, no one was there.”
Kendrick cocked his head. “Did you check to see who it was before you opened the door?”
“Well… not exactly.” She grinned sweetly. “But I thought it was you!”
He shook his head. “Honey, always check to see who is here before you just open up. Okay?”
She nodded. “Yes, Sir.”
He looked behind him, down the stairs, and then back at her. “How long did it take you to answer your door from the time you heard the knock?”
Samantha thought it over. “Maybe twenty seconds or so. I was in my bathroom.”
She hoped he wouldn’t want to go in there for any reason. The Tonya wig and clothes were hidden, but still—the further he stayed away from them the better!
“Well, that’s enough time for someone to run down those stairs, obviously. But they probably wouldn’t have time to make it around back. You would have noticed them. So they probably walked around to the front of your place and then just left.”
He was right, she realized. Her building was a two-story box.
A perfect square. Standing in front of it and looking straight ahead, the staircase and her door were on the left side.
Once someone stepped off those stairs, they could just turn the corner and be concealed by the front of it, by the garage doors.
And from there, the building would block them as they walked away, as long as they went left.
“Probably just some kids,” she said. “Ding-dong-ditch. You know? There’s lots of ‘em around this neighborhood.”
Even as they stood there, the sound of children’s laughter reached them from the distance. Two kids rode down the sidewalk on their bikes.
“Might have even been them,” she noted.
“Probably. But just be careful from now on. Deal?”
“Yes, Sir!” She gave him a little salute.
He laughed. “Come on, cutie. Let’s go eat dinner. And, just in case you want to stay—you know, to play with the other Littles—you might want to pack an overnight bag.”
Samantha giggled. She was pretty sure she might stay the night.
But it didn’t have anything to do with playing with other Littles.