Chapter 3
FRANKIE
“Frankie, I need to go into town to get some work done. There is something at the club that I need to do. I can’t get out of it,” Daddy informed her.
Frankie looked up from her coloring page and pouted. “You do?” she whispered, sadness filling her voice.
She didn’t like it when Daddy left her. She didn’t like being home alone in the house where monsters could come and take her. What would Daddy do without her?
“I do.” He nodded.
“What about the monsters?” She looked around like they were going to appear at any second.
“They are going to stay away from you while I’m gone,” Daddy replied.
“But you didn’t do your magic to keep them away,” she pointed out, worry starting to creep up inside of her.
Frankie knew the monsters weren’t real, but they felt it. Every single time Daddy left the house to go do something, he would always do his ritual of walking through every room and spreading his magic to keep them away. When he didn’t, the walls felt like they were closing in on her even more.
The monsters were out to get her.
“I can have someone come and sit with you while I am gone, maybe Dominic, or some of the girls can come over,” Daddy suggested, ignoring her magic comment. “That will keep the monsters at bay since I can’t do the magic right now.”
It had been a month since Halloween, and she still hadn’t set foot outside. Daddy had tried several times, but she wasn’t willing to try. Daddy had mentioned the girls wanted to meet her several times, but Frankie wasn’t ready yet. Frankie didn’t know if she would ever be ready.
“Bu-but the monsters,” she whispered, her eyebrows pulling in. “They’ll come after me while I wait for Dominic to come over.”
She didn’t want Dominic to come over to the house either.
No one had been in the house besides Dr. Mike and Michael.
They had wanted to check up on her in the beginning to make sure she was okay, but she hadn’t seen them in over two years.
Everyone who came to see Daddy always stayed outside to talk to him.
Did Frankie feel bad? A little, but she didn’t want anyone to see her. She was fine just where she was, not seeing anyone but Daddy.
“They won’t, but it will take Dominic several minutes to get here. The other option is you coming with me to the club,” Daddy slowly offered.
She shook her head. Frankie was not leaving the house.
No.
“It’s one or the other. I need to leave now, they are expecting me soon. You can either come with me or you can wait for Dominic to get here.” Daddy gave her the options. “But you need to pick quickly.”
Daddy grabbed his bag and placed it over his shoulder. What was she going to do? Frankie didn’t want to go outside, but she didn’t want to be left alone in this house.
Frankie opened and closed her mouth several times but ultimately shut it without saying anything.
“I can carry you in. We can put a blanker around you so no one can see you, and you can stay in my office while I meet with a couple of people,” Daddy told her.
Bringing her fingers up to her mouth, she started to bite at the end of them, feeling the nerves rush through her. The choice was having someone watch her or go out in public.
“No one will see you. I’ll make sure no one is in the hallway when we walk through the building,” he explained. “I will carry you into the building with a blanket over you. No one will even know you are there.”
If he told people not to be in the hallways, everyone would know she was there.
Several people had tried to message her in the beginning, and some still did, trying to see if they could see her again and find out how she was doing.
Frankie always replied, but said she wasn’t going outside any time soon. But they never gave up .
“I—” She took a deep breath. Was she really considering it right now? Was she really thinking about stepping out of her safe zone so the monsters didn’t get her?
“Frankie?” Daddy tilted his head to the side. “Are you all right?”
“I guess I’ll go with you. As long as no one sees me,” she quickly replied. “And I want the blanket around me when we go in. The pink soft one.”
Daddy stared at her for several seconds as he took in her words. Did she say something wrong? Should she have stayed home and waited for Dominic to come over?
“Daddy?” she hesitantly whispered.
“You want to come with me?” he asked.
Frankie nodded. “Only if I can have the blanket wrapped around me and you carry me. Also, I don’t want anyone to see me. I don’t think I can handle that yet.”
Frankie didn’t know if she could handle going out, but she didn’t want to be left alone in the house. It was scary when she was on her own, even when Daddy did his magic to keep the monsters at bay.
“Of course. Get your shoes on, and I will grab the pink blanket.” Daddy nodded and walked out of the room.
She stood there, looking at her shoes that lay just a couple of feet away from her. They were always near her, in case she needed to put them on, but she never did. This would be the first time in three years.
Three years of being in the house, and she was about to walk out.
What was she thinking?
“Oh, Little One,” Daddy gently said as he bent down in front of her.
Her eyes moved to Daddy, and she just stared at him. What else was she supposed to do?
“Let me help you get your shoes on real quick, and then I can help you into the car.” He picked up one of her shoes.
She slid her right foot into the shoe before doing the same with her left. Was she really going to do this?
Before she could back out, Daddy stood to his full height and took her hand. “Come on, Little One. Daddy’s got you.”
She sucked in a deep breath and followed Daddy, getting into the car and allowing him to place the pink blanket above her seatbelt. She held on tightly, like her life depended on it, as he started up the car.
Frankie was really going to do this.
Daddy grabbed her hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. “Everything is going to be okay. Daddy is here, and I’m not going to leave you.”
“Until you leave your office,” she whispered. “This was a mistake. I shouldn’t have said yes,” she rushed out.
But she didn’t want to stay in the house alone, and she really didn’t want Dominic to see her.
He was the one to find her in the parking lot of the store, panicked and about to get hit by a car. He had seen how badly shaken up she was, and she didn’t want to see the pity in his eyes. She didn’t want to see the look of pity when he realized she was like those kids had said.
“It will only be for a couple of minutes, and we will both have our phones on each other. If you need anything while I step out, you will call me. I won’t be far away,” Daddy explained. “And everyone knows not to go into my office or be in the hallway when we get there.”
Frankie looked out the front window and took a deep breath. They were now on the main road, heading straight toward BTS. She was really doing this. Frankie felt nauseous as they continued to drive down the road, her hands shaking.
“Take a deep breath in,” he slowly said, briefly looking at Frankie. “And slowly let it out. Good girl. Now repeat. Everything is going to be all right. I won’t let anything happen to you.”
Daddy was going to take care of everything.
“I know this is scary, but we are doing it together. Nothing and no one is going to stop you.” Daddy calmly spoke as they pulled into the parking lot.
Frankie sucked in a breath as she looked at the building. She used to love coming to work every single day, saying hi to people and being in her element. Three long years had gone by, and Frankie kind of missed this place.
But she wasn’t going to get used to this.
She couldn’t.
Frankie pulled the blanket over her head, not wanting to see anyone.
“I’ve got you,” Daddy whispered as he got out of the car.
This was a mistake. Frankie should never have gone out like this. She had made a vow to herself three years ago that she wouldn’t, and now she had broken it. All because she didn’t want to be in the house with the monsters.
Monsters that weren’t even real.
But they were real to her. It felt like the walls would close in on her, darkness clouding her vision as the monsters surrounded her. No. She wasn’t going to think about that right now.
“I’m going to pick you up now,” Daddy said. “Are you ready?”
Frankie poked her head out and looked at him. “No one is in the hallway?” she whispered.
Daddy shook his head, almost like he was a little disappointed Frankie had asked. “No one is anywhere close by. I made sure of it, but even if they were, they aren’t going to make fun of you. They all love you and want to see you flourish.”
Frankie pulled the blanket over her head again, ignoring his last comment. She felt his arms wrap around her, holding her close as he readjusted the blanket to cover her and lifting her. Was it overkill? Probably, but it made Frankie feel better.
“Finn is going to prop the door open, but he won’t be near when we walk in,” Daddy informed her. “I can’t open the door safely while I’m holding you, and I don’t want either one of us to get hurt.”
Her whole body was shaking with anticipation as Daddy started to walk. This was getting to be too much for her, but she was here, and they couldn’t go home now. Daddy wouldn’t let her drive, and he had to be in there, talking to people.
“You’re okay,” Daddy whispered. “Take a deep breath in for me.”
She followed his instructions, but she still felt herself starting to panic. She was out of the house, and anyone could see her right now.
The cameras.
Anyone would be able to look at the footage of Daddy carrying her inside and see her shaking. No.
“Frankie,” Daddy gently spoke. “I don’t know what you’re thinking about, but we are not thinking that way. Nothing is going to happen. We are almost at my office, but you are not going to think about whatever you were just thinking about.”
That was a mouthful.
“Cameras,” she barely whispered.
“Only one person has access to the cameras, and they don’t monitor them all the time. I told them to step away so we could walk in. They are respecting our wishes,” Daddy replied. “You can take the blanket off. We are here, Little One.”
Frankie pulled the blanket down to see Daddy’s office. It hadn’t changed a bit. She knew Daddy didn’t work in the office anymore, but she figured something would have changed.
“Frankie? Are you okay?” Daddy asked as he sat her on the couch.
Frankie readjusted the blanket to place it over her lap and held onto it. “I’m okay.” Her voice was shaky as she said those words.
Was she really okay?
“Daddy is going to go talk to some people, but you let me know if you need anything. I have my phone on me, and I will answer it if you message or call me.” Daddy knelt in front of her. “Is that okay?”
Frankie wanted to say no, but she nodded instead. Daddy had work to do and he needed to leave the room because of her.
“Hey,” he cooed at her, cupping her face with his right hand. “Everything is going to be all right. I’m going to be in the next room, so I won’t be far.”
“I’m sorry,” she blurted out, letting the guilt overwhelm her.
She was causing him a lot more problems than he signed up for, but Frankie couldn’t help it. There were things she just couldn’t do, and being out in public was one of them. But she was here, and all she wanted to do was hide under his desk and never come out.
“Sorry for what?” Daddy asked.
Frankie shrugged, not really wanting to talk about it.
“We’re going to have a discussion about this when I get back.” He gave her a pointed look. “We have a lot of things to talk about.”
Nodding, she tried to relax as best she could on the couch, taking a deep breath and smiling at him.
“Daddy has to go right now, but I’ll be back soon.” He kissed her forehead. “If you need anything, call me, and I’ll come right back.”
“Otay,” she whispered.
Daddy stood to his full height, giving her one more look before walking out of his office, shutting the door behind him. Frankie looked around, trying to work out what she could do while she waited for him to come back.
“What am I going to do, Lita?” Frankie looked down at her stuffed pig. “I feel like my skin is on fire. I can’t get a full breath of air in my lungs.”
Frankie was starting to panic, and it wasn’t good. She was out of the house, where anyone could walk into the office and see her. There were over a dozen people in the club at one time, and even if they knew they weren’t supposed to enter Dadd’s office, they could still come.
“I don’t want anyone to see me,” she whispered, tears pooling in her eyes.
She knew this was no way to live her life, but it was how she was going to live her life until she died. The only person she would interact with was Daddy, and she was content with that. She’d had three long years to learn to be okay with it.
“Hello?” Dominic’s voice filled the office.