1. Chapter 1 #2
“I’m sorry, Little One. I’m Liam and I run the motel with my Little girl, Kiera. What’s your name, sweetheart?” His lips ticked up in a smile, creases appearing at his eyes.
“I’m Um Claire.” She shuffled her feet and subconsciously moved her hands behind her, her toes digging into the carpet.
“Can you look at me, Claire?” He was asking, but given the tone, she knew shouldn’t disobey. Disobeying wasn’t something she could do. She wanted to be stronger. To stand up for herself. But she was weak and raised to obey.
Slowly raising her eyes to meet his, she continued to dance from foot to foot. Her cheeks burned hot, her breath coming in ragged gasps. He moved to sit in the chair by the window, tugging his girl with him.
“Take a breath, Claire.” He was so soft-spoken, it was at odds with how he looked.
She would have guessed, given his gruff appearance, that he would be loud and incapable of being nice.
Her experiences taught her that men used their strength and authority to break down women.
As her breath slowed, she moved to perch herself on the edge of the bed, hands in her lap, waiting.
“Claire, I know you are scared; it is written all over your face. And I know you have no reason to believe me, but you are safe here. No harm will come to you here. I promise.” The sincerity in his voice cracked through her shell and she dropped her shoulders.
“My name isn’t Claire. It’s Daphne, and I’m sorry I lied.” She felt her throat burning. Being caught in a lie almost always resulted in being slapped, kicked, or punched. She braced herself for a blow that never came.
“Thank you for telling us the truth, Daphne. You’re not in any trouble. That was a lie of self protection. You didn’t know Kiera and needed to make sure that no one could find you.”
“Yes, Sir. I’m running from people and I don’t want them to find me. I can’t use credit cards, and I could only get a little bit of money out before he would catch on and come after me. I ditched my car and bought Bob so he couldn’t track me.”
“It sounds like you have been stressed for a long time, sweet girl. How long have you been on the road?” Liam asked.
“A couple of weeks. I kept weaving back and forth across the country. I slept in my car most nights, showering at truck stops because it’s cheap. I tried to stick to the main roads because it felt safer, but I haven’t felt safe in a really long time.
“I took a wrong turn somewhere and ended up driving through the mountains. The scenery was so beautiful, I just kept driving. I got really sleepy and decided to find a place to stop. This town was the first one that I came across and I stopped. I only have enough money for a night or two, but an actual bed will be a nice change from the back seat of my car. I also need to find some work where they can pay me in cash.”
She couldn’t believe she had told them all of that.
She was normally much more closed off. It was safer that way.
Giving away too much information was always used against her.
She learned the hard way that anything that was said to her “friends” ended up in a separate group chat to be talked about later.
Bunch of toxic bitches. They would get their karma, she just didn’t know when or how.
“Well, I would love to take some stress off of you,” Liam said. “You can stay here as long as you need. We will keep you safe and fed.”
Her brown eyes grew comically wide. “I-I can’t accept that, Mr. Liam.”
“I insist. Maybe you can help Kiera at the front desk. Y’all can keep each other company.”
Kiera squealed as she hopped off her Daddy’s legs. “Eek! We’re gonna have so much fun!” She raced over and tackled Daphne in a giant hug. She couldn’t help the giggle that escaped her.
“Thank you. I don’t know how I’ll ever be able to repay you. I appreciate your kindness.”
“It’s my pleasure.” He smiled and stood up. “Now then, you have a shower and get settled in. If you give me your keys, I will move your car behind the motel so it’s not visible from the street. No one will know you’re here.” At her terrified look, he added, “Or you can move it tomorrow.”
“I would prefer that. I’m sorry, Mr. Liam, Sir. I just…” She couldn’t finish her thought; guilt nagged at her.
“Hey, it’s ok. You can move it tomorrow. I would like it to not be the only car out there just in case someone drives by.”
“Daddy just wants to keep you safe, I promise. All the men here do. These are the biggest bunch of bossy buttheads around, but they will keep you safe.” Kiera’s cheeks turned pink, and she grimaced and faced her Daddy.
“That so, Little girl? We’ll just add that to your tally.” His raised eyebrow gave Daphne butterflies that were having a rave in her tummy, and she wasn’t even in the line of fire.
“Daphne, get settled in. Kiera will come and get you in a couple of hours for dinner if you’d like. We are having Chicken Alfredo.”
“Yes, Mr. Liam. That sounds good. I haven’t eaten in a bit and my tummy is hungry.” She patted her round stomach and grinned at both of them.
He hummed and frowned at her, but stayed quiet. “Very well. I need to go deal with my naughty Little One, but we will see you soon.”
And with that, he led a pouting, begging Kiera from the room, and an easy quietness descended upon her.
Pulling her bankie out of her backpack, she held it to her face for comfort.
It was the one thing she still had from her childhood: an old, worn, pink blanket her parents had given her when she was a baby.
For the first time, she felt like she could breathe.