26. Chapter Twenty-Four
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
SAMMI
S ammi had woken up to an empty room once again. She didn’t know if it was the same day as the last time she woke up or not. If it was, she had just come round from apparently falling into a diabetic coma yesterday. To wake up and be in the hospital made her freak out. So much so that her heart monitor went skyrocketed and several nurses ran into her room. They said she was having a panic attack.
Once they had gotten her to calm down the nurse explained what had happened and that everything was going to be okay. Everything wasn’t going to be okay, though. When the nurse told her she had been out for almost four full days, it made her spiral again. Had Daddy found out and not want anything to do with her?
Sammi hadn’t asked anything, though, because she had been drained of energy and groggy. She had been taking in what the nurse said but she couldn’t fully comprehend it.
But her mind was a lot clearer right now. Maybe when the nurse came in, she could ask if anybody had come to visit her while she was out. Surely, they had called her brother. She couldn’t remember if she had put him on her emergency contact for things or not.
She hadn’t gone to the doctor in forever and hadn’t updated anything, so for all she knew, her emergency contact could have been her late father. She would like to think that her brother went searching for her when she didn’t move her things into his house or that Daddy had come looking for her when he got back. But she didn’t know for sure if they had or not.
The bathroom door opened, and her eyes were wide as she stared at the person who came out.
Daddy.
Tears pooled in her eyes as she stared at him walking toward her. Was he really here, or was this her figment of imagination? She opened her mouth, trying to say something, but a little squeak came out, and she started coughing. Daddy’s eyes went wide as he rushed over to her, getting a glass of water and holding it to her mouth.
“Shhh, You’re okay. Just take a little sip. You’re all right. Such a good girl,” he calmly said as he gave her another sip.
So, Daddy wasn’t mad at her then. He was here for her. When had he arrived? Had he been here the whole time, and this was the first time she had caught him before he left? Or did he just arrive?
Daddy sat down, taking the cup with him, and she just stared at him. She couldn’t believe that he was actually here. She didn’t know why she was so shocked that he was there. Maybe because she wanted to think the worst so she didn’t get hurt, but deep down, she should have known that Daddy would show up.
He cared for her, maybe even loved her still. Would he still love her even after she almost died? She tried to fix her blood sugar and thought it would take a little while to fix and even out. Should she have tried to message him about it or anyone else? She hadn’t wanted to though, she wanted to try and do it herself, show Daddy she was capable of doing it herself.
“You’re here,” she whispered, unable to stop herself.
Daddy cupped her face and gently rubbed his thumb back and forth. She leaned into his right hand, loving his touch against her. If she could always have him touch her, she would. She loved the feeling of his skin against hers.
“Of course I’m here, Little One. Daddy isn’t going anywhere,” he gently said as he stared into her eyes.
“When did you come?” She needed to know if he had been here the whole time. Maybe the nurse hadn’t said anything. Or had he just come?
“Today. I came back today and went looking for you at your brother’s house But you weren’t there. I asked Ezekiel if you had come in to work, and he said no. So, I thought the worst because I knew you wouldn’t have just skipped town.”
Her mouth fell open. “Skipped town?”
What did he mean by that? She would never skip town. There were so many people in the town who she cared for. That was a stretch, she didn’t have a lot of people who she loved and cared for. It was Daddy and her brother. They were the only two people keeping her in this town.
“When I went to talk to your brother, he said you probably skipped town, but I knew better. You have a heart of gold, and you said you were helping your brother, which means you wouldn’t have just left him,” Daddy explained. “I know everything about you helping him.”
Her heart broke at the thought of her brother thinking badly of her. She wouldn’t have left him in a dangerous situation like that, not unless Deccan told her to leave and never show her face again. But Deccan wouldn’t do that because she was helping. It wouldn’t make sense to get rid of her.
“Oh.” She didn’t know how else to respond.
Wait…did he say he knew about her helping her brother?
“Y-you know?” she whispered, her eyes wide.
“I found his phone number and told him you were in the hospital. He’s on his way.” Daddy let go of her face and took one of her hands. “We’ll need to talk about this, everything about the debt.”
Dread filled her as he said those words. He knew about the debt and her paying it off. How did he find out? Who told him? Was he going to get rid of her now that he knew?
Before she could respond to let Gene know she didn’t want him there, her brother walked into the room. She stared at him as he slowly walked to the other side of her bed. Sammi took a couple of seconds to look at him, to truly look at him.
Even though her brother was younger than her, he somehow looked way older. There were deep lines on his face, bags under his eyes, and he had to have lost some weight.
What had happened to him?
“I thought you bailed on me,” her brother spat, looking over at her Daddy. A scowl formed on his face. “What are you doing here?” He sounded disgusted with her.
Sammi gaped at her brother. “Be nice!”
“No!” her brother yelled. “He shouldn’t be here. He’s not family.”
She so badly wanted to tell him that Gene was more like family than he had been. The only thing he truly cared about was the debt he owed. He no longer contacted her about anything else but money.
“He’s my—” But she stopped herself before she could say Daddy.
Her brother would never understand if he found out. He had made jokes about kinky people before and how revolting it was. Did he know that Deccan was a Daddy? That half the town were in the lifestyle?
She wondered if he knew those things and if he would say it to her face. He probably still would, which made the whole thing even more awful. But she wasn’t going to tell him a thing, not when it could put her life in danger..
“I’m her fiancé,” Daddy finished her sentence.
She willed her face not to show any shock. It wasn’t the first time Daddy had called himself her fiancé. Her brother’s eyes narrowed, and she flinched, not expecting it.
Her brother turned toward Daddy. “I thought you said you two were dating?”
Daddy shrugged. “I didn’t want to give you the good news without her. I hadn’t known whether she had told you or not and didn’t want to spoil it,” Daddy easily explained.
Her brother scoffed and turned back to her. “Did you just say yes so you could get the money from him? I didn’t think you would be like that, but good thinking.”
She gasped as she stared at her brother. Hurt flashed through her that her own flesh and blood thought she would just get with someone for money. “I would never ask him for money. I love him.”
Daddy stood up, his face emotionless as he stared at her brother. “I know about the money you owe Deccan, jackass. Here’s what’s going to happen. You’re going to pay her back every single penny or I’ll beat you to the brink of death. Family or not.”
Her brother’s mouth fell open. “You can’t threaten me.”
“Wasn’t a threat. It was a promise. Hurt her, talk to her badly, be rude, don’t pay her back and you will pay,” Daddy’s voice held a tone of warning.
“Sammi, are you seriously going to let him do this?” her brother turned to her.
She opened her mouth, but Daddy stood in front of her, blocking his view.
“No, you don’t get to do that,” Daddy stayed in front of her.
Sammi tried looking around but he still blocked her view. The only way she would be able to see anything is if she got out of bed which she knew wouldn’t be okay. Daddy would have a fit and no doubt spank her for getting out of the bed.
“You will pay every single cent back to her. Deccan knows not to take any more money from my girl. He knows you’ll also be paying her back,” Daddy stated. “If you run, well let’s just say we’ll drag you back by your toes, making sure to run into things so you get banged up a bit.”
She should tell her Daddy to stop threatening her brother but she didn’t have it in her. Her brother had treated her poorly and she didn’t have a backbone to tell him that. Daddy was sticking up for her, like he always did. That was something she loved about him. It turned her on knowing he would do anything to keep her safe and protected.
“Do you understand?” Daddy asked.
“You can’t do this,” he spat out.
“The fuck I can. I’m doing it right now. Do you understand?” Daddy asked once again.
“Yes,” her brother gritted out through his clenched jaw.
He took several steps to the side, looking directly at her, seething at her, anger was written all over his face.
“You can’t be mad at me when I didn’t tell him a thing. He wouldn’t have known until you said something,” Sammi pointed out. “I actually kept it a secret.”
Daddy walked back around to her side, gripping her hand and giving it a little squeeze. It brought her a little comfort as her brother sent daggers towards her.
“How much more do you owe him?” Daddy finally asked. “Deccan refused to tell me. Probably wanted to see this all play out. That sadistic fucker,” he mumbled.
Sammi sucked in a little breath, her lungs loosening up a little. Daddy asking questions didn’t mean he was going to stay. He could hear how much they had left to repay and decide to leave.
Her brother shrugged. “I don’t know. I haven’t paid him in a while.”
She already knew that. “Over twenty thousand,” she whispered.
All eyes in the room turned on her, and she shrunk into her bed. Her brother’s face was bright red, and she didn’t know why. Well, he wouldn’t tell her how much they had left, so she had gone straight to the source.
“Why is your sister involved if it’s your debt?” Daddy asked, his voice cold.
“Collateral damage? I knew I was going to have to work at one of his clubs if we didn’t pay it on time,” she explained before her brother could say anything.
Which wasn’t the wisest idea because his face started to turn the same color as her brother’s. Before she knew it, his face would have steam coming out of his ears with his rage. But that only happened in cartoons.
“I want to hear from your brother,” Daddy gently said, giving her a smile when she looked at her.
They both turned toward her brother. He was glaring at her, making her squeeze Daddy’s hand.
“I knew she had money. The debt was too big, and I knew I was going to have to work for Deccan if she didn’t help me. I knew the fear of her maybe working in one of his strip clubs would make her give me the money—or, well, Deccan the money, and it worked out perfectly,” he said, giving a shrug without a care in the world.
Her whole world was falling apart. He had lied to her. Did Deccan even know who she was before her brother got her involved? Could she have been saved from a lot of anxiety and stress?
“So you wanted to be lazy,” Daddy stated.
“No! I just knew without her that I wouldn’t have been able to pay off the debt. We are so close, It would have happened when she sold her house. But then she had to land herself in the hospital.” Her brother sneered at her.
It wasn’t her fault . She had tried to manage her diabetes while Daddy was gone, and she was obviously failing miserably. But she hadn’t meant for this to happen.
“Your sister will no longer be helping you.” Daddy gave her hand a little squeeze. “I’m going to have a talk with Deccan and let him know. If I find out that you contacted Sammi about repaying your debt, there will be consequences. Be glad I’m giving you a warning.”
As much as she didn’t want Daddy to do that, it was lifting the weight off her shoulders. She felt guilty about not helping with the rest of the debt, but she couldn’t help feeling relieved at the same time. She would have never been able to tell her brother that on her own, and now she didn’t have to. Daddy was here to help her in every way she needed, and he knew this.
“But—” her brother stuttered.
“No buts. I am being very gracious right now, but if you contact her about the debt, I won’t be so nice about it.” Daddy spoke calmly but coldly. “The only time you’ll contact her right now is when you’ll be sending money to her.”
Her brother glared at her before he stalked out of the room. She watched his retreating figure, feeling several different emotions. Was she going to have a relationship with her brother moving forward? Was he going to contact her?
Sammi slowly moved to look at Daddy, not wanting to see what his expression. Was he mad at her? Was he disappointed? Though as she looked over at him, she couldn’t see of those across his face.
“I wanted to tell you. I really wanted to tell you, but I couldn’t. Not without breaking the pinky promise I made, and I couldn’t do that. They’re sacred,” she whispered. “I know I broke one of the rules about telling you if something was bothering me. I’ll take the punishment.”
Sammi didn’t really want to face the consequences but she Daddy was going to give her a punishment, and she was going to take it.
Daddy shook his head. “I’m not going to punish you for keeping a promise to your brother. I would never want to put you in that position. But there will be no next time , do you understand?”
Sammi nodded. “Yes, Daddy.”
As soon as she said those words, someone cleared their throat behind her, making her gasp.