Daddy's Girl: A Daddy Issues Novel by Rebel Wild (books to read for 13 year olds .TXT) 📕

He said the less I knew, the better. I knew he was stressed out over it. When he lost the case, Mr. Garrett was pissed. He fired him, but I didn’t think he’d have him arrested. How wrong I was.

With a deep sigh, I file the memory away and finish up in the apartment. I’ve already cleaned out all the food in my fridge and given it to my neighbor down the hall. She’s a sweet elderly lady. On my workdays at the restaurant, I bring home what we were going to toss out at the end of my shift and we eat together. She’s living on her social security benefits, but it doesn’t last the whole month. I hate her going hungry, having to decide to use what money she has to pay a bill or eat. I told her I’d be visiting my mother in Montreal for the next six months and that my “good friend” Joe would be looking after my place until I got back. She gave me the woolen socks that she’d made for me the way she does every few months and wished me a wonderful time.

Looking around my bedroom, there isn’t much here I want to take with me. I pack my jewelry box. The diamond earrings Daddy gave me as a birthday present are in there as well as my class ring and the little gold watch Mom bought me on a whim at a silver and gold exchange pawn shop when I was ten.

I go to my closet and grab my favorite pink cardigan sweater, and I grab the medium-sized brown stuffed rabbit that sits on my bed. I quickly stuff him down in my bag. I know I shouldn’t be so attached to a stuffed animal at my age, but Daddy gave him to me when I was a little girl and he’s helped me through a lot of lonely nights. He’s missing an eye and I have no idea what happened to his little pink nose, but I love him all the same.

“That all you got?” Joe asks when I join him in the living room.

“Yep,” I answer as he takes my small bag.

I make sure all the appliances are unplugged and take one last look around before I lock up the apartment and hand Joe the key.

“I’ll make sure your neighbor’s doing okay,” he says.

“Thanks, Joe,” I tell him, touched that he would trouble himself to look in on her.

I sit quietly looking out the window while Joe stays stoic and focused on the road as he drives us back to Mr. Garrett’s place. Every so often, he changes the radio station. He gives up trying to find something good, and now he’s just letting some rock song play. I think it’s Aerosmith because Daddy used to listen to some of their songs, but I can’t be sure.

“Home sweet home,” he says when we pull up the drive and he turns off the engine. Prison comes to mind when I look up at it. “You coming?” he asks, leaning down to look at me in the back seat. I nod before hopping out.

I walk up the steps with my head down and dragging my feet like a kid in trouble. Is this really going to be my life? The house is quiet, but it’s to be expected when the place is so big.

“Thanks,” I say when Joe carries my bag up to my room.

“Bree usually has dinner ready by six,” he says before leaving me alone.

He’s not as cringy as he was when I first met him. I think Bree laid into his ass about acting a certain way around me. She seems kind of tough. I sure as hell wouldn’t want to mess with her. Taking off my belt and heels, I slip on the thick socks Mrs. Leland made for me to give my feet a rest. My pink sweater, I hang in a corner space of the massive walk-in closet and place my little jewelry box on my dresser. I unpack my brown rabbit, fluff him out, and place him under the pillow of my bed before picking up my cell phone to scroll through.

After spending a few hours looking through every social media post I could find on my phone, I become bored out of my mind. Staring at the walls aren’t entertaining me, so I decide to go get a better look at the library. The books have been calling my name all afternoon and seeing that this is my free time, I don’t get why I can’t just sneak in and take a peek. Opening my door a crack, I listen for any activity. All I hear is an eerie silence, so I creep down the hall, passing the playroom door and descending the stairs. My eyes scan for signs of anyone being around, but the place looks deserted. I’m starting to wonder if they’ve all gone and left me here alone. I’ll have to be sure to ask Mr. Garrett or maybe Joe about the alarm codes to the doors, or at the very least how to get out of here in case of emergencies. The windows don’t even look like they’d break. I don’t want to put Bree on the spot and ask her. I think she’s already overstepped if that death glare Joe tried to give her is any judge.

I breathe a sigh of relief when I sneak into the huge library and find that I’m alone with all the books. This is one place where I don’t mind the quiet and welcome it. The whole room smells of old books that I inhale deeply. I scan the titles of the movie scripts that are on display as well as a few of the movie posters. I’ve never heard of any of these movies, but the two Oscars sitting behind the glass case must mean some of them were good films. I know a little