Papa's Prisoner

by Alice Everly

  “I don’t want to eat too much,” shyly she pushed it away, her eyes watching it still.

  “If you’re still hungry Lydia, I want you to have another muffin,” Brian said firmly, “You can have as much as you want.”

  Lydia twisted her mouth, toying with the thought of having another blueberry muffin. Should she indulge? Would it be too much? It had been so long since she’d eaten more than just the tiny portions that Papa had allowed. Sure she had gotten used to it, which was easy when everything he fed her was so bland. Nothing like the explosion of flavor that she’d experienced with the blueberry muffin.

  She thought long and hard, wondering if it was really a good idea. But what if she didn’t like what Brian had for lunch? What if it wasn’t good? She couldn’t risk missing out on food. She could remember the times Papa had punished her by making her miss days of food. Her stomach had growled so viciously all night and she’d never been able to sleep for more than a few minutes at a time before her body reminded her that she needed food. She couldn’t have that happen here. She snatched up the muffin before she could second guess it longer, nearly shoving the entire thing into her mouth.

  Brian let out a soft chuckle, smoothing his hand down her hair.

  “I have a few things to talk to you about,” he said after a few minutes, “I’ve been making phone calls all morning trying to find a place for you to stay.”

  “You don’t want me anymore? You don’t want me to stay here, with you?” Panic, hot and clawing at the back of her throat had the muffin and milk churning in her stomach, threatening to return back to the surface.

  Was he sending her back to Papa’s house? Or was he sending her to a worse fate? Although Brian had spanked her, hard, she still liked him already far more than she ever did Papa. Even though he was a police man and she still couldn’t trust him, she knew that being with him was much better than Papa’s house. What if the next man he sent her to was like Papa? Her eyes filled with tears. Was Brian’s house just a stopping point to another prison?

  “No, No, that’s not it, Lydia,” he sighed, his fingers running through his hair before he pressed them against his eyes for a long moment.

  Normally she would have giggled at the way he left his hair standing straight up, but she was still leery of what he was going to say.

  “I want you Lydia, I do,” he promised then cleared his throat, “I mean, I want you to stay here, I mean in my house, here,” taking one of her hands in both of his, as a pledge, he said, “I have no intention of sending you back to that man,” his eyes implored hers, serious now, “remember I promised you that?”

  Lydia nodded, but still she felt uneasy, but the slow circling that his thumb was marking on the back of her hand had a way of soothing her, making her believe.

  “I’m just not good at all this stuff Lydia,” he confessed, “I didn’t really mean to pay for his training of you or whatever he was selling,” He sighed, “I just couldn’t leave you there with him, I don’t know why, but I just couldn’t,” his eyes turned hard, but his hands on hers remained gentle and soothing.

  “Why can’t I just go home if you don’t want this, if you didn’t want to bring me here?” she asked quietly, “if you don’t want me, then why can’t I go home?” the tears were streaming down her cheeks now and she felt Brian stiffen and let out a low curse.

  He pulled her into his arms and onto his lap. His uniform was bulky and uncomfortable, but it had been so long since anyone had cared about her like this. It felt like heaven and she wanted to never leave his arms. She wanted to sink into it and just rest. She wrapped her arms around his neck, crying harder.

  “Can’t I just go back?” she asked again against his neck.

  “I can’t do that sweetie, I can’t take you back to him.”

  “Not there,” the tears came faster, “I want to go to my real home, please.” She burrowed her face into his neck, knowing it was a risky thing to ask. Wrapped in his arms just felt so safe, it was by far the safest place she’d felt in a very long time.

  Brian went completely still and she tensed, knowing she’d made a horrible mistake by saying that. He was going to tell Papa now, she was sure of it. Papa would make her very sorry for mentioning her life before Papa. She’d been warned.

  “Lydia,” he said gently, “where is your real home?’

  “I don’t remember, forget I said anything,” she said quickly, burying her face deeper in his neck, wishing she could take back what she’d said. Wishing she could forget she even brought it up, she didn’t want to go back to Papa. She wanted to stay with Brian, she liked Brian, he wasn’t as mean as Papa.

  “Lydia,” he said more firmly, “where’s your real home?”

  “I forgot, really,” her words were muffled against his skin, when he sighed she reiterated, “I did, I forgot, please. It was so long ago.”

  “What’s your last name,” he prodded, but when she remained silent he said, “Lydia, what is your last name?”

  “I don’t know.” She mumbled into his neck.

  He pulled her away from him, his eyes narrowing as he held her at arms length, “I’m trying to take care of you here Lydia, I can’t do that when you lie to me,” he raised his brows, calling her out on her lies, “you need to tell me your last name or I’m going to put you over my knee and spank your bare bottom until you do,” he threatened and when she didn’t immediately answer he shifted her into position over his knee making her screech.

  “Reese,” she shoulted, “It’s Reese, my last name is Reese. I’m Lydia Reese.” She cried out, arching her back to try to get out of that position but his hold on her was firm and kept her in place.

  One sharp smack landed on her covered backside, but he lifted her back up to sit on his lap, pulling her into a hug.

  “Good girl,” he said, squeezing her tightly.

  “Please don’t send me away,” she put her head against his chest, curling into him, “please don’t send me back to Papa or to anybody else, I promise I’ll be a good girl, I promise,” she pleaded, hoping he would understand.

  She was terrified of Papa, and even more terrified of the unknown of another man. What if he was just as bad as Papa or worse yet, what if he was even more brutal than Papa was? She just couldn’t live with that. Not after the short time she’d known Brian, she wanted him, only him.

  She sat up, putting her hands on the sides of his face, “I’m a really good girl, I promise I won’t be any trouble for you.”

  Brian looked at her for a long moment before speaking. She was so vulnerable, so trusting that he was better off for her than anywhere else, “I’m going to do the best I can to keep you safe Lydia, I promise you that, no matter where that is.”

  She frowned at his answer, “I don’t like that answer. That says you might just send me away, I can read between the lines.” She pouted, “I want a compromise.”

  He chuckled, “A compromise huh?” he lifted her off his lap and set her on her feet, standing himself, “how about this compromise,” he said as he clipped something onto his waist, “I have to work the street today, but when I get back we’ll order pizza and watch a movie, how does that sound?” he brushed a kiss across her cheek and tucked hair behind her ear.

  “That’s not a compromise,” she stomped her foot, “I thought you were supposed to be good at negotiations Officer?” she challenged.

  The corner of his lip twitched, “Okay, how about this compromise my little sassy girl,” he said smoothly, taking his gun off the top of the refrigerator and clipping it onto his belt, “you’re going to be a good girl today while I’m at work and then I won’t have to spank your Little bottom.” Just to solidify his point he smacked her backside one time.

  She pouted, but didn’t say any more. He obviously didn’t know how to compromise, she thought with a huff. He chuckled and ruffled her hair.

  “I know it’s not the compromise you were hoping for, but it’s the best I can do right now,” he pulled her to him into a hug,
kissing the top of her head, “I have to take care of a few things today and won’t be able to come home to check on you. Are you going to be okay here by yourself and follow some rules that I give you?”

  She nodded, still not happy with him and his non-answers and how evasive he was about staying with him.

  “Good,” he smiled down at her, “I’m going to set the house alarm when I leave, so don’t answer the door and stay away from the windows. If the phone rings, let the answering machine pick up. I shouldn’t be too long, but if you need me,” he scribbled a number on a piece of paper on the counter, folding it and pressing it into her palm, “you can call me at that number any time. If I don’t answer right away, just leave a message and I’ll call right back when I can.” He put his coffee mug in the sink and returned to her side, “do you have any questions before I leave?”

  “Yes,” she said, looking up at him, “what am I supposed to do, or what do you want me to do?”

  “You can do anything you want,” he shrugged, “you can watch television,” he led her into the family room and gave her the remote off the coffee table, “there are hundreds of books in my office if you want to read. Just don’t go near the windows and try to relax for the day okay?”

  Lydia nodded, feeling a little lost and unsure about being alone.

  “I’ll try and make it a short day,” he promised, then brushed a kiss across her forehead before he left the house. The sound of the distinct beeping of the house alarm being engaged were the last thing she heard before he left.

  Lydia pressed her palm to her forehead, trying to capture the feeling of the heat that he’d left there with his kiss. Had Papa ever kissed her? She couldn’t remember if he had. The last time she’d been kissed was years ago by an old ex-boyfriend. Wow, she felt like a completely different person than she’d been back then. It was like she didn’t even recognize that they were memories because she’d been so far removed from it by time and circumstances.

  ***

  Brian went into the station ready to face the music. He’d love to avoid it, would have been grateful to just go on with his day and move on with his life, but he knew Captain Barnes was not someone would just sweep this under the rug.

  “You spent how much money!?” Captain Barnes’ voice echoed through the entire first floor of the station.

  “I’ll pay the department back,” Brian muttered still frustrated that he still had no idea what to do with Lydia and not only had he spent the entire budget, but he’d also cleaned out his savings and half of his retirement.

  “So let me get this straight,” Captain Barnes leaned back in his office chair, to an outside observer he would look relaxed but Brian was not a fool, he knew the temper simmering below that cool façade, “you spent the entire budget and still didn’t even apprehend the man?”

  “How could I apprehend him? Brian knew he’d made a mistake on this one, but it was too late now to get it back, it was too late to salvage the entire case, “the girl is 21 years old, and she was clearly not held against her will.”

  “How do you know that? Have you interrogated her?”

  Brian sighed, scrubbing his face with his hands. Hell, he was going to get shit for this whole entire mess.

  “Lydia,” he looked to the Captain, “that’s the girl’s name,” Captain Barnes nodded, “she wanted to go back to him at first, hell she said it was her home.”

  “So why did you take her?”

  “Brian fell into the chair opposite Captain Barnes desk, “hell if I know.”

  “So, get her into interrogation and let’s see what we can salvage of this mess.” Captain Barnes said.

  “I talked to the therapist and she said interrogation might mentally destroy the girl,” Brian said, ignoring the Captain’s curse, “I’ll get a psychologist out to the house to talk with her, see what we can come up with. It seems she’s been through a lot. I don’t’ know if she really knows what she wants.”

  Captain Barnes sighed, leaning back and studying Brian, “and why did you take her to your house?”

  “What was I supposed to do? I was familiar to her, she couldn’t be sent with strange men to watch over her. You said you wanted her in protective custody and I can provide that.”

  “We need to salvage this Bishop, figure out how we get to Mike Christopher and get him shut down.”

  “I’m on it Captain,” Brian said, “I think I’ve got a thread of a lead I’m going to check into.”

  “Just get it done, we don’t need any loose ends.”

  Chapter Eight

  After Brian left for work, Lydia went to the television and flipped it on, giggling when the sound exploded into the room. He he’d told her to make herself at home, so she was going to do what she would have done if she were still at home with her real parents. She hadn’t had freedoms in so long that she was almost giddy with excitement.

  She could do whatever she wanted, she could even leave if she wanted to because he wasn’t here to stop her. Sure the house alarm would go off, but that didn’t matter because she could be long gone or hiding somewhere once he got to the house to check on the alarm.

  Yet, even when she was given the opportunity to run, she didn’t. She couldn’t say why, couldn’t even put into words the reason she stayed, but she just knew that being there, at Brian’s, just felt right. Instead she decided she would call her parents.

  Lydia went to the telephone in the kitchen. She wanted to call her mom and dad, wanted to hear their voice after so many years, but as she picked up the telephone to dial the number her memory failed her. She sat holding the phone, closing her eyes, trying to conjure up the sequence in her mind. Why couldn’t she remember the number? She’d memorized it. She was certain of it, but she couldn’t even remember the first number.

  How long she stayed there with the phone in her hand, she couldn’t say. She just stood there, staring at the numbers, trying to remember. Tears rolled down her cheeks.

  She finally gave up, hoping the excitement of freedom had just given her temporary amnesia and the phone number would come back to her in a few hours or maybe even the next day.

  Lydia walked through the house, enjoying the freedom of being able to go into any room she wanted. Not only that, but there was nobody at the house watching over her all day or scolding her for any mistake, real or imagined, that she made. She felt a little nervous at first as she explored, like Brian would be waiting around each corner or that he would jump out and punish her for snooping, but he never popped up and she freely went from one room to the next.

  It was a nice sized house, something she would have liked for her own she thought if she’d ever had the opportunity to marry and have children. The home had a cozy family room, a nice large kitchen, a study and a bathroom on the main level. She climbed the stairs and checked out the second story. There were three bedrooms, the one she had slept in the night before with Brian which had a large bathroom attached. That one was the largest of the three bedrooms. She went to explore more, there were two more bedrooms, one filled with boxes stacked high along the walls, and the other bedroom was completely empty, there was a joint bathroom attaching between those two rooms.

  After Lydia’s quick survey of the house, she decided to watch some television. Maybe getting back into the normalcy of life would nudge her brain into remembering her parent’s phone number. She went back down to the family room where the television was on a news channel which was not anything she’d want to watch.

  She picked up the remote to change it, but there were so many buttons. She was able to flip through the channels once she found the button. She settled on an old program she used to like watching.

  Curling up on the sofa she laughed at the jokes, feeling better than she had in years. Lydia felt so comfortable watching the show that she actually fell asleep on the sofa.

  When Brian returned that evening she was so distressed that she’d fallen asleep that she jumped up from the sofa, frantic because she didn’t know what she w
as supposed to be doing or what he wanted her to do. She was so distressed that she was going to get into trouble for something like she would at Papa’s house. She was so upset and frantic that she accidently wet herself, the warm liquid soaking her panties and trickling down her thighs.

  When she wet herself, Lydia fell to the floor and started bawling, cradling her head in her hands. Brian rushed to her, picking her up to find out what was wrong, that’s when he realized why she was crying.

  “It’s okay sweetie,” he crooned, standing her on her feet, “accidents happen, you don’t need to cry.” He brushed tears from her cheeks, “I’m not mad Lydia, it’s okay.”

  Lydia was so upset she couldn’t even look Brian in the eyes, tears streaming down her face. He gently lifted her dress and peeled off the wet panties, dropping them on the carpet so he could lift her into his arms. She instantly wrapped her legs around his waist, clinging to him.

  “I think it’s time for a bath anyway,” he said easily and she knew he was placating her which just served to make her feel even worse, humiliated, shamed, like some kind of child who couldn’t control themselves.

  “I’m bad, I’m so so bad,” she cried into his chest.

  “It’s okay Lydia, you’re not a bad girl,” He consoled her, rubbing her back in slow circles as he carried her up to his room. He ran the bath water and even poured soap into it to make it bubble up. He set her on her feet and then left the bathroom so she could bathe herself.

  This was so different from what Papa did at bath time that she wasn’t quite sure at first if she was upset or relieved. Lydia soaped up a washcloth and cleaned herself up, she thought about Brian, wondering why he’d left her alone in the tub. Was it because he didn’t want to see her without her clothes? She remembered he hadn’t been very happy about helping her into her pajamas the night before, and he had done it so quickly she was certain he didn’t see much. Could it be that he was already tired of taking care of her?