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Everyone said my memories of my mother, the stories she’d told me, were lies I’d made up for attention. People got mad at me when I talked about how my mom and I had been on the run. They just talked about the last part, the part where she’d smiled at me as I picked out a Coca-Cola and a Snickers bar at the gas station, where she’d kissed me and reminded me to use my new name and told me to sit on the bench. It was a chilly, damp night and she’d taken off her hoodie and put it on me.
Then she backed out of the parking lot, waving and smiling at me through the windshield. She’d turned onto the highway, and her headlights had faded into the night.
“I’ll take you to the movies, Delilah,” he said. “I’ll give you everything you’ve ever wanted. I’ll never leave you, I promise. I’ll always be with you. Always be watching over you.”
At the time, those words had sounded comforting.
He bought me toys and books and a new stuffed animal to replace the one that my foster brother had thrown into a mud puddle. He bought me pretty dresses, and shoes, and the jeans I wanted.
“Go change into this one,” he told me, holding out a bag with a lacy dress. “I want you to dress up for dinner tonight. I’m taking you somewhere special.”
My heart swelled as I took the bag from him. He was so handsome, I wanted to look like a pretty girl.
I changed in the bathroom, frowning as I squeezed myself into the dress. It was too small, and I felt as if everyone could practically see my panties. I debated pulling my jeans on too, but I didn’t want him to think I wasn’t happy with all his gifts. He’d really liked this dress.
I went out and he smiled approvingly, so maybe I was just too used to wearing jeans. He took me into a nice restaurant, where the room was dark and there were big cloth napkins to smooth into my lap, and he ordered three different desserts when I couldn’t decide.
“I can spoil my little girl,” he said, smiling at me across the table as I alternated bites of chocolate cake and ice cream. “You’re pretty perfect right now; a bit of spoiling won’t hurt you.”
The waitress smiled at us. “Your little girl is just too cute.”
But her gaze lingered on him, like she meanthewas just too cute.
He smiled back at her, looking thoughtful, but all he said was that he thought so too, and I felt myself blush again.
Afterward, we walked around the mall. He stopped at a bench and the two of us sat down.
“Delilah, my darling,” he said. “There’s a man following us.”
My gaze snapped up to his, but he looked calm, relaxed, in control.
Not like I remembered my mom. I didn’t remember what she’d told me. I only remembered the fear, the sense we were running away from a relentless monster. She’d been wild-eyed sometimes, and I’d learned to sleep lightly, never sure when she’d pull me out of bed and we’d run.
“It’s all right,” the Demon promised, jerking me back to the present. “He’s not going to hurt you; I’m not going to let him. Do you see him? Over there, watching you? Don’t let him see you look.”
I looked around, pointing to the pretzel shop behind him as if I were begging for one, but I saw the man he was talking about. He was watching me in a way that made my skin crawl, but his gaze jerked away when he saw me. “I see him.”
“You are such a clever girl,” he said admiringly. “I’m so glad you’re my daughter.”
“Why’s he watching us?”
“He’s watching you.” He wrapped an arm around my shoulders, pulling me close, his lips next to my ear so he could speak to me quietly. “I know that man. He’s taken a lot of little girls home with him, and he hurts them, and they never go back to their mommies and daddies.”
I shivered and he hugged me tighter. “It’s all right. I would never let him get you. But if you’re willing to be very brave, I can gethim.I can keep him from ever hurting anyone again.”
“How?”
“I’m going to pretend to leave you in the car, in the parking lot, and I’ll run back in. I bet he’ll come to get you, but I’ll get him instead.”
My eyes welled with sudden tears. I could just imagine him leaving me forever.
“Oh, Delilah, I’m not going to do it if you don’t want me to. I’m sure he probably won’t hurt anyone else tonight, even if I don’t stop him. You don’t have to do anything you don’t want to.”
No one had ever said that to me before.
“I can do it,” I said. “We won’t let him hurt anyone else.”
My stomach ached with the thought that maybe my father would leave me there, that he didn’t really want me after all, but I wanted to try to trust him. If he came back, I’d know he was really my dad. He was really always going to look after me.
