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"Are…" I paused and chewed on my lip, worried. "Are you okay, Daddy?"
"Yes." He offered me a big smile, a huge one this time, and I beamed back at him. "Have you lost more teeth –" Pausing, he squinted his eyes and then gestured for me to come to him. "Show me those gums."
Without an ounce of hesitation, I sprang off the chair, rounded the desk and bounced onto his lap.
"Two," I said proudly and then opened my mouth as wide as I could. "I'm getting the big ones."
"Yes," he said quietly, smile fading from his face. With a heavy sigh, he pulled me closer, wrapping me up with his big arms. "You are."
Snuggling into his chest, I dared to place my small hand on his cheek. It always felt scratchy against my hand. It was ticklish to my fingers.
Leaning close, I sniffed his shirt and scrunched my nose up. "What's that stinky smell?"
"Are you calling me stinky?" Daddy chuckled. "It's cologne, Ashton."
I frowned. "Ew."
"Not good?"
I shook my head. "Nope."
He grinned and ruffled my pig-tails. "Listen, we need to talk about something."
"Okay, Daddy."
"Lots of things are happening."
"They are?"
"Yes." He nodded. "Things are changing." He paused, eyes locked on mine for the longest moment before finally speaking. "You know Daddy is a bad man, don't you, Ashton?"
"No." I frowned, not sure I liked this. "I don’t think you're bad, Daddy."
He smiled sadly and shifted me off his lap.
Sad to leave him, I padded back to my seat and climbed onto the chair opposite him, knowing he was done cuddling me.
"I am not a good man," he continued once I was sitting back down. "I do very bad things."
"Like what?"
"You wouldn't understand."
"Does it make you sad?" I asked, watching him carefully. "Doing bad things?"
He nodded. "Sometimes."
"Then why do you do it?"
"You wouldn't understand that, either," he told me, resting his elbows on his desk, blueish/green eyes locked on mine. "This is a very bad world – the one you've been born into."
"I'm six now, Daddy," I reminded him, sitting as tall as I could. "I understand lots of things."
"You're a smart girl," he agreed, giving me another one of the smiles he saved just for me. "So, I need you to listen very carefully to me, okay?"
I nodded eagerly. "Yup."
He eyed me for a long moment before shaking his head and pushing to his feet.
