Two pink bows were tied into the 5-year-olds hair as pigtails. The young girl seemed so excited, thinking she was going out with her parents for the day. She had the entire day planned out in her head; it was her fathers birthday. First, they were going to go to the park and play for awhile, maybe even go on a walk. Then they were going to go out for dinner at her father's favourite restuarant. Finally, they'd get ice cream and sit in the park until the night sky fell apon the city. But the little child didn't notice the saddness in her mothers eyes. She didn't notice the dried up mascara stains on her mothers cheeks either.
"Where are we going first, mommy?" The child asked as her mother stood up right from crouching in front of her daughter. Her mother forced a smile and shook her head slowly. Tears brimmed her mothers eyes and before they could slip, she brushed them away.
"We aren't going anywhere, Darling. I'm getting you ready for daddy," The mother told her daughter shakily. Darling had always been daddy's little princess, so hearing such a thing caused her to become excited. When Darling's mother saw the smile on her face, she began to silently cry. "Let's go..." Her mother said reaching her hand out to her daughter.
Darling happily took her mothers hand and the two left the child's room. They walked down the hall. For both of them, it felt like an eternity but both for different reasons. Darling's mother opened up her bedroom door and inside was her waiting father. The older man smiled as he stood from the end of his bed. Her father took her small hand, bringing her into the room.
When the bedroom door shut, Darling's mother broke down into hysterics outside the door. Darling looked over to the door before up at her father. "Daddy? Is mommy okay?" Darling asked as her father lifted her onto the bed.
"Yes, she's okay," He replied smiled and ran his hands through his daughters blonde locks. "You're such a pretty, pretty girl, Darling..."
***
"And how long did this for on for?"
Darling wiped the tears from her face and pulled her knees up to her chest. "About five years, until he got sick," Darling replied as she stared out the window of her pyschiatrists office. This was her fifth session already and it was the first time she mentioned what happened between her and her father.
"Why did you never tell anyone?" Dr. Callahan asked from behind his desk. He watched Darling's every movement and noted that she was very uncomfortable with the situation and it will stay that way for the most part.
Darling took in a shaky breath and looked over to the doctor. "He said that if I did tell anyone that he would kill both me and my mother," Darling told him before looking back out the window.
"When you say he became sick, what do you mean?" The doctor asked trying to get as much out of Darling as possible in the short time span. The more he get out of her, the better he could help her.
"Lung cancer, he never went for any treatments and died two or so years later when I was 12 going on 13," Darling said and looked at the clock. There wasn't much time left and she was eager to get out.
"Why wait until now to speak to someone? You're 20..." The doctor questioned. He was confused as to why she would wait 8 years before letting someone know.
"I got into some heavy drinking, I was smoking up frequently and I slept around with men and women. I was a very rebellious teenager until I turned 18. It took me two years to clean up my act a little bit and I'm still working on it," Darling said shrugging like it was no big deal. That all became a part of her everyday life and it seemed normal to her.
"Would you consider yourself a prostitute?" Dr. Callahan asked as he folded his arms on the desk.
Darling chuckled and shook her head. "No, I don't get paid for the things I do. My grandmother calls me a hussy though," Darling told the doctor and took one last look at the clock. Her time was up. "Alright well, it's been fun," Darling said sarcastically as she stood from the leather couch. "I'll see you in two weeks." With that, Darling left the doctors office and into the waiting room where her best friend and roommate was waiting for her.
"People have been staring at me like crazy, Darling," Annie said as she stood from a chair and the two left the building.
"Well, that's probably because your hair is pink and purple, you've got a septum piercing and you're covered in tattoos. That may be more acceptable this day in age, but you were in a room full of geezers for an hour and a half," Darling said as they got into Annie's car.
Annie drove them to the closest Starbucks in silence. It was a quick in and out stop. Both got their own seperate drinks and they went right back into the car.
On the way back to their apartment, Annie finally let curiosity get the better of her. "How did it go?"
Darling sighed and shrugged. "I finally told him what happened with my father," Darling mentioned and just left it at that. Annie knew about Darling's past with her father, they've been friends for years. Annie was glad Darling had finally told someone besides herself about what happened. Annie couldn't be the one to save Darling from herself.
