A Taste for Candy

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prologue.

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The black and white cat, with a big red nose, zoomed across the screen, chasing after the little yellow bird with the big head. Missy loved the cartoon. It was her favorite, it was also the only cartoon her dad sat her in front of when he was busy. He looked like the granny in the cartoon, accept, he was a big old man. White-gray hair and a long white and gray bread. Her dad told her he didn't always have white hair, he used to have bright red hair, almost the same color of the cat's nose in her cartoon. Of course, she didn't believe him.

When Missy turned ten, her dad told her that she was his biological daughter, but she was his no matter what people said. The girl wasn't dumb, she knew she didn't look like him, but she didn't see him anything less than her dad, so she didn't question him any further about that.

"I can't believe you've been raising someone's fucking kid for this long dad!" A man shouts louder than her cartoons.

Missy peels her gaze from the tv and looks down the hall where the kitchen was located. She could see, from where she was sitting, the red haired man was angry. She didn't need to look at his face to tell that he's upset, the man intensitivity changed the atmosphere in the small apartment.

It scared her.

Jefferson, her father, glances in her direction before looking at the man again. "Quiet down boy,"

" Don't raise your voice at me," Jefferson grunts out before walking on the opposite side of the kitchen. "She was left on my porch, a few years ago. I couldn't leave her outside to die, and no one in this neighborhood at the time would've helped her!"

"It doesn't matter dad!" The man shouts at her father, making the girl clench onto her stuffed toy in her arms.

Jefferson points at the man's face, his ears turning a bright red from anger. "It does matter! If you and your goddamn sister just picked up my calls then you would've known about her, and could've helped."

Missy stood up from the floor and made her way to the kitchen, where her dad and the scary man were talking. Her dad looked at her from where he was standing, causing the shy, young girl to run to him, instantly.

"Dad... how can you take care of a little girl, especially in this dump!"

"I have help from Loretta... She lives right next door. She does the girl's hair and teaches her a lot of things that I can not." Jefferson explains, patting Missy's head for a moment before crossing his in front of his chest.

Missy clings to her dad's leg and peeks up at the scary red-haired man. She felt less scared, but even when her dad pats her head, she couldn't help but feel frightened. This man didn't seem nice and she could tell her dad wasn't happy either.

"That old black lady that lives next door? He questioned. "So you two think you can raise a kid like some old divorce couple?"

"I needed someone to help! Since my two children didn't bother answering their old man's call, I found myself taking care of her.

The red head man shakes his head. "I knew we should've put you in a home. This—this is too much."

"I'm not saying you have to like it! I only called you here to let you know if something were to happen to me or Missy-"

"You gave it a name!"

"She's not a damn dog! The necklace she had on has her name on it. If you aren't going to accept this then leave! I'm not getting rid of her... I won't."

Missy watches the red-haired man turn just as red as his hair. She felt her heart race with fear but knowing that her dad is in front of her, she felt safe. The scary man grabs his keys and steps in front of Missy's dad.

"You're on your own, dad. At this point, I'm just waiting for your goddamn death and the money that comes along with it."

The angry man made his way out the kitchen and out of the front door of the home. Missy hugs her dad crying because of how scared she was when he was yelling. At ten, she didn't know what was going on. All she did know is her dad was protecting her, and she felt scared and safe.

"Missy... it's okay. What did I tell you about crying?"

"T-That I should not cry cuz' cryin' make people think I weak," Her dad squats down in front of her and wipes her tears. 

"And are you weak, sweet pea?"

The little girl shakes her head, causing the elderly man to smile before nodding his head, approving of her response.

Missy's crying stops and she hugs her dad tightly, feeling a lot better.

"Now, go watch your cartoons while I call Mama Retta over to cook your favorite dinner."

Missy nods and runs back to the living room, sitting down in front of the tv and watching her favorite cartoon while holding her yellow bird to her chest smiling. 

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