Daddy, please.

Existing

Once I was finished in the shower, I threw on a mint green dress that was tight around the bust with a flowy skirt. I paired it with some black flats and left my hair to dry naturally and my face makeup free.

Alex didn't say where exactly he was taking me, but I didn't have room to complain, because the entire car ride he talked to me and kept the conversation flowing. It was really relaxing and I could've fallen back asleep just listening to him talk.

He didn't bring up what he saw earlier, even though I really thought he was going to. I'm glad he didn't, because the embarrassment I felt was still too raw.

"We're here!" He exclaimed excitedly as he switched the car to park after he'd pulled into a stall directly in front of a building called Laser Quest.

Not sure what that means, maybe we're going on a quest for lasers, but I'll go with it.

"C'mon, let's go!" The grin on his face made him look like a little kid again, and the excitement that radiated off him made my heart flutter. "Why are you staring at me?" He asked, looking at me weirdly when he noticed I was staring, rather than following. "Hurry up! You walk so slowlyyyy." He whined and my heart nearly melted inside my chest. If that were actually possible.

"I'm coming, geez." I chuckled, finally getting my feet to move so I could catch up to him where he was currently standing, holding the door open for me. "Thanks," I blushed and looked down at the tiled floor as I walked through the door.

"Two for laser tag." He told a lady sitting behind the counter. Well she was actually standing, and she didn't look old enough to be categorized as a lady. In fact, she looked around my age and she had a permanent cheery smile on her face. She's the kind of girl Alex needs. I quickly pushed the thought away and shot her my own fake, less enthused smile.

"That'll be $25.50." She said in that overly happy voice of hers and her cheerful attitude was beginning to get on my nerves. I could never fake a smile at that level of happiness, especially not for as long as she has to. Which means it's probably not fake. I envied her ability to be so content with the world.

Alex handed her the money and she handed him two purple cards, telling us to wait in the next line over to pick our code names.

Of course, Alex being Alex, chose Lady Killa to be his name. Mine was Dreamer, because that's precisely what I am. A dreamer. I dream of a better reality, yet it never becomes the real one. Maybe because it's not realistic enough.

After we got the long, annoyingly cheerful speech about safety and not covering our sensors, everyone left the small room that was packed with about thirty people and entered a new one. The room was filled with dozens of identical vests to the one she used during her speech. I walked to the rack with the number six, and placed it over my head, smiling slightly at the fact that the black lights made my dress glow faintly.

Like we were previously instructed, I used the activator we were given when we handed over the purple cards to activate my laser. Once my code name shown on the small screen I prepared myself for battle; for the next ten minutes that could cost me everything.

Surely if Alex won he'd brag about it for weeks, and I wasn't about to just give him bragging rights without putting up some sort of fight.

"Get ready, dreamer. You're mine." Alex whispered from behind me with a mischievous smirk on his face. The door opened and we were given twenty seconds to fan out and prepare ourselves for war.

His choice of words made my heart skip a few beats for some reason.

I went up a few platforms and found myself the perfect hiding place. It was in a more open area, so it would be easier to tag people which was apparently the idea of the game, but there was a small hideout in the one corner where the light didn't hit.

Perfect, I smirked to myself, taking my position in the dugout and waiting for people to appear.

All in all, I managed to only get tagged fifteen times, which I think is pretty decent being this was my first time playing laser tag.

About five minutes in I decided to leave my hideout and go looking for trouble. Aka people to tag. In doing so, I found Alex and as embarrassing as it would be for him to admit, he was an easy Target. I must've shot him at least a dozen times. Each time he felt the disappointing vibrate of the vest letting him know he was shot, he would look around frantically, trying to find the sneaky person shooting him. Lucky for me,  my vantage point was fairly well hidden, so he never spotted me.

As everyone who'd just played placed their vests back on their corresponding racks gathered around the score board, I was eager to see where I'd placed. As long as I was ahead of Alex, I'd be happy.

What I hadn't been expecting, was to see my code name, Dreamer, at the top of the list. Maybe I'm not as much of a dreamer as I thought. Maybe some of my hopes can be a reality.

I squealed happily and turned to a pouting Alex. The minute he saw my joyful expression his face broke into a handsome grin and my heart nearly melted into a puddle.

"I won!" I exclaimed as I threw myself into his arms and wrapped mine around his neck. I'd never done laser tag, or played any video games before, father thought it was a waste of time, so I'd been thoroughly surprised to see that I had ranked at the top.

My prize was, obviously, bragging rights, and a twenty dollar gift card to subway which I would cherish deeply. Subway is life.

"So do you think you'll be going back to work any time soon?" Alex asked on the drive home. My adrenaline was still pumping from my unexpected win and I felt like nothing could dampen my mood.

"Yeah, probably sometime next week. I'll have to talk to Martha." I said absentmindedly as I stared out the window, watching as the buildings and cars became a blur.  I had a lot more to talk to her about than just worked related topics.

Because of the injuries I'd sustained from my fathers final beating, I hadn't been able to work until I recovered. Even though I'd been in the stage of recovery for a few weeks now, after everything that had happened, I wasn't emotionally prepared to just hop back into the real world. I wanted to remain a nameless blob for a little while longer. The wounds were still too fresh.

Martha understood, she always did. She was like the caring and understanding mother I lacked.

"I still can't believe you beat me." Alex pouted as I shut and locked the front door once we were both safely inside.

"Don't be such a sore loser." I teased back, sticking my tongue out at him.

"I'm not being a sore loser!" He continued to pout, crossing his arms over his chest and doing his best to look thoroughly upset. In all honesty, he just looked really adorable.

Just then there was a knock at the door and I tensed up as my brain racked through the possible person/persons that could be waiting on the other side. My mind was blank, and that made my uneasy.

Once Alex realized that I wasn't going to get the door, he strode over to it and flung it open as the anticipation glued me to my spot.

I guess today was just a day full of surprises, because as soon as Alex opened the door, a figure flung themselves at him. I assumed it was a girl from the mass of long hair and my heart clenched.

Who is she?

She pulled away slightly, not enough for me to see her face, but enough for me to see where she was headed next. She smashed her lips against Alex's and tangled her fingers in his hair.

I felt like my heart had been torn right from my chest and I was left to bleed out. I wish that had been the case. At least then the pain would cease to exist. I wished I could say that same about myself in that moment.