his little girl // jiley

Chapter XI

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C H A P T E R
E L E V E N
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"DADDY, I'M BORED," Hazel complains when I stop the J-Troupers for a break in the middle of rehearsals. "Can't I dance, too?"

I grin. "Sweetie, you're four. And you don't dance."

"I could dance too, daddy. I'd be good at it." She tells me, rambling on. "Not girly dancing though. Like, the ballet with the tutus and the pink. I'd do... daddy's type of dancing."

"Hip hop, you mean?"

She nods. "That."

"Well, I'm sure you'll be great," I tell her. "Maybe I'll teach you, yeah?"

She nods enthusiastically. "Yes, please." She says.

I grin and then start the rehearsals again, running through the routine a few times with the J-Troupers.

"Guys," I say to them, grabbing their attention. "Competition is next week, so keep rehearsing, okay? See you's Monday."

They all file away and grab their stuff, some leaving and some waiting for rides.

I look over at Hazel after the last person leaves. She's playing a game on my phone, sitting cross legged on the wooden bench, her hair swishing over the screen.

"Haze," I say. "Ready for hip hop 101?"

She grins widely. "Yep." She jumps up, running over to me.

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"That's it!" I cheer as Hazel pretty much nails the move I've taught her. "I underestimated you. You're a natural!"

Her eyes light up. "Really?"

"Yeah!" I exclaim, acting as if this is the most obvious thing in the world, because she's so happy right now I want her to stay that way. "Id even say you're a prodigy."

"Like those kids on the pianos?"

I laugh. "Yeah. But in dance."

She smiles. I'm not actually lying — she's pretty good for a four year old. And it's her first lesson. She can already do cartwheels effortlessly, a trait that seemed to just come out of nowhere.

"Why don't you practice for a second, okay?" I say to her. She nods and I walk over to the bench and grab my phone, turning it on.

After I check my messages, I stand and watch Hazel for a while. She may have caused havoc in my life from the day she was born— but I'm so lucky to have her.

As I'm watching her cartwheel, I hear someone come in, and I turn my head. It's Beth, who seems to be watching Hazel as contently as I am. She smiles at me.

I'm getting this oddly evil vibe off of her... and I don't know why. Beth has never been mean or evil (maybe when she kissed me, but that's it) she's always just been a little... crazy. Out of it. Ready for the mad house. Things like that.

She strides over to me. "Hey," she says flirtatiously, putting her hand on top of mine. It makes me uncomfortable, but I don't pull my hand away.

"Hey, Beth," I reply.

"Your daughter is adorable," she looks at Hazel when she says it. "The one we never knew existed until now."

I blush. "Um. Yeah."

"I heard a pile of stories, but I don't know which one is true," she starts saying. Why is she making me so uncomfortable? "You were raped, right?"

I feel a twinge in my stomach. "I... don't really want to talk about this..."

"I'm sorry. I'm just curious." She says slyly. "You really don't know who her mother is?"

"I do," I say with hesitation. "Her names Andi. She went to my school." Just thinking of Andi makes me feel cold all over. She was horrible, come to think of it. Really fucking horrible.

"But I thought you were drugged?"

How does she know this stuff? I never told anyone. Ever. And I especially didn't tell Beth.

"I... I was." This is getting really awkward. I look back at Hazel and see she's going pirouettes. Trying to — and oddly she's succeeding.

"Then how do you know it was Andi?" Beth asks. What does she mean?

"Of course it was Andi," I sigh. I'm getting annoying with Beth. What's gotten into her all of a sudden? "I don't know who else it would be."

She looks away from me and instead at Hazel. "That's weird. Because I do," she says. My heart beats faster. "And she's sitting right in front of you."

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N O T E
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Just wanted to tell you it might be a while until the next update. My granny is really sick and I was told she wasn't going to make it so I might get too upset to write this... i might keep doing one shots for the time being, though.
Thanks for reading!!
- emma xox