Difference

Chapter 2: Nick

I DON'T OWN THE ARTWORK!

Nobody told me that being a parent meant that I'd pay for all the sins of my youth. Every fiber in my body is unraveling. It's been three days now since that monster took her. He's doing something horrible to her, I can feel it in my bones. It's scary really, just how much that little girl means to me. Of course I love Everly and the boys, but Kimberly is my little piece of Judy. I want to peer into her lavender eyes again.

That savage's words are burnt into my mind. I told you I would return for my work. What does that mean? It's been over a decade since we possessed his lab, it's an abandoned building now. None of his work remains.

I sigh in exasperation as I lay on the couch staring at the ceiling. Carrots finally crashed after going non-stop for forty-eight straight hours. Dumb bunny. Everly is beyond broken without her sister. She's not alone.

My ears prick at the sound of voices coming from the back yard. No. Oh hell no! After all I've been through, there better not be mammals trying to rob my house. Jumping up, I retrieve my tranq gun from the gun safe in the wall. Needless to say, I absolutely do NOT trust Ash and Cole not to mess around with it.

Sliding the back door open violently, I pull the hammer back on the gun. "You may be fast, but my gun's faster! There's a savage fox on the loose!" I snap.

"Please don't shoot me, daddy!" Kimberly's honey sweet voice pleads.

The moon illuminates her orange fur. I'm blind sided. It's her, but this is not my little girl. My little girl is two feet tall. This girl comes up to my nose, and that's with her ears drooping. She's wearing grey sweats and smells like that damned dingo. Tears prick at my eyes. What did he do to my little girl? It's as if she's aged three years in three days. I feel so robbed.

Tossing the gun to the ground, I wrap her in a hug. "I've been so worried about you." I lose control of my emotions, and break down crying. Geez, the older I get, the more I turn into Stu.

"I'm back, daddy." She cries into my shoulder.

"That's it young lady, you're never allowed to leave me again." I half-joke. I'm just so glad she's home. Words can't describe how happy I am to have her in my life. As a police officer I'm supposed to make the world a better place, but truth be told, Kimberly makes my world a better place.