The Fire Girl: A One Chicago Fanfiction

Chapter 30

"What the hell are you doing here?"

"What? Can't a father come visit his daughter?"

"Not when he abandoned her, then refused to raise her and drank away her childhood," I replied, crossing my arms, "Dad's who don't take care of their kids after their mother dies, don't get to show up out of the blue. Last I heard you were in jail."

"Just got out. And I need money."

"Well I don't have any for you. Every penny Kelly and I make goes to supporting our family."

"The infamous Kelly. I've heard about you marrying some firefighter a few years back. But of course being the slut you are, you let him knock you up first."

"Look. I'm not dealing with this! I'm not giving you a damn cent! And I'm the slut? You cheated on your wife! Don't even get me started on the parade of women you brought through the house after we were forced to live with you after mom died."

"I was a good dad. I called for your birthdays and sent you gifts."

"You LEFT us! You chose alcohol and bimbos over your wife and kids. You didn't show up to Mom's funeral, Ryan had to plan and pay for the whole thing. You didn't take care of us after she died, Ryan did. Hell, when Ryan died, you didn't even come to his funeral!" I cried, holding back tears, not realizing my friends had began to gather in the doorway and watch, "I had to take care of all of it, so you were not a good dad. You were a shitty dad."

"Please-"

"You want to know what a good dad looks like? Look at Kelly. When things got hard because our daughter was diagnosed with a heart condition, he calmed me down and told me everything would be okay. He makes sure our three kids know he loves them by reminding them every single day. He spends time with them, he takes care of them, he loves them. No matter how hard things got, he stayed. Which is a hell lot more than you can say."

"So know you're this perfect girl with this perfect life? You'll always be a fuck up Corin. You're broken beyond repair. You're a weak girl who's lost almost all her family. I've all you got left sweetheart. Like it or not. So stop being a little bitch, and help me out."

"No."

"Excuse me?"

"I said no. I'm not a teenager anymore. You can't play your fucked up mental games with me because I know my worth. I have an entire firehouse family that knows my worth. So your manipulative little mind tricks don't work on me anymore. You may have broken me, but I'm all glued back together now. And you can't break me again."

"Stupid bitch!" he grumbled, pushing me back.

"Hey!" Kelly yelled, hustling up behind me.

Before Kelly could get to us, I pulled my fist back and punched my father in the face. He fell to the ground, holding his nose as I shook out my hand. Man punching someone hurt a lot more than it looks! Kelly stood beside me as I my dad just lay on the floor.

"Go back to Twin Lakes where you belong. You're not wanted here and you'll never be wanted here. You understand me?" I growled, "Go ahead and spread shitty rumors about me back home because I really don't give a shit. You'll always be the shitty guy who left his kids, returned to his kids, abused his kids, and chased away his kids. You have to live with that. Now get the hell out of my firehouse before I call the cops on you."

He spit at my feet before walking off. Kelly rubbed my back and I just brushed him off. He knew my father was always a sensitive subject. Luckily I was saved my the bells. We headed off to a call of a suicidal teen. CPD had called for help because the girl wouldn't come down from the ledge of the bridge. When we arrived, the officer began to brief us.

"All we can get out of her is something about her father," Ruzek informed us, "Not sure what though."

"Chief, let me handle this one."

"You sure?"

"Positive."

I got all hooked up and slowly walked to the side so I was in the girl's line of sight. Her eyes were as big as saucers. I held my hands up to show her I wasn't going to touch her or grab her.

"What's your name sweetie?"

"G-Gracie."

"Hi Gracie. I'm Corinthia. Why don't you come down from there and you and I can talk?"

"No. No! I can't go back! And there's no where to go but jump. There's no way out. There's no escape."

"No escape from what sweetie?"

"My father."

"There is an escape. I promise you there is."

"How would you know?!"

"Because I escaped," I admitted, slowly advancing, "I'm going to step over so I can stand next to you and talk. Okay?"

The girl nodded and I cautiously stepped over the railing beside her. I knew Kelly was most likely freaking out behind me, but this was something that I needed to do.

"You escaped?"

"I did. My dad was a bad guy. He ignored me and my big brother all the time. Is that what your father does?"

She nodded with tears in her eyes, "Yeah. And when he gets mad, he hits me. I tried telling my school, but they didn't believe me. That just made him even madder and made him drink more. And when he drinks..."

"He gets even meaner? Mine did too. This one time I came home late from school, so I didn't have dinner ready for my dad when he got home. So he didn't let me eat. He was so made and so drunk that he hit me with a power cord until I was sobbing," I admitted, "But I got away from him Gracie and you can get away from your dad. What has happened to you doesn't make you broken, it makes you a fighter."

"I'll never have a good life."

"You will! I thought the same thing and I almost jumped just like you want to, but I'm so glad I didn't. Because know I'm married to a super hot firefighter who loves me so damn much and I have three beautiful babies. I'm proof that you can still be happy. You just have to come with me and I'll help you. I promise you won't ever have to go back to you dad again."

"Promise?"

"Cross my heart."

She took my hand, and I tightly held her. Kelly and Casey came running, helping the two of us back over. Once we were safe, I held Gracie while she cried. After she was calmed down, I took her over to Adam and we talked it all out. I knew Adam would keep this girl safe.

***

That night I flopped into mine and Kelly's bed, exhausted. That shift had drained me, physically and emotionally. As Kelly and I laid there quietly, both just kind of thinking, he decided to speak up.

"I don't wanna push you. But the stories that you told about your?..." Kelly trailed off.

"Those were true. It's a lot more complicated than people think," I sighed, fiddling my thumbs.

"Well, if that guy ever comes back around, I'll kick his ass...as long as you don't beat me too it."

"No promises," I chuckled, smiling at my husband, "Thank you for being such an amazing dad."

"I wouldn't be the dad I am today without you."

"I love you."

"I love you too."