EIGHTY FOUR

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DADDY ISSUES

"Congratulations, you're free to go." Shoupe chuckled as he unlocked the cell doors for the girl. Both River and John B shared a confused look.

Part of the girl thought that Shoupe meant John B, she was told that it would take ages until Reginald gained Parental Responsibility and she knew that.

"Me?" River questioned quietly, shuffling closer to John B ever so slightly.

John B placed his hand on River's shoulder, he knew that she hated it in here, and so did he. But she couldn't stand not seeing JJ or Silas, it was obvious. They were the only thing that she talked about really. He could tell that she missed them.

"Who's here for me then? Mother dearest changed her mind about parenting?" River asked with a sarcastic laugh.

"No, doesn't seem that way." Shoupe shook his head and guided the girl out of the cell.

"So Reggie got his rights then?" River turned and looked up at the man.

Shoupe shook his head once again, making River scrunch her face up in confusion. Once she reached the front of the station she saw Reginald stood with another man.

"You're dad." Shoupe pointed to the Sean.

He wore a navy suit with a light pink tie and a small pocket square. His eyes were a bright blue and his blonde hair was almost shaggy. He looked young, too young to be her dad.

Sean seemingly had a confident demeanour about him, he held the pen loosely as he signed the papers to release River. The blonde girl wondered if he was going to stick around and talk to her or if he was just going to leave again.

Shoupe saw the way that the girls face faulted. It was the first time she had ever seen her dad. He couldn't imagine what that must've been like.

Reginald offered River a sympathetic smile once he saw her. He was glad that she was out of the cell and  able to come back home, he just didn't expect that he would have to do it this way.

He wasn't going to stop until he got parental responsibility. He didn't want another incident like this. He didn't want something to happen to River and instead of turning to him, the professionals turn to Georgia or Sean.

"Come on, let's get you your belongings." Shoupe cleared his throat to gain the blondes attention.

River nodded and followed Shoupe towards the front desk, where he pulled out a clear bag with all of River's things inside.

"Just sign here to state that this was everything you came in with." Shoupe pointed to the form, which River quickly scribbled down her signature.

The girl quickly unlocked her phone and saw numerous missed calls from JJ. It broke her heart that he knew she was still in jail but he tried to call. She wondered if he just wanted to hear her voice on the voice mail recording or if he needed her and expected her to answer.

"Let's get you home, pumpkin." Reginald placed his hands on River's shoulders, making her jump.

Her eyes scanned around the room to see if her father stuck around, she caught a glimpse of his navy blazer exiting the door way. River scoffed and pulled away from Reginald to rush after him.

"Is that it? I'm not even good enough to fucking look at?" River shouted, she didn't care about the people walking passed the station or the officers on break. "I'm your daughter and you don't even know my name."

Sean span on his heel to face the girl. It was the first time he had fully taken her in. Georgia sent him photos of her when she was first born, but after a while that stopped.

"It's Angelica." Sean mumbled. "After my mother, your grandmother."

"You're wrong." River chuckled, shaking her head in disbelief. "It's River."

"Georgia always loved that name, didn't think she'd follow through with calling it you though." Sean laughed. "Didn't think she'd follow through with having you either."

River scrunched her face up at his choice of words. Her tongue ran over her bottom lip before taking in a deep breath. She could feel her hands shaking, this was her father. This was the first time she had met him. That was kind of a big deal.

"Why didn't you stick around?" River asked. "You left me with Georgia." She paused again, cutting him off before he even got a chance to answer. "I've heard things about you, sound like a dick to me. But you should've stuck around to be a dad. Or at least sent a birth card with your name on it."

That was when the realisation hit her. She had been trying to search for her father with Pope and Silas for months, but she couldn't find him because she didn't know his name.

"I don't even know your name, do you know how fucked up that is?" She ran her hand through her hair frustratedly.

"River, pumpkin, let's go home." Reginald walked behind the girl, trying to guide her away before the situation escalated.

"I'll be expecting my money, Reginald. Drove a long way for this. It's not cheap." Sean laughed.

Reginald noticed the way that River's eyes filled with unshed tears. His words hurt her and she didn't even know him. She had a picture perfect imagine if her father and Sean wasn't living up to the expectations.

"You're a piece of scum, Sean, Always have been, always will be." Reginald scoffed, guiding River away and towards his car, hoping to get her far away from the man.

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