Maggie

five

I watch as the little spit fire that I call my daughter strides down the street with full confidence. Like she owns the streets. Her head is held up and she looks like she knows where she's going.

That's my girl.

My heart breaks a little seeing her walk away though. In the past two hours of me getting to know her I have come to the conclusion that she brightens my day. I think she has that effect on everybody that's around her.

I feel guilty knowing I let her walk away. She is in danger walking those streets and she has someone literally watching her every move. My fatherly instincts have kicked in. I want to keep her safe and bring her back to New York. I want her to live safely in my penthouse, go to school, and succeed. No more street shit.

But I am not an idiot.

Of course, I know she is too much of a character to willingly go home with me. Not only is she a character but she is smart.

She wouldn't go with a man who randomly shows up as her father. Yet still, I wish she knew that I wasn't a danger.

"Let's go back inside to talk." Officer Reynolds breaks through the silence. I keep my feet planted. I watch as she walks down the street. She has a little happy skip in her strides and her backpack is bouncing with every step.

She's looking around just enjoying her freedom. I watch as she turns the corner and disappears from my sight.

I start to panic not knowing what's around that corner. "Don't worry Mr. Giovanni, she knows how to survive." Reynolds cut through the air. I sigh knowing he's right. If she didn't know how to survive she wouldn't be here.

I nod and follow him silently into the station. Taking a seat across him at his desk, I sit silently as he pulls out papers. "These are the forms for you to sign so you can have custody." He slides the paper over and hands me a pen. Without any hesitation I sign all the papers.

I feel sick to my stomach knowing she is walking around alone.

"Okay now that's done," He starts as he takes the papers back. He looks at me with nervousness. "What are we going to do about this Roan guy?" Why is he asking me? I raise my eyebrow.

Shouldn't he be the cop here? "I know who you are Mr. Giovanni." My hand instinctively goes to the gun in my waistband. "No need for that, I don't get payed enough to care, as long as you take care of Maggie I do not care what your source of income is."

I relax a bit. I get what Maggie likes about this guy. He may be serious and slightly uptight but he still has that nice guy vibe.

"I won't be able to take care of her if she won't trust me." I sigh sitting back in the chair. This gets a chuckle out of him.

"She's a stubborn girl, all I could suggest is you keep trying." He tells me with a small smile. I can tell that he likes Maggie and cares for her.