Geek on the Side!

Vanessa has a bad dream

I'm fifteen years old, and I'm wearing a pink nightie. I'm laying in my bed when I suddenly feel something slimy and gross wrap itself around my right leg. Then I feel it in my left leg, and both of my wrists. As I scream for help I'm pulled up and held against my wall. In front of me is Arthur, a lecherous smile on his face, licking his lips as he ran his grubby, filthy hands across my breasts. I try screaming again, but Arthur covers up my mouth. Across the room, right there in my doorway, I see my parents just watch everything that's happening. Though I plead to them with my eyes to please help me, they just stare...

With a jolt I wake up, screaming. My God, what a terrible nightmare. My heart won't stop racing! My face is wet with tears, even! 

I got up and put on my slippers. I gotta calm down a bit; maybe some music? Nah, I don't feel like listening to anything. Maybe some Nintendo Switch? Nah, I can't hold the controller right.

What about a drive? Yeah, that could work? Just a quick drive around town, to calm me down!

One hour later...

Somehow a quick drive to calm me down has turned into a drive down to Amberville, and that somehow turned into me driving to Bio-Dad's house. It's three in the goddamn morning; I should be home now, not at my Bio-Dad's house acting like some loon! What would people say, huh? They'd say "oh my God, there's that girl Doug Derriwinkle constantly has over at his house! Ugh, I can't believe he'd cheat on his wife like that! And in their house, too!"

A quick glance at Bio-Dad's house shows me that his front lights are on, and that his car is missing. Uh oh, that's not good. Worried for Sarah, I parked the car, got out, and knocked on their door.

"Doug, I swear to God, if you're drunk-" Sarah said as she opened the door, but stopped once she saw me. "Vanessa, hi! Are you OK? It's so late, and you look pale!"

"I'm fine," I lied. I'm actually a total stupid mess. "I was... uh..."

"Come inside; it's too cold out for you to be wearing just a nightgown," she said as she dragged me inside. "So what brings ya?"

"Nothing," I lied again. "I was just-"

"The truth, please," she said with a smirk on her face. Damn, she's got me figured out.

"I had a nightmare," I said, rubbing my arm. "I have no idea how that led me to here, though..."

"What was your nightmare about?" She asked. After describing my nightmare to her, she was wide eyed. "Holy crap in a hat."

"Yeah," I said, sighing. "I'm... I'm messed up."

"You have trauma," she said. "My girls go to this GREAT therapist, you know. If you want, I can give you his number."

"I'll think about it," I said. "Mom always said that only loonies go to therapy."

"Oh, your mom? Liliana?" She asked, bitterly. "The woman who lied to you about your parentage, who abandoned your older sister at age FIVE, and-"

"Woah," I said, looking away. I know she's right, but still. "That's still my mom, please."

"Sorry," she said, rubbing her temple. "It's just that, you know, Liliana has hurt so many people I care about. Doug, Daisy... you..."

"You care about me?" I asked, surprised.

"Well, yeah," she said. "You're my husband's younger daughter, OF COURSE I'd care about you!"

"Gee..."

There was a moment of silence between us.

"It didn't take Daisy and I long to bond," she said, smiling. "We bonded really quickly, honestly. But there was this unspoken agreement between us, this understanding that, no matter how well we got along and how well we knew each other, I wasn't her actual mother. It didn't matter, though; the love was there. I swore to myself, long before Doug and I got married, that I was gonna treat that girl like she was my own. Hell, I asked for her permission to marry her dad!"

"Wow," I said, tears in my eyes but a smile on my face.

"Yeah," she said, sighing. "I would have done the same for you, just for the record. I know saying that is meaningless, but-"

"Thank you anyway," I said.

Another bit of silence.

"Does my father get drunk often?" I asked.

"Only when he's under extreme emotional stress," she replied. "He had a horrible dream tonight, and so he decided to hit the bar to soothe his nerves."

"What did he dream about?" I asked.

"He'd HATE for me to tell anyone, but," she took a deep breath. "He dreamed about you, that you hated him for-"

"But I don't!" I exclaimed.

"I know you don't," she said, smiling at me. "But deep down he thinks you do. He wants to earn your love, but he's too scared to ask how."

"What?"

"He's putting a huge burden on himself again," she said, shaking her head. "He's always been like that. He refused to move out of Amberville so he could take care of his mother, and when Liliana left, he threw himself at his work so he could provide Daisy with a better life. Now he's wrecking himself trying to find a way to get you to like him."

"But why?" I asked.

"That's just who he is," she said. "He was very happy to have you here, and when you left, he was upset. He didn't let himself show it, though, cuz he thinks he has to be so goddamn macho all the time. But I know him, and I know that beneath all that macho bravado and stoicism, is a man who's too afraid of losing more of his family. He's already lost so many people..."

"Damn," I said, looking down. "What can I do for him?"

"Actually, and I know this is asking a LOT," she said. "But would you be willing to spend a day with him? Just the two of you? It'd mean the world to him."

"OK," I said.

My Bio-Dad wants to earn MY love? But... I'm the one who has to earn HIS love! I'm the daughter, after all!