daddy's girl ( complete )

Daddy's Girl | Part Four

That morning, earlier than she usually woke up, Mal got out of bed and dialed Evie's number. Her friend was not very happy about being woken up this early.

"M," she said. "What are you calling for?"

"You know those woods near the docks?" Mal said, pacing her room.

"Yes," said Evie with a yawn.

"I want to go there," said Mal. "And I'm taking you, Jay and Carlos with me."

Evie could not believe her ears. "What?! But those woods are creepy!"

"I know," said Mal. "But this isn't just some Halloween prank. I think it's where my mom was killed."

"Killed? Woods? Halloween?" said Evie, her voice frantic. "Mal are you crazy?"

"Probably," said Mal, seriously considering her decision now. "But I have too know. Please Evie, you can't tell my dad. He'd kill me."

She could tell that Evie was thinking. "Okay. But only because you asked me."

Mal smiled. "K, bye."

"Bye," said Evie with a huff. The call ended and Mal began to look around her room for things to pack for the trip. She was interrupted by a knock on the door.

"Come in."

Hades opened the door. Mal pushed her backpack out of his view. "Hey Mali, you coming down for breakfast?"

"I'll be in a minute," said Mal. "You can start without me."

Hades smiled at her and left the room. Mal suddenly felt guilty that she wasn't going to tell him.

"Dad!" she yelled down the hall.

"Yeah?" said Hades.

Mal ran and hugged him tightly. "Thank you. For everything."

Hades hugged her back tightly. "You're welcome."

Mal smiled as he left and continued to pack her backpack. She packed a flashlight, some books, an extra sweatshirt, leaving some room for food. She would wait until her dad left for work before going to sneak food into her bag. She knew Hades left her lunch for school on the table, all she needed to do was grab some extra snacks and she would be on her way. Something inside her was screaming that she shouldn't do this, that she shouldn't leave her father to go look for something that might not even exist. She zipped up her bag and walked down the stairs, her heart pounding in her chest, echoing the footsteps she made. When she got downstairs, her lunch was sitting on the table with a note propped up next to it. Before putting the lunch in the bag, she rung up Evie's number.

"Come on, come on," she muttered, rummaging through the fridge, putting the phone on speaker. "Answer the phone Evie, answer the phone."

"Hello?" Evie said.

"Did you call the boys?"

"Yes, I did," said Evie, her voice distant. "I'm all set. How are we going to pull this off?"

"Meet me at the school gates before the bell rings," said Mal, putting some Twinkies, apples, and other random packaged food in her bag. "Trust me."

"I do," said Evie. "I have to go, the bus is almost at my house. See you?"

"Yeah, bye," said Mal, hanging up the phone.

She grabbed the lunch bag and shoved it in, sending the paper fluttering to the floor. She slung her backpack around her shoulders and picked up the paper. Slowly she opened it an read:

Mal,

Have a great day at school!

I love you 3000,