You close the door and turn the key, locking it. Finally, home. Hanging your wet umbrella and shoes to dry and setting a bag of groceries onto the cabinet, you enter the living room - after a full day of work, you just want to crash onto the sofa and give your legs a few minutes of rest. But as you approach the sofa, you see that it is already occupied - a little girl is sleeping soundly on it.
"What the!?" you exclaim as you step back.
The girl opens her eyes and looks sleepily at you. She rubs them with her forearm as she sits up.
"Who are you? What the hell are you doing here?" you lean in as you interrogate the little intruder.
"I'm sorry! I am just..." the girl cowers and puts her arms in front of herself for protection, as if afraid you'll hit her.
"Hey, I am not going to hurt you." you feel a bit bad for scaring her, "I just want to know how you got in here."
The girl doesn't say anything, but glances at the window. The morning was hot, so you'd opened it slightly for some fresh air and forgot to close it. With her delicate frame, it would be possible to squeeze in through the gap even with the latch on.
"Good grief." you sigh, "Well, whatever. Just get out of here. I don't want any trouble." you tell her.
You escort the little girl to the door, and she leaves your house in a hurry. Standing in the doorway, you watch her lithe silhouette depart as she walks across the street, feeling bad about yourself for getting angry and treating her like this.
The rain seems to have died down, for now, just the water running off the roof makes a sloshing sound. The girl approaches one of the houses on the other side and stands in front of the door, as if unwilling to enter. Despite the distance, you can hear the voices yelling from the inside and the sound of something breaking. The girl turns her body at a ninety-degree angle and starts slowly walking along the street. With every step she takes, you see more and more droplets making circles on the surface of puddles as the rain starts to pick up.
"Hey, you're going to catch a cold." gnawed by guilt, you decide to call out to her, "Come here."
The girl stares reluctantly at you for a few seconds, but in the end decides to run across the street.
"I am sorry for entering without permission." she says as she looks down.
"Whatever, that's in the past. Come in, we need to dry you out." you invite her back in.
You snatch the towel from the bathroom and throw it on her head, then rub it to dry the messy short brown hair.
"Here, get yourself dry. And change your clothes, I'll dry your soaked ones." you take a shirt out of the closet and throw it on the sofa.
"Okay..." she responds, pulling the towel off her head.
"Are you hungry?" you ask her.
"Yea..." the girl stands awkwardly with a towel in her hands.
"I am not a good cook, but if you are fine with mac-n-cheese, I can whip up some for you as well." you say as you enter the kitchen.
Cooking your usual everyday dinner, you simply use more ingredients to make enough for the two of you.
"Hey, I don't know how you like your bacon, so..." you walk into the room with two plates and see the girl standing in the middle, naked. Now you notice that her body is quite emaciated and thin, even for a child of her age.
"What are you doing, put some clothes on." you place the plates on the table, trying to avoid looking at her. She isn't old enough to be attractive as a woman, but it still somehow feels wrong to look at the lady changing.
"But I don't have spare ones..." she says quietly.
"That's why I gave you my shirt. Come on, don't stand there naked like that." even if she is just a little girl, you feel embarrassed to look at her.
"It's too big." you hear after a few seconds of shuffling. Turning around, you see her wearing your shirt, that is clearly too large - long enough to look like a lab coat - and her arms are too short for the sleeves, making her look silly in a cute way.
"Just roll them back a little, geez." you roll up the sleeves of the shirt until her tiny hands pop out, "Let's eat."
After hanging her original wet clothes to dry, you and the girl start eating your food in silence. Naturally, this is how you eat your dinner every day, but having a guest you feel a bit awkward without any small talk.
"By the way, what's your name?" you ask, trying to break the ice.
"Valerie." the girl answers, forking her food.
"That's a cute name." you say, not sure where are you going with this yourself, and the girl doesn't respond.
After you two finish your meal in silence, the girl looks out of the window. The rain keeps pouring, battering at the glass with the continuous barrage of droplets, making a monotonous sound.
"You can stay until it clears up." you say as you take the plates and head for the kitchen.
"T-thank you." Valerie calls out to you, "For food. And for letting me stay."
"Don't mention it." you answer, trying to sound cool.
Returning from the kitchen, you give her a glass of orange juice, then flop onto the sofa and start checking notifications on your phone. After reading a couple of e-mails, you start a game that caught your fancy recently to collect the daily rewards. Mashing on dozens of prompts that appear as the characters fight, you notice that Valerie's eyes are glued to the screen of your phone, as she stands there with the half empty glass in her hands.
"Want to try?" you ask her.
"Me? But I don't know how..." she panics.
"It's easy, just keep tapping with the finger on the circle, and they will keep fighting." you present her with the phone.
The girl reluctantly touches the screen with her little finger, and you hear the sound of the character's attack. She does it again. You see the smile appear on her face as she taps on the screen and characters respond - for a moment you get a little jealous, wishing you had such sense of child-like wonder. Finally, a music sample plays and the word "Victory!" appears on the screen.
"Good job." you say to her. The girl's eyes light up at your praise.
***
And just like this, Valerie came to visit you every day after you return from work. You two spent your time chatting and playing games. This carried on for a couple of months, until that one fateful day.
***
As you are walking home, you notice the red and blue lights of police cars in the distance. Coming closer, you see the "No entry" police tape around the house across the street from yours, with several cops standing nearby. Worried, you approach one of them.
"What have happened here?" you ask.
"One eight seven - a domestic turned homicide. Drunk guy killed his wife." he responds, munching on a doughnut.
"What about the child?" you ask as your heart races.
"They didn't have any, fortunately." he says, not paying much attention to you.
"I see... thanks..." not really sure how to feel about his words, you turn around and decide to simply go home.
After setting a bag of groceries on the cabinet, like you do every day, you enter the living room and sit down onto the sofa. The only thing on your mind is Valerie and what could have happened to her.
But the sound of knocking on the window quickly snaps you back to reality. You see two familiar eyes looking at you expectantly from behind the glass - you rush to the window and open it.
"You're okay!" you exclaim, happy to see her.
"Yea." she gives a short response and tries to climb into the room. You catch her under the arms and lift her body to help - she is so light it almost feels like she is a little fairy, floating by herself.
"What happened?" you ask as you set her down on the floor.
"Dad... hit mom... and she..." the girl stares at the floor as she tries to find the words to explain.
"I see... I... sorry..." you aren't sure what to say, "But I am glad you are okay. We should tell the police, maybe they..." you take a step toward the door.
"No!" she shouts and grabs at your shirt.
"Why?" you look at her, confused.
"I don't want to go to the orphanage! I want to stay with you..." the small hand clutches stronger at the fabric of your shirt.
But can you do this? Surely not. Can you officially adopt her instead? Since you don't have a wife, they will most likely decline your request due to lack of mother figure...
Maybe... Maybe you can just keep her? Live together?
"Please... I'll help around the house..." she begs.
You are not sure if this is the right choice. You are not sure what to do. But for now, you just want to be here for her, so you crouch down and embrace the small, shivering body.
***
You were sent to the prison on charges of kidnapping.
After learning that you kidnapped a child, other inmates beat up and raped you.
You managed to find a hole in the wall that let you squeeze into some communication space. You are trying to wiggle your way out through a crack in between some pipes. You are stuck. The more you move, the harder it gets. You feel the air squeezed out of your lungs. You can't breathe.
"GAAAAAH!" you scream as you sit up in your bed.
"What happened?" you hear Valerie's sleepy voice from behind.
"Ah... Nothing. Sorry for waking you up." you respond, trying to calm down and catch your breath.
"You had that dream again?" she hugs you from behind, her teenage body clinging to your back and her chin poking on your shoulder.
"Yea..." you sigh.
"You've just had too much stress in the last couple of days. Everything will be alright, I'm eighteen now. Come." you feel her weight as she pulls you backward, letting your head rest on her stomach.
"Thanks, Val." you close your eyes and enjoy the feeling of her thin fingers combing through your hair.
"Now sleep, you dummy. I'll make your favorite honey pancakes for breakfast." her voice lulls you, and you slowly descend into sleep, soothed by the sound of her heartbeat.
***
Rays of the morning sun manage to squeeze between the curtains just to assault your eyes and interrupt your peaceful rest. You rub your face, then climb out of the bed and head for the kitchen, lured by the fragrant aroma of fresh pancakes and the gentle sound of sizzling.
Still dressed in her sleepwear - a short white tank top and panties - Valerie stands in front of the stove, making a breakfast. So many years have passed - and time only made her more beautiful, shaping her into a gorgeous young lady. You can't help but smile, thinking how lucky you are to be able to live with her.
Approaching Valerie from behind, you place your hands on her slender waist. She jumps a little, surprised, but then turns her head to you.
"You're awake. Breakfast will be done soon." the girl flips the pancake with a spatula, "How are you feeling?"
"Better, I guess." you respond.
"Still bothered by that nightmare?" she puts away the skillet and turns off the stove, "I'll help you forget."
Valerie pushes down her panties and wiggles herself out of them, letting the undergarment fall down to the floor. She leans over the counter and stick her butt toward you.
"What are you doing, you stupid girl?" you laugh and spank her lightly, "You don't have to."
"Look at me, so chaste, while having a hardon right from the morning." she mocks you as she turns around and pushes you playfully on the chest.
"What got into you?" you play along.
Valerie pushes you again, now a little stronger, making you stumble backward and forcing you to sit onto the chair. She pulls off her top in one swift motion, and her long brown hair cascades down her shoulders, making you feel like the time itself has slowed down. Now naked, she climbs on top of you, wrapping her arms around your neck, and your lips meet in a passionate kiss.
"I'm yours, Dad." Valerie whispers with a hint of embarrassment in her voice, her cheeks taking on a pinkish hue. She reaches down into your boxers, lithe fingers wrapping around your hot trunk, pulling it out of its confinement.
"Val..." you try to say, but your voice is muffled as she presses your face firmly into her small, nubile breasts. She didn't take her shower yet, and you can smell her young natural salty-sweet scent.
"Thank you, Dad. Thank you for everything." Valerie