Daddy, What Are You Doing?!

[La_Reina]

Shyla finished packing her bags and stared at the picture on her dresser. The only thing that has not been thrown into a box yet. It was a picture of her when she was just a little girl laughing with her daddy. Her father was a big solid man while she looked so tiny, so happy. Shyla couldn't connect herself with that little girl or the relationship they seemed to have.

Shyla's mom knocked on the door taking her out of her reverie. "Hey baby you ready?"

"I guess mom. It's weird." Shyla picked up the picture. "I look nothing like her. Do you think he'll remember me?"

Shyla's mom smiled and kissed her on the forehead. "Of course he would baby. You're still that sweet girl in the picture. Just more beautiful."

Shyla scrutinized the picture. The only thing that little girl and she had in common was the black hair. The color from her mother the texture from her father. Shyla was half black half white so her skin was a creamy complexion. When she was younger she was lighter, but being older and always out and about her skin was something akin to a creamy peanut butter or caramel. Her lips were full pouty, naturally red, with eyes that were slightly slanted giving her almost an exotic asian look. Shyla stood at 5'5 and weighed only 130 lbs mostly from muscles and playing sports. She was very skinny and people always thought she could eat another meal or so.

Shyla picked up the picture and tossed it into her bag. She had shown her father only one picture. The picture of her prom where she had went with her highschool sweetheart Mikael. He had already left for college but promised to call her every night to catch up.

With her car packed tight Shyla started the journey to her father's home. She waved goodbye to her mother who was trying to hold back the tears. Even though her father had basically not made contact with her since him and her mother divorced she did know him a little. He always sent a card or gift on her birthdays and christmas. She was telling him she was going to a college that was incidentally only 15 mins away from he lived. He had offered her to stay with him, probably thinking she'd declined. She had said yes.

Shyla had an academic scholarship and saving the $7100 a semester on boarding meant that she didn't really need to get a part time job while going to school. Which meant rooming for free at dad's was the best option for her. Shyla kept thinking about the numbers and how she could even have a little bit left over for fun.

15 hours later and Shyla was groggily pulling into her father's driveway. She had started the drive at 7am and it was now 10p stopping for food, use the restroom, and a small 1 hour nap she took in her car at the rest stop. She grabbed her bag and decided tomorrow she'll unload her car as she knocked on her father's door. Hoping this wasn't a big mistake.

 

[TheGrind]

The early years of success had taken its toll on David. From late nights out to parties that never ended the life of a successful writer quickly devolved into a shambled mess. His mind had become a horrific place to live while he and his wife grew more and more apart. It was a far from perfect world, proven by failing sales with each ensuing book after the first two had sold so well. Just like a roman candle his creativity burned bright, but only for a short time.

As the years wore on David was able to evict his addictions but they came around again whenever he was feeling a little weak. He’d turned into an on again off again alcoholic. It helped kill the loneliness and the accompanying pain. Some of this pain was further released when he reconnected with his daughter, Shyla. She had turned into something of a dream. She was his unfulfilled wish. With hope mixed in with his desperation, David thought that she might be able to heal the hole that had formed in his life since his family’s breakdown. It was all he’d have.

After the initial contact was made David didn’t feel much different. All that existed over the line was hope and the chance that things might become good again. When she accepted his offer to stay at his place while she went to school, he didn’t know what to think. When he thought of it his mind went blank for days. It was one of the best things a daughter could’ve given her father. Precious time and the ability to make up for past mistakes. He was looking forward to it but dreading it at the same time.

When the day finally came he had the place professionally cleaned so he wouldn’t have to do anything. And so he wouldn’t miss a single thing forgotten on the floor. There wasn’t a thing wrong with the place save that it was a large home with no one but him to live in it. But that would change. He wondered how she’d act around him after not being together after so many years.

David wiped those thought clouds from his mind when he heard the car pull into the driveway, soon followed by the knock on the door. Moving from room to room he unlocked the lock and pulled the door open wide. It was Shyla. After all this time she was standing on his doorstep.

“Shyla,” was all he could say before he could find his words again. “Its good to finally see you.”

 

[La_Reina]

Shyla waited and for a moment her mind went into overdrive. What if this is a mistake? What if he didn't look like her daddy she remembered from the picture? What if he wasn't home? That last thought was erased as she heard the locks on the door being unlocked. She smooths her hair down and looks up just as the door opens. He seems the same in the picture just less ... happy and old.

"Hey, um dad." Shyla steps forward and hugs him, but it's awkward. She steps back and smiles. "May I come in?" Shyla steps past him and looks around the home. She's not sure where her room is so she stands there a bit awkwardly. She looks up the stairs and then drops her bag in the hallway. She walks the downstairs getting used to the lay out. She even opens the fridge and looks at what he has to eat and other things. She found a laundry room which she thought was pretty cool.

"So dad or should I call you David? Have any specific rules in mind for me to know. Like no barging into your study when the door is close or anything else." It was a small joke and maybe it was her subconscious but back when her mother and father were together that was a rule. She wasn't to bother daddy when he was in his study.

{sorry so short. didn't have anything more to go on}

 

[TheGrind]

David stepped aside to let his daughter through the door. “Go ahead and come in,” he spoke with a rare, genuine smile. It was good to have someone from the family back in his life even if it was his estranged daughter. There was already a strong sense of familiarity he felt with her. It was a welcoming feeling. Something he hadn’t felt in a long time. David wanted to hug her, to hold her longer as he had when she was a child but he held back. It’d just be awkward but if things went well, he could have what he once thought was lost forever.

As she began walking through the house he stood from the doorway, watching her look around the place. It was definitely large enough for the both of them to live in. A few more people could probably stand to be shoved inside. A whole other family. It got lonely in the big place. Having so much room to yourself, listening to the echoes of your own stirring bouncing off the barren walls hastened desperation’s call. It was probably what drove him to find and rediscover his daughter in the first place. Something to end the loneliness... something to end the pain.

“No big rules, no,” he answered her after she seemed to be finished looking around. “Just get to know me. But that shouldn’t be too hard since we’re living under the same roof.” David allowed another smile as he closed the front door and headed to where she stood.

“Upstairs are the bedrooms, one bathroom and two rooms that are completely empty,” he grinned at that. The tell-tale signs of a single man. “All the other stuff is down here, as you can see. Livingroom, kitchen, study, basically everything that isn’t upstairs. But you don’t want to listen to make talk about this stuff all night. What do you feel like doing tonight? Are you looking to just go to bed or are you wanting dinner and a movie.” He hadn’t even noticed how his last line read like the prospects of a date.

 

[La_Reina]

Shyla liked that. The no rules things. Her mother had been a big stickler on rules. Than again her mother had raised her all her life so she pretty much had to make rules. Just that her mother couldn't let go; couldn't let her grow up. Which reminded her. Shyla flipped open her phone and dialed her mother's number.

"Hey, Mom. .. no... I'm fine. .. With dad... yeah... yeah..."

Shyla pantomines her mom talking a lot and places her hand over the phone muting herself slightly. "Well I haven't really eaten. Food would be great. I don't care about the movie or we can watch tv. Whatever."

Shyla returns to her phone. "What?! No. I'm listening. Honest. Yes. Yeees. Mom!" Shyla goes to the couch and sits down making herself at home. Bits of the conversation could be heard as Shyla explains her trip and her first reactions to her father. After a moment the conversation is over and Shyla tell her mother she loves her and hangs up.

Looking around she goes into the kitchen to see her father cooking. "Hey. Mom says hi." Shyla was going to say more but her phone rings. "It's Mikael. My boyfriend." Shyla answers her phone and begins talking excitedly but in a whisper. She exits the kitchen and returns to the living room.

"Okay, I'll let you go. Love ya. Mick-kaaael!" Shyla glances around failing to look behind her. "Yes. I love sucking your cock. I miss it too." Shyla giggles. "I'm hanging up now. Call me tomorrow. Bye. Love you too." Shyla hangs up the phone musing to herself when she hears something behind her. She turns and blushes at her father wondering if he heard anything.

 

[TheGrind]

David felt as though she didn’t need any rules. Plus, she wanted her to like him and the lack of rules for a budding, sexual teenager would no doubt attract her to his side. Even though he was her father, he had to admit that she was built for sex. It was the first thing that crossed his mind when he saw her in person. Only when she answered her phone did that give him enough time to wonder about their living arrangements and how they’d be handled. The only difficulty he could see was sharing the one bathroom...the knocking... and maybe not once in a while.

He gave her a brief nod when she came into the kitchen, giving her mother’s salutations but he didn’t really care anymore. The ship had sailed and had been sunk long ago. The only reparations he hoped he could take from the divorce was the love of a child he never knew. And in spite of the way he was thinking about her, he did want to know her better. And in time, he wanted to pick up his role if he’d ever be allowed that luxury.

Taking a break from the kitchen for the moment he left the room and walked out, following his daughter who he didn’t know was on the phone. At least not until she started speaking about sucking cock. In a way it surprised him but he knew he shouldn’t have been. She was a grown up girl and if her own father could see her as a sexual symbol, surely teenage boys could see the very same thing. Then she ended the conversation and turned, catching him right behind her.

“Dinner’s ready. Have anything you’d like to talk about?” He was teasing her. He wasn’t expecting her to tell him anything. He saw her in a different light after that but he realized, things were different now.

 

[La_Reina]

Shyla stares at her father feeling her cheeks getting redder and redder. His comments make her wonder if he actually heard, but they were so vauge. She wasn't sure. She shakes her head and walks to the kitchen helping him bring food out onto the table along with plates and silverware. Once they have everything she sits and begins eating. The silence to Shyla is again awkward.

"I have a boyfriend. Mikael. Ever since Junior year we've been together. He says he loves me!" Shyla smiles looking radiant and young and naive. She truly believes he loves her and she him. "He goes to Brown. He'll visit in spring break. I can't wait for you to meet him. I'm sure you'll like him." She smiles happily as she eats talking random things about Mikael and how great he is.

Once dinner is over Shyla starts to yawn and helps put the dishes in the dishwasher. "I'm tired daddy. I'm going to go to bed and get my things tomorrow." She starts to head out of the kitchen only to turn back. "Thanks daddy. This is nice." Shyla heads up the staris easily finding her room. By habit she locks her room and takes off her clothes except for her shirt and crawls into bed.

 

[TheGrind]

David watched his daughter as she changed colors. Yes he heard but he wasn’t about to make her squirm her first night here. She probably already felt uncomfortable just being around him, no use in making her feel even worse, perhaps even regretting that she’d come. It’d be surprising to him if a girl looking like her wasn’t getting her rocks off one way or another. It was a natural human thing. He could only imagine how good it felt to be with a girl like her.

As they sat and began eating he listened to her yammer on about her boyfriend and how he loved her. David had long ago given up on love. His appetite had been filled with meaningless sex and women half his age, his daughter’s age. Any attempt to recover a monogamous relationship had died with the dissolution of his marriage, and his family. It was cute that she thought so much of love but it was pathetic in a way. In every way. He had absolutely no interest in meeting the guy. Names and faces would forever change.

Afterwards, even with the conversation not being entirely to his liking, David felt good about things. It seemed they got along well and the awkward silences weren’t nearly as often, or as long, as he thought they’d be. As he began putting away the dishes he watched his daughter as she returned to the room. It was cute in a way and he allowed a smile.

“We’ll talk tomorrow and I’ll help unload your things. Goodnight, baby.” The word ‘baby’, it had slipped out. Maybe it meant nothing. Maybe it was just meant as father/daughter thing. But he only used it for girls who spent the night; that was probably another reason. David spent the rest of his time in front of the sink trying to write it off while his daughter left for the stairs.

Once the dishes had been tossed into the dishwasher and the machine turned on, David tossed the towel into the laundry hamper, intent on going to bed. He slept through the night in his room without a stitch of clothing on. In the morning, before the sun rose, David woke and slipped into the bathroom with the clothes he was going to wear for the day. Turning on the shower’s water he let the steaming jets hit him in an effort to steal him awake. Dousing his head under the waterfall he tried thinking of the things they could do during the day. Her real first day with him.

 

[La_Reina]

Shyla woke up grumbling. She wasn't a morning person not by a long shot. She trips over her blankets falling to the floor. She mumbled incoherently about stupid blankets before running into her door because she forgot she locked it. She finally made it into the bathroom aware that the shower was running but it never made it past the 'oh that's interesting' part of her brain. She finishes peeing and flushes the toilet. Lucikly for her dad it wasn't one of those old houses where flushing the toilet affected the water temperature of the shower.

Shyla was still not completely awake. For some reason she had imagined she had turned on the water herself and was going to take a morning shower. She pulls the front of the shower curtain and puts her hand in the water testing the temperature. Her hand connects with a body. "Mikael?!" She turns her head and stares at her daddy's body. She blinks slow as her mind processes that's not Mikael that's your father. Your father! YOUR FUCKING FATHER! "Oh shit! Sorry! Sorry!" Except she hadn't turned away just pulled her hand back. She finally realized what she was doing and pulled the shower curtain closed.

"Oh fuck! I'm so sorry. I wasn't... I'm not some sort of perve. I ... Fuck!" Shyla hurries out of the bathroom and into her bedroom. She sits on her bed before she realizes she was only wearing a shirt. A shirt! A shirt that stopped at her belly button. Her father saw all of her. He must think she was some sort of nasty slut or something.

She hurries and pulls on a pair of shorts and begins unloading her car. She didn't have a whole lot mostly boxes and things, but she seemed to unload it in record time. She heard the shower turn off and that sent her into warp speed. The bathroom door opened and she made sure to be outside getting the rest of her boxes. She pretended not to notice or hear her father call her name as she managed to get most of the boxes into her room alone. When she realized she would have to make at least 5 more trips she just got in the car and drove embarrassed.

There wasn't many places Shyla could go in a shirt that stopped at her belly and a pair of short daffy duck shorts. She was pretty much nude and didn't leave her car. After an hour she finally returned to her new home and tried to sneak into the house like she did only 3 weeks ago. It was oddly familiar and foreign at the same time.

 

[TheGrind]

The sound of the door opening had barely registered. The water splashing around his ears had drowned most of it out but then, a few seconds later, he heard the toilet flush. Having grown up in earlier decades he still expected the water to flash cold but his newly formed modern mind reminded him quickly and he didn’t scurry to the back of the tub. The only thing David could think of was maybe Shyla really had to go, or she just wasn’t as concerned about nudity or social awkwardness as most people were. But then things changed. Quickly.

The rings rattled along the rail as Shyla pulled at the shower curtain. He didn’t even notice her hand until it nudged his upper thigh. He thought he could’ve even felt her brush against his cock but things happened so fast. Turning he faced his bare daughter, stuck in transition as he stared at her lower bare body. There was nothing he could say. She said it all. The expletives and curses that filled the room covered everything. He was speechless. Then he saw her run out of the bathroom. Still watching her, he saw her ass running away.

But he couldn’t run after her. First he was naked and second, with a head full of soap he didn’t want that to dry up on him while hunting her down. Pulling the curtain closed again, David tried getting rid of the soap and washing away the dirt from the night as well as he could but he’d already heard the front door slam a few times. He didn’t know what she was doing but he was concerned.

As he hopped out of the shower he ran a towel around his body, stepping into the hallway. Looking down the stairs he didn’t see her but he had called her name, hoping she was still in the house somewhere so they could talk about what happened. But like a ghost in the night, she had vanished as quickly as she had disappeared.

“Shit,” he spoke in a low voice to himself when he saw her pulling out of the drive from a nearby window. Now this would be sitting on his mind all day, wondering if she didn’t just drive off all the way back home. Or if she was going to start looking for a new place to live since she seemed so freaked out. No matter, David returned to the bathroom and dried himself off. Tossing the towel onto the floor he glanced in the mirror. Shaving could wait another day. Then he pulled on his jeans and t-shirt.

Leaving the towel and boxers on the floor for now, since habit was a hard thing to break, David returned to the livingroom. Shyla hadn’t seemed to leave any boxes out so there wasn’t anything for him to do. And he cleared away the day for them to spend together. He wondered if that would now be possible. But with her gone there was little he could do except waste away the day. That’s what he did. Turning on the tv he kept a bottle of 100 proof nearby and took small sips, waiting for his daughter to return... or to get that call from her mother.

 

[La_Reina]

Shyla listened as she gently and as quietly as she could closed the door. The tv was on. She could either go to the living room to make sure he was there or go to her room. Or..she could pretend nothing happen. Like she hadn't just freaked out. Maybe he'll let it go too. Her dad didn't know her well enough to know if this bothered her or not. So swallowing hard Shyla opened the door and closed it hard. "Hey dad! Had to go .. uh out exploring. I have 5 more boxes want to help me get them?"

Shyla opened the door again forgetting her current attire and picked up two boxes leaving the other three for her father. She went back into her bedroom and let those fall on her bed. She sat at the old desk and when her father appeared she turned her back to him as she felt her face get red as she remembered what he looked like. "I had the craziest dream this morning. Rated XXX and totally nasty. Weird." She turned to look at her dad hoping he got the hint. "Anywho I'm hot and sweaty. Going to take a shower."

Shyla picked up a towel and squeezed past her father, her head down refusing to meet his eyes. She went into the bathroom and turned on the water. She undressed and got in the water letting the water cascade down her body. She quickly showered before getting out and toweling dry. She werapped the towel around her and went into her bedroom to change into a tiny t shirt and jeans.

Coming down the stairs she called out. "Hey dad you hungry?" She walked into the kitchen rummaging through the cabinets and frig looking for something good.

 

[TheGrind]

The hours passed by like epochs. David wasn’t sure how Shyla was reacting but he knew that if she was gone as long as she was that it couldn’t have been good. Even though she came back as though nothing had happened, at least that’s what he believed, he knew she ran away. Through it all he was glad to see her return.

Without complaint he shoved himself off the edge of the couch and onto his feet so he could help her bring in the rest of her boxes. As he walked behind her he couldn’t help but notice her body again. The image that he received in the bathroom earlier only came back to haunt him. He couldn’t turn away and luckily for him, she didn’t turn around before they reached the car. Gathering up the three boxes he closed the car doors and trunk, bringing the boxes inside. Setting them on the bed he looked across the room toward his little girl.

David was surprised to hear her talk that way, even though they were trying to get acquainted with one another. He didn’t know what to say to that. And nothing came to mind. Instead he watched her go on about being hot and sweaty and wanting to take a shower. He stayed in her room a moment or two longer, looking at the boxes they’d gathered. She was going to need help putting those away but he wasn’t going to do it now. After what she said, what she was wearing and how he remembered her from earlier in the day, he was going to have a hell of a time keeping his imagination under control. He left the room in hopes of getting lost in some television show but it wasn’t working.

After hearing his daughter asking if he was hungry he finally turned off the television, deciding to meet her in the kitchen. They were going to have to confront this thing whether they wanted to or not. It was the monster in the room and it had to be dealt with unless they both wanted the next few months to feel awkward and unresolved.

As he entered the kitchen he walked by her, glancing into the open refrigerator before finding a seat at the table. Sitting down he stared at Shyla as he thought how best to open the subject. Smiling to himself a little he decided to bust it wide open with, “Mind telling me about that dream of yours? The weird XXX one you said you had this morning?”

 

[La_Reina]

Shyla had grabbed a box of cereal poured it into a paper cup and was eating it raw. She sat at the table and watched her father as he walked into the room. She averted her eyes as soon as he looked in her direction showing too much attention to her cereal, but she was very much aware of where he was: his stroll to the frig before coming to sit across from her.

"Wanna get Chinese tonight," she asked as he asked at the same time about her dream. She blushed and sighed. It was obvious her father wasn't going to let the thing go. "Alright, you want to talk about it. I prefer if we didn't. But YOUR the parent." Shyla looked at her father sharply as her tone was sarcastic implying he wasn't her parent before. It was more self defense than anything.

"Look. I saw you naked. You saw me partially naked. I learned something new about sharing a bath and it won't happen again. No big deal. Let's just act like it hadn't happen. Okay?"

Shyla was the first to look away and she pulled out her phone using the internet to look up chinese places that deliver. She found a good one and was looking at the menu. "So is that a yes on the chinese?"

 

[TheGrind]

“Look, Shyla. It isn’t a big deal. Its just nudity. We all have it and we know what we have. Maybe your mother brought you up more conservatively than I would’ve and I can’t change that, I wouldn’t want to because it’s the way you are now. But it appears we’re definitely going to have some growing pains,” he smiled a little at this as he leaned on his chair. He couldn’t help but look over her even as most of what he’d said was a lie. David had seen the girl’s flesh and that was enough to turn him into a teenager, even for his own daughter.

“At least we can agree on the Chinese,” he chided her as he stood from the chair and walked toward the counter. He was close enough to the refrigerator where he could ask her, “So do you want anything out of here or do you want to stay in your pissy mood?” He ended it with a fleeting smile, unsure how she’d take it. He wasn’t sure if he’d care one way or the other. Either way she was still spending the night at his place for the next few months until another opened up, if it happened to. In a college town it could be hard to find a new place open nearby. It’d be easy to wait the girl out.

 

[La_Reina]

"I agree no big deal." She poured some of the cereal into her mouth chomping it. "Besides I'm sure you've seen better. I got mom's hips and ass." She groaned like any teenager. She wasn't fat not by a long shot, but she did have an extra thickness on her thighs. "I keep trying to tone them, but it turns into muscles and I look like a man! gah!" Shyla smiled at her father the first time since last night as they both tried to work past the embarassing fiasco of this morning.

"Chinese. I want the Beef Lo Mein. I like noodles." Shyla looked sharply up at her father. She wasn't in a pissy mood. Not anymore. What was his problem? "I don't want anything in the frigerator, maybe you should join us out of your pissy mood, DAD!" Shyla was already dialing the closest Chinese restaurant number.

"Yes. I like to place an order for delivery." Shyla looked at her father and motioned for him to tell her what he wanted or he wasn't getting shit. She placed the order and stared at her father before harrumphing and walking into the living room. She saw a bottle of some amber colored liquid and feeling bold she poured herself some took a sip and started choking. It was nasty!

 

[TheGrind]

Maybe he needed time to read the girl. The drive may have cooled her or the drink may have eased his thoughts one too much. “Trust me, Shyla, from what I saw, you didn’t look worse than your mother. You could’ve easily been mistaken for a better version at an earlier time.” It wasn’t just a compliment, it was the absolute truth and he didn’t feel strange in saying it.

While she was at the phone he mentioned that he’d have the same she was having. It didn’t matter much to him as long as they were having it together. Nevermind the fact that he had problems with chopsticks not that he wouldn’t be able to solve that problem with a good ole fashioned fork and spoon.

He watched her leave the room but he wasn’t about to chase her. But he was willing to get up and head into the livingroom, find a spot on the couch in order to kill some time while watching television while waiting for the deliveryman to show up. If she wanted to talk he was going to let her open up but if she wanted to wait for the food, when they’d have to talk, he’d wait until that moment, too. Eventually they’d have to empty the house of any weird or bad feelings so they’d both be able to live in it.

 

[La_Reina]

Shyla blushed as she remembered how her father had said she looked good. [/i]You have to say that. You're my father,[/i] she thought while inwardly she felt good. She didn't have much of a father figure growing up that she could remember, but this was nice. She missed it and she was really really pleased he thought she looked nice.

Even after he was being a dick she still wanted to please him. Why? Because he was her father. He was her daddy and she really wanted him to like her and be his little girl like she used to be. Damn she had daddy issues. Shyla took another sip almost forgetting how nasty the first sip had been. She turned to see her father walking into the livingroom and she held her drink almost as a challenge as she watched him. He didn't say anything, but went to the couch and she took another sip once more choking on the liquid but managing to swallow it down.

Shyla finished her drink and went back to the drink she didn't know the name of. "You want one." She asked politely as she poured herself another drink. Shyla wasn't sure why she was being a brat. Maybe she just wanted her father's attention. Maybe she was trying to get him upset. She didn't really know. She just knew that she was 18 and drinking his alcohol, alcohol she had never tried before; not even a beer. But she was trying to act grown up or stupid or .. something.

 

[TheGrind]

David wasn’t at all familiar with this dad stuff. In the short time she’d been there he could tell things were evolving in a different way, that more would be required of him than the simple whenever-I-get-around-to-it email. He probably should’ve been angry over his underage daughter sneaking his drinks but he didn’t care. If anything could patch up the rough start they’d had it was booze. The stuff worked better than glue.

When he heard her he looked over his shoulder from the couch, “Sure. Bring a glass and a bottle. We’ll share this thing and see if we can’t break down a few of the problems that’ve come up,” at that he permitted a brief smile. If anything, David wanted to ignore everything that had happened, except for the sight he stole from her in the bathroom, and start over. But that ship seemed to have sailed... and he was miles away from water.

Straightening up in the couch to make room for the girl he thumbed his hand over the remote control’s buttons, trying to find anything that would be worth watching. “What kind of stuff are you into?” he asked, wanting not only to get some insight into his daughter but maybe she’d have a show that would be worth watching. “Or we have plenty of movies. You can check them out over there on the shelf while we wait for the food to come.”

 

[La_Reina]

Shyla was tipsy. She almost thought she was drunk, but she could say her ABC's (she practiced in her head) and she wasn't slurring like her girlfriends did. So she must be tipsy. She was surprised when her dad actually agreed to the drink and that they'll finish the bottle together. Trying to act like she drank all the time and this was nothing new to her she grabbed another glass and walked slightly unsteady towards her father. She put his glass in his hands and just dumped the bottle into his lap for him to pour his own drink.

She sat down sipping her second cup of the now very good elixir. "What problems, daddy?" She sounded like a little girl, but that quickly ended with her next few questions. "Like how you never really called? How birthday cards or gifts were always late? How after you and mom split up you didn't want me anymore?"

Shyla sat there for a moment before bounding up and going to the movies. She didn't want her father to confirm how much he didn't want to be her dad. Or how he had offered his home for kindness sake and hadn't expected her to say yes. How his life was better without her. So she spoke fast trying to act like the last few questions weren't asked outloud. "A movie sounds good actually." She bent at the waist forgetting how short her shorts were. "Oooh you have classics here like Space Camp, Short Circuit, and Total Recall."

Shyla kept looking at all the movies trying to decide which would be great when she screamed with glee and held up the original, the first, NIghtmare on Elm Street. "I love Freddy. We totally have to watch this one!" The doorbell rang and Shyla waited to see if she should get the door or if her father would.

 

[TheGrind]

She wasn’t letting up on him tonight but the liquor was going to help with that. David wasn’t interested in fighting. It would’ve surprised him if she’d turned out any other way since she’d spent her entire childhood listening to her mother. No doubt she had conditioned Shyla’s mind to think of him a certain way, the way all parents inadvertently or intentionally brainwash their children. Society puts a nice word like “culture” to hide what it really is. David was more interested in opening her mind, freeing it or at least recapturing it in his mason jar.

David took the bottle from his lap, pouring it into his glass until it was nearly full. Leaning forward he set the bottle on the table in front of him before taking a drink from the glass and setting it on the endtable. Then he relaxed, the first time he could all day. Pressing his back against the cushions of the couch he stretched, feeling strangely satisfied that things were improving. Although it’d be hard for them to get much worse.

After she mentioned the movie he watched her move toward the stacks. Living alone meant there was a lot of time to waste and there were plenty of movies. David didn’t say anything when she mentioned ‘classics’ those very movies he remembered previews for and going to the movies to see. The generation gap was only made more clearer with her word.

“Put it in and get everything ready,” David spoke while he pushed himself off the couch, hearing someone knocking on the door. In the kitchen he opened the front door, taking the food and paying the man. After shutting the door he put the food on the table, taking down two plates and headed into the livingroom.

“The food’s here,” he said as he walked across the room, retrieving his glass. At least they wouldn’t have to scramble for drinks. As he walked by her to return to the kitchen he asked, “Are you coming out?”

 

[La_Reina]

Shyla nodded at her father's words as she struggled to put the movie in the player. It was an old vhs tape and for a moment she could not figure out why the stupid thing wouldn't go in. She blinked and laughed at her stupidity as she realized she had it backwards. She turned it and pushed and the movie slid into the player. Her father had other movies, dvd's, but this one was on vhs and that made it even better.

She topped off her cup again noting that this was the best drink she ever had. She wobbled after him towards the kitchen. She hadn't noticed before that the house had a slight tilt. She should mention that to her father. Let him know the foundation may be cracking. She finally made it into the kitchen and slopped some food onto her plate. Though her brain was fuzzy it didn't escape her that her father didn't disagree with her about not wanting her. She felt a little sad, but a sip from her drink and the sounds of the movie starting in the next room made her forget that little fact.

Walking back to the living room Shyla sat down and because she was so hungry she had gone for seconds before the real scary parts. Though in the middle of eating she had to stop because she was too scared. She was curled up at the end of the couch, her hands over her eyes, even though she knew what was about to happen next.

 

[TheGrind]

David hadn’t eaten all day and in spite of the drink he found he was hungry once he swallowed the first ounce of food he had all day. Eating was a once a day thing; he’d do it as little as possible because he’d rather be doing something more productive, which was just about anything. He sat on the other end of the couch while his daughter took the other side. By the time she had started he had already set his plate off to the side to take care of it after the movie would end.

A glance her way halfway through and he noticed that Shyla had stopped eating again, curled up in a feared position with her hands over her eyes. He couldn’t help but smile at her, briefly thinking about the things between them that they missed. After another drink from his glass he decided to do a fatherly thing, or at least what he thought was one, and moved one cushion over to sit next to her.

Reaching over her body he set his glass on her end table before wrapping an arm around her, pulling her close. To him it felt like a repetitious 80's date night but without the make-out session in a dark theater. Briefly he wondered if he’d ever feel like a real dad, and if she’d ever feel like a real daughter. But David had no experience on knowing. Every father could’ve felt a strange estrangement and desire toward his daughter, he definitely wouldn’t know the difference. It was a lacking knowledge.

 

[La_Reina]

Shyla didn't remember this moving being so scary. Than again she loved scary movies and was easily scared. She would get so immerse in the movie it was like she was there. When the creepy movie started it would tickle down her spine and the hairs on the back of her neck would stand up. When the cheap scare of someone popping out of nowhere or something crashing she would jump and give a small yelp. She just couldn't help herself.

Subconciously she was grateful her father pulled her close. She laid her head on his lap feeling his hand on her back, hip, and thigh stroking her softly. She still had a hand glued to her face and she would peek out every few moments. When it got really scary she would turn her head full on into his lap. Not once did it cross her mind that she had her head buried in her father's crotch. That thought never registered with her. Sometimes she was so innocent.

After the movie Shyla stood up laughing nervously. "That movie was ..." she paused and went to the vcr to hit the rewind button. She could hear her father standing and she returned her dishes to the kitchen and started putting up the leftovers. Her phone went off, "Message, Message, Meeeeeeeesage!" Shyla laughed and retrieved it opening the message to stop the kid screaming message on her phone. Shyla. I know we've been together for a long time, but I think we should see other people.

Shyla stared at her. She pushed Mikael's number, but it went straight to voice mail. She looked at her father. "I've been dumped. He dumped me." Shyla was so shocked that the pain and sadness hadn't taken over her yet. She was kinda pissed. "He.. I.." Shyla sighed. "I shoulda just did it and ..." Shyla felt bad. She knew she should feel worse, but she just didn't feel anything more than bummed. "I think I want another drink."

 

[TheGrind]

Every time Shyla moved her head into his lap he couldn’t help but feel a little uncomfortable. He also couldn’t help but to want more, to expand on what she was doing, even if she wasn’t completely aware of everything that was happening. But the movie was over far too soon. David watched her as she moved from the couch to the VCR. He had no interest in doing anything else, even drinking took a back seat to what she was doing.

David got up after she turned around, hoping she hadn’t caught him staring. After what he’d seen in the shower earlier today how could he do anything but leer? Picking up his plate and glass he took them into the kitchen, setting the plate in the sink and the glass on the counter. A slight smile slid across his face as he watched her become so excited over a message. But it seemed to die down almost as quickly as it began.

When she told him she wanted another drink he couldn’t help but think how that had often solved his problems. She was daddy’s little girl after all. Picking up his glass from the counter he put it in the sink with his plate, intending on forgetting about it until the morning. Tonight wasn’t a night worth worrying about the dishes.

“If we’re going to drink then we ought to do it right,” David spoke as he opened a cupboard, pulling down two glasses that looked expensive, and probably were. But his daughter was hurting and he wanted to cool the pain.

Handing her one of the glasses he spoke, “We can drink it straight, or with a little mixing. Its your night, its your call.”

 

[La_Reina]

Shyla watched as her father pulled out too expensive looking glasses. No, they were called goblets. She only saw them in the crystal section of stores or in movies. She felt a little grown up as she took one and held it gingerly. She didn't want to break this. Shlya couldn't stop looking at the glass. It was little things like this that made her aware of how vastly different she grown up to the man she was with. Her father had done well, you could see it. She would say he was upper upper middle class. Her mother was upper middle class doing well and she was sure her father paid alimony of some sort.

Shyla shook her thoughts away as she shrugged. She wasn't a drinker and she knew the food and the movie had helped her get a lil sober. She was still tipsy, but she wanted to be like her friends. Free, wild, and wake up the next day not remembering a thing. "Straight. I can take it." Though Shyla knew she could not. That didn't matter. What did matter was forgetting it all.

Shyla went back and retrieved the brown liquid stuff and poured some in her father's goblet and some in hers. She had taken a good sip and was feeling that warm feeling and slight light headedness return. "We didn't fuck." She blurted out. "He wanted too, but I didn't want to. I wanted to wait. I'm sure he's off at college screwing some bimbo." Shyla took another long sip wanting it all to go away.