Naughty & Nice (Merry Elf-Mas 2)

Chapter 15

Angel

“ A ngel?” My blood ran cold as the voice that haunted my nightmares reached my ears. There was no way I was this unlucky. Time slowed to a crawl as I turned and came face to face with the man I despised with all my soul.

My father stood a few feet away from me with his ever present scowl pulling down his face. I don’t think I’d ever seen his face in any other state.

“John, who’s this?” Next to him was a woman I’d never seen before. She looked to be around my father’s age but was done up like a much younger woman. The bleach blonde hair, long acrylic nails, and too small outfit were not a good look for her. She was probably his latest girlfriend. He went through women like he did his underwear, after all. Always had.

He patted her head as if she were a child and gave her a condescending smile. “Just my worthless son. No one for you to worry your pretty little head about.”

Fuck, he made me want to puke. I was already keyed up from the mess at the department store. I didn’t need this shit, too. The best thing would be to run away. Facing my father would only lead to me dipping into another spiral. My feet shifted as I moved to walk away.

“What? Not even going to greet your dad? Going to run away? Just like your ungrateful mother.” His derisive tone struck me in the chest. This motherfucker always knew just where to hit me to make it hurt. I had little love for my mother since she abandoned me with this asshole, but she’d at least shown me some affection when I was young.

I froze with a ready retort on my tongue. Those words died when a gentle hand landed on my shoulder. “Don’t engage him. Let’s walk away. Rolly is waiting for us.”

Damon was right, and I was so thankful he was here. Nothing good would come from talking to this douchebag. He’d just ruin my mood and wasn’t worth the jail time if I beat his ass. I turned away, choosing to ignore the situation.

“Look at you, still letting that queer lead you around by the nose.” He scoffed, and the sound knifed through me. “What else did I expect since you’ve never been a real man, you girly boy.”

Fuck him. Don’t engage. He’s wrong. My clenched fists gave a painful pop. Holding back my anger was hard, but I’d do it. For Damon and Rolly, I’d be strong.

“Tell me, Damon. I know it didn’t take much, but how did you turn my son into a cocksucker like you?”

Okay, that was it. I’d tried to be the bigger person. I was going to walk away and let things be. Then he had to bring Damon into this. That I couldn’t let slide.

Pivoting on the ball of my foot, I rushed my father with my fist raised. Our size difference was glaring. Something that had hung over my head my entire life. I was petite, like my mother. While my father wasn’t huge, he had a good bit of height and weight on me.

He looked surprised by my actions at first. Then a cocky smirk curled his lips. He moved to block me, just like I knew he would. In a fluid motion, I shifted my weight and opened my hand. I wrapped it around his wrist, pressing into a pressure point. My father made a pained noise as I forced his arm behind him and pushed it up between his shoulder blades. I kicked the back of his legs, and he dropped to his knees.

I found it funny and ironic that my jiu jitsu skills, the only thing he ever praised me for, were being used against him. Karma was a bitch.

“Ow! You rotten little shit! Let me g-OW!” I pressed harder on him to shut him up.

The tiny sadistic part of me was enjoying having this bastard at my mercy. “You keep the man I love’s name out of your filthy mouth.”

“I’m gonna YOW!”

“You don’t get to speak, you fucker.” As much as I wanted this asshole to continue to suffer, I couldn’t draw this out for fear of being arrested. “What I do with my life now is none of your damn business. As of this second, we’re strangers. You got me?”

I allowed my father to wrench free of my hold and get to his feet. “You little prick. I should have forced your mother to abort you.”

“No, you should have kept your grown ass man hands to yourself and not knocked up a sixteen-year-old girl.” I walked to Damon’s side and grabbed his hand. “Let’s go, babe. We’re done here.”

By the time we reached Rolly’s, I had yet to calm down. With everything that had happened, I was having trouble processing it all. That left me feeling like being social was a bad idea, but I didn’t want to disappoint my guys, either.

Gah! Why were emotions and adulting so damn hard? It was okay. I was okay. I could pull it together long enough to get through tonight. Then I’d get some sleep and forget about it all. Yeah, that sounded like a plan. Fake it until you make it, bitch.

As we walked up to Rolly’s front door, I gave myself a good shake to brush off my funk. I could do this. I’d have a good time tonight if it killed me.

The door opened, and I was greeted by Rolly’s smiling face. That eased a small amount of my tension. I shuffled into the house and stripped off my outerwear. As I went to hang up my coat, I was enveloped in an embrace from behind. Glancing over my shoulder, I found Rolly was holding me. “You had a hard day, Kitten.”

Those words knocked the wind out of me, and I could feel a maelstrom of emotion stir in my chest. A sob was caught in my throat, but I wouldn’t let it out. I willed the tears burning my eyes to recede. I wouldn’t bring the mood down. We were here to have a good time. I could be a mess by myself later. To hide my inner struggle, I dropped my coat and turned in his arms. I returned the hug and buried my face in his chest. “I’m better now that I’m with Master.”

I felt a presence at my back as arms snaked around my stomach. That inner storm surged, and I struggled to beat it down. All this support and tenderness was making my resolve crumble. Breaking down wasn’t an option, though. I could handle this on my own. I struggled free of their hold and headed for the guest room. “I thought we were going to play. I’m getting my ears and tail.”

Scurrying up the steps, I dashed into the room and closed the door. I pressed my back against it as I drew in several deep breaths. This was okay. I was okay. Just put on your gear to play, have some dinner, and cuddle. That wasn’t so hard.

So why did I feel like I was drowning? My chest was constricted and ached like my ribs were splitting. I was tougher than this. I could hold it together for a couple of hours. There was no way I’d prove that bastard right and break down like a wuss. Get it together, Angel.

I forced myself to step away from the door and went to the dresser where we stored our gear. When I opened the drawer, I was surprised to find it empty. I could have sworn we’d left our things here the last time we were over. Maybe Master had moved them. I opened each drawer, searching for my ears and tail.

“Hey, Angel?” Damon’s voice came through the door.

“Yeah.” Where the heck have our things gone? I’d been through every drawer and found nothing. Where did he move them?

The door opened and Damon poked his head in. “Master is ordering the food. What do you want on the pizza?”

Why was he even asking? As long as it didn’t have black olives on it, I’d eat anything. Couldn’t he see I was in the middle of a crisis? “Whatever. Just no olives.”

“What are you looking for?” Damon came into the room, giving me a curious look.

I heaved a put-upon sigh and dropped my head back in aggravation. “I can’t find our stuff. I know they were in here.”

My eyes roved over the room, scrutinizing every nook and cranny. It all had to be in here somewhere. I dropped to my knees and looked under the bed. Nothing there. It would have been too cliche to have a porn box under there. I shuffled to the nightstand and still nada. The closet! I popped to my feet and dashed to the closet door. Throwing the doors, I was disappointed to find it was empty save for a few clothes hanging on the rack.

A chuckle came from behind me, and I spun to give Damon a dirty look. “What?”

“You forgot.” I arched my brow at him in annoyance. “We moved everything into Master’s bedroom. Remember the special box in the closet?”

I facepalmed as the memory came back to me. Rolly had presented us with the box and said he’d move everything later after our last session. Fuck, I was so all over the place. I needed to get my shit together. “Right.”

Shifting into motion, I went to walk past Damon. As I did, he caught my arm and brought me to a halt. Our eyes met and his were swimming with concern. “You okay?”

Must they be so worried? Why can’t they just enjoy the evening? “All good.” I pulled out of his hold and went into Rolly’s room. Stepping into the walk-in closet, I spotted the box right away. I got out my ears and tail jock then went back out to the room.

I dropped the items on Rolly’s bed and grabbed the hem of my shirt. A good play session should help me relax and get through the rest of the night. Yeah, just letting my brain go and not thinking for a while sounded great.

My shirt was half off when some papers on Rolly’s nightstand caught my eye. There was something familiar about them. I slid back into my clothes before picking up the documents. As I skimmed through them, I realized why I knew them. These were order forms and lists of things you’d need for a flower shop. I had an entire file of the same papers at home. Why did Rolly have these?

It was then a thought struck me. Did Rolly find out the payout from the insurance had been delayed? Did he think I wasn’t capable of opening the business myself? Did he think he had to do everything for me?

I could hear my father’s laughter in my head. Telling me how useless I was and how no one had faith in me. Driving home that I couldn’t stand on my own as a man. That I might as well be one of those pretty little fuck bois old men kept around for fun. My mind was spiraling with all that hatefulness, and I was filled with rage.

The paper crumpled in my fist as I spun and stormed out of the room. My footsteps were heavy and filled with purpose. I’d show them. I’d show everyone that I wasn’t some weak little bitch that had to be coddled and cared for. I was more than capable of taking care of myself.