Daddies' Girls

By Dottie

Copyright 2012

Chapter 6

Jade

            I can't believe Nick. "Jade, come on, I promised her she wouldn't be in trouble. You're making me out to be a liar."

            I shake my head. "No, I'm showing Calleigh there are consequences to her actions. Nick, I'm not stupid, her punishment won't be severe. But there has to be something to make her think twice about lying to us again."

            He shakes his head. "You don't think she feels bad enough? She thinks she ratted out her friend. That's a punishment in itself."

            My anger at his thick headedness reaches its boiling point. "Nick, do you hear yourself? You want her guilty conscience to be her punishment? What happens when she lies to US? Don't you want Reese to come to us and tell us Calleigh could be in trouble? Or do you want some older guy to tie her up and have his way with her?"

            He blanches. "That's a low blow, Jade. You were an adult when we did that."

            I sigh. "I know that Nick. I wasn't talking about you, you ass. Why do you think I was so willing to let you dominate me? You weren't the first. I don't want Calleigh to go through what I did in high school." I turn on my heel. "I'm going out for Oreos. Don't wait up."

            After getting my Oreos and a carton of milk, I start home. No, can't do that. I don't know if I'm ready for round two with Nick. Instead I go to Aspen's to check on Reese.

            When I walk in, it's easy to see Aspen and AJ are in the same shape as Nick and I. Don't get me wrong, I get it.  Reese is getting in over her head. Maybe I should talk to her? 

            Of course, the yelling match wakes the younger kids.  I try to get them back to sleep, but they want their mommy. I go back to the living room.  Aspen and Reese are still on the floor. Reese is sobbing quietly, Aspen is in tears. "Aspen, the kids want you. Let me...talk to Reese. OK?"

            She nods. When they get up off the floor, I say, "Reese, let's go to your room, ok?" She nods and I follow her.

            Once there, I can't help but look around the room and smile. It's an homage to pop stars and movie stars, much as mine was an homage to the Backstreet Boys. I think of Nick and my heart breaks a little more. I never should have brought up my past. Now he's gonna want Calleigh locked away forever.

            Reese sits on her bed, nervous. She keeps glancing at me then looking away. Finally she says, "I won't ever stop loving him, Aunt Jade."

            I sit by her and smile indulgently. "Oh, I think you will Reese. You're young. You love him now, but...you need to realize boys aren't always what they appear to be in high school. If he's truly the one, you know he'll be there when you turn 18. Is that so long to wait?"

            Her lip quivers. "I want to be with him now. Why is it so bad? I know what I'm doing."

            I shake my head. "Sweetheart, you don't know any more than I did at your age. You just think you do because you want to control your own destiny. Your parents are only trying to protect you."

            I rub my stomach. She watches my hand. "Aunt Jade...am I as bad as Uncle Nick said?"

            Again, I want to throttle my husband. "No, Reese, you're not. Nick is a dad. He's worried about Calleigh, and believe it or not, about you too. He just says the wrong thing because his mouth works faster than his brain. That happens to most guys." She tries to hide it, but I see her smile. "Reese, you're a good kid. But you are STILL a kid. You're body is maturing and you're feeling things that are new and amazing. Believe me, I get it. But...sex is not what you need now. Trust me. If Jake is the one, he'll be there in a few years. He's not gonna go anywhere."

            She tears up again. "Mom and Dad won't let me see him at all. They are breaking up the band."

            I take her hand. "Listen, Calleigh wants the band as much as you. It may take a few weeks, but...I'll do my best to get them to give in. You guys have talent. You should explore it. But you have to let this blow over."

            She falls back on her bed. "They'll ground me forever."

            I nod. "Probably. But Reese, no matter how much you hate the punishment, don't hate your parents. You, Grayson and Hayden are the center of their universe. They want to protect you."

            She snorts.  "They don't want me to grow up."

            I nod. "You're right. But part of growing up is learning to accept limitations. You can get into serious trouble if you don't." She doesn't say anything. "Reese, I'm gonna go home. I know it's hard. If you ever want to talk and you're uncomfortable talking to your Mom and Dad, you can come to me. As long as you aren't in danger, I won't tell them anything you say. I promise. OK?" She just nods. "Reese, Calleigh didn't rat you out. I made her tell me the truth. She's only 14 and I don't want her making the same mistakes I did. I don't want YOU making them. Understand?"

            She looks up at me. "Aunt Calleigh...can I ask you something?" I know what's coming. I just nod. "How old were you when you...umm..."

            I sigh. "I was 15, Reese. And it was the second biggest mistake I ever made in my life."

            Her eyes grow wide. "Really? What was the biggest?"

            I feel my heart constrict. "I won't tell you that, Reese. Not until you're much older. I will tell you I almost lost Calleigh because of it." She gasps. "Reese, it's ok to be mad at your parents and at Uncle Nick and myself. You see us as keeping you from being happy. Someday you're gonna realize what TRUE happiness is. When that happens, you know your mom and dad are going to be there for you." She doesn't say anything. I lean closer and hug her. "Talk to your mom. When your dad calms down, talk to him. If you want them to treat you like an adult, you have to start acting like it."

            When I get to the door, she says, "Aunt Jade?" I turn and she whispers, "Thanks."

            I smile through my tears. "Anytime. Now get some sleep."

            I meet Aspen in the hallway. "She's ok, Red. Let her sleep tonight."

            Aspen hugs me. "Did she say anything?"

            I shake my head. "Nothing I'm going to tell you. She will when she's ready." I glance down the hallway. "What about AJ?" She bites her lip to keep it from quivering. "Go talk to him, Red. You guys need each other to get through this." I take a deep breath. "And I need Nick so I better go home and talk to him."

            She walks me to the door. "What about your Oreos?"

            I laugh. "Keep them. Reese may need them." I hug her. "Love you Red."

            When we part, she says, "Love you too Twig. Drive carefully."

            When I get home, every light in the house is on except the kids' bedrooms. I know Nick's waiting up worried.  Before I can even get out of the car, he's out the front door and striding towards me. I cringe, knowing this is gonna be bad. "WHERE THE HELL HAVE YOU BEEN?"

            I sigh, closing the car door and locking it. "I went to Aspens to share my Oreos with her and check on them."

            His gaze softens slightly. "You'd rather share with her than me?"

            I nod, pushing away from him. "When you're not listening to me, yes."

            I walk determinedly into the house. This is NOT a conversation our neighbors need to hear. As he's coming through the door, he says, "Jade..."

            I sigh and lower my head. "Nick, I'm tired. If you want to talk, we can, but can I at least get ready for bed first?"

            He slides up next to me and uses his fingers to force my gaze to his. "Jade, I love you."

            I lean against him. "I love you too. And we will talk, I promise. Let's go to bed."

            While he turns off the lights and locks up, I go to our room and grab my sleep shirt. By the time he makes it upstairs, I'm stripped down to my panties. As I'm shrugging on the shirt, he whispers, "You're still the most beautiful woman in the world, Jade."

            As I pull it into place, I turn to him. "You're still the most loving man." I step closer to him. "I'm sorry Nick. I don't want us to fight."

            He puts his forehead against mine and says, "We're not going to. You're right. I don't want Calleigh to get hurt."

            I sigh. "Let's talk about it Nick."

            We sit on the bed and he listens to everything I have to say. How my first crush ended up being my first boyfriend. How he took my virginity then made me his submissive. How he commanded me to have sex with his friends. I didn't think of it as rape. I thought I was doing it out of love. I chose to let him dominate me because I thought I was happy that way. When I finish, he says, "How old were you?"

            "Fifteen." I think about how Calleigh will be fifteen soon. I worry about her making better choices than I did at that age.

            I feel Nick's anger welling up in his body. I take his hand and place it on my stomach, hoping to diffuse part of the storm. He rubs me gently. "You're telling me that you were a sex slave at fifteen?" I nod. "Did your parents ever do anything? Have him arrested?"

            I shake my head. "No one knew. I hid things well."

            He blushes. "You are good at that." When my eyes clash with his, he asks, "How many?"

            I sigh.  "Six."

            "Including him?" he asks. I just nod. He kisses my temple and lets me cry. "I love you Jade. I'm sorry if anything we did made you feel..."

            I tilt my head back, meeting his gaze. "Nick, when I was with you, the things we did together; I wanted them. I wanted to make you happy because I loved you. I don't regret it. I never will." I smile. "I enjoyed it. You're such a turn on when you're all powerful like that." My smile falters. "I miss it."

            His shocked expression makes me laugh. "Even after 3 kids...soon to be 4...you still would want to...would enjoy...that?"

            I pull his face to mine and let my lips answer his question. God I love this man. And everything about him. When our lips part, I whisper, "Make love to me Nick."

            He buries his face in my neck and whispers, "Only you, Jade. Only you."