Page 85 of Two Daddies for Little Jenna

Adrenaline coursed through my veins as I stood up and ran up the stairs to get out of the basement. Running into the living room, I went up the stairs that led to the cinema room. Halfway through I felt hands swoop around my waist and grab me firmly in place. I was so lost in my thoughts I didn't bother to turn around and check if he was coming after me again.

"Daddies!" I shrieked again, kicking my limbs to desperately try and break free. "Help me!"

Another collective wave of laughter echoed through the house, and the sound from the projector was so loud I could almost hear it. I was so close to being back in my Daddies' warm and loving arms, I could almost feel it.

"They can't hear you," the masked man said through the voice synthesizer, pulling a knife out of his pocket and pressing the tip against my throat. "Didn't I tell you, Jenna? Your punishment's been decided. You can't run away from your fate no matter how hard you try. You've ended the cult and now you have to pay for your crimes. I was willing to let your friends and lovers live had you accepted your punishment and surrendered yourself from repentance. But no, you still fight to break free. How selfish of you. Your selfishness will be their end. I'll kill them once I'm done with you."

I stopped kicking and screaming as fear and desperation turned to acceptance. I knew exactly what I had to do. My Daddies had given me a glimpse of a happy life, a normal life. The least I could do was save their lives. One life that was a lost cause to save two beautiful ones. The funny thing was that I was beginning to realize I wasn't a lost cause. My Daddies' love was beginning to help me realize that I too deserved to be loved, that I too could be happy. But life had other plans for me.

"No," I said quietly as tears rolled down my cheeks and I stopped resisting. "Go ahead and do what you wish with me. Just leave them alone. I won't try to run. I'll do as you say."

The future was constantly changing but now I could see it clearly and I smiled through my tears as I pictured it. My Daddies would grow old without me, and I was sure they'd look just as handsome with grey hair. I knew my Daddies' future consisted of love and laughter. They'd end up getting a long and happy life just like they deserved. My Daddies were kind and sweet. They'd saved my life without even knowing it, just by being in it. So what if I wouldn't be in their lives anymore? I'd watch over them from heaven like Princess now did. I wouldn't be able to fulfill my promise of meeting at the cabin in the woods once a year to remember all our loved ones, but I hoped my Little friends would remember me and keep me in their thoughts when they'd meet. They'd all miss me like hell, but Daddy Clark would remind them that you aren't really dead as long as someone remembers you.

"I'm ready for my punishment," I said with a sigh. "My fate's been after me since the day I ran away from home."

Like someone once said, it wasn't about the destination. It was about the journey, and I'd had one hell of a journey, even if I wished I got to have a longer one.

A person's life was supposed to flash by in their last moments, from the very beginning to the very end. But now when I closed my eyes, the memories that flashed through were that of me crying outside the supermarket only to be consoled by a handsome stranger, that of me running away from Clark because I wanted to spare his life from Otis, of Michael calling me his friend within a minute of meeting me for the first time, of Elijah telling me of the benefits of having two Daddies, of Nick saving me from the creepy stranger feeling me up, and of his soothing voice singing me one of his lullabies to stop me from crying.

I took a deep breath and braced myself to be stabbed to death. My screams would end up being drowned in my Daddies' laughter and my life would come to an end, but through it, I would ensure my Daddies' well-being and safety, and it was all worth it. There wasn't a thing I would’ve changed if I could do it all over.

"I'm brave and I'm a hero," I whispered as tears ran down my cheeks, reassuring myself with the words my Daddies liked to use to describe me. "My Daddies' brave girl."

Chapter 36: Clark

"Could you pause the film, Michael?" I asked over the loud sound as the room collectively burst into laughter at the funny talking dog. "Jenna's been gone for five minutes now. I'll go check on her. You know how scared she gets when she's anywhere near a basement."

Michael nodded and continuously pressed the button but the remote still wasn't working. Jumping out of his Daddy's lap, he ran up to the plug and pulled it out of the socket, plunging the room into sudden eerie silence.

"We should talk to her about trying to prove her braveness to us," Nick said, standing up and stretching his arms above his head. "She's our brave girl and we don't need any convincing."

As Nick and I headed out the door, everyone else chatted noisily about how funny the film was, which was true considering I hadn't laughed watching an animated film in so long. But my mind had been distracted by the empty space between me and Nick. I didn't want Jenna to miss the film, but a bigger part of me was growing anxious that she wasn't within my sight where I could keep her safe. It was ridiculous paranoia, something I'd have to work on once things settled.

Pushing the door to the basement open, we went down the stairs and switched the lights on. My heart skipped a beat when I saw a rusted frying pan and a pair of batteries scattered on the floor. The table was overturned and things were scattered on the other side of it. I looked over at Nick who looked just as horrified as me.

We ran back up the stairs into the living room. With my hands around my mouth, I called out Jenna's name as loud as I could and everyone soon came rushing down to join us when I continued calling out for her.

"She isn't in the basement," Nick told the others with a trembling voice. "I should've gone with her."

I ran up to every room in the house, calling out for her while Nick checked the rooms downstairs.

"Nowhere to be found," I said quietly when I returned to the living room where Nick was pacing around. "Do you think she went back to our house on foot? Maybe she missed one of her stuffies. You know how impulsive she gets when she's in her headspace."

"It's time we accept the truth," Nick said with a sigh, sitting down on the floor with his head in his hands. "You saw the mess on the basement floor. There was a struggle and she was taken. Kidnapped by a mad man."

I felt like I was going to throw up. My hands turned cold and my throat felt dry. The last time I felt this anxious was when I'd come home to find her missing, when she'd been kidnapped by Otis.

"No, it simply can't be." I sat behind him and shook my head as my heart raced in my chest, rocking back and forth in denial. "We're good Daddies. We made sure she was safe at all times. I've been with her every second since she was attacked. I promised myself I wouldn't let it happen again. I promised her too. No, I refuse to believe it."

"Get a hold of yourselves, you two," John said, getting off the couch and kneeling before us. "Remember how you had given up hope when Otis kidnapped Jenna? You got her back because I insisted there wasn't a minute to lose. The longer you wait to act, the farther she slips from being rescued. You used an app to track her last time, right? See if you can track her through it."

John was right, but when the possibility of losing your loved one stares right in your face, it was hard to stay calm.

"Great idea." I fished my phone out of my pocket as everyone circled us, tapping away at the screen to open the app. "Her phone's been turned off. That bastard knows what he's doing. What if… What if she…"

"She did," Nick said, reading my mind. "She went with him willingly. I just know it. We called her our brave Little girl, and no matter how often we scolded her not to sacrifice her safety to save our lives, she most certainly did. We asked her not to be brave in this one matter, but she didn't listen."

"And what if she's…," I began but choked up before the words could come out.