My father has always been a tough man. Growing up in the backwoods of Georgia, he had to be. He made sure to pass that toughness on to my siblings and I. His type of love was the tough kind, and this applied to his employees as well. He used being overlooked most of his life to his advantage and became one of the largest distributors of meth in our county. But this isn't his story, it's mine.
My name is Cassandra, Cassie for short. Most of my life has revolved around my much younger siblings since my mother left. It was my job to take care of them since dad's life revolved around his "job" and partying. It wasn't easy, and I could only dream of a different life. That is, until I met Daryl.
….
"Go start your homework." I yelled as my siblings ran into the double wide trailer we all shared. It was crammed, but dad liked it because it was in the middle of nowhere. There was enough space for extra trailers where his best men slept and of course his lab, but still close enough to town that it was still within the school zone.
"Cassie, darlin'," I heard dads gruff voice coming from the side of the trailer where he had built a small porch. "C'mere."
I took a deep breath and held it, walking to where dad sat with a few men. I recognized a few, but he tried his best to keep me away from his employees. "Yeah?" I realized I still had my backpack on from school and tugged at it uncomfortably as the men eyed me.
"Boys, this is my pride and joy, Cassandra." He wrapped an arm around me from where he sat on a plastic lawn chair. "Cas, this is Merle, Daryl, Abe, and Jess, but we call him Jesus." He chuckled.
"Nice to meet you." I nodded and looked down at my father, curious as to what the motive was here. "Can I go? I have a lot of homework."
"She's a smart one, just like her mother." Dad responded, squeezing my arm.
"Pretty too." Merle smirked, leaning back in his own chair. He shot me a wink and took a swig of his beer.
"Easy bud, I'm still her father." Dad chuckled. "Cas, these are my best men. If you ever need something, you find one of these guys." He shot me a side eye, the kind that I knew I better not need anything. "Now, we need more beers. Would you be a doll?"
I stormed in the trailer, doing my best to not slam the door behind me. That would earn me a punishment for embarrassing him in front of company. I placed my hands on the sink and took a few deep breaths to calm myself. Being mad wouldn't do me any good, but I couldn't figure out why he had me on display after he has taught me my entire life to stay away from his people.
"Fuckin' dick, right?" a voice came from behind me.
Slowly, I turned around to see one of the men from outside standing behind me. I gave him a weak smile and turned to the fridge. I knew better than to bad mouth dad to one of his men, or to say anything derogatory about him in general. It always got back to him. I handed him one of te beers from the fridge and got out four more.
"Thanks," He said in a gruff voice. "but I ain't need no waitin' on." His black motorcycle jacket hung loosely from his shoulders, showing off his large biceps. His slender body was close to mine, but far enough away that he wasn't in my personal space.
"Just doing what he says." I nodded my head in the general direction of the porch. "I think you can respect that."
Daryl nodded once. "I know he's a sonofabitch."
"What can ya do?" I asked, shrugging. "I better get these out there."
Without another word, he moved out of my way and after a few paces, followed me out.
"What took so long?" Dad demanded, grabbing one of the beers from my hands.
"Sorry, Brayden needed a snack." I mumbled, passing the beers to the men, who greedily grabbed them from my hands.
Dad waved his hand to dismiss me, and I went without another word. I could feel eyes on me as I walked around the side of the trailer, but I didn't care enough to look back to see who they belonged to.
….
It had been a long day. The kids were finally fed, homework done, bathed, and in bed for the night. Dad was god knows where, so it was just the kids and I. When I was sure they were asleep, I snuck out and into the meadow just passed the trailers surrounding our own. I was far enough away that the lights were just specs, but close enough that I could hear if the kids needed me and laid down in the tall grass. It was peaceful out here, under the stars and away from the bullshit.
"Ya allowed out here?" A familiar gruff voice came from somewhere near me.
I sat up quickly, looking around. I spotted Daryl a few feet away from me, sitting with his arms resting on his knees. "Don't think he cares when he's not around."
Daryl raised an eyebrow. "That a lot?"
"More than he's around." I answered honestly. "I kind of prefer it, to be honest. The kids don't need to be around that." I regretted the words as soon as they left my mouth. If that gets back to dad, it's not going to be good for me.
"I ain't gonna tell him." He said, almost reading my mind. "I grew up with a dad like that."
"How do you know what he's like?" I snapped.
"Same type." He shrugged. "No one deserves that."
"It's peaceful out here." I changed the subject, looking back at the stars above us. This was my safe space, and now that I was sharing it with a stranger, I needed to establish some rules about disturbing the peace with talks about things I was trying to avoid.
"Yeah." He responded. He obviously didn't talk a lot, which was fine since I came out here to find some peace.
After an extended period of uncomfortable silence, he cleared his throat. "You come out here a lot?"
I nodded slowly, watching the way the moon lit up his face. "Whenever dad isn't home."
"So I guess I'll be seeing you around." I couldn't be certain, but I thought I saw a small smile cross over his face as he got up. I hadn't heard the roar of motorcycles signaling dads arrival home, but when I did, I hustled back to the house.
I slipped into my bedroom right as the front door opened. I heard dad's voice mixed with Merle's coming from the living room, but I ignored them. All I could think about was the man I had just met and what he could have meant by "I'll be seeing you around". I don't know why I cared so much, but something about the way he said it lit me on fire.