1. All characters are 18+
2. No characters represent real people
3. Enjoy the fiction
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CHAPTER 8
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From the minute Olivia figured out what was going on, Anna became a prisoner in the house. I tried to text Anna, but I got no responses. That evening, I spotted a note in her window. 'Mom took my phone. I've never seen her so mad.'
I guess I understood Olivia's anger. I hadn't meant for her to find out the way she did. Maybe it was ironic that we had been brainstorming ways to tell Olivia when she figured it out on her own. If Anna hadn't called me Daddy....
No, I can't blame her. It was my fault. I'm the adult, and I should have ended this long ago.
Still, I had to try to make this right. So, the first thing I could think of was to settle up on the money for Anna's car. I wrote up a check for $2000, more than I really owed, and wrote a letter to go with it.
Dear Olivia,
I never meant to hurt you. But I do really care for Anna. I know the age gap makes it look bad. I hope that you'll give me a chance to explain. And I hope that you'll still accept the money for Anna's car. I'm sorry for everything.
Grant
I slipped the letter and check into an envelope, stuck it inside their front door, rang the doorbell, and went back to my own house without waiting for them to answer the door. I knew if Olivia had answered the door and seen me standing there, she'd do something we'd all regret.
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I waited a few days, and didn't see either one of them. I didn't hear them either. And of course, no messages. I checked my bank account, and the check had not been cashed.
The total silence was broken one day when I heard back-and-forth yelling come from their house. I couldn't make out what was being said, but clearly Olivia and Anna were fighting. It hurt to know that I was the cause. I was ripping their family apart.
The next day, I saw another message in Anna's window. 'Found the check. Mom tried to hide it from me. She's refusing to cash it. Thanks for trying.'
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After about a week, I started getting pressure from my boss, Bill, to do my last trip to Phoenix. I had been putting off planning that trip, mostly because of my unresolved issues with Olivia and Anna. I also couldn't ask Anna to watch Bob.
But, work being what it was, I couldn't put it off any longer. I told Bill I'd make the trip next week. I called the local pet hotel and made arrangements for Bob. But, I'd make at least one attempt to talk to Olivia before I left.
I knocked on their door. Olivia appeared, saw me, and went to slam the door in my face. "Olivia, wait, please," I begged, holding the door open.
"Let go," she said, pushing the door again.
"Just one minute," I asked. "I need to go out of town again. Can you please let Anna watch Bob for me?"
Olivia softened for a minute. "Bob?"
"If she can't watch him, I'll have to take him to a pet hotel, and he'd really hate it. I'd much rather have Anna do it." Olivia looked skeptical. "Please. Anna and I don't have to even see each other. And, you can supervise her the whole time if you want."
I think the fact that I'd be out of town, coupled with the fact that it was a favor for Bob, not just me, made Olivia reluctantly nod. "Fine. What days?"
"I'm leaving Sunday night. I'll be back Tuesday night. Thank you."
"Okay. Bye." She closed the door.
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I didn't see either of them outside after that, then I left on my trip. I knew that Anna would take good care of Bob, and he'd be happy to see her again. I thought about leaving Anna a note, but decided against it. If I did, and Olivia found it instead, it might make things worse. However, I did switch my cameras, putting the new one with the microphone in the kitchen, as I knew Anna would certainly not be allowed in my bedroom.
That Sunday night, I pulled out my tablet and watched Anna enter my house, with Olivia following behind. It was the first time I'd seen her since that terrible day, almost two weeks ago. But she didn't look the same. How can I describe it? She didn't bounce. She wasn't energetic and fun. She looked fatigued and sad.
Olivia watched as Anna took Bob outside, then fed him. No words were spoken between them. The only words I heard were from Anna to Bob.
Monday morning, the first visit to Bob was a similar scenario, but then I'm guessing Olivia went to work, because Anna came unsupervised for the second visit. She also knew that the camera had changed. "Hi," she said quietly, almost in a whisper. "I miss you. I found the check you sent. Mom and I yelled at each other pretty good that day. I told her I love you, and she said I don't know what love is, that I'm too young. But I do love you."
Monday evening, Olivia was back. The same for Tuesday morning. But Tuesday afternoon, I was in a taxi back to the airport when Anna visited Bob again, unsupervised. "Are you there? Can you move the camera?" she asked out loud.
I operated my tablet and made the camera shift up and down. A small nod.
"Do you miss me?" Nod. "Do you love me?" Nod. "You're not hooking up with other women in Phoenix are you?" I made the camera move side to side, shaking no. She smiled. "Good."
She fed Bob and petted him. She looked back up at the camera.
"Do you still think I'm sexy?" Double nod, showing a definite yes.
She looked around, though no one was around to see. "Want to see my titties?" Nod. She lifted her shirt for me, exposing her chest to the camera. "Do you miss these?" Nod.
She put her shirt down. "I have to go home. Mom's been having me check in, so I can only be here a few minutes each time. I'll talk to my mom again tonight. I can't wait to see you again."
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That night, Olivia again supervised Anna. It was late, and my flight arrived a bit early, so I was already in an Uber, coming back from the airport. I watched their interactions on my tablet, listening to every word on my headphones, as we drove into the neighborhood.
"Mom, you're being unfair. He's a nice guy."
"I thought so too, until I found out he's been sleeping with my daughter."
"I already told you, it was only once, and I wanted it. I seduced him."
Olivia frowned. "Did he make you call him 'Daddy'?"
"No. That was my idea. It started as a joke, actually. Too bad it's not funny anymore."
"How is that a joke?"
"Because he started dating you!" Anna snapped. "I liked him, and he liked me back, but he was a perfect gentleman, and wouldn't ever touch me, and that made me fall even more in love with him. So I seduced him, not the other way around. And then, after all that work, he goes and dates my mom instead of me!? Maybe it is a joke, and I'm the damn punchline."
Olivia was shocked at her daughter's speech. "Do you even hear yourself right now? You don't really love him."
Anna was adamant. "Yes I do."
"And he doesn't really love you!"
That was the moment I stepped in the door. "Yes I do."
I don't know who ran to me faster, Anna or Bob. But Anna grabbed me into a tight hug, while Bob merely bumped my leg with his head.
"I want to stay with you," she cried into my shoulder.
I really wanted that too. But I couldn't do that. It would destroy her relationship with her mother. I looked at Olivia and she gave me the most evil gaze I'd ever seen. But behind that look, I could see the pain. She'd be utterly destroyed if her daughter left. "Anna, I think you should go home with your mother."
Anna released me and took a step back. "What?"
