Disclaimer: This story is a work of fiction. It involves elements of questionable consent, reluctance and unsafe sex. All characters are at the legal age of 18 or older.
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"Alison?" a stern voice called out. "Alison, could you come downstairs?"
A concerned father was sitting by a table in the living room, in front of stacks of papers. He reached out for another pile and gazed over the bills once again. It didn't matter how much he crunched the numbers, their household had no income to spare. Life sometimes isn't fair. It wasn't a huge problem, but Nathan knew he would have to break a promise he had given his daughter years ago.
"Yes dad?" She came down the stairs with slow, graceful steps. Her slender legs and petite figure were accentuated by snugly fitting clothes, and her long, blonde hair flowed behind her. It still astonished Nathan just how much she resembled her mother. Unfortunately that also twisted the imaginary knife that he felt in his stomach even further. Considering how much he enjoyed spoiling his daughter, it was all the worse whenever he had to be the bearer of bad news.
When she was but a newborn, it was her mother who had decided to homeschool her. It was an odd choice, but Nathan was eventually convinced by the reasoning. After all, many of the local schools weren't particularly good. Some of them had bad teachers, others had a bad reputation, and none of them were guaranteed to lead her towards a bright future. Educating her at home would be a way to offer their daughter not only a higher quality education, but it would also keep her away from a negative school environment.
Homeschooling their daughter was expensive, especially for a middle class family, but they managed to get by.
As Alison grew older, she effortlessly soaked up the teachings, and showed a particular talent to learn quickly and easily. It was in her teenage years when she began looking into what to do in her future. That's how she became interested in colleges. There was one she was particularly obsessed over, a prestigious college near the city center. She would require a homeschool diploma, and find a way to pay off the high fees for the tuition, but it wasn't an impossible dream by any means.
It was the goal that she worked towards ever since, her dream of going to college and experiencing everything that came along with that.
Nathan was supportive of his daughter's ambitions, and as such, he offered to cover half of the costs. If she were to work on the side in addition to his support, then her debt would be marginal in the end.
That used to be the plan.
"Come here, Alison. Take a seat by my side," he said with a heavy heart.
She did as she was told, and her cute face carried an inquisitive expression. She wasn't sure what this might be about -- and it was rare for her father to seem so... upset. She figured that she must have done something wrong by accident, but she couldn't figure out what it might be. If there was anything she could do to make her father smile again, however, she knew she wouldn't even hesitate.
"I feel like this is my fault," he began to explain. "I know nobody could've seen it coming that we would get a pandemic. Or that it would slow everything down to such a crawl, but I never thought that the company I worked at would have to shut down. Every employee is still being paid in full for a few more months, but..." he took a deep breath, and exhaled sharply. "I don't see us being able to support you into college, honey. It's too risky, because of how unstable things are. But maybe in a year or so," he continued. "Maybe, by then."
Alison initially looked at her father in confusion, then in sadness. She had looked forward to it for so very long, and that entire bubble burst in an instant.
"But..." she said weakly, only to be at a loss for words. It had been something she was excited for. After being homeschooled her entire life, she had imagined this to be the chance for her to experience college life. Just like she had seen in the movies, and read about in books. It was always described to be this life-changing adventure. A phase of growth, which helped to shape young students into adults. Most of all, she had been interested in meeting new people.
"Isn't there something..." she added, only to fall silent again. She lowered her gaze, and noticed the bills strewn across the table. She was not a child anymore, she knew that adulthood came with responsibilities. Of course she felt the temptation to try and argue, but she understood the harsh reality.
"Life sometimes isn't fair," she said weakly, with a forced smile forming on her lips. These weren't the news she was hoping for, not at all. Alison had expected it may be something bad, but this was certainly a surprise. Naïve as she was, she didn't expect the world to be this cruel. There was a long, unpleasant silence in the room. "All right, thanks...you know, for telling me, I guess." She hesitated another moment, and then got up quietly to return to her room.
Later that day, Alison was still sulking. She helped her mother with chores to keep her mind occupied, but no matter what she did, her thoughts always returned to those unexpected news.
She was in the middle of helping her mother with dinner preparations, when the doorbell rang. It was Uncle Blake, who spontaneously decided to visit.
At least that's what he announced when she went to open the door for him.
Alison was well aware of how much he enjoyed showing up for a free meal. What he called a spontaneous visit, was more like a short trip down the street to enjoy some freshly cooked dinner with his family.
"Hey Uncle," she greeted him meekly. Her eyes were cast downward as she absent-mindedly closed the door behind him.
"Hey there," he answered as he stepped inside, though he immediately noticed her dampened mood. She seemed unhappy about something, he could tell. "Are you all right?" He carried a small laptop bag, and put it away before giving his niece a good hug. It was a shame to see her upset, she looked so much cuter with a smile on her face, he thought to himself.
"I'm not...today wasn't a good today," she quietly replied.
Alison didn't make a big secret of it. She summarized her earlier encounter with her father, and the reason for why it had such an impact on her mood. Truth be told, she wasn't sure how many days or weeks it could take for her to find the strength to be happy again. These news had a big impact on her. If she was no longer able to look forward to studying at her favorite college, then what was even the point of her trying so very hard to get a good education? Everything felt pointless.
Her father knew how much it had meant to her.
So it was an unexpected surprise for her dad, when he watched his daughter returning to the living room again a short while later. This time however, she was back to her cheerful self. It was a pleasant sight, of course, and he more than happily helped her to clean the table and set the dinner plates in preparation for the meal. Though it didn't take long before curiosity got the better of him.
"You seem to be in a good mood again. What happened?"
Alison smirked.
"Uncle Blake said he could fix our situation!" she blurted out with youthful vigor. "You see, I told him what happened and that we could use a little bit of help. So, he mentioned that he knows a solution! A quick and easy way to earn a little extra money," she explained as she put down the last plate. She was just about to turn and leave, to help her mother in the kitchen, when her father interrupted her.
"Hold on, hold on a minute. He has a solution, he said?" That sounded strange considering he was also struggling financially. "What else did he say?"
"Something about, uh..." Alison trailed off for a moment. "Art? Pictures or videos, but the job would be something related to art. That's okay with you and mom, right?"
The thought that something so simple would be enough to help with Alison's tuition, was both uplifting and unexpected.
"Sure, honey. That sounds great," he said. She walked off to the kitchen almost immediately after, while her father was left standing there in the room with more questions than answers. It didn't seem like a topic suitable for a dinner chat, so rather than prying deeper into what her uncle suggested, he decided to be contend with this outcome. Whatever they had planned, it was probably going to be a nice experience for her anyway. As a father, he knew more than anyone that he might have kept her a little too sheltered throughout her life. So, perhaps this was going to be a good first experience for her with an actual job.
Normalcy returned to the house, and the entire family soon shared a pleasant dinner together.
Days passed, then weeks.
Nathan had almost forgotten about the conversation, but Alison was beginning to act differently again. It wasn't necessarily a bad thing, but a change like that still managed to get his attention.
He noticed that his daughter gradually became a little more of an introvert, quiet and shy. But, he dismissed it at first -- after all, it was completely natural for teenagers to have phases during which they might be more distant than usual. He didn't think much of it, until one day, when her uncle visited again. It was nothing special by itself, but this time, her uncle had his laptop outside its usual bag. He left it on a counter in the hallway. This happened just after they finished having dinner together.
Much like any caring father, he saw this as an opportunity to get a better idea of what was going on between her and her uncle. He planned to take just a brief look, just to see if perhaps he could get some information out of the laptop instead of having to ask and pry into his daughter's personal life. When he poked the touchpad, the laptop immediately flickered and turned back on.
