I was getting ready for bed when I heard a knock on my bedroom door. It could only be my daughter Amber. We lived alone since her mother had left when she was only two years old. She was living with me through the summer of her freshman year of college. She had just turned nineteen a month ago. I walked to the door, a towel wrapped around my waist, still damp from my shower, and opened it. Amber's green eyes widened a bit as she looked at my bare chest, a faint blush spread across her cheeks. She quickly looked back up at my face and cleared her throat.
"Dad, I'm out of pain killers and my legs are aching really bad. Do you have any?" She asked, a pleading look on her face. Her dark brown hair hung down in loose waves and her black, silky pajamas showed off her young, curvy body. It took considerable effort not to look at the faint outline of her nipples against the silky fabric.
"Sure thing, honey. I'll go grab something, but let me get some clothes on first." I answered her with a smile. She nodded and I closed the door softly. Going over to my dresser, I opened it and pulled out a pair of plain grey sweats. I slipped them on and headed to the bathroom. All my medication was kept in the medicine cabinet over my sink. I opened it and started shuffling the different bottles around, looking for any pain medicine.
My fingers closed over one particular bottle and I paused. I had gotten it a while back, when I had been having trouble sleeping. They were prescription strength sleeping pills. They had worked wonderfully. I had fallen asleep quickly and slept through the entire night and well into the morning. I almost missed hearing my alarm several times and Amber had come in to wake me. She claimed she had been shaking my shoulder for a while before I woke up.
A horrible idea formed in my head and, feeling disgusted with myself, I went to set the bottle back. But I didn't. The more I thought about it, the more I wanted to do it. I was a sick, disgusting man for even having the idea in the first place, but it wouldn't leave my head. I popped open the bottle and shook two pills out onto my palm. Then, before I lost my nerve, I put the bottle up and went back to my door. Amber stood waiting patiently in the hallway. I held out my hand, palm up and she reached out to take the pills from me.
"Thanks", she said, popping them into her mouth. She swallowed them dry, something I'd never been able to do. It always made me gag. "It will take about thirty minutes to kick in." I told her and then smiled, hoping she wouldn't see how nervous I was. She didn't; she smiled back and turned to head to her room. "Night, Dad." She called before disappearing through her door.