Obsession

[Maid of Marvels]

OBSESSION

"Where's daddy's little girl?"

"Come sit with daddy, Janie."

It had always been that way, and of course she would go -- even when she thought she was too big to be sitting on her father's lap or cuddling up with him. Her dad would glare defiantly at her mother when Janie obeyed until eventually Edith would snatch her away or send her to her room.

Fighting and raised voices followed by her mother's cries and screams ensued these rare times when Ted Manning paid overt attention to his daughter. She never understood it, feeling that her mother was somehow resentful of her father's affection toward her. At other times, aside from disciplining her for some imagined infraction or assigning chores, no one even noticed she was alive.

Jane was thirteen when her parents sent her away to boarding school, visiting her there on holiday rather than having her come home. She hated the solitude and isolation from her family, but at the same time she felt a sense of relief. At St. Xavier's, Janie didn't have to listen to what had become almost constant arguing and fighting, most times over her. She made friends, participated in sports, excelled in her subjects. Jane Manning was almost happy.

Finally, five years later, Jane Manning had graduated and she was going home. At last.

This is a closed thread. Comments and critiques are welcome by PM as always. We hope you enjoy it.

Maid & Tib

 

[Tibxo]

Ted Manning

"Are you really that incompetent, Manning?"

Ted Manning is standing in his Line Manager's office listening to yet another one of his superior's tirades.

"How could you have got this order wrong?" The small little man behind the desk shouts out.

"I...I..." Manning tries to say.

"It is because you are stupid and incompetent. Only a moron would get this order wrong." He fixes Manning with an ice stare. "Why I employ you, I will never know."

"I am sorry, Mr James. I will sort it out." Manning offers.

"Too late for that. I got Jenkins to redo it. Of course, that does mean I will have to take it out of your salary."

Manning grimaces at the thought of more money being lost while James looks at his watch.

"You'd better go. Time to go home and I don't want to pay you overtime for lounging around."

"Yes, sir. Mr James." Manning says, making a hasty exit.

"Make sure you are here at 9 o'clock SHARP tomorrow!" James shouts out throught the closing door.

Even before he gets into the car, the anger starts to build...

 

[Maid of Marvels]

Jane

Jane put her bags down on the porch and opened the door to the house. She'd gotten a ride home with the family of a schoolmate who lived locally and they were helping her carry the boxes of books, clothes and other paraphernalia she'd accumulated while at St. Xavier's from the car up onto the porch.

"Are you sure you don't want us to bring these inside for you?" Mr. Lawrence asked. "We don't mind. Really." The Manning girl had been a kind of mystery to him and his wife since she had first roomed in with their daughter Cathy years ago.

She was a good student from what they had seen, an all-round athlete -- but it was her personal demeanor that had set them to wondering. Jane rarely smiled, though when she did it was like the sun coming out from behind a cloud. And her eyes were always veiled, if that was the word for it. Harvey Lawrence couldn't remember her ever looking himself or his wife straight in the eye.

Frankly, they were all a little worried about her going home. Jane didn't seem to be as excited as the other girls were about graduation -- even Cathy had leaped into the air with joy at finally being able to blow this joint as she put it.

"No, thank you, Mr. Lawrence" Jane responded almost timidly to his offer. "I can manage. Besides, mom is probably sleeping -- she works the night shift." It was a fib and they both knew it, but truth was, Jane Manning didn't know what kind of sight would greet them if she invited them inside.

"Okay," he answered as they gave hugs all around -- Cathy making Jane swear that she would phone her first thing on the weekend so they could make plans to do things together. Somehow Harvey Lawrence didn't think they'd hear from Jane Manning again. Or at least not for a long while.

Jane watched the Lawrence family's car drive off before she began to take the rest of her belongings inside. "Mom!" she called out. "I'm home!"

"In here, Jane." Edith Manning was sitting on the settee watching soap operas from the sound of it. Her parents hadn't come to graduation -- her father had a business trip, they'd said -- so Jane hadn't seen either of her parents since their last visit during winter break.

Mom looked as though she had gained fifty pounds easily and there were dark circles under her eyes. Her mother's hair didn't even shine, except maybe from the fact that it looked oily and unwashed. She looked... frumpy and old. Bedraggled. Pathetic even.

Of course Jane remembered all the fighting and arguing from before she left for boarding school, but her mother never looked like this. What in the world had been going on while she was away? The mere thought sent a tendril of something akin to fear creeping up her spine.

 

[Tibxo]

Manning

"Who does that bastard thinks he is???" He shouts at the windscreen. Ted Manning is angry, very very angry!

"How dare that fucker talk to me like that!!! Small dicked cunt!"

In his mind's eye, he can see himself back in James' office, replaying what had happened earlier...

"How could you have got this order wrong?" The small little man behind the desk shouts out. "It is because you are stupid and incompetent. Only a moron..."

"What did you say?" Manning says.

The tone of his voice causes James to look up.

"I..." He gibbers as he sees the look on Manning's face.

"What did you say?" Manning growls as he slowly gets to his feet.

"Err Now, Manning. I-I may have been a tad harsh in what I said. I wasn't being personal." He can see the fear on his pudgy employer's face.

James rolls his chair backwards as Manning approaches the desk.

"What did you say?" He asks again.

"Now, Manning. J-just sit back down and let's talk it out."

"I don't want to sit down." With one superhuman feat of strength, Manning literally pushes the desk to one side.

"Manning! Get back!" The small man is squealing now.

"I'm fed up with you ordering me around."

"Hellllpppp!! I'm being attacked!" Cries James as he tries to make a break for it.

Manning catches him with ease and slams him against the wall, their faces inches away from each other.

"Get your hands me, Manning!", a sudden look of defiance feels the small man's chubby face, "Get your hands off me or I'll call the police!"

Manning explodes as he raises his free fist and starts to plummet his boss with it.

"Shut ... the ... fuck ... up! You ... aren't ... going ... to ... tell ... me ... what ... to ... do ... no ... more!" With every word he utters, his fist rains down on the struggling man. First in his stomach and then his face.

It only takes a few blows to make James' face a bloodied mess but he carries on, enjoying the wetness the blood on his fist, the sound of bones breaking, the muffled whimpers of a man who is literally being beaten to a pulp.

"You are not so tough now, are you?" Manning rages on, still hitting the man, not realising that the man is no longer struggling, no longer making a sound. Punch after punch after punch after punch after punch after...

Manning is still grinning insanely as he pulls his car into the drive of his home...

 

[Maid of Marvels]

After giving her mother the obligatory peck on the cheek and a quick hug, Janie set about bringing her things in and carrying them upstairs. Her bedroom wasn't much different than when she'd left, except for a thin layer of dust. At least it wasn't five years worth, she thought as she opened the windows to air it out before going downstairs for cleaning supplies.

Finally satisfied that her room was clean, Janie began to unpack. An endless task, it seemed. It was funny all the things she'd accumulated over the years at school. Her bedroom had never been fancy -- in fact, it had always been a little on the dreary side -- but with the little odds and ends she'd brought home, her books and a couple of pictures hung, it actually came to life.

Janie looked around and smiled. Not bad. Not bad at all. Now for a quick shower and she'd go down to see if her mother needed help with dinner. If mom had taken up cooking while she'd been at school, that is.

She had sort of put her memories of home aside while she was at St. Xavier's. Truth was, she hadn't thought much about home at all. At first it was because she didn't understand being sent away so abruptly. Then it was just a way not to be homesick. She used to feel guilty about it when all the other girls talked about their families and homes and she never spoke of hers.

After a while, they just stopped asking. Jane was Jane and they liked her for herself and not because she had stories of her homelife to tell. It had been a good time for her in the end and she was going to miss it. More than she expected.

When Janie made that remark to herself about whether her mother had taken up cooking in her absence, it all came flooding back. And not in a good way. Talk about repressing memories. How could she have forgotten that she had been the one doing most of the household chores since at least the age of ten. Probably even younger, if she'd take the time to stop and really think about it.

Well, she'd best take a look in the pantry and the freezer to see what there was before jumping in the shower. If there was anything at all. Oh, there had to be. Mom had to be feeding daddy something. "What ever," Janie said aloud with a sigh. She'd check it all out and make up a shopping list later that evening.

 

[Tibxo]

Manning

By the time he enters the house, the euphoria he had gained from his fictious victory over his boss has gone but the anger, the resentment is still there.

"I'm home!" He shouts out as he slams the door behind him. "Is dinner ready?" He hollars even though he can smell something cooking.

"Almost done, dear." Shouts out his wife, her voice coming from the direction of the kitchen.

Hanging up his coat, he marches towards the kitchen. Upon entering, he is rewarded with the sight of his wife tearing around as she prepares his meal. But instead of being pleased, he just looks at her critically.

Christ! Look at the sight of her. And she's getting fat! He thinks to himself, ignoring the fact that he is no oil painting and that his own belly has ballooned out somewhat.

Sitting down at the dining table, he waits impatiently as his wife hurries towards him carrying a plate crammed with food. Quickly, she places it before him.

"Eggs?? Again??" He growls as his eyes fall on its contents. "I had this two days ago."

"I-I'm sorry, dear." Stutters his wife. "But you didn't give me any housekeeping this week."

Manning can feel his anger growing again.

For fuck's sake. He only gave her money last week! What does she do with it?

He is about to ask her when he hears footsteps behind him...

 

[Maid of Marvels]

Jane had been offered several scholarships to universities which she had turned down -- her parents had said that they couldn't afford the difference in tuition. Barring that, she had settled on the small local college in their town instead. It offered a good Liberal Arts program and a few electives in Library Science which would help her when she went for her MLS, but term didn't start for another four months. Maybe she could get a job in the meantime.

Her father's voice carried upstairs from the kitchen. A low, angry growl that made the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end. She'd forgotten that constant underlying tension that always seemed to choke off any bit of happiness that threatened to sneak into their house. Maybe she could figure out a way to diffuse some of that while she was at home.

She shouldn't have dawdled so long in the shower. Tomorrow she'd be sure to have a presentable dinner ready for her father when he got home. She'd make that list up tonight and show it to him later. It wasn't much, but she knew it would be a start -- or at least hoped it would be.

"Hi, Daddy!" Jane said, kissing her father on the cheek. "I'm home! The Lawrences gave me a lift. You remember Cathy Lawrence, don't you?"

He grumbled something that she didn't quite catch and began to eat. Jane looked at her mother and smiled half-heartedly. There were tears in her eyes and her hands were shaking as she tried to break another egg into the frying pan.

"Let me do that," she said and nudged her mom towards the table. "You know, I took some cooking classes while I was at St. Xavier's. I'm not half bad at it either." Jane wondered if either of her parents remembered that she had done the bulk of the cooking before being sent away to school. No matter, she thought, continuing to ramble.

"I was thinking... Maybe you would let me show off some of what I've learned. Some of it was fancy," Jane paused and tried to recover. She didn't want her father to begin a rant on prices these days. "...but most was really just basic stuff. If I make a shopping list and show you, do you think it would be okay?"

By the time she'd finished talking, the eggs were done and she was setting a plate in front of her frazzled looking mother and joining her parents at the table.

 

[Tibxo]

Manning

From the table, he watches his daughter as she stands, her back to them as she pratters on.

His anger forgotten. He instead takes in the sight of the young woman that is his daughter. He cannot believe how she has changed since he has last seen her. Though still short, he notices how filled out she has become. Especially her chest and backside.

Before she had gone away to boarding school (against his wishes), he had started to notice, but now...

"Here you go." His daughter says as she strolls over with two plates full of simmering food in her hand and places them on the table in front of them. But that is not where he is looking. Watching as her heavy breasts move and wobble, he realises that she isn't wearing any bra.

Manning has always been a breast man and the thought of his daughter's tits, her naked tits being confined under that top of hers made his lips dry even as he feels anger for the way she is dressed, just like one of the tarts at his office...

 

[Maid of Marvels]

Jane tried to keep up a cheery conversation while they ate, but soon lapsed into an uncomfortable silence when she realized that every time she looked over at him, her father was glaring at her. She couldn't remember saying anything wrong, but she must have for him to look so angry. Mom wasn't going to be any help either, it seemed. She was inspecting her food so closely that you'd think she expected to find microbes of some sort.

"Edith!" Ted shouted as he pushed his chair away from the table and got up. "I want to talk you you now!"

Jane's mother nearly fell off her chair when her father roared out her name. What in the world was going on here? Jane sighed. Things had been tense before she went away, but she didn't remember them being this bad. Maybe she'd just been too young to notice.

"Y-yes, dear." Edith Manning set her fork down and painstakingly refolded her napkin, setting it beside her untouched plate of food. Jane tried to catch her mother's eye but she was already out of the kitchen and following her husband.

She sat still for a few minutes, listening. They had gone to their bedroom it seemed. She couldn't hear her father's words so much as the tone of his voice as he bellowed at her mother. Trying to drown out his voice and the muffled cries she knew were her mother's, Jane quickly washed up the dishes and went upstairs to the sanctuary of her own room.

 

[Tibxo]

Manning

"Is that how you taught our daughter to wear her clothes in public? She's wearing no bra for Chrissakes!" He growls at his wife in their own bedroom.

"T-that's how they all look these days, dear." Stammers his wife as she stares down at the carpet.

Was she trying to defy him? His own wife??

"And you call that an excuse. That our daughter is dressed up like some cheap whore?" He can feel his temper rising.

"P-please, dear. Jane is only next door. She can hear." His wife whispers.

"So? Maybe she should hear me. I will not have my daughter dressed up as a tart."

Going over to door, he opens it just in time to see his daughter making her way downstairs.

"Where are you going, young lady?" He bellows...

 

[Maid of Marvels]

Jane's chest tightened in something akin to fear and she pulled up short at the sound of her father's voice. "Umm... back downstairs, Daddy. I was going to start that shopping list."

The look on his face was almost frightening. She didn't remember him ever looking at her this way before. It was so red that it was beginning to turn purple. His eyes were blazing with anger -- or was it something else. She was suddenly afraid of him in a way she'd never been before.

"Oh no you aren't!" he practically growled. "You aren't some kind of common hussy. Who do you think you are dressing like that?"

Jane started to protest but he cut her off. "This is my house. And as long as you live under my roof you will do as I say. Now put some clothes on! Decent clothes!"

"Yes, sir."

"Don't you use that tone of voice with me!"

She started to reply that hadn't meant to sound sarcastic. In fact, she wasn't sure she had sounded sarcastic at all -- she was merely trying to sound respectful and diffuse her father's tirade. She didn't get a chance.

Before she even realized what was happening, her father's hand struck her face with a force that made her stagger backwards. Stunned, she just looked at him for a moment and ran crying for the sanctuary of her bedroom. What in the world was going on here?

 

[Tibxo]

Manning

"I'm going out!" He growls at his wife. His daughter's attitude has put him in a bad mood and in need of a drink.

"When you will be back, dear?" Asks his wife.

"Whenever I feel like." And pulling on his coat, Ted Manning storms out of the house.

Later...

"Seeya later, Ted." Shouts his friend, crossing the street.

"Seeya, Al!" Shouts Manning as heads away from the bar he had spent the last three hours. Slightly wobbly on his feet, he feels a lot better after having his fair share of beer. Actually, he feels a lot better as he feels his swollen erection inside his pants. His wife is going to have some 'company' tonight.

"I've enjoyed this evening, Greg. Thanks for phoning me tonight." He stops at the sound of the voice coming from the alleyway next to him.

He is sure he recognises the voice.

"You know how much I have missed you, Jane. " A male voice says.

It's his own daughter!

Suddenly feeling extremely sober, he carefully approaches the alley and peers inside. He can just make out two figures leaning against a wall. The girl, his daughter, giggles.

"I know you. *smack*"

They are kissing.

He can feel his anger growing again as he continues to watch and listen.

"Are you sure I can't get you to come back to my place? It has been a long time." The boy is saying.

"No, Greg. I do need to get home. I don't want Dad to find out that I have been out."

"For Gods sake, Jane. You are EIGHTEEN. You shouldn't have to put up with his crap." Manning's hands clench into fists at the boy's words.

"I know, Greg. But it isn't as simple as that and you know it."

There is silence and Manning can swear he can hear more kissing. Finally.... "I have to go, Greg."

"Okay, Jane. Can I see you again? Tomorrow night?"

"Maybe."

Manning quickly ducks back as he realises that the boy is coming towards him while Jane is heading for home...

 

[Maid of Marvels]

Jane's heart raced as she hurried home from her rendezvous with Greg Browning. She and Greg had been friends since the first grade -- like the Bobbsey twins. A fact her father had never been overfond of, but her mother had let her play -- as long as she was home before daddy got there. But now... Jane ran her finger lightly over her lips, remembering his kiss. Now things were different.

She still had a scar on her index finger from when they had become "blood brothers". They must have been all of nine or ten then. It happened when a hook caught in her finger while they were fishing at the creek. Greg had pierced his own and they had touched fingers and pledged a most solemn oath to always be friends.

It had been five years since they'd last seen each other, but they had kept in touch -- writing letters and emails. Of course Greg had known she was coming home, but she hadn't expected him to phone up the way he had. He had taken a big chance doing that, knowing how overprotective her father was. After that episode over her clothes, it seemed he was more so than ever.

Please let me get home without daddy knowing I was gone. Oh, please... Fearing her father's anger, Jane broke into a run.

 

[Tibxo]

Manning

"Well??? Is she in???" Bellows Manning as he enters the house, slamming the door behind him.

"W-who, dear?" Asks his wife who is sitting on the sofa as she always does when he is out drinking. One look at the woman's face tells him she knows. He can feel the anger growing.

"Your daughter! I saw her out tonight - with some kid!!!"

"Dear, I ..."

"Is she upstairs? Leaving his wife in his wake, he storms up the stairs towards his daughter's bedroom...

 

[Maid of Marvels]

Jane's heart sank when she heard her father's voice only moments after she'd regained the sanctuary of her bedroom and hurriedly begun to undress for bed. He'd seen her with Greg! Where? Her worst nightmare had come true. Now what?

Her heart lurched with the sound of each rapidly approaching footstep. What was he going to do? She'd explain. He must remember Greg from when they were small. It would be all right. Wouldn't it?

Suddenly the door to her room crashed open and her father was three steps into the room before it even registered... He hadn't knocked! Frozen in place like a deer caught in the headlights of an approaching car, Jane clutched the tee shirt she hadn't had a chance to put on in front of herself.

 

[Tibxo]

Manning

"There you are!" He bellows as he stares at his daughter standing there, trying to fool him with that innocent, scared look.

But he knows better!

"Trying to pretend that you were in bed all this time, were you?" He growls, taking another step forward. His daughter takes one back.

"Daddy...."

"Shut up! I am not listening to any of your babble!" He takes another step. Again his daughter moves back, but this time she is stopped by the wall.

His eyes fall on the t-shirt that she is holding up.

"What are you hiding? Well???"

"Daddy...." She says again as she looks at him with those little girl's eyes of hers.

In one savage movement, Manning rips the t-shirt away from her. For a moment, the girl does not react, allowing him an unobstructed view of her out of proportioned chest. Immediately, he feels his mouth go dry and a tightening in his groin.

"Daddy...please..." The girl is sobbing now as she tries to in vain cover her chest with her arms but her breasts are just too large.

"I can see why the boy was interested in you." He says, his voice thick barely a whisper, his mind already comparing what he has seen with that of the practically non-existent pair of her mother's.

His eyes burning into her, he takes another step forward.

"So, is that what you like doing? Flaunting yourself in front of boys, like the one I saw you with."

"D-daddy...I didn't...-"

"Don't try and deny it. I saw you with him. Did he touch you? Did he touch you...like this." Grabbing one arm, he pulls it away and quickly clamps a large hand over her bared tit.

"Is this what you wanted him to do?" He growls, squeezing her breast, noting how it overflows in his hand. "To fondle you. To play with...-"

"Ted...?"

Looking behind him, he sees his wife standing at the door way. He can see that she has that stupid scared look on her face again.

"Can't you see your daughter and I are having a 'chat'???" He warns.

"Please...-" His wife continues, only to be shut down.

"Leave us alone!" The look in his eyes telling her that he doesn't expect to tell her again.

She leaves. He turns his attention back to his quivering daughter.

"While you are living under this roof, you are not going to be some slut for some boy - understand?" Again, he squeezes her, the pressure causing her to cry out...

 

[Maid of Marvels]

"N-n-no... He didn't touch me," Jane whimpered as her father's hand retained its firm grip on her sensitive breast, squeezing it painfully.

"While you are living under this roof, you are not going to be some slut for some boy -- understand?"

Wide-eyed, Jane nodded. Greg hadn't touched her, only kissed her. She almost wished that he had done, so that her father's crazed accusations would be wellfounded. Why was he acting this way??

"I'm not... Daddy, why??"

 

[Tibxo]

Manning

"I'm not... Daddy, why??"

Manning doesn't answer as he reaches down and grabs her pink flowered panties.

"Daddy...?" Her eyes are fixed on his hand. "What are you...?"

Her question is answered as he rips her panties away, leaving the girl completely naked in front of her father. Desperately, she tries to cover herself.

"No. Keep your hands by your side." He commands as he steps back.

"But Daddy..."

'Do it!"

Shaking, the girl complies. Allowing her young nubile body to be totally ravished by her father's lust filled eyes.

Manning feels his pulse quickening as he takes in the volumptuous form. Never in his wildest imaginings has he envisaged his daughter being so well formed with her large breasts, slim waist and thick child-bearing hips. His cock turns to granite at the sight, a fact he does not try to disguise from his shocked "little girl".

"That's why!" He almost chokes, his eyes never meeting hers.

"Daddy...?"

Suddenly he wants her, to hold, to bury himself inside. With a grunt, he turns and leaves the room. Slamming the door behind him...

 

[Maid of Marvels]

Jane stood frozen in place for a few moments after her father left the room. She didn't understand. Couldn't breathe. He'd torn her panties off of her! There was no way she could miss the look in his eyes, or the sight of the bulge in his trousers as he'd stared at her naked body.

Finally able to move, Jane ran toward the bedroom door and turned the key, locking it from the inside. Then, with a burst of energy she didn't know she had, she pushed the mahogany armoire over to barricade it with that as well. That would keep him out for a while if he tried to come back in.

Chest heaving, she opened and closed drawers until she found a heavy pair of sweatpants and the top to match. Dressing quickly, she climbed under her quilt and curled into a ball. She couldn't stop shivering. Her father had been turned on by her! She had to figure out what to do next.

Slap!! Slap!! Slap!!

He was hitting her mother! Jane started to get up to go to her mother's defense, but the sounds that followed told her that she should stay where she was. Moans and animalistic grunts seemed to be echoing throughout the entire house. They were having sex!! He hit her and now they were having sex!!

Climbing back into her bed, Jane covered her head with her pillow and held it tightly over her ears while tears streamed down her cheeks. Why?? Why did it have to be this way??

Jane remembered those sounds well. She had heard them nightly before her mother sent her away to school. They always came after her mother would object to her sitting on daddy's lap. All these years she had thought her mother was just trying to get attention. All these years... How could she have ever thought otherwise?

She had to get away! It was the last thought that went through her mind when she finally fell asleep just before dawn.

 

[Tibxo]

Manning

He sits at the breakfast table, waiting for his wife serve him his customary bacon and eggs.

"Why are you shaking?" He asks, noticing his wife is trembling.

"N-nothing, dear." She says quietly as she adds the last egg on his plate. "Nothing at all."

Hurrying over, she places the plate in front of him. As she moves away, he stops her. His eyes on her upper lip.

"You must have cut yourself. You are bleeding." He says kindly.

His wife gently touches her lip.

"I-I must have cut it sometime last night." She tells him as she moves back to the stove.

"You'd better look at it. That and your shaking, I don't want you to catch something." He says as he jams an egg into his mouth which he quickly swallows.

"How come there are only two eggs?" He asks, noticing an egg missing.

"I'm sorry, honey. We have run out and you haven't given me this week's housekeeping money yet."

"I haven't??" He replies, sounding shocked. "That's bad of me. You know you should tell me when I forget. Here, have this." And with a smile, he throws some notes on the table just in time to see Jane coming into the kitchen.

"Morning, sweetheart." He says cheerfully...

 

[Maid of Marvels]

Jane slept fitfully, not waking until the clock on her bedstand showed her it was nearly ten. At first she lay quietly, listening to the noises of the house -- culling out the normal sounds in search of voices. Not hearing any, she climbed from the safety of her bed and pushed the armoire that she had set to barricade the door out of the way. Her father must have gone to work and she needed to talk to her mother.

Still dressed in her bulky sweats, Jane padded downstairs and walked into the kitchen. Her heart caught when she spotted her father at the table, her mother hovering over him as she poured a cup of coffee. He was handing her mother money!

Jane started to back up when her father looked up and spotted her. "Morning, sweetheart." Butter would melt in his mouth -- the sound of his voice syrupy sweet as if nothing had happened.

Unable to move, she just stood there confused and staring. Christ! Her mother's lip was cracked and swollen where he must have hit her. How could he just pretend that nothing had happened?

Uncertain of how to react, she replied quietly. "Good morning, daddy. Mom." half expecting him to lash out again in much the same way as he had the night before.

 

[Tibxo]

Manning

"Good morning, daddy. Mom." His daughter replies. Manning realises she is making no attempt to enter the room.

"Why are you standing there, girl." He says with a huge grin. "Sit down with your Daddy."

The girl sits.

"I was thinking," He continues, his mouth full of bacon. "It's been a long time since we have been together as a family. So I have decided to take the day off so we all can go to the beach together. The three of us."

"Does Mr James know you are not going in today?" Asks his wife as she lays a plate of food in front of Jane.

A wave of panic rushes over him. He has forgotten that James is expecting him in at nine this morning. Glancing at the clock, he sees that it is already well past 10.

"Edith. Be a doll and phone him. Tell him I am sick or something."

"But Ted, shouldn't you do it? You know he didn't believe me the last..."

"Please just do it!" He says, interrupting her. "I'm sure you can make it sound convincing this time." He gives his wife the most charming of smiles as she heads off to the hall to make the call.

"Well that's settled." He says, getting up. "Let's get ready to rock 'n' roll."

He stops as he reaches the kitchen door, noticing that his daughter is not moving.

"Come on, girl. You aren't going like that are you? Why don't you dress prettily for your Daddy?"...

 

[Maid of Marvels]

The beach... something pretty? Jane's stomach was doing flips like she was riding a roller coaster. She didn't want to go to the beach! Not after last night. Especially not after last night! I'll just tell him that I don't feel well.

"I don't... " The steel in his eyes stopped her in mid-sentence. Suddenly afraid, she wrapped her arms around herself, as if they and the heavy sweat suit she wore would shield her from her father's obvious displeasure.

And then he did something totally unexpected. He smiled. He patted her cheek and smiled! "Of course you will, baby girl. We are going to have a fantastic time. Now get a move on."

Not answering, she turned and ran up the stairs to her room. Maybe she could fall and break a leg or something. Jane couldn't think of anything but her father's face and the ugly words he'd said to her last night. And his hands. His hands on her breasts.

Okay. Maybe he had been drinking. Maybe that was what made him do and say those things. But even so. It wasn't right and she was afraid. More than a little afraid. She was downright scared.

She jumped when she heard the doorknob begin to turn. Had she locked it? Oh, God! What if it was Daddy? What if...

"Janie?"

Jane breathed a sigh of relief and walked slowly over to the door as it opened. It was her mother and she was holding something. Jane looked from the crumpled material in her mother's hand to her face and back again.

"It's a bathing suit. I didn't know if you had one and this one looks like it might fit you. Put it on, please? And hurry. Your father is getting impatient." Edith never looked her daughter in the eye, simply shoved the suit toward her and hurried from the room and this time she remembered to turn the lock.

"What in the... " Jane unbundled the bathing suit, only to see a piece drop on the floor. It was a bikini! It must have been mom's at one time, though she couldn't imagine it fitting any part of her now. Did she really want Jane to wear it -- or was it her father's idea?

"I won't! Dammit! I won't wear it!" She wanted to throw up. Maybe she could crawl under her comforter and curl herself up in a ball and wake back up. "It's just a dream. It's just a... "

"Jane! Hurry up! He's getting agitated. Please!" It was mom again. This time her voice sounded almost as if she were afraid. Well, after last night...

"I'm coming, mom. I'll be right down." If she didn't go down, maybe there would be a repeat of last night for both her mother and herself. And if she did... No. She wouldn't be responsible for her mother getting into any more trouble because of her.

Pulling off the sweats, Jane quickly put on the bikini her mother had given her and looked around for an oversized tee to wear over it. The top was too small. Not a lot, but enough. But she didn't have one of her own to put on so...

"Coming!" she called, slipping the tee over her head as she ran for the stairs.

 

[Tibxo]

Manning

The day is already starting hot and by the time they join the traffic jams that leads to the beach front itself, it is blistering hot.

"Damn traffic!" Growls Manning. "Where did they all come from?"

"I don't know, dear. Perhaps they had the same idea as you?" Ventures Edith.

"We can always turn back." Offers Jane.

"No. We are almost there." Manning says, feeling his anger growing but for the time being keeps it reined in.

Eventually, after what seems like ages, they find a parking spot. Taking the chairs, the towels and the hamper basket containing a hastily prepared picnic, they set off to find a spot on the beach...

 

[Maid of Marvels]

The sun was hot and the sand burned her toes as she followed her parents onto the beach. "This looks like a good place, doesn't it, dear?" Her mother asked, looking hopefully at daddy for approval. He grumbled something that Jane didn't hear but noting that he hadn't kept walking, she took the initiative to busy herself by spreading out the blanket.

Jane could feel the sweat dripping down her back as she sat, but she just couldn't bring herself to take the tee shirt off. Not in front of her father. It was going to be a long day, she thought. Maybe she could wear the tee into the water... At least she'd be able to cool off.

"Well, I'm going to take a quick swim," she said to no one in particular as she rose to her feet. Her mother was engrossed in a book she'd brought along and her father had just begun to unbutton his shirt.

"Like that?" His eyes seemed to bore into her as he took in her outfit. "You can't swim in that. You know better."

Jane sensed the concern in his voice. Bulky clothes and water really didn't mix. In fact, it was a little on the dangerous side. But...

"I forgot the sun screen and you know how I burn. I won't go out too far." Jane hoped her father wouldn't object, but his face was growing steadily redder. All she could do was hope that it was from the heat.