Be My Bad Boy

~Flashback/Dream~
“Pack your stuff, princess. We're going on an adventure."
But it had scared me and I cried.
"Hush, princess. You have to be strong, stronger than anyone."
He went out and left me to pack. I put my teddy bear and my colouring-in books in the bag. Then I shoved in my pretty red shoes.
"Are you done, princess?" Dad asked when he came back to my room.
I nodded my head.
When I got outside, I shivered in the cold night air. Dad scooped me into his arms.
"I need my coat." Dad always remembered my coat.
"We don't have time, princess."
We sped through the dark to the airport but I’d had no idea where were going or why. I still didn't.

~End~

I jolted upright and looked over to see my Dad was still awake.
"Who was the man we stayed with?" I asked Dad, trying to figure this all out. “Harry? A friend. You don't need to worry about him."
"And the woman? Pet-lee? His wife?"
"Her name wasn't Pet-lee. And she wasn't his wife. You called her Pet-lee because you couldn't say her name properly. You shouldn't worry about these things now. Forget all about it. It was years ago."
She'd been so angry with Dad when she'd helped me unpack my case.

~Another Flashback~

"She have no clothes? Only a teddy bear? No underwear?" the woman hissed at Dad. "Didn't you check her bag?"
Dad had shaken his head and not met her eyes.
The next day, Pet-lee took me shopping. Not to a nice store but a big, dusty market, with blurs of colour and sounds and smells I couldn't recognise. I clung to Pet-Lee's hand. She smiled and told me not to let go or I'd get lost in the crowd. Brown faces whizzed passed up on motorbikes and people yelled so loud. I’d had to wear the pyjamas I'd had on when I left home and I got so hot, they stuck to my legs. When a man yelled at us in strange words, I started crying, so Pet-Lee took me a stall and got me an iced drink. It tasted like sunshine and happy days. The ladies from the stall patted my hair and said I looked so pretty that I forgot to cry.
Then we found the blue dress with white ruffles and bows and big, puffy sleeves. I wanted it because it looked like the princess dresses in my books even though it felt scratchy. Pet-Lee bought it for me and I put it on straight away. The women put bows in my hair and I wanted to dance and twirl so that everybody knew I was a princess.
That's mainly what I remembered from that time. Dad was away a lot and I spent most of my time in the kitchen with Pet-Lee. He'd slept on a mattress on the floor in my room and he'd come in late at night and fall straight into bed and start snoring.
One night, Dad had come home and said we were leaving. Pet-Lee hugged me and cried. I cried too. When we came home, we moved into the big house in a different town. I started living a different life. I never even remembered until now that I'd left the blue dress behind.
It did seem odd when I thought about it. I'd never questioned how Dad had got his money or what happened in his business. After that, he'd been rich, it seemed. I had a maid to look after me, and everything I wanted.
Even when he'd disappeared, I'd believed he was innocent and it was all a misunderstanding. One day, he'd come back and explain it all. Now he was back and there were no explanations, just him wanting to borrow money. I wondered what had happened before. If that's when this all started.

~End Again~

I woke up the next day to someone banging on my door. I put the pillow over my head. They'd go away. The banging continued. Surely they'd go away. They had the wrong room or they were someone I didn't want to see. Why wouldn't they stop?
Dad stirred in his sleep. Whoever was at the door kept banging and, if I didn't answer, they'd wake up the whole house.
I opened the door to see Andy on my doorstep. Why was he there? When I'd left, he was off to some bar with the band. Surely he should be in bed, nursing a hangover with some slutty blonde next to him. Maybe the singer from that band. What the hell was he doing at my door, looking so bright-eyed?
He grinned at me, which threw me for a moment. The intense gaze of his blue eyes softened as the smile crinkled the corners.
"What's up?" I asked, rubbing my eyes and trying to focus. I didn't wake up easily. I probably looked a mess in my pink rabbit pyjamas and my bed hair.
"I thought I'd come and check on you. You took off so fast last night I didn't get to see you after the show. I wanted to thank you and see if you were okay.”

Notes

Hm. Hm. Hm.

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