“Daddy? Am I really gonna go an’ stay with J?” Tesia McLean asked softly, from the backseat of her father’s clunker.

“Tesia, for the last time, yes you are going to stay with the shit-head you have for a brother!” Her father snapped. “Now, if I have to tell you once more to be quiet, who shall be going to him with a very sore ass! Understood, Young Lady?”

“Yes, Sir,” Tesia answered quietly. She did not want to get in deep shit before going to see her brother. He would question it too much, and she was exactly ready to tell him everything.

The two reached the airport soon afterwards, the older one practically yanking the younger one out of the car, wanting to get this done and over with already.

“Ow!” Tesia yelped, as her father had yanked on her arm pretty hard.

“I SAID, Keep Quiet!” Her father growled, as he smacked her ass real good just once – thus far.

Tesia couldn’t help but give a small yelp when his hand came in contact with her bottom. Wasn’t her fault she was small, and got hurt easily – though she did try to hide that fact as often and best she could.

Her father gave her a dirty look for yelping, and smacked her ass again. “One more word out of you, and your pants are coming down, and your ass is getting a beating, right here in the f*cking airport. Understood?”

“Yes,” Tesia nodded softly. She just couldn’t wait to be on that plane now.

The two waited for the departure call, and once it had been heard, headed for the gate she was to go down to get to her plane.

“Now, remember. If I find out there’s any shenanigans or anything even remotely close to them, your ass shall be mine!” He told her sternly. “Got me?”

“Yes, Daddy,” Tesia answered wishing she could move faster to get on the damn plane.

“And…be careful,” her father said then, shocking the hell out of her. He kissed her head, smacked her ass once more, then sent her on her way.

Tesia walked about halfway down the terminal thing, but then turned back around to look at her father. She saw him walking away, and would never admit to anyone that she wanted to run after him right then, and make him go with her. She didn’t know why, but she was scared and didn’t want to be alone. Yes, she knew he’d be pissed if she ran after him or called out his name, but at the moment, part of her didn’t give two shits. He hadn’t kissed her compassionately in months – all because her mother would kill him if she knew he had his soft, gentle - almost loving - moments.

“Miss, you must continue on to board your plane, or it shall leave without you,” a security guard told her gently. “It’s is about ready to leave now.”

Tesia nodded silently, her eyes filled with unshed tears. She hadn’t even left yet, and already she missed her father. She’d grown used to having him near, and wasn’t so sure she wanted to spend forever away from him – even if he was a mean old bastard.

Once she could see her father no more, she turned and quietly made her way down the terminal and out to the plane. She boarded the plane, after a moment’s hesitation. She took her seat, and wiped at her eyes, as her tears had finally begun to fall. She hated the fact she was going to miss her father – but – at the same time – was glad she was going to miss him. She just hoped he was going to miss her – as his daughter, and not his punching bag.

She stared out the window of a plane, praying to God that they were going to where she wanted to go more than anything.

“Hope he’s not lyin’,” the little one thought. “Really wanna go where he said I was goin’.”

The plane took off then, now not leaving the one staring out the window, much choice but to go to wherever the plane was headed. For this one’s sake, it had better be California, otherwise she wouldn’t last very much longer. Not very long at all.

Tesia sighed as she thought of her birthday that had taken just a couple days beforehand. She was now officially ten, and all she’d gotten to prove it, was a very good ass beating over nothing. All she had done, was asked if her brother was going to call her at all – she couldn’t help that she missed him more than anybody else in the world – except, maybe, Kevin. She missed Kevin as much as her brother at times, for she was madly in love with him – despite the fact he was almost thirty-three.

“Why didn’t they call?” She wondered as she stared down at her hands then. Staring out the window was making her feel a little sick, so she had decided to stop looking outside for a while. “J promised to call. But – he didn’t even send me a card or nothin’.”

She sighed, and slouched down in her seat feeling dejected and rejected. “Not fair,” she pouted crossing her arms over her small chest. She had wanted to talk to her brother for her birthday more than anything – she had!

”Excuse me, Miss. Would you like some peanuts?” A stewardess asked.

Tesia shook her head, as she knew if she ate, she’d be needing the air-sickness bag, that sat in front of her, momentarily afterwards. She sighed heavily again, and went back to staring down at her lap in which a Teddy Bear sat. The Teddy had been given to her by her brother years ago, and she still loved the thing like crazy. The Bear was one thing her father had actually let her keep – seeing as her mother just figured he had gotten it for her and not her brother. If her mother had known it was from A.J., she would’ve thrown the blasted thing out ages ago. Because of that, she was thankful she still had her Daddy with her, and not just her evil Mommy. In all honesty, she was more afraid of her mother, than her father – especially, seeing as her mother had done things to her that her father wasn’t even aware of – nor would he believe as he was too much in love to care.

She thought of her brother then and had to smile. Her brother always knew how to make her smile – and he usually always succeeded in doing so. She hugged her Teddy Bear, burying her face into him, and closed her eyes in hopes of getting some much needed sleep.