I woke around dawn feeling strung out a bit, like so much of my world had taken on challenges beyond those I was used to handling over the years. Raising my daughters had always added some measure of stress and worry, but I'd long before come to handle that as quite normal. And having Audrey in my life added a bit more stress, but that had so many benefits that it completely offset the negative consequences. But throwing together the situation with Simone and her parents with the timing of my desire to reenter the university had made me continue to feel a little queasy the next morning as I waited for the coffee to finish brewing and attempted to more fully process everything.

I heard a car next door fire up and looked out to see Audrey already on her way out. She often liked to get in some early calisthenics before classes, and I though I might try to do the same after taking the girls to school.

Coffee done, I picked up my phone when it vibrated. It was a call from a private number, and though I usually just ignored unlisted calls, all the issues surrounding Simone made me decide it might be important.

The woman on the line was a legal assistant for an attorney with an office near my neighborhood named Melissa Rogers. Mrs. Rogers was a referral from my legal friend, practiced family law exclusively, and was interested in talking to me about my situation. We set up an appointment for mid-morning and I hung up to the sounds of teenage girls shuffling through their morning routines of fighting for bathroom time and moaning about being tired.

Gwen joined me first and I offered her orange juice and oatmeal, which she took mechanically. She'd already fixed her hair and clothes for the day, but the girl looked half-asleep, a usual expression for Gwen in the morning. I greeted next Victoria and then Simone, the latter girl still looking unsettled and uncomfortable. She, thankfully, did not try to confess anything new to me.

- - -

After dropping the girls off at school, I drove over to the attorney's office, an end unit on a long, aging strip mall. I waited inside a small room, sipping fresh coffee, until I was guided back into a more professional setup in an office in the back. The room, while small, had a broad, dark desk and shelves of law-related books packed behind the attorney.

"I'm Melissa Rogers, Melissa is fine, thank you." She was in her late 50s, I guessed, slender, long brown hair which was neatly pulled over her ears, just enough makeup to highlight aspects of her face without looking painted.

"Darren Oxley," I replied, taking a seat opposite her.

"So what brings you in today, Mr. Oxley?"

"Just Darren, thanks," I told her, then gave her a reasonable rundown of what had taken place with Simone. Melissa didn't interrupt me except when she asked for details, such as the names of Simone's parents or school, the names of the officers and CPS agents. "I know Samantha well, as it turns out," she told me at one point without offering further details.

I finished up my explanation, "And so, for this week, I've got temporary legal custody of Simone. And I'm worried about what her parents might do, how Simone is going to deal with things... I mean, just tomorrow evening, there's a softball game. Her parents were taking her off the team... I told her that she could play, while she's with me... is that a good idea?"

Melissa leaned back and templed her fingers, elbows on the desk. "There's a lot to unpack here, Darren. I can offer a little advice, but..."

"But you don't work for free, I get it," I said, "I can pay whatever you think fair. I just want some professional advice and maybe... someone on retainer I can call with questions."

Melissa nodded, "We can do that." We talked costs a moment, settled on a fair price and moved on. "The parents are obviously a wildcard here. The government is going to favor them in any argument and the goal, naturally, will be to get Simone back in their custody. However... that they have chosen to keep Simone from them this week is a sure sign they feel the girl is best off with you, not them, for the moment. When will they next come to talk to Simone?"

"Tomorrow afternoon is what I was told."

"I'd like to be there, just to listen in, if that's okay. We can ensure that you hiring me includes me representing Simone, as well."

I nodded, "Okay..."

"The truth is, every case like this is very difficult to predict. Oh, sure, Darren. There are some which are obviously going to end up with a cycle of a child running away, being reuniting, running away again, no easy solution and no way to break the cycle. There is only so much CPS can do. But... when religion is involved... Let's just say that everyone is walking on eggshells. Just the fact that they left Simone in your care this week tells me the parents... well..."

"They're nuts."

"I was going to say they are too upset to respond rationally to various questions, but... sure."

"They think she's possessed, and I'm worried about what they will do if they get custody of her again."

"So is CPS, clearly," Melissa responded. "Religion is mostly sacred, not for CPS or the government to judge, but some... some practices can be rather extreme. Is there a chance I could talk to Simone today?"

"Well... I... I was taking the girls to watch a... friend of theirs play baseball," I told her, not mentioning Audrey by name, "they'll be with me at the game. I kinda want Simone to decide to play on Wednesday with my daughter's team. Is... is that a good idea?"

She pursed her lips, "You're never going to do things exactly like her parents. You're her guardian. So long as what you're doing isn't intentionally driving a deeper wedge between the girl and her parents, you should do what you feel best..."

"But that's just it... this was an issue they did talk to me about, very briefly. They wanted Simone to do more scripture studies instead of playing ball. They took her off the team to keep her from being exposed to gay classmates."

Melissa shook her head, "You just have to do your best for her, Darren. This might drive a fresh wedge, yes, but in this case, you clearly are not adding harm. The choice is yours, and Simone's..."

"Then... if you are free this evening, I'll give you the address of the school they're playing. I'll have Simone with me."

Melissa nodded and we wrapped up our appointment. She offered me some thanks for looking out for Simone and promised to be at the game that evening. I left feeling like, at minimum, I had an ally to help me out even if the woman had few specific answers for me just yet.

I drove to the park, inhaled a few deep breaths of cool January air, and proceeded to push myself to run and jog and fast walk a couple of laps of the park before heading home for a break.

- - -

I showered and considered what to do about Simone's confessions. I was dead set on not learning any of the details of her intimate relationship with my daughter. I didn't want to know about mouths and fingers and such things. A deep, long-buried part of me responded in a way I didn't like and I had no desire to test my restraints after so long keeping those dark thoughts in check. I needed to give Simone an alternate outlet for her confessions.

After debating asking Gwendolyn or Audrey to lend an ear, I wasn't sure either of those options would work either. What I decided to try was a journal or a diary, somewhere Simone could write down her confessions and leave it for me to read. Not that I would read it, but it might give Simone the chance to work through the issue without me, or anyone else, being made to share what should be very private thoughts.

I walked down to the store, picked up a couple of nice notebooks and returned to do a bit of housework before the girls needed a ride home.

- - -

"Melissa wants to meet with you," I told Simone while she sat on the couch and I stood nearby, Gwen still out and Vic in the bathroom after I'd picked the two girls up at school. "I've hired her to help us get through this situation, and she'll be representing you throughout, okay? She'd like to talk to you this evening at Audrey's game."

"Okay," the girl said quietly, "uh... Audrey's game?"

"Oh, yeah, uh... Audrey is a good friend of... Gwen... and she lives next door... we go to a lot of her games..."

"Oh, okay... then, yeah, I'll talk with her, okay..."

"Good, and... I've had an idea, as well, about your confessions?"

Simone looked away shyly.

I handed her the notebooks and said, "Instead of, you know, telling me things directly... why don't you write down everything you believe needs confessed in the notebook. You can leave it with me each time you're done, and I'll be sure to get it back to you each morning..."

Simone turned over the notebook and pursed her lips, "But... I'm supposed to tell someone about when I do dirty things or have bad thoughts, when I sin..."

"You will, just... on paper. It's the same thing, and... you can do it whenever you feel the need, okay? You don't have to wait until I have time to listen, right? Clear you conscience immediately, knowing I can read it later..."

"Hmmm... okay... Um, Mr. Oxley?"

"Yeah?"

"Do you, like, not like when I confessed?"

"I... no... not particularly."

"Oh..."

"See, Simone," I tried to explain, "the things you told me... they're really normal, alright? I don't understand why your parents require you to tell them about your thoughts or what you did that they think is bad. What you and Vic do... is private. Between the two of you. Nobody's business, not even mine. You don't need to tell me, or anyone, those things... But... I understand you feel the need, I just... I'm uncomfortable... hearing about you with my daughter, or... learning about your private thoughts..."

"But if I don't tell someone... I feel bad!"

"I know. We'll work on that while you're here. I'm afraid you've been taught to feel guilty about normal things, Simone... About normal things a girl might do at your age. I'm sorry you've been brought up to think this way... try, though, considering what I'm saying, that you aren't bad, that thinking about girls, or my daughter, or being... intimate... those aren't bad acts. Your parents, they're just trying to control you, that's all. And... I think you deserve a chance to make your own choices and not tell people about private things."

She shrugged, "I just feel bad if I don't."

It was a losing argument at that moment, no matter how I attacked it. It would clearly take some serious deprogramming for Simone to get beyond the strict, imposing ways her parents had chained her and forced her guilt and shame to keep her constantly seeking absolution through faith and religion and inappropriate confessions. One of the nastier side effects of the cult-like fundamentalist mindset. The poor girl was made to believe herself unworthy, dirty, and shameful just because she had normal urges and curiosities.

Once Victoria was out of the bathroom, I suggested Simone take a shower, and I texted Audrey to let her know we'd be there a little before first pitch. It was a road game for Audrey's team, but only a few miles away at one of the closer schools in their division. Audrey had told me previously that Aldrin Technical High School was expected to be the top team in the league that season, and a road game was an even tougher challenge.

Audrey texted back a brief, Great!, and I made a quick meal for the girls and I of macaroni and cheese, salad, and chicken tenders.

Gwen wasn't home by the time we were ready to leave for the game, so I texted her, just to check in, not aware of any commitments she had that evening. I let her know where we were going.

My oldest daughter texted back, Ok. I'm with Pete. Can I bring him over while you're gone?

I knew, of course, what my daughter was going to do, and I admit, there was a small disagreement in my thoughts. On one hand, it was a school night and I had generally disallowed the girls having late-evening visitors on those days so that they could concentrate on homework and spending time with each other, and with me. But the part of my thoughts which won out considered that Gwen and Pete would just find somewhere else to make out and have sex, somewhere more risky and less comfortable, and so I sent back, Sure. You know your curfew. Take him home and be back before that.

I know thanks Dad.

- - -

Vic and Simone were in the stands while I stood near the parking lot and waited for Melissa. The woman was a few minutes early for her expected arrival. I greeted her and then took her to meet Simone, having the girl come down so that I could do so without the others in the stands overhearing. They shook hands and Melissa explained the situation, then asked Simone if she might ask her some questions privately. Simone agreed, so I left the two to talk and went to join Victoria in her seats.

"She okay today?" I asked quietly after sitting next to my daughter.

"Yeah, I suppose. She's still pretty fucke— uh, messed in the head, right now."

I nodded, ignoring the slip, "That's normal. She's just a couple of days out of being in her parent's home. She's got a lot of... expectations... about things which will take a great deal of time and patience to undo..."

"Do you think she'll be made to go back to them?"

I shrugged, "I dunno, Vic, that's always the assumption, I think, though, this is not an easy situation to predict. Her parents are..."

"Insane?"

"I was going to say, strict, but, yeah... that too."

"Simone gets like... real sad... like last night, she just couldn't sleep, I think. Crying some. I tried to make it better, Dad... I don't know what to do..."

"She, uh... she apparently has been made to confess things... to her parents..."

Vic narrowed her eyes, "Confess?"

"Yeah... anything they consider dirty or bad or wrong... They make her tell them each night what she's done that they don't approve of, and... they punish her, so I expect. She didn't mention what they do..."

"What sort of things does she confess?"

I replied, "Well... what she told me last night was... she had dirty thoughts about girls, though she hid that from her parents, part of why she's been so stressed lately. She told them she thought about boys that way, and Simone seems to hate lying even to keep from being punished. And... she confessed... explicit, intimate things..."

"Uh..."

"Yeah... not something I wanted to hear..."

"Like, about me and her?"

"Yep."

Vic shuddered, "Ugh. Gross. I don't want you to know that!"

"And I don't want to hear about it, I promise you..." I told Vic about the journal idea, and I asked her to respect her girlfriend's privacy, "She's writing it for me, in a sense, and only for me... until we can help her feel less guilt and shame over normal things. I'm not going to read it. But... it's personal, just for her, really."

"Oh, I won't read it," Vic promised. "I keep a diary, you know, I get how things work..."

I nodded, "Good. You're doing great, Vic, with all this. I just want you to know I'm very proud of you. This hasn't been easy, but you've been a really great friend... girlfriend... when Simone needs someone to love and support her."

Vic smiled and leaned against my arm, "I just love her, Dad. I'll do anything for her."

"I know. I'm happy for you both..."

"Thanks for helping, Dad," Vic added, "I dunno what would have happened if she didn't have somewhere to go..."

"I'll do anything I can. That's why I hired Ms. Rogers to represent us, and Simone. Just to be sure we are doing what we can for the girl."

"Can Simone live with us forever?"

I shrugged, "That's not going to be clear any time soon, Vic."

"No, I know, I mean, if she isn't sent back to her parents or some other place. Can she live with us for good?"

I nodded, "We can figure that out, but yes. Just... be mindful, Vic... sometimes... relationships don't last the way you think they might. If you and Simone don't want to be girlfriends, for whatever reason, we still have to give her some place to live..."

"We won't break up, I swear! I love her!"

"I know, Sweetie, but life doesn't work that way, not always. I'm not saying I want you to break up, just... things happen. You're young, she's young, you might want different things, need different experiences, and... young love often ends in heartbreak before you move on to something better..."

Vic pulled up from my shoulder. "Jeez, Dad. Way to be a downer..."

"I just want you to realize what having Simone live with us might mean if things aren't great for the two of you. Even strongly-bound lovers fight, and it can be tough to find space to work through it if you are sharing the same bedroom..."

Vic pouted as the players began to take the field but didn't reply.

- - -

Audrey was at shortstop again, but unlike the last game, she was constantly in the right place to make a sharp throw or snag a scorching bouncer which should have been a single. At the plate, she doubled in two runs in the second inning, then singled in another in the fourth.

Melissa and Simone joined us over that period, offering nothing but greetings for a while. Audrey stepped up to the plate in the sixth, her team leading five-to-two, and that's when Melissa suggested we talk. I told her, "One moment, that's our friend up now..."

Audrey swung through a bad pitch, growled angrily, then took her place again. She didn't miss the second offering, a fastball on the outside edge, and put it over the left field fence for a two-run homer. We cheered, a small pocket of us excited by the strong away team in bleachers packed with miserable home fans. I stepped off the stands moments later and walked with Melissa towards her car.

She told me she thought Simone would need a lot of therapy, but it was too soon to start on a specific track given how uncertain the next few weeks seemed to be. A general family therapist was recommended, and Melissa gave me a number to call. The girl was still in a bit of shock, but Melissa made clear to me that she was no psychologist and we needed to work with the CPS folks to be sure how to proceed beyond the next couple of days. Her legal advice was to continue doing what we were doing, to treat Simone as one of my daughters and if the girl wanted to do things like drink soda or play softball, two of the many activities forbidden her by her parents, it was my decision on whether to allow it. It might make things more dicey later, but we were already deep in a situation and not likely to dig a hole more treacherous by allowing the girl some basic free will.

Melissa suggested drawing up a few documents which spelled out, explicitly, the expectations of my situation, more in providing full legal cover and less about dealing with Simone's parents. I thought it was a good idea to prepare for any situation.

She suggested I keep her informed any time some new information was learned, and she wished to be present when CPS came by after school on Wednesday. It was already going to be a tight squeeze, getting in the interview and getting Vic, and possibly Simone, to the game in time to warm up, but I thanked the woman and let her know I appreciated any help she could give.

- - -

Audrey was ecstatic after the game as she greeted me, Vic, and Simone along the visitor's side of the field. She'd gone four-for-five, a homer, five batted in, and even stole a base after a single. It was a much better game than her previous one, and the team won easily eleven-to-four. "And the starting pitcher is one of the best in the state!" she told us, beaming.

"You were great!" Vic told her, giving Audrey a quick hug.

I almost hugged Audrey, too, but remembered myself quickly, offering her a look which suggested I'd love to do more later when we weren't in public.

We said our goodbyes and I drove us home. Gwen was in her room, and it wasn't clear at first if Pete was still around. I texted my oldest daughter, a custom we'd had ever since I accidentally opened her door years earlier to see Gwen masturbating a second or two before I recovered and apologized and closed the door to her insistent shouts of 'Get out!' Texting saved both of us that embarrassment. Gwen came out after Vic and Simone closed themselves in a bedroom

"Hey," she said, looking sleepy.

"Pete still here?"

"Nah. I took him home earlier..."

"Okay..."

"Everything cool?" Gwen asked.

I thought she meant about her evening visitor, so I said, "With Pete? You know my rules, so long as you follow them..."

"No, I mean with Simone..."

"For now," I replied, then offered a quick summary of the attorney's thoughts and Simone's. I also told Gwen about Simone's confessions, saying, "I gave her a journal to write in. It's really important you don't go reading it, Gwen. Those are for Simone alone."

Gwen wrinkled her nose, "You think I want to know about about all the gross stuff she does with my sister? Eww... No, Dad. Just no."

"I'm serious, Gwen. It's more than just... that."

"I won't, Dad. Promise."

I nodded and gave her a hug, "Go finish up any homework..."

"I'm good," Gwen said, "nothing left tonight. Is... is Audrey gonna keep coming over... you know, with Simone here?"

"We have to be pretty careful, I think. So... I'll go over there shortly... just to be safe..."

Gwen nodded, "Kinda sucks, huh? Having to sneak around?"

"It does... yeah, it really does..."

My daughter said nothing a moment, then told me, "Guess it's worth it, then?"

"Sneaking around? To be with Audrey? Worth everything, yes."

"Okay... Just... Please don't get busted, Dad..." Gwen told me sadly, "I worry about that all the time... like... if you get found out... you'll go to jail, right?"

I nodded solemnly. "Unfortunately, yes..."

"That sucks... I hope it never happens..."

"We just need to make it until Audrey is seventeen later this year..."

"Why?"

I explained to Gwen what I'd told Audrey previously about the age of consent in Texas, "Though... even if legal, there are still some tricky things to deal with..."

"Like you dating a girl in high school the same age as your daughter?"

"Yep, stuff like that."

Gwen gave me a quick hug, "Well... I like Audrey a lot, and... I'm still really sorry about how I broke you up before... I hope it works out, Dad. She's pretty great... so long as I don't have to call her Mommy or something..."

I chuckled, "I definitely don't want you to call her Mommy."

"Deal."

- - -

I'd heard Audrey's car pull up next door during my conversation with Gwen, so I texted Audrey to see if it was okay to come over. She assured me I could do so any time. She'd even given me a spare key to use while her grandparents were in San Diego. I opened the front door and called out, hearing no response. I wandered until I came to Audrey's bedroom, the door open and the shower further in running full steam.

I waited a moment, not wanting to interrupt my girlfriend. She poked her head out and smiled at me, one of her bared breasts peeking around the corner. "Hey, thought I heard you come in, was just using the toilet while the water gets warm... I'll be out in just a minute, okay?"

"Sure... can I give you that hug first?"

"I'm still really sweaty, but... sure... I'd love that..."

I reached her quickly, Audrey naked and smelling of the night's efforts. Her warm flesh was so wonderful in my nose and on my skin. I felt her shudder as we kissed and I wondered if Audrey was horny enough to enjoy some moments together.

It was quickly clear she was so, her hand pulling down the zipper of my slacks and fishing out my rising penis. I kissed her neck and tasted the sweat and dirt and warm skin there, intoxicated by the richer scent drifting up from below. "I love the way you smell, Audrey... I would bathe in your scents..."

She giggled, "Weirdo... Mmmmm," she purred as I slid a finger between her legs, "my sexy weirdo..."

I pushed Audrey so that she sat on the counter beside the sink, the shower flow still running hard, steaming the mirror behind my girlfriend. Spreading her legs, I kissed my way up from her knee, her inner left thigh, and then kissed her more firmly over her trimmed Mons. I consumed her scent, breathing her musk deep into me, salivating as I licked her sweaty, lightly-creamy folds. I ate Audrey's cunt like a starving man, driven on by her moans, by her hands clawing my head, by the way her hips rolled up to meet my tongue.

She started to cum and I buried my face against her, circling her clit with my tongue, tasting her juices as they leaked out of her sweaty, clenching pussy. I licked her until her cunt looked red and a little raw, swollen, ready for me to penetrate it.

Standing, I thrust into Audrey, her bottom on the edge of the counter, her thighs wrapped along my hips, her ankles behind my back. She held onto my shoulders as we rutted and kissed. I fondled her breasts, thrusting in and out of her body, shuddering, moaning together. She seemed to be in heat as we mated, cumming again, then again before I felt release. I grunted and groaned as I came in Audrey, my face against her neck, my nose consuming her sweaty scents.

I drew away only after sharing kisses with Audrey and caressing her soft, supple breasts, her toned stomach, and her rounded, muscular thighs. She giggled and said, "And here... I thought... I was just gonna get a shower and curl up with you a bit..."

"Not saying that isn't great," I replied, "but this... this is so much better..."

We kissed again as my penis slowly grew soft and dangled, pressed lightly against her dripping vulva. Audrey looked at me with curiosity, "Why do you always tell me you like the way I smell?"

"Because it's true..."

"Yeah, but... you want me to know that you like it..."

"I suppose I do..."

She pecked my lips, "I'm just wondering... why does that turn you on so much?"

I worried a bit, "You don't want me to?"

"No, that's not it at all... I'm just... curious, that's all..."

I shrugged, gently fondling Audrey's lovely young breasts. "I guess it's just... primal. Animalistic. You know... so many people... they worry about cleaning everything first... worry about anyone, even a lover, smelling them when they haven't just spent an hour with soap and washcloth and then perfume to ensure nothing natural remains to smell... I... I like it much better when you're natural, Audrey, and... I guess... it turns me on to make you aware that your... scents... are so clear to me... that I can smell you... smell you... and that you trust me enough to let me do it... to let me know you that way..."

Audrey smiled, "I do trust you... You know, at first, I kinda thought it was weird that you liked it when I stink... but... I've kinda gotten to like it, you know? Like... your my perv and I get to be... natural, like you said, but only for you. I don't want anyone else to know what you know about me, right? No one else gets to smell me like that... and... I like that you tell me how much you like it... Maybe I'm a perv, too, but, like, when I smell myself now, before a shower or something, instead of being disgusted, the first thought I have is how much you would enjoy my scent, how much I'd enjoy pushing your face between my legs and knowing you're sniffing me there..."

I was hard again by the time Audrey finished describing her change in attitude. I slipped back inside her again, rutting quickly, inhaling her scent, now mixed with my own sweat and pungent warm sperm in the steamy room. I filled her a second time without much effort, then the both of us nearly collapsed from exhaustion.

"I don't know how you have so much energy, Audrey. Workout this morning, school all day, game, and a couple of rounds with me..."

"Hey, you're keeping up with me, you know... and didn't you go for a long run this morning?"

"I did..."

"You're stamina has always been great, Darren... I mean, I guess, anyway. I don't have much to compare you to," she explained. I ignored the pulse of hatred I felt for Travis ever having known Audrey like I had. Audrey continued, "But... I can feel a difference already... you feel... stronger." Audrey smiled and kissed me as she pulled back the curtain. The shower was still rushing strong and steamy. "Anyway... I'm gonna have to shower and do some homework... you gonna hang out?"

I nodded, "Sure... Despite what I said earlier, Audrey, about preferring we have sex over most anything else... I still live for doing nothing more than seeing you smile, touching your hand, or sitting quietly while you do great things... I love you so much..."

- - -

I only left Audrey's place when she started to snooze against me after finishing up her classwork. I was tempted to stay with her that night, but I was determined to try to keep some sort of normalcy for her, at least outside of the rest of our relationship. She was a teen girl, she had teen commitments and obligations. It was odd for her to always share her bed with me, and I knew it would lead to distractions, like spontaneously making love, or delaying her morning workouts while we kissed, and I couldn't let myself be the reason she didn't reach her other goals.

And, although I longed for her when I slept alone, the truth was it made the next moment I got to see her that much better. That longing created a cycle which ensured I never took for granted Audrey's time or attention. It was hard enough to find such balance in any normal relationship, and even more difficult when it involved an old retired guy and his high school-aged girlfriend.

When I'd returned home, the notebook I'd given Simone was sitting on the floor outside my bedroom door. I hesitated to pick it up, but I'd promised Simone I would return it to her each morning, as if I'd read it, so I took it in hand and started walking it back to the kitchen so that I'd remember to give it back the next morning.

I didn't really want to read it, but I supposed I needed to be sure Simone understood the replacement I expected her to utilize so that she didn't bring to me, directly, stories of her sexual curiosity or experiences with my daughter. I opened the first page to verify her participation in the concept, and read her entry from that evening.

I did something with Vic that I thought I wouldn't. I used my mouth on her...

My eyes skipped ahead, not wanting any more details about anything like related to mouths and my daughter's privates.

At the game, I saw a girl bend over. I looked and felt guilty about looking. Also, I saw Gwen's friend Audrey after the game. She is very pretty, I think. I thought about her naked and felt ashamed. I even told Vic about that, and she agreed that Audrey was pretty. I think she thinks about her naked, too, like I do, cause she joked about what Audrey's special place might look like. But she doesn't feel guilty like I do. I'm sorry I could not help myself.

The entry ended there, and I took a deep breath. It seemed she had the idea of things, so I certainly was not going to seek more from the journal. So long as Simone wasn't bringing such thoughts to me in person, the idea might actually work. I would need to see if Simone felt the same level of relief with the different outlet in place. Otherwise, she was just as disturbingly explicit in her writing as she'd been when describing things the night before.

The part about Audrey disturbed me in a way I couldn't quite get a handle on. It wasn't jealousy or anything like that. Maybe it was that the idea of my daughter finding my girlfriend attractive was rather taboo and uncomfortable. That Vic might think about Audrey sexually was something I'd never really considered, and though I trusted both Audrey and Vic to never do anything more than look, just knowing that Vic told Simone about such a specific image, the one about what Audrey's genitals might look like, disturbed me. I wrestled with it a bit but found no resolution.

I put the journal on the kitchen table, then found my way to my bedroom, another long day ahead of us on Wednesday.

Darren, Male, 54

	- Narrator, retired, father of Gwen and Victoria (Vic)

	- 5'11, beige skin, 195lbs, cropped greying brown hair

Audrey, Female, 16

	- High school senior, daughter of Duncan and Theresa

	- 5'9, pale skin, 140lbs, light-green eyes, straight auburn hair over her shoulders

Gwen, Female, 16

	- High school sophomore, daughter of Darren, sister of Victoria

	- 5'6, beige skin, 135lbs, shoulder-length wavy black hair

Victoria (Vic), Female, 15

	- High school freshman, daughter of Darren, sister of Gwen, girlfriend of Simone

	- 5'4, beige skin, 120lbs, wavy neck-length light-brown hair

Simone, Female, 16

	- High school freshman, girlfriend of Vic

	- 5'6, dark-brown skin, 140lbs, curly neck-length black hair